October 24, 2005 - ANTIGUA, British West Indies (PRESS RELEASE) -- World Poker Exchange, one of the world's fastest growing online poker sites, announces sponsorship of the 2006 Worldpx College Shootout tournament at 219 American schools, as part of its initiative to continue recognition of emerging poker talent. The 399 winners who move through the ranks of competition will vie for more than $90,000 in cash and prizes including a mini Cooper, spring break trips for two, scholarships, Dell (TM) computers, and iPod Nanos. Preliminaries begin Jan. 16, and entrants may register at Collegeshootout.com. Participants must be 18 years of age and enrolled in an American institution of higher learning.
On-site registrations begin Oct. 24 as Worldpx tournament representatives promote the tournament on 219 school campuses across the nation to conduct sign-ups. Additionally, potential competitors can play for free and practice on the Worldpx.net site until the actual start of the preliminaries.
The popular event continues the annual Worldpx competition launched last year. At the conclusion of a multi-tier poker tournament, Nate Belt from the University of Kentucky emerged the victor and was declared the "Best College Player in the Country" at the Cancun, Mexico finals. MTV Real World: Las Vegas star Trishelle Cannatella served as host for the The World Poker Exchange Intercollegiate Poker Championship, an online and offline poker tournament that required no entrance fee. Open to students from 120 top U.S. universities, the tournament attracted more than 1,000 participants vying for scholarship cash prizes. Six regional winners, including Belt, received a free trip for two to Cancun during Spring Break to compete in the live final World Poker Exchange tournament which was filmed and delay streamed by IFILM.com. Part of the Grand Prize winner package included a free $10,000 seat to the $2 Million London Open 2005 tournament in the U.K. plus all related travel costs.
"The college sector is one of the fastest growing demographic segments of on-line poker, and there is some extraordinary talent to be found," says Haden Ware, managing director of World Poker Exchange. "Our tournament underscores the college sensibilities surrounding the sport of poker and the social aspects of the game." |