Just three months later, Andrey would quickly prove that his deep run in the WSOP main event was no fluke by claiming his biggest victory to date with a 1st place finish in the EPT San Remo No Limit Hold’em Main Event, taking home the top prize of $937,530. Pateychuk would keep the momentum going by entering the WPT Prague No Limit Hold’em Main Event just over a month later, and would battle his way through 571 competitors to take home yet another 1st place finish, along with the top price of $599,720.

Pateychuk was recently named “Rookie of the Year” at the 2012 European Poker Awards, but his accomplishments thus far reflect anything but those of a ‘rookie’. Having already amassed over $2.1 million in earnings, along with coveted WPT and EPT titles, Pateychuk now has his sights set on the 2012 World Series of Poker, where he is hoping to be crowned the first player from Russia to win poker’s triple crown by adding a WSOP bracelet to his list of accomplishments. This young Russian has quickly shown that that he has what it takes to win, and players around the world should keep a watchful eye on Andrey Pateychuk.

Eugene’s lucrative poker career began with his first live-event cash in December 2004 when he made the final table of a $3,000 NLHE tournament at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic where he would finish in 5th place and collect $47,868. In his first full year as a poker pro, Eugene would cash 8 times, but it was his winnings in 2007 that thrust the young player into the headlines. Following several smaller cashes early in the year, Eugene would take 1st place in the Bellagio Cup $5K No Limit Hold’em Event for over $118K before landing his biggest victory yet with his first place finish in the $15,000 Doyle Brunson Classic No Limit Hold’em event, earning him over $2.5 million dollars.

Eugene’s poker career would continue through 2010 with a litany of 5 and 6 figure paydays, but it would be his performance in 2011 that would earn him the coveted title of Bluff Magazine Player of the Year. Beginning with the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in early January, Katchalov would vest a field of the game’s most influential players to win the $100,000 No Limit Hold’em Super High Roller Event, earning $1.5 million dollars for his efforts. Just 10 days later, he would take home $131,920 for his 2nd place finish in the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em High Roller 6 max event. Eugene would cash a total of 13 times in 2011, and would take home one of the most sought after prizes in poker; a WSOP gold bracelet in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event.

With over $7,000,000 in earnings, a WSOP bracelet, and a WPT title, this poker maestro is etching his way into the record books one victory at a time.

With an online bankroll as large as Tobias Reinkemeier boasts, it’s hard to imagine that he never actually deposited a dime of his own money. In early 2006, Reinkemeier joined a site that was offering players $50 to sign up, and he took that offer and ran with it. He began by building his skills through cash game and sit-and-go play, and eventually moved up to higher buy-in multi-table tournaments. In early 2007, Tobias’s craving for live-action play led him to the European Poker Tour stop in Dortmund where he would shock many by taking first place in the €500 Hohensyburg Open, cashing for €30,500.

Reinkemeier continued to play the live circuit while padding his bankroll through online successes. In 2008 at the Casino Bremen Open, Tobias would prove that he is not only a consistent poker player, but a force to be reckoned with as he made 2 final table appearances in the €800 NLHE event and the €1,600 NLHE event before winning the €400 NLHE table. He would finish 2008 with a healthy addition to his online bankroll for his 1st place finish in the PokerStars Sunday 500.

RISE TO THE TOP

In 2009, playing under the screen name “PokerNoob999”, Tobias took down a SCOOP tournament on PokerStars for $133,250, a Super Tuesday title for $68,693, and cashed in four EPT events, the highest being an 11th place finish in the EPT London. 2010 brought more success with a 6th place finish in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25K High Roller event for $108,045, followed by his biggest victory yet at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo, where the poker prodigy placed first in the €25,000 NLHE High Roller Event and took home €956,000 for his efforts.

A litany of 6-figure cashes and a laundry list of final table appearances are good reasons for the poker world keep a watchful eye on Tobias Reinkemeier. With more than $2.2 million in live tournament earnings and over $1.5 million online, this young German has proven he is headed for the top.

