2006 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Attracts Record Turnout: Awards More Than $7 Million in Prize Money

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The center of the poker
universe moved to the Bahamas during the first two weeks of the new year as
PokerStars.com hosted the third annual PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA).
The poker tournament took place at the Atlantis Casino and Resort, on the
beaches of Paradise Island. Most of the players attending won their
tournament entries and paid vacations by qualifying online at PokerStars.com,
the world's largest and most innovative poker tournament website, some for as
little as $6.

The championship event attracted a whopping 724 entries, over 60 percent
higher than last year's number, with a total prize pool of $5,647,200. The
winner was Steve Paul-Ambrose, a 22-year-old college student from Canada.
Ambrose, a student at the University of Waterloo (in Ontario), outplayed the
huge field -- including the last three world poker champions -- over a five-
day span and won $1,363,100 for first place. He was cheered to victory by his
mother, sister, and several friends who watched anxiously as the final table
was taped for broadcast on the World Poker Tour. Ambrose won his way into the
PCA via a satellite tournament held on PokerStars.com for a total investment
of $102.

"I don't think it has fully sunk in yet," Ambrose at a post-tournament
press conference. "I was just so excited to be playing with some of the
greats like Raymer and Moneymaker, but I never thought I would win it all. I
am so glad PokerStars put together this great event to allow someone like me
to compete, to win, and now -- to defend my title next year."

Five of the six players who made it to the final table were relative
newcomers to the poker tournament scene. Most who made it into the money were
cashing in a live tournament for the first time ever -- proving once again
that online poker can be a significant training ground for major televised
tournaments. The PCA also attracted several notable professionals and
superstars, including current and former World Series of Poker champions Joe
Hachem, Greg Raymer, Chris Moneymaker, and Tom McEvoy. But in the end, it was
the young Canadian college student who walked away with the top prize.

The PCA also featured six secondary tournaments, which awarded over
$1 million to winners. There were also a number of high-stakes cash games
which attracted players from the United States and many countries throughout
Europe, Central and South America. But perhaps the most memorable juncture at
the PCA, aside from the record-setting main event, was the inaugural World
Championship of Battleship Poker, launched exclusively by PokerStars.com.
Sixty-four online poker players paid the $1,000 entry fee and played a series
of heads-up matches reminiscent of the traditional parlor game, called
"Battleship." The matches were played online on PokerStars.com, but in a
unique twist, each set of opponents was seated across from one another,
battleship-style. Michael Banducci, from Traverse City, MI was the first-year
winner.

"This year's PCA was even bigger and better than we expected," said Lee
Jones, poker room manager for PokerStars.com. "And that's really saying
something based on our high expectations from last year. This tournament
brought everything together -- great poker action, a multi-million dollar
prize pool, and world-class amenities at the Atlantis. Best of all -- the PCA
demonstrates once again that PokerStars.com is leading the way when it comes
to originality and turning regular poker players into champions."

Coverage of the 2006 PCA will be shown later this year on The Travel
Channel as part of the network's hit show -- the World Poker Tour.
For more details, visit: http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/

About PokerStars
PokerStars (http://www.pokerstars.com) is the world's most innovative online
poker site. PokerStars was the first site to introduce features that became
industry standard such as sophisticated multi-table tournaments, integrated
game statistics, players' notes, personalized images, time bank for
tournaments and big bet ring games, satellite tournaments, multi-table sit and
go tournaments, and much more.

To date, PokerStars has dealt over four billion hands and run more than
18 million poker tournaments, awarding well over $1 billion in prize money.
PokerStars is one of the world's largest poker rooms, with 4 million
registered player accounts. PokerStars' support team is truly unique, as help
and assistance is available around the clock from people who know and
understand the game of poker and the importance of impeccable customer
service.

The PokerStars.com site is also one of the most secure. PokerStars uses
industry-leading security software to ensure the integrity of the system,
including encryption, card shuffle randomness and preventative measures
against cheating and collusion. Money covering player's balances is held in
segregated accounts managed by the Royal Bank of Scotland, ensuring that
PokerStars can fulfill its obligations to players at all times.
PokerStars is an official member of the World Poker Tour, and the title
sponsor of the European Poker Tour (EPT) and the PokerStars Caribbean
Adventure. During the last three years, PokerStars.com sent more players to
the World Series of Poker than any other source or website. A whopping
1,116 entrants qualified to play this year via PokerStars satellites.
PokerStars is the site where the 2003 and 2004 World Series of Poker champions
won entries into the World Series of Poker. The reigning world poker champion
Joe Hachem, has also been an active player at PokerStars since 2001. He
joined Moneymaker and Raymer as official representatives of PokerStars.com,
thus fortifying the company trademark, "Where Poker Players Become World
Champions."

Press Release - 2006-01-19 02:45:33