Before horses leap from the starting gate at Newmarket, UltimateBet (UB) will launch an online Freeroll poker contest on April 15, 2004, at 5:30 p.m. ET, targeted at the UK racing and entertainment press. The grand prize winner will receive a trip for two to Aruba (valued at $10,000 USD). Additionally, nine other players will walk away with prize money.
The company will be informing the press of the tournament via a special invitation to register on the UB web site, ultimatebet and play with other press ONLY. The promotion is being held in conjunction with the Guineas races and the Jockey Club Stakes to demonstrate the link between horse racing and online poker. UltimateBet.com's mission is to deliver the same level of professionalism, responsibility, integrity and excitement to its players as the Jockey Club brings to elite horse racing.
"UB has made is easy and fun for everyone to play online poker," states Annie Duke, Professional Poker Player and member of Team UB. "The press will thoroughly enjoy the experience of playing in the No Limit Texas Holdem tournament with their peers, and possibly winning a free trip to Aruba -- what could be more fun!"
UltimateBet is the 2004 title sponsor for the UltimateBet.com (1000 and 2000) Guineas Festival, held in Newmarket, April 30, May 1 and 2, 2004, thus uniting the best in horse racing and online poker.
About UltimateBet
UltimateBet is a world-leading online poker site dedicated to providing the most professional poker experience on the Internet. Operated by eWorld Holdings, Inc., an international business corporation located in Antigua, UltimateBet.com serves customers worldwide by offering a secure site where they can enjoy playing poker online for recreation, chat with other players, get tips from professional poker players, and share in the excitement of winning.
At the UltimateBet online poker site you can play in real time Texas Holdem, Omaha, or 7 Card Stud, and participate in the best variety of tournaments and promotions -- all with winning prize pools.
Poker Mania Sweeping College Campuses
There's often a full house at Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity -- in more ways than one.
At any time, day or night, the University of Georgia fraternity brothers and their friends are playing poker, putting aside homework in favor of learning the tricks of Texas Hold 'em and other card games.
"If everybody has nothing to do, we've had seven- to eight-hour sessions. It's so addictive," said Marshall Saul, a sophomore whose room is decorated with a poster of dogs playing poker.
The popularity of television shows such as Bravo's "Celebrity Poker," the Travel Channel's "World Poker Tour" and ESPN's coverage of the Texas Hold 'em championships have fueled a card-playing craze on campuses.
College students are perfecting their poker faces in lively games nearly everywhere -- in dorm rooms, fraternity and sorority houses, and campus tournaments. Buy-in games organized by some colleges and student groups have drawn hundreds, with prizes ranging from money to televisions.
"It is crazy on campus," said Rachel Dorfman, a University of Georgia sophomore who often plays poker for hours with her Sigma Delta Tau sisters. "It is absolutely the thing to do right now."
Some online poker companies are targeting students with tournaments such as the first College Poker.
The creators of "World Poker Tour," which kicked off a new season this month, also say a poker competition between colleges, with scholarship money and other prizes, is in development.
Students spending so much time playing poker is of concern to gambling advocacy groups. The 18- to 24-year-old age group has some of the highest rates of gambling addictions, said Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling.
In New York, the turnout at Binghamton University's free poker tournaments exceeded expectations, with up to 260 players in a recent one. A last-minute Valentine's Day tournament drew 150 players.
For many poker fiends, the tournaments are a chance to get out of their rooms and off their computers, said Eric Zirlinger, who coordinates the events. "For them, it's a chance to play against a whole different bunch of people."
Many of the players new to the game acknowledge that they picked up some of the rules and intricacies of poker from watching it on TV.
"You mention Texas Hold 'em two years ago, people maybe wouldn't have known what it was; now it's part of mainstream culture," Saul said.
Dorfman, who also enjoys playing poker online, said all her friends watch poker on TV. When it comes to gambling, she typically plays with dime chips, losing a couple dollars at the most, although she said other games involve higher stakes.
Whyte's watchdog group wants Web sites and casinos -- and even colleges where students are playing poker heavily -- to educate people about gambling addictions.
"What I've heard anecdotally, the colleges are much more focused on things like drug abuse, date rape and binge drinking," Whyte said. "Gambling is seen as a victimless crime at best."
But for Steve Lipscomb, CEO of the World Poker Tour, there are a lot worse evils on campus than college students playing poker.
"Of all the things you're confronted with in college, this seems to me to be just about the most benign form of entertainment you'll find".
