Press Releases / Amy / 04 August 2008 / Leave a comment

2008 World Series of Poker Europe TM Presented by Betfair.com
Announces Venue Details and November Nine Attendance

Four Bracelet Events Set for September 19th to October 2nd at Empire Casino in London

The 2008 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) today announced that it will be hosting its event under one roof in the magnificent surroundings of the Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square London. The event which starts on the 19th September will feature four bracelet events, and begins with a new three day long £1,500 No-Limit event. Non-stop cash games and other casino games will be available at the casino and other LCI London locations.

September 19th , 2008 - Event #1 - £1,500 - No-Limit Hold'em Day 1A (3-day event)
September 22nd , 2008 - Event #2 - £2,500 - H.O.R.S.E. (3-day event)
September 24th , 2008 - Event #3 - £5,000 - Pot Limit Omaha (2-day event)
September 27th , 2008 - Event #4 - £10,000 - World Championship No-Limit Hold'em (6-day event)

For full details of the schedule please visit the Official WSOPE site.

Betfair Poker is the only place to qualify online. There is a whole host of ways to qualify for this must-attend poker event in September. As well as having daily free rolls on the site there are also countless satellites to suit both small and large stake players. Visit http://poker.betfair.com/.

"We are eagerly anticipating the World Series of Poker Europe this year," said Ty Stewart, World Series of Poker Director of Marketing. "We have enhanced the schedule to provide more variety and game play, greatly broadened the worldwide television exposure and have brought the event under one roof to better the player experience for this prestigious and premiere event."

Professional poker players have already started to buy in directly including the final table participants from the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas held earlier this month. The November Nine participants, whose fate will be decided a month after WSOP Europe, are scheduled to participate, including Ivan Demidov, Peter Eastgate and David Rheem. The November Nine participants will be seeking the ultimate double of two Main Event Bracelets in one year.

"Empire is excited to be hosting poker's greatest players," said Michael Silberling, COO, London Clubs, International. "Our Leicester Square property provides a fitting backdrop to conduct such a prestigious event like the World Series of Poker Europe."

WSOPE in London complements the WSOP held annually in Las Vegas. The inaugural 2007 event featured 623 entrants compete for £1,305,215 over three tournaments including the Main Event that saw Norway's Annette Obrestad outlast a field that included Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth and Johnny Chan to win the largest amount ever for a female, £1 million - or U.S. $2,013,102. Other notable players appearing in 2007 and expected to attend this year include Chris Ferguson, Erick Lindgren, Jennifer Harmon and Daniel Negreanu.

-end-

Notes to Editors:

ABOUT WSOP EUROPE
Launched in 2007 by Harrah's Entertainment, owner of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), WSOPE is the first tournament extension of the world's richest and most prestigious gaming event. WSOPE is held in London, England annually at London Clubs International (LCI) properties and awards the same coveted gold bracelets that the WSOP awards annually in Las Vegas. In 2007, WSOPE awarded three gold bracelets, the first bracelets ever awarded outside the United States. A total of 623 entrants competed for £1,305,215 in prize money over three different events: H.O.R.S.E, Pot Limit Omaha and No-Limit Texas Hold'em. Germany's Thomas Bihl became the first-ever bracelet winner of the WSOPE, while Norway's Annette Obrestad took home the £1,000,000 first place prize in the Main Event. Italy's Dario Alioto won the Pot Limit Omaha tournament, meaning Europeans won all three events of the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe Presented by Betfair.com.

ABOUT BETFAIR.COM

Betfair has become the world's biggest online betting community since successfully pioneering its betting exchange concept in June 2000. Driven by cutting-edge technology, Betfair enables customers to choose their own odds and bet against each other, even after the event has started. The company now processes 5 million transactions a day, more than all of the European stock exchanges combined.

Betfair remains one of the only betting company to win a Queen's Award for Enterprise, being recognized for Innovation in 2003 and most recently for International Trade earlier this year.

Betfair currently employs over 1,200 people, principally in Hammersmith, Stevenage, Malta and Tasmania and the company is a licensed betting operator in the UK, and also operates under licenses in Australia, Austria, Italy and Malta.

Betfair Poker was launched in the autumn of 2005 and operates on its own platform. It is the proud online exclusive sponsor for the World Series of Poker Europe event which is now in its second year. Betfair poker sponsors the winner and runner up from last year's event (Annette Obrestad and John Tabatabai) as well as online poker pro Sorel Mizzi. For more information on the World Series of Poker Europe visit the Official WSOPE site.

Contact Richard Bloch +44 07525 038839 or Amy Trodd on +44 7921 880938

ABOUT THE WSOP
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker's longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2007, the event attracted more than 54,000 entrants from 87 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and awarded just under $160 million in prize money as players competed for game's most coveted trophy, a WSOP bracelet. Harrah's License Company, LLC., an affiliate of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., has owned and operated the WSOP since 2004 and over the last four years, fostered an increase in player participation by nearly 300-percent. In addition, the WSOP has experienced groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker Europe. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit our website at www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

ABOUT HARRAH'S ENTERTAINMENT
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, more than 70 years ago, Harrah's has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four continents. The Company's properties operate primarily under the Harrah's®, Caesars® and Horseshoe® brand names; Harrah's also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos and the World Series of Poker®. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. For more information, please visit www.harrahs.com.