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Michael Phelps Gets Asian Poker Tour Invite

Olympian Michael Phelps revealed this week that he is a huge poker fan and has ambitions to win silverware at the poker tables as well as in the pool. With that in mind, the Asian Poker Tour (APT) has written him an open letter inviting him to play in the APT Macau next week.

The second leg of the Asian Poker Tour in Macau kicks off on September 27th, finishing on September 31st and offers a guaranteed prize pool of US$1,500,000 with the first prize of US$500,000 the largest to date in Asia. Should he wish to join up, Phelps would be in exalted company, including poker greats such as Doyle Brunson, Todd Brunson, J.C Tran, John Juanda, Kenny Tran, Nam Le, Quinn Do, and Steve Sung. While Phelps is untouchable in the pool, he would have his work cut out at the poker table when surrounded by those poker sharks.

Here’s the open letter written by Jeff Mann of The Asian Poker Tour:

Dear Michael,

First of all, congratulations on your eight gold medals and world record breaking feats – what a supreme sporting achievement and I hope superstardom treats you well. However, I write this open letter to you to say that I am in a position to add weight to the argument that you should be crowned history’s ultimate sportsman.

I noticed recently that you have told your local newspaper that you were a big fan of poker and look forward to playing again. By a strange twist of fate, I represent the Asian Poker Tour and we are running Asia’s largest ever guaranteed tournament NEXT WEEK in Macau. It starts on the 27th and runs until the 31st and guarantees a prize pool of $1,500,000 and a first prize of $500,000. This is the biggest prize pool ever offered in Asia! While you are already in China, why don’t you give it a go? It would be our pleasure to fly you in, organize your accommodation and buy-you in to the tournament!

Some have said you are a ‘human dolphin’ but we’re keen to know if history’s greatest swimmer is really a fish. You Oct have feet that can reach angles others cannot to give you the ultimate swimming technique but just you wait until you’ve got sharks like Vegas poker legend Doyle Brunson chasing you. We’ll see how fast you really are then when they smell blood - get some flippers on those size 14’s!

Don’t bring your goggles, bring a pair of sunglasses – dive in at the deep end and we would love it if you showed us your hand. You’ve almost certainly got more chance of making good money from our $1,500,000 prize pool than securing any commercial deals! Your homecoming to a delirious country can wait.

Go all-in Michael! We’ll even get some special one-on-one lessons for you from poker’s greatest players. If it makes you happier we’ll even bring in Mark Spitz too and you can play heads-up! Some have campaigned for poker to become an Olympic sport. The fact that you are a ‘human dolphin’ doesn’t mean you will necessary get a gold medal for Texas Hold’em!

In all seriousness, come join us, you Oct as well while you are there! We’ll definitely show you a good time and would be honored with your presence. Get the closing ceremony over and done with first though!

PKR Open The Road To The 2010 World Series of Poker

Though the 2010 World Series of Poker is over for all but a golden few, PKR is looking to the future as it announces of one of the biggest World Series giveaways ever seen. Starting September 15th 2010, the new 'Road to Vegas' promotion promises 33 weeks of freeroll action with winners claiming seats to the 2010 WSOP.

Featuring a 'one a week, every week' format, the 'Road to Vegas' will give players the chance to win a different World Series package every week, culminating in over $200,000 worth of packages being won.

At least 33 dream packages will be available through the weekly freerolls running at PKR. Players will be required to qualify for each weekly freeroll, with qualifying criteria changing from week to week. The format means that players can target specific bracelet events, while players of varying bankrolls and ability are also offered a realistic chance to 'viva Las Vegas'.

Marketing Director Simon Prodger added, 'This is by far the biggest promotion ever offered by PKR and one of the largest World Series promotions in online poker history. Our 'one a week, every week' format opens the door for all players and we'd love nothing more than to be celebrating a PKR bracelet winner come next summer.'

Slotland Player Hits $168,947 “Booster”

The wait has been a little longer than usual but Slotland’s progressive jackpot has just been hit for $168,947. A player known as “MRSSMITHS” won the jackpot playing the Booster slot machine.

Historically, Slotland’s progressive jackpot is hit fairly regularly – about every six weeks – for just over $100,000. Lately, it’s taking a little longer to be hit but the last few winners have won much bigger jackpots.

The progressive jackpot can be played on any of Slotland’s unique online slot machines or video poker games, which are available on mobile phones and PDAs as well as online. That means you’re able to win on the move as well as being sat in front of your computer at home. The progressive jackpots are simple enough, with 10% of each wager on the progressive being added to the jackpot pool. Since all the games on the site are tied to the same jackpot the value can increase very quickly and to very large amounts.

In April, a lucky Canadian player won the biggest Slotland progressive jackpot ever: $195,083 (€126,910), while JAMKAT2 won a $113,418 (€89,067) progressive jackpot playing “Treasure Box” last year. That’s just two examples of Slotland’s huge payouts in recent times.

Reset at $50,000 after each win, Slotland.com’s progressive jackpot is already back up to nearly $100,000 (€45,000).

Cantor Casino Launches Niche Affiliate Program

Affiliate network Income Access has announced the launch of the Cantor Casino affiliate program. Offering a choice of either CPA or revenue share schemes, Cantor Casino affiliates will be armed with all they need to maximise earnings from referrals. Cantor, well known for the quality of their customer offerings, aren’t leaving their affiliates in the lurch either, offering dedicated affiliate support and a variety of marketing tools including flash banners, text links, content and HTML mailers.

Publishers who choose to promote Cantor Casino through their new affiliate program in the Income Access network can choose either a flat 25% revenue share commission, or a £75 CPA. No negative rollover/carry-over means that any negative commissions incurred will be wiped clean at the start of the next month.

The affiliates have even been given a profile of Cantor’s customer base, making targeting new customers even easier. UK customers comprise 90% of Cantor’s customer base, and with the launch of new patented games such as Statjack™, Xtra Odds™ Baccarat, and Cantor Financial Odds, getting new signups should be that much simpler.