Vegas gears up for Party Poker Premier League IV

9 February 2010

GIBRALTAR -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- Party Poker and Matchroom Sport are delighted to announce that the PartyPoker.com Premier League IV will take place at the M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas, with the main event running from the 12th – 18th February 2010. The latest news sees PartyPoker.com World Open V champion Phil 'The Unabomber' Laak replace Doyle Brunson in the elite $100,000 buy-in event. Laak joins defending champion JC Tran, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Roland de Wolfe, Luke Schwartz, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Vanessa Rousso, David Benyamine and the newest member of Team Party, Tony G. Two more places are up for grabs for one lucky online qualifier and one through a special Team Party heat.

Laak said: "This is the most money I have ever wagered against the toughest field I have ever faced. Collectively my opponents have over $45 million in tournament winnings. This will be the best ride ever. Full stop."

When asked about his rivals he said: "I hear Tony G has a bike now. I hope he doesn't send me off on it! As for Full Flush there will be free sandwiches. Negreanu and Hellmuth...ranked two and four on the all time money list. Truly amazing. Vanessa Rousso is always thinking while Roland de Wolfe is full of sharp wit and is amazingly entertaining, always."

This year, the M Resort, the newest Forbes Four Star boutique resort in Las Vegas , will be the home of the main event. An ideal location, the M Resort boasts over 92,000 square feet of gaming and an intimate 14 table poker room. "Premier League Poker has been incredibly successful," said Joseph A. Magliarditi, Executive Vice President and COO, M Resort. "The event is uniquely set-up and attracts some of the top players in world. We're looking forward to hosting it this year."

Widely becoming known as the hotspot for the latest in gaming, the M Resort's fully-Ethernet casino floor features some of the newest games on the market. Its poker room hosts a packed house for daily tournaments and its race and sports book, which is operated through a partnership with Cantor Gaming, is the first to offer handheld mobile gaming and in-running wagering – betting continuously throughout the game, rather than just at the beginning of the game.

Located just 10 minutes from the Strip, on over 90 acres on the south-east corner of St. Rose Parkway and Las Vegas Boulevard, the M Resort is situated higher in elevation than other resort-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip and provides optimal views of the world-famous Las Vegas skyline from its guest rooms, suites, conference centre and restaurants. The resort offers 390 guest rooms and suites, nine restaurants and five destination bars, more than 60,000 square feet of meeting and conference space, a state-of-the-art spa and fitness centre and a 100,000 square foot events piazza. The main event will take place in the resort's Ravello Lounge, which will have ample seating and floor to ceiling windows with views of the Las Vegas Strip.

Eddie Hearn, Director of Matchroom Sport said: "When we decided to take the Premier League to Las Vegas we needed a venue to match this prestigious event. The M Resort is a stunning location and the perfect place for the players to relax whilst they are amongst the heat of battle in what has become the world's biggest televised poker spectacle."

This year, PartyPoker.com ran qualifiers to find a total of 16 players who are all in Las Vegas to play in a Premier League Poker play-off to see which one of the 16 will be lucky enough to join the 11 professional players in Premier League Poker IV. The lucky online qualifiers will play a short series of play-off sit and goes and the eventual winner will win the $100,000 buy-in to take part in the main Premier League event!

Both the play-off and the main event will be filmed for TV and shown across the world. One amazing element of this promotion that provides a truly fantastic opportunity is that one of the 16 qualifiers will be chosen by PartyPoker to receive a $100,000 Team Party contract to be a sponsored player. This decision will be made by PartyPoker within two weeks after the event takes place.

This year's Premier League will carry a total prize pool of $1.5 million. JC Tran won PartyPoker.com Premier League III after taking down the most formidable final table in the event's history! Tran, widely regarded as one of the finest and consistent tournament professionals on the circuit scooped the $300,000 first prize in the elite tournament that saw 12 of the world's finest players battle it out for a $1.25 million prize pool! Tom 'Durrrr' Dwan, Juha Helppi, Tony G, Roland de Wolfe and Peter Eastgate all made the final table. Premier League II was won by Andy Black and the inaugural event was taken down by Juha Helppi. The PartyPoker.com Premier League is organized by Matchroom Sport.