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Card Player Names Player of the Year

LAS VEGAS – (PRESS RELEASE) -- Card Player magazine, 'The Poker Authority,' today announced that Daniel Negreanu has captured its prestigious 2004 Player of the Year title on the heels of a thrilling final shoot-out at Bellagio's Five Diamond World Poker Classic. Negreanu, one of professional poker's most formidable and respected players, surged past last-minute point leaders David 'The Dragon' Pham and John Juanda to take both the Bellagio event and the Player of the Year crown, along with over $4 million in 2004 poker earnings.

Negreanu had been leading in the Card Player rankings for most of 2004, but had fallen behind going into the Five Diamond Classic. Facing an uphill challenge against a 376-player field, the 30-year-old Canadian battled his way to the final table of the No-Limit Hold'em championship. He went toe-to-toe against Humberto Brenes, Vinny Landrum, Nam Le, Steve Rassi, and Jennifer Harman Traniello at the table to win first place at the event, scoring overall winnings of $1.8 million.

Negreanu's 2004 finale at the Bellagio Classic not only earned him Player of the Year honors, but also made him the all-time top money winner on the World Poker Tour. As a fixture on the championship circuit for the past eight years, he has won more tournaments than any other player to amass record cumulative winnings. He has also become one of the game's most visible and articulate spokespeople as the author of over 90 articles in Card Player magazine.

Along with the Player of the Year title, Negreanu will receive an award bracelet from Card Player magazine as well as a $10,000 buy-in to any upcoming 2005 event.

"Daniel is a good friend, a legendary competitor, a great ambassador for the game of poker, and well deserving of our 2004 Player of the Year title," said Barry Shulman, publisher of Card Player magazine. "He helped make 2004 a great year for poker overall, and helped pave the way for important new developments in 2005."

Those developments are expected to include a number of refinements in the formula leading to Card Player's 2005 Player of the Year title. As part of an ongoing effort to create the fairest and most competitive poker challenge of its kind, the magazine expects to add point awards for making any of the three final tables in $10,000 buy-in events, and establish minimums for the number of players required for an event to qualify for point awards.

A complete explanation of 2005 Player of the Year criteria, along with a cover story on Daniel Negreanu, will appear in the January 2005 issue of Card Player, due to hit newsstands on January 19. To subscribe to Card Player magazine, visit http://www.cardplayer.com or call 1-866-LVPOKER (1-866-587-6537).

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