Lavalife, Party Poker Team Up

TORONTO, Ontario – (PRESS RELEASE) -- Poker is a growing trend across the nation, but can it actually help you win a date? Deal yourself into the Lavalife Party Poker Challenge, and you could get lucky -- walking away with fabulous prizes and maybe even a date! Lavalife, a leading online dating site, and Party Poker, one of the world's largest online poker sites, have partnered to host a 12 week-long poker tournament designed exclusively for singles. Visit LavalifePokerChallenge.com to find out more.

Singles who are members of Lavalife and Party Poker can flirt over the poker table throughout the 12-week, no-limit Texas Hold'em tournament, happening now. The tournament takes place at 9:30 pm EST every Thursday and the top 20 players from each of the first 11 weeks will have the chance to compete on June 9 in the final online championship tournament. The 220 players in the final tournament will compete for prizes worth a total of $25,000, including an all expenses paid vacation for two to the Club Med Turkoise in the Turks & Caicos Islands, a 50-inch plasma screen TV, an X-BOX 360, iPODs, and gift certificates to various leading online vendors.

"Online dating and poker are both extremely popular today -- the Lavalife Party Poker Challenge tournament was a natural fit to offer Lavalife members a unique, fun way to mix and mingle," said Lori Miller, Lavalife's singles and dating expert. "Singles will be able to chat with each other via the poker table's chat room as they play and hopefully they will walk away with a spot at the final tournament and with a date!"

"Online poker has grown so much as a social activity in recent years," said Warren Lush, spokesperson for PartyPoker.com. "This partnership with Lavalife which creates poker tournament tables exclusively for singles was an inevitable move for us."

How the Tournament Works:

The Thursday evening tournaments will begin with multiple 10-person tables, allowing singles seated around each table to chat -- or flirt -- during the games. Each table operates on a knock-out basis whereby players attempt to win each others' chips, until there is only one chip-holder remaining. Players winning the "first" table proceed to the next one for further rounds of knock-out. The process will continue until only 20 players remain, who will then proceed to the final tournament on June 9.

Singles can sign up for a free profile and register to join the tournament fun! For more information, visit LavalifePokerChallenge.com. No money is needed to play.

Lavalife and Party Poker's Tips for Single Poker Players

Learn more about how to play -- and how to flirt at the Lavalife Party Poker Challenge. Check out these tips for singles from Lavalife and Party Poker.

* Chat! While chatting can reveal a lot about yourself (so be careful not to reveal your hand!), the Lavalife Party Poker challenge is a great time to get to know your other players by instant messaging them during the game.

* Keep knowledge of your level of poker skill to yourself. Your opponents are at an advantage if they can learn your degree of skill (or lack of it!).

* Pay attention. Poker is a little like dating. Watch who is playing in an aggressive or loose way and who's playing tight, try to play the loose players and avoid the tight players, unless you've got a strong hand.

* Like the person's style who sits across the table? Flirt! You may not win the tournament, but you can win another single over.

* Exchange Lavalife profile names at the end of the game to keep in touch with your newfound friends and intriguing personalities.