Consistently ranked among the top 10 players worldwide for online cashes, Mickey has captured over $4.1 million dollars in online earnings in his brief poker career. Playing online under the screen name mement_mori, Petersen’s biggest cash came in May of 2010 when he captured 2nd place in the SCOOP $2,100 no-limit hold’em event and added an impressive $161,000 to his bankroll.

“I am looking forward to representing PokerStars in big live tournaments like the EPTs as well as the biggest tournaments found anywhere online” Mickey said of his new sponsorship opportunity.

Mickey’s online resume includes a number of victories in some of the toughest online tournaments around, and a laundry list of six-figure cashes. In April of 2010, he captured his first FTOPS jersey in a $216 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event, and just four months later would score another first place in the FTOPS $216 No Limit Hold’em Rush contest.

“Mickey is someone I have been tracking for a while as he is quite simply an online phenomenon who is now making a successful transition to live play. I am naturally delighted Poker Royalty played an important role in securing Mickey his deal with PokerStars and I am confident he is going to be prominent member of Team Online for some time to come”, said Jim Erwood, Director of European Operations.

ABOUT POKER ROYALTY:
Founded in 2003, Poker Royalty is recognized as the leading global poker management and marketing company, representing the most talented and marketable professional poker players, including Daniel Negreanu, former World Series of Poker Player of the Year Erick Lindgren, and World Series of Poker Main Event Champions Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen, and Juan Carlos Mortensen. With offices in Las Vegas and London, Poker Royalty’s diverse poker business includes: product and brand licensing; consulting services; event management; media sales; speaker’s bureau and client representation. For more information, please visit www.pokerroyalty.com.

Mickey’s online resume includes a number of victories in some of the toughest online tournaments around. In April of 2010, he captured his first FTOPS jersey in a $216 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event, and just four months later would score another first place in the FTOPS $216 No Limit Hold’em Rush contest. Petersen has 8 triple crowns under his belt along with a laundry list of six-figure cashes on the virtual felt.

In addition to his internet success, the young Dane has shown a promising transition into live action games. In April of 2010, Petersen fought his way through the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo and would finish the event in 4th place, taking home nearly $100,000 for his efforts. Thus far, Mickey’s earnings in live events total nearly $225,000 and counting.

In his free time, Petersen enjoys playing games of all type. Before becoming a poker pro, he played Magic the Gathering and spent many weekends travelling to local tournaments and constantly trying to improve his game. He won a national championship and had the chance to play in a few international events and “Pro Tours”.

Poker Royalty, the world’s leading poker representation agency, is excited to announce that their client, Spanish sensation Leo Margets, has signed a deal to become the newest addition and first female of Lock Poker’s LockPRO ELITE team. Determined and passionate about the game, Leo Margets is a perfect fit for Lock.

Leo Margets started playing poker in 2008 and it would not take long before her young poker career would reach astounding heights. In her first trip to the World Series of Poker, Leo would make an extraordinary run in the $10,000 World Championship No-Limit Hold’em Main Event, where she would eventually finish in 27th place. Along with $352,000 in cash, Margets received the coveted “Last Woman Standing Cup” for being the last female left in the Main Event field; an accomplishment that few women can claim on their poker resume.

Leo’s continued success has proven that she is no one-hit-wonder at the poker table. She captured a 3rd place finish in the Aussie Millions No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event in 2010, adding another $54k to her bankroll, and would finish 2010 with a huge 1st place victory in the Full Tilt Masters Series No Limit Hold’em event, taking home $132K. All totaled, Leo has already amassed over $640,000 in tournament winnings, and has already made her way to 26th on the Women’s all-time money list.

Ranking 6th on Spain’s all-time money list for live poker events, Margets is one of the leading ladies in poker and is respected across the poker globe.

“I am incredibly happy and thrilled to join Lock!” says Leo Margets.”I am also super proud to be part of a family with so extraordinary players, this new era that now starts is a huge motivation for me!! I am looking forward representing Lock in all over the world!”

