London, UK – APRIL 17^th, 2012 – Poker Royalty announced today the signing of Norwegian female poker player Annette Obrestad for worldwide management and marketing representation across all major platforms, including sponsorship, licensing, and speaking appearances.  

With almost $4 million in career tournament earnings and a WSOP Europe Main Event bracelet, 23-year old Annette Obrestad is already widely considered one of the best female poker players in the world.  Her aggressive playing style and uncanny ability to read her fellow players make her a threat to any opponent brave enough to seat themselves at her table.

“I am thrilled to announce I am officially signed to Poker Royalty.  I have known about the company for a few years and know their positive reputation in the business is well deserved. I am relying on them to help me advance my poker career to the next level” said Annette after signing with Poker Royalty.

“Annette is without question one of the biggest names in poker and certainly one of the top few females in the world playing the game today. Poker Royalty is extremely proud & delighted to announce Annette’s signing and is looking forward to helping her cement her reputation in the game” said Jim Erwood, Director of European Operations for Poker Royalty. 

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 and World Series of Poker Main Event Champions Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen, and Juan Carlos Mortensen.  With offices in Las Vegasand 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.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Jim Erwood

Director of European Operations

Poker Royalty, LLC

+44 (0) 7971 673157

Email – jim@pokerroyalty.com   

Annette Obrestad was born and raised in a small town in Norway and began playing online poker at the tender age of 15.  Without depositing any of her own money, she started playing free roll tournaments and used the prize money she won to invest in buy-in tournaments, quickly working her way up to $100 tournaments.  Slowly and methodically she began to build her reputation on the virtual felt as she perfected her skills and amassed her bankroll. 

Making History

In 2007, the World Series of Poker made its way to London, and 18 year old Annette quickly put up the €10,000 buy-in for the No Limit Hold’em Championship event.  Outlasting 2 of the world’s most accomplished female players, Duke and Harman, young Obrestad found herself playing head’s up at the final table of the event.  Incredibly, she would win the tournament, and along with a payday of over 2 million dollars, she would emblazon herself in the history books as the youngest player to ever win a WSOP bracelet.

Poker Future

With almost $4 million in career tournament earnings, 23 year old Annette Obrestad is positioning herself to become the best female poker player this world has ever seen.  Her aggressive playing style and uncanny ability to read her fellow players make her a threat to any opponent brave enough to seat themselves at her table.  Keep an eye out for this trailblazer as she travels the globe collecting victories, titles, and all the spoils of being one of today’s hottest poker players.

Jennette “Jay” Tan was born in Los Angeles, California to a Chinese father and Taiwanese mother, but soon moved back to Hong Kong where she would live until the age of 4.  While her father continued to work overseas to earn a better income to fund his children’s education, Jay and her brother would relocate with their mother to Sydney, Australia where she would live until the age of 25.  After completing her Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communication and Masters of Business in Finance and Accounting, Tan moved to Hong Kong to pursue a career in investment banking. 

Self-Proclaimed Adrenaline Junkie

Jay’s love for the game of poker most certainly relates to her craving for adrenaline, and before she got involved in the game, one of her favorite pastimes was cruising around town on her Honda motorcycle.  She gained interest in poker by watching it on television, and soon began playing at home games with friends before heading straight to the cash game tables in Sydney where she would grind for hours upon hours as she sharpened her poker skills and built her bankroll.  She has since found that the development of her poker instincts are more suited to tournament-style poker, and she thoroughly enjoys the excitement of watching the clocks tick away as big stacks are built and small stacks tremble as their tournament lives come to an end.   

Poker Future

Jennette’s has already won over $60,000 in tournament play and is looking to increase that number exponentially.  Her good looks, sharp poker skills, and tri-lingual language abilities caught the eye of poker giant Bodog, and she has recently inked a deal to represent their brand.  With a big sponsorship comes big opportunity, so keep an eye out as this fearless lady of poker makes her rise to the top.

iSeriesLIVE introduces in-action betting, streamed over the Internet, with poker’s biggest names

20 March 2012 (London, England) – Poker Royalty, LLC today launches iSeriesLIVE: a ground-breaking new interactive poker series that allows consumers to watch top poker players–live with hole cards exposed–and bet on the action as it happens.

iSeriesLIVE is the next step in poker’s evolution. The series enhances the way the public watches and engages with poker events — providing viewers the opportunity to feel the same rush and excitement as the pros.

 The first event takes place in Dublin, Ireland on April 5th at 18:00 (WET). This launch event is a promotional €10,000 buy-in, winner-takes-all 10-person shootout featuring some of the biggest names in poker, including Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Carlos Mortensen, and Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott. Future events will include 36 person, six max no limit hold’em, heads-up tournaments, and more.

 Players will be sequestered in all iSeriesLIVE events with no access to mobile devices or outside influences. Online viewers will be able to bet on a number of real-time scenarios, including odds to win the table that change based on evolving chip stacks, next player eliminated, last longers, and the flop (red or black).

