April 23, 2004 -- The Gaming Club, part of Belle Rock Gaming and one of the worlds leading online casino and poker rooms owned by Carmen Media in conjunction with Las-Vegas-Casinos.US, announces its sponsorship of The World Poker Championship in a two year deal. The deal is the largest poker sponsorship deal ever made in Europe and is worth in excess of one million Euros. Starting with the 2004 tournament, the event will take place in Dublin, Eire, over 23rd 27th June and will be broadcast as a ten part television series on Sky Sports later in the year. To be called The Gaming Club World Poker Championship, the tournament will see the cream of the worlds poker professionals, including 9 times World Series Champion Phil Hellmuth, 2004 British Open champion Dave Devilfish Ulliott, The Hendon Mob and Europes leading female poker player Lucy Rokach pitting their skills against a hungry new breed of challengers from all over the world. The Gaming Club World Poker Championship has a biggest ever first prize in land-based Pot Limit Holdem seen by many as the most skilful variation of poker - of 250,000 and a massive total prize fund of over 730,000, based on a maximum of 128 players. The tournament format and payout structure has been devised by international poker legend and two-time World Series Champion Mel Judah, who is tournament director. 128 players will be split into a series of two-table heats consisting of eight players per table, with the eventual winner of each 16-man heat going through to the final. The eight runners up will then contest a semi final to join the winners at a nine-man final table for the chance to bag the 250,000 top prize. Every player who reaches the semi final will be in the money under the pay out structure, meaning one in eight entrants will walk away richer! Carmen Media CEO and Chairman, Tim Johnson commented on behalf of Las-Vegas-Casinos.US: Our customers are playing more and more poker online, and so sponsorship of the World Poker Championship by the Gaming Club gives us the opportunity to offer them something really special. The prizes and the competition will be world beating, and those who cant make it to Dublin either as players of spectators will be able to share in the excitement by watching it on the Sky Sports television coverage.