Full Tilt Poker Galway Festival Guarantees €1 Million UKIPT Main Event

DUBLIN, Ireland, May 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Two-week festival promises biggest poker series of events in Irish history

Full Tilt Poker is bringing Ireland's biggest ever series of poker events to the West with the inaugural Full Tilt Poker Galway Festival.

The Festival will take place from July 29 - August 12 with the highlight being the five-day €1,000,000 guaranteed UKIPT Main Event, running from August 8 - 12. All the action on and off the felt will take place at the custom-built Full Tilt Poker Village right in the heart of Galway city.

Full Tilt Poker will host a wide range of events throughout the two-week long festival; adding even more excitement to a city already buzzing with people participating in Galway Raceweek, which runs from July 29 - August 4.

The Main Event is just one of over 55 tournaments and events taking place, including the Irish Poker Championship, the UK v Ireland Heads Up Challenge and, for the first time ever, the Irish Bridge Masters. This unique bridge event boasts a guaranteed prize pool of €10,000 with a winner receiving a €5,000 payday.

"This is our first live poker festival since relaunch and we plan on making it one players will always remember," said Sarne Lightman, Full Tilt Poker's Head of Marketing. "In the coming weeks we're going to have lots more exciting details to announce, plus some special news about a unique online feature for the UKIPT Galway main event, so watch this space!"

As well as the chance to compete for a wide variety of prizes and major tournament titles, Full Tilt Poker qualifiers will also benefit from exclusive promotions such as the Last Longer, which will see the last qualifier standing win a prize package for every remaining main event in the UKIPT season. On top of this, qualifiers will receive bundles of extras such as an invite to Full Tilt Poker parties, drinks vouchers, custom avatars to use online, the Full Tilt Poker player bag brimming with merchandise, and lots more.

Prizes will be awarded to any player that wears a Full Tilt Poker patch and knocks out the most number of opponents, finishes on the bubble or is the first to get knocked out. In addition to this, there will also be a Players' Lounge, free Wi-Fi, and enhanced concierge service for all.

Gus Hansen of The Professionals - Full Tilt Poker's premier players - will be competing in the UKIPT Main Event; as will the Full Tilt Poker Ambassadors, a team chosen to represent the tour and interact with players on and off the felt. A bounty will be on the head of each Ambassador, with prizes up for grabs for any player who knocks them out while wearing a Full Tilt Poker patch.

Full Tilt Poker players can win prize packages and seats to the UKIPT Main Event online from as little as $1.10. Satellites kick off today from 10.25 ET with the first qualifier beginning at 15.30 ET.

To find out more, visit: http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/live-events/ukipt

About Full Tilt Poker
FullTiltPoker.com is a leading poker brand known for delivering the most authentic online poker experience in the world. Full Tilt Poker's innovative software, game design and gameplay make it the online home for serious poker players.

Full Tilt Poker was re-launched in November 2012 by The Rational Group, which also operates PokerStars, the world's largest online poker site. There are now two Full Tilt Poker licensed sites:

FullTiltPoker.com, which operates in various countries around the world under license from the Isle of Man; and FullTiltPoker.eu, which operates in nine European markets under license from Malta.

The Isle of Man and Malta gaming authorities both provide rigorous regulatory oversight and deploy the best practices in ensuring player fund protection and the security and integrity of online poker.