 For this promotional launch event, live betting will be offered exclusively via sportsbook giant PaddyPower in licensed and regulated markets. If you are not in a licensed PaddyPower market–such as the United States–you can still follow the action live at iSeriesLive.com.

 “For poker to continue to grow, the game needs to become more immediate to our fans,” said 11-time bracelet winner and Main Event champion Phil Hellmuth. “By allowing fans to view a poker event as it actually happens, with hole cards exposed, and bet on the action just as they would on football or horse racing, iSeriesLIVE can help take our game to the next level. Now the world will know why I’ve said ‘If it wasn’t for luck, I’d win them all’”

 Another unique element about iSeriesLIVE is the event’s financial structure. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of Poker Royalty, on top of the €10,000 buy-in, winner-takes-all format, each player participating in iSeriesLIVE events will actually receive a revenue split of all money that is bet on or against them — making this the first time in poker history that all participating players have the opportunity to make money while playing in a poker tournament. 

 “After Black Friday, we were determined to find a way to add new revenue streams for our world class roster of talent.,” says Brian Balsbaugh, founder of Poker Royalty. “We are fronting the expenses, then sharing the wagering profits with the participating players.  There are countless additional ways for us to monetize this model and we look forward to rolling them out over the course of the next year. Our end goal is to pay players for playing iSeriesLIVE events.”

 Professional poker players committed to play the promotional kick-off event are Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott, Carlos Mortensen, Maria Ho, Tobias Reinkemeier, Marvin Rettenmaier, James Dempsey, Eoghan O’dea, and Faraz Jaka.

 For more information on iSeriesLIVE–including special promotional deposit offers and player odds–visit www.iserieslive.com.

 For special promotional deposit offers, go here (http://www.paddypower.com/bet/poker/iserieslive?AFF_ID=10064867). 

About Poker Royalty

Founded in 2003, Poker Royalty is recognized as the leading global poker management and marketing company, representing dozens of the most talented and marketable professional poker players, including Daniel Negreanu, 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.

For further press information, images or event related quotes, please contact:

john@iserieslive.com / 702-868-9003 or European Press Contact, Peter Ramsay: pramsay@livingitlovingit.com / +44 (0)1752 231825

In the middle of the poker boom in 2004 I had the highest ranking executive at Party Poker on the phone and he was on fire. He had a fever and the only prescription that could cure it: new depositing players. “Brian, I’ll allocate as much money as you want for any project as long as you can show me a positive ROI based on new player sign-ups,” he told me.

I’ve learned that one axiom about the online poker business has always held true: In order to be successful, an online poker room needs a consistent influx of new depositing players.

There are many different philosophies about how to attract those new players, but there is no question that one single strategy has been the most successful. Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars captured roughly 75% of the online poker market by utilizing pro poker players to generate new customers.

At Poker Royalty, we’ve always believed that a pro poker player’s sponsorship value is determined by his or her ability to bring in new customers. Black Friday has changed our opinion on a lot of issues, but not this one.

High profile pro players create content, which is then broadly distributed and becomes a successful new player acquisition strategy. For example, PokerStars hired a team of poker players, purchased television time and paid for the production of its poker television shows. The show generates sign ups, site analytics allow them to identify a positive ROI and the project gets funded over and over. It worked in 2004 and it has worked every year since. That is the tried and true, time tested method of delivering that consistent influx of new depositing players.

Party Poker has managed to avoid hiring the team of pro poker players, but employs a similar strategy. Instead of allocating its budget to team pro’s, Party acquired the World Poker Tour in 2009 for over twelve million dollars and successfully gets high profile players to participate in its popular Party Poker Premier League. They are creating poker content to attract new customers. For that matter, the WSOP real money gaming site marketing strategy is similar as well- They are Selling the Dream of winning a title and becoming a rich and famous poker player.

In addition, the non-televised content created by high profile poker players is also a viable new customer acquisition strategy. To his credit, in 2001 my client Daniel Negreanu recognized the need to reach his fans and launched his personal website FullContactPoker.com which hosts his blogs, forums and videos. That has proven invaluable to him and his sponsors over the years in attracting new customers.

Like Daniel realized in 2001, new media platforms allow greater connectivity and ability to reach fans–and potential customers. With Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, it’s easier than ever for poker players to reach the masses. Because of this, the potential ROI those players can bring an online operator is also greater than it has ever been.

Not all poker players bring value to an online poker room and that is why Poker Royalty has always only worked with the players who we felt could add new customers. Some agencies have taken a more “quantity over quality” approach to signing poker players to management contracts, but that didn’t square with our core belief. Yes, in the short-term Black Friday hurt a player’s ability to land a sponsorship deal. But in the post-apocalyptic online poker world, the pros who can attract new players will be big, big winners.

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”.