Spring Championship of Online Poker Returns to Pokerstars From May 8-22

Douglas, Isle of Man (ots/PRNewswire) - It's just a few
days until the 2011 Spring Championship of Online Poker
(http://www.pokerstars.com/scoop/ ) (SCOOP) gets under way this
coming Sunday, exclusively at PokerStars - the world's largest poker
site.

This year's SCOOP promises the best poker action available for
all bankrolls, with 38 events set to take place at low, medium and
high stakes - a total of 114 tournaments. The festival lasts for 15
days from May 8-22 and features a total guaranteed prize pool of $25
million.

The series culminates in the $10,300 Main Event on May 22, which
boasts a guaranteed prize pool of $2.5 million, with at least
$500,000 awarded to the tournament champion!

But that's not all - this year's SCOOP also includes:

- Event buy-ins from $5.50 to $25,500

- $25,000,000 in tournament guarantees

- Special custom SCOOP watches for event champions

- A Player of the Series leaderboard, where the top three
finishers win prizes

- FPP and micro stakes qualifying satellites, starting from as
little as 5 FPP or $0.25

- 50% player reload bonus up to $200 (
http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/promotions/reload-bonus/)

- Daily live Inside SCOOP (http://www.pokerstars.tv/) webcast,
featuring news and expert analysis from the tables

For complete details on SCOOP, as well as the complete schedule,
please visit: http://www.pokerstars.com/scoop/. A printable two-page
schedule can be downloaded on the website, and calendars for Google
and Outlook are also available for download.

SCOOP is now entering its third year and has crowned many
champions, including members of Team PokerStars Pro. Last year Team
PokerStars Pro Jose "Nacho" Barbero took down the high stakes Fixed
Limit Hold'em, while in 2009, Jude "j.thaddeus" Ainsworth, won close
to $1 million for triumphing in the high stakes No Limit Hold'em Main
Event.

Barbero said: "I can't wait for SCOOP to start. There are so many
tournaments, with buy-ins to suit every bankroll. Winning my first
title last year was a dream and I'm determined to get a second one
over the next couple of weeks."

SCOOP Reload Bonus

Between now and the start of SCOOP on May 8, PokerStars will also
be offering a 50% reload bonus. That means that players can deposit
up to $200 (or equivalent in EUR, GBP or CAD $) and will receive half
that again in free money as they play.

Players should enter the bonus code "SCOOP" when they deposit
into existing PokerStars accounts. They then have from the deposit
time until May 31 to earn the required number of VPPs (VIP Player
Points) to release the bonus.

Inside SCOOP

This year SCOOP will also be featured in a new exclusive web
broadcast called "Inside SCOOP", which will air daily on
PokerStars.tv.

The 30-minute magazine show, hosted by Big Game commentator Joe
Stapleton and EPT commentator Nick Wealthall, will offer all the news
and analysis from the tables.

The show will include interviews and discussions with PokerStars
Team Pros and Team Online, as well as SCOOP champions old and new.
Viewers and players can get involved via live chat, Facebook and
Twitter, and can also win PokerStars swag and tournament buy-ins in
regular competitions.

The SCOOP highlights show will air from May 9 - the day after the
series gets under way - through to May 24, at 10pm GMT (5pm ET) every
night.

The Daily Bigs

In the lead up to SCOOP, PokerStars' popular regular daily MTTs
have been relaunched as The Daily Bigs with increased guarantees:

- 12.00 (ET) The Big $22 ($25k GTD) - previously $20k

- 13.00 (ET) The Big $109 ($50k GTD) - previously $45k

- 14.00 (ET) The Big $11 ($50k GTD) - previously $40k

- 15.00 (ET) The Big $55 ($100k GTD) - previously $90k

The launch of The Daily Bigs is supported by a 'play three and
get a SCOOP entry free' promotion. Any player that participates in at
least three of these tournaments at a single buy-in level before the
first SCOOP event on May 8, will receive a free entry of equivalent
value to SCOOP (NB: only one free SCOOP ticket per person).

About http://www.pokerstars.com:

PokerStars.com is the world's largest regulated gaming operator
and poker site, with more than 44 million members. It's the first
choice of the world's top players, with more daily tournaments than
anywhere else, and with the best security online. More hands have
been dealt on PokerStars.com than any other site; that's over 60
billion hands and more than 375 million tournaments played.

PokerStars.com operates worldwide under license from the Isle of
Man government. Recent additions to the PokerStars family include
PokerStars.fr, which operates in France under the French government
license, as well as PokerStars.it, which operates in Italy under the
Italian government license, and PokerStars.ee, which operates in
Estonia under the Estonian government license.

PokerStars.com stages some of the biggest online poker
tournaments in the world, including the World Championship of Online
Poker (WCOOP) and the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP),
and is the official sponsor of some of the biggest live poker
tournaments in the world, including the European Poker Tour (EPT),
the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) and the UK & Ireland Poker
Tour (UKIPT).

PokerStars.com is also home to a team of sponsored players known
as Team PokerStars Pro. This elite group of players travel the world
competing in international tournaments. For a complete list, visit
the Team PokerStars Pro home page.

ots Originaltext: PokerStars.com
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Mark Stuart +44-20-73193051; press@pokerstars.com