New PokerStars TV show to debut in UK

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Airing on Monday nights on Sky Sports from November 2nd is the PokerStars.com Bounty Stars of Poker.

Filmed by Emblaze Productions Ltd, the show takes amateur online qualifiers from PokerStars.com into a live TV environment where they will have to beat other members of the public to progress to the next stage of the show. If successful, the online qualifier will face either a Team PokerStars PRO or a sporting celebrity for a £5000 cash prize, but players won't know who they will face until they take their seat at the table.

The sportsmen who will be standing between the amateur players and a cash windfall are ex-England test cricketer and former 'King of the Jungle' Phil Tufnell, England rugby star and talented poker player Mike Tindall, and Welsh football legend Gary Speed.

The Team PokerStars PROs will also be bringing their unique personalities to the table. Peter Eastgate, 2008 World Champion, Victoria Coren, the first woman to win a European Poker Tour event, and Marcel Luske, one of Europe's most feared and respected players, will all play against the amateur players. With their reputations at stake they won't want to lose the heads-up best of 3 'bounty' play offs.

Victoria Coren comments: "This is an excellent opportunity for previously unknown poker players to make a name for themselves and play against some of the best in the business. The PokerStars Bounty Stars of Poker will expose these guys to the unique pressures of playing in a live environment with thousands watching on. And while I hope they enjoy the experience I've got no intention of taking it easy on them."

The TV series will appear exclusively on Sky Sports in November/December. The first episode airs on Sky Sports 2 @ 22:00 on Monday, 2nd November 2009.