“We are thrilled for Leo and wish her continued success in her career. We believe she is an excellent addition to the LockPRO Elite team”, said Poker Royalty agent Jim Erwood.

POKER ROYALTY

Founded in 2003, Poker Royalty is recognized as the leading global poker management and marketing company, representing the most talented and marketable professional poker players, including Daniel Negreanu, Tom Dwan, and World Series of Poker Main Event Champions Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen, and Juan Carlos Mortensen. With offices in Las Vegas and London, Poker Royalty’s diverse poker business includes product and brand licensing, consulting services, event management, media sales, speaker’s bureau and client representation. For more information, please visit www.pokerroyalty.com.

During my first trip to the WSOP in 2004, I asked the producers from ESPN their opinion on player logos and the response was as quick as it was refreshing: “We are just here to film a poker tournament; we don’t care what the players wear. We don’t want them to even know we are here filming.”

As the event has grown and changed over the past seven years, so have the corporate motives behind the WSOP. Without question, Caesar’s has been a good steward of the game, often striking the right balance between what’s best for players and what’s best for the company.

However, Caesar’s has severely crossed that line with Rule 53(c) of the 2011 World Series of Poker® Official Tournament Rules which states:

“Hats may be worn at tables intended for television taping but may not display any logo or promotional language, except for those logoed items sold to the general public through traditional commercial retail outlets.”

You see, according to Caesar’s, the WSOP broadcast has become too commercialized, so they need to remove these player sponsorship opportunities for the betterment of the game. Apparently, players wearing logos on their hats hurt distribution, ratings, etc.

This rule hurts every sponsored poker player and every player who has ever dreamed of being sponsored. The most lucrative sponsorship “inventory” a poker player has to sell is the front of his/her hat, and Caesar’s just arbitrarily took it away. It will diminish the value of the “A” list poker superstars who are currently sponsored. This rule will eliminate sponsorship dollars for the regular Joe’s who are lucky enough to make it to an ESPN TV table.

When my client Phil Hellmuth plunked down the $50,000 buy-in and made the final table of this year’s Poker Players Championship, the folks at Caesar’s and ESPN were ecstatic because they know the 11 time WSOP champ brings ratings. That didn’t stop them, however, from telling him he couldn’t wear a hat from his sponsor Aria Resort & Casino. Somehow, inexplicably, an Aria logo on his shirt is allowed, but the logo on his hat would tarnish and diminish the television product.

Since my first WSOP in 2004, Caesar’s has methodically, year by year, inch by inch encroached on player likeness rights. This year they finally crossed the line. I only hope they revisit this policy and restore a player’s ability to wear a logo on the front of their hat.

In October 2010, Max decided to try his hand at the live tournament scene and he has found the transition to be a successful and profitable venture. Travelling with his girlfriend, Poker Royalty client Natalia Nikitina, the 2 have become a formidable winning couple. Max initially took down the high roller event at the PokerStars France Poker Series, and Natalia immediately followed up with a win in the WPT Paris Main Event. After a short period of celebration, the couple travelled to Vienna for the WPT event where Max went one short of Natalia and finished second in the main event, collecting just under $360k. He immediately followed up the win with a healthy cash at EPT Berlin.

Max was a semi professional basketball player and outside of poker he likes to relax and unwind in an unusual manner. Participating in high speed activities, Max derives specific enjoyment from driving supercars and boats at breakneck speed. Keep an eye on this young and dynamic player from Russia.

Mohsin’s poker career began with a simple invite to a home game held in a friend’s dorm room on the University of Illinois campus where he was studying finance. He immediately became interested in the game and began developing his skills while playing a few times a week with friends. He found that he had a natural talent for the game, and was able to hustle the school’s ‘rich’ kids out of enough money to cover his rent each month.

