PokerStars gears up for February

(PRESS RELEASE) -- That's February taken care of

Back in the real world and several events combined to make February one of the busiest yet for PokerStars players. The United Kingdom and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) stages its second leg this month in Manchester. The £500 buy in event will pit the UK and Ireland's best players against those looking for their first taste of big tournament action, with things getting under way on the 11th. Meanwhile several thousand miles away, the long-awaited PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour (NAPT) will move on from its PCA debut, filling the luxurious halls of the Venetian in Las Vegas from the 20th February, with hundreds expected to take their seats for the $5,000 buy-in event. Then, several thousand miles to the south, Punta del Este in Uruguay will come to life once more as the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) rolls into one of the most elegant venues on the PokerStars.net calendar. The four day event brings February to a close.

New records for Sunday Million

It's the event that makes everyone's Sunday, a feature of the poker week and a fixture that has regularly set new records. Well, it was the same story again this weekend when 19,377 players pushed the record for field size up a little bit more for the PokerStars Sunday Million, beating the previous record set in November 2009 of 18,283. With such a huge turnout, players enticed by the guaranteed $2 million payout, came a record prize pool for the big one, a figure that now stands at $3,875,400. The main beneficiary of all this? That would be the winner late on Sunday night, or early on Monday morning, OX45AL who took first prize of $550,011.29. Not bad for a day of rest.

PokerStars players send money to Haiti

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure was in full swing when an earthquake struck the Haitian capital Port au Price causing shocking devastation. As tournaments went on it was easy to forget the plight of hundreds of thousands of Haitians who had to face rebuilding their lives and worse. But PokerStars players have proven once again that in times of need they can be a generous bunch. With relief efforts underway, carried out by various organisations, PokerStars pledged to match any donations made by its players. And, after just one month, $1,492,780.52 is being donated to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, money that has helped purchase vital equipment such as health kits, medical supplies and clean water. Thanks to all PokerStars players who contributed.

More awards for the Nordics

Next up on the European Poker Tour calendar is Copenhagen, but before the action gets underway in Denmark the latest incarnation of the Nordic Poker Awards will take place on the eve of day one, an event that has celebrated the achievement of players from Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway since it was created in 2007. Typically a raucous night to remember, the awards salute players who have performed exceptionally well over the last 12 months. Former World Champion Peter Eastgate is among those nominated for Best Live Player and Best Performance, while other categories include Best Online Player and Rookie of the Year. It all takes place at Park Cafe in Copenhagen at 8pm on February 15th and all EPT players are invited. See you there.

Bloggers stop typing and start clicking

It's a treat for many in the poker community. The PokerStars World Blogging Championship of Online Poker (WBCOOP) is a week's worth of free rolls, fought over and written about by the bloggers of the poker community, whether written for work or for fun. Events take on various disciplines, from hold'em and pot limit Omaha, even an 8-game, with prizes of Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) tickets up for grabs. This year's series was capped off with the WBCOOP main event, attracting a field of 2,062 bloggers, with SCOOP tickets worth up to $3,150 played for and extras available to those writing blogs and tweets of exceptional quality throughout the series. First place, and the $3,150 ticket, was won by BelaLany, the new WBCOOP champion. The PokerStars blog reported it first, but you may hear about it again on 2,062 other news outlets.