Asia PR News

GIBRALTAR, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ –

- Maertens Wins Richest Prize Ever at PartyGammon.com Million

- Germany and Denmark are Skill Game’s Superpowers

33-year-old German Andreas Maertens is celebrating after winning the
inaugural PartyGammon.com Million at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas
(21st-25th January), scooping a world record $600,400 payout for a backgammon
tournament. Maertens beat 36 year-old Danish backgammon ace Lasse Hjorth Madsen
23-22 in a thrilling final in front of Matchroom Sport’s television cameras.