$200,000 to $0 to Success

When Mohsin turned 21 he had built up enough of a bankroll to make a trip to Vegas. After 2 weeks, several postponed flights, and a lot of poker, Mohsin sat at the table with a staggering $200,000 in chips in front of him. Unfortunately he lost his entire fortune on 2 unlucky hands and found himself on the phone to his mother, asking for money to purchase a flight home. Shortly afterwards, he applied for a personal credit card, made a deposit into an online account, and won a $100,000 guarantee tournament. He learned a great lesson in bankroll management and has never looked back.

Tournament Results

In just 3 short years Mohsin has won over $3.5 million in online tournaments and more than $400,000 in live game play. His biggest cash came in 2010 from a 1st place victory in PokerStars SCOOP event #20 for $380,000. Mohsin has been consistent in reaching final tables in WPT and NAPT events while also having final tables in Sunday Millions, FTOPS, and WCOOP High Roller events with a win in the Mini FTOPS.

RISE Poker (www.risepoker.com) today announced the upcoming launch of a U.S. legal, rake-free poker site where players can compete for up to $100,000 in monthly cash and prizes.

RISE Poker is scheduled to launch on Tuesday, May 31, 2011. In addition to $100,000 in cash and prizes, RISE Poker members will have the opportunity to compete for a
$10,000 Main Event championship seat at the World Series, a $5,000 kick-off bounty tournament, and other specialty events.

The RISE Poker team will include some of the most recognizable professional poker players in the world. The site will foster a community environment so members can interact with each other and the pros. RISE Poker members will also have access to strategies and tips from the world’s top poker pros and be eligible to receive other valuable benefits and rewards.

“The market could not be better for a new, innovative rake-free site to fill the massive void created by the recent U.S. departures of the largest offshore online gambling sites. RISE Poker will offer these players a safe, secure, U.S. legal option that still offers the thrill of competing for real money cash and prizes,” said Steve “Chops” Preiss, RISE Poker Executive Vice President of Business Development.

“We plan on changing the way people perceive traditional subscription poker sites and build a brand with long-lasting value for our members,” continued Preiss. “Members can regularly play against and connect with some of the best professionals in the world, improve their game through strategy and training, and be eligible for tangible short- and long-term benefits and rewards.”

Other key highlights of the RISE Poker launch include:
• Tiered membership levels: Members can play for free or pay a $19.99 monthly “Grinder” membership fee for additional benefits. There is also a free Alternative Means of Entry option associated with each membership level.

• Cash and prizes: At launch, RISE Poker will offer members up to $100,000 in real cash prizes, plus opportunities to win entry into premier live poker tournaments.

• Access to top poker personalities: RISE Poker is building a roster of pros who will actively play on the site through bounty and other special tournaments, as well as interact with members.

• Ability to improve your game: Members will have access to training content provided by PokerVT, as well as RISE Poker Team Pros.

• Legal & Secure: RISE Poker is available to customers in 48 U.S. states and additional eligible international markets.

Strategic partners for RISE Poker include:
• ZEN Entertainment, Inc. – The site will reside on the ZEN Entertainment
Network®, the leading free-to-play online game network in the industry.

• Poker Royalty – As the industry’s premier talent agency, Poker Royalty will exclusively handle pro sponsorships for RISE Poker.

• RISE Clothing – The poker-inspired lifestyle apparel company will license its brand to the platform and supply VIP club members with gear and other benefits.

ZEN Entertainment CEO Craig Billings said of the venture: “The RISE Poker group is comprised of the preeminent minds in poker today. Working with them represents an exciting endeavor for ZEN. We are impressed with how RISE Poker is going about building its brand and a unique, player-centric approach to its customers. ZEN looks forward to providing best-of-breed, rake-free poker software to power RISE Poker.”
RISE Poker will announce the first Team Pro members in the coming weeks. Register early and be eligible for a $1,000 kick-off free-roll and receive special
promotional offers by visiting risepoker.com and entering your email address.

To learn more about RISE Poker, visit www.risepoker.com.

To learn more about RISE Clothing, visit www.riseclothing.com.

To learn more about Zen Entertainment, visit www.zenentertainment.com.

For additional media inquiries, please contact info@risepoker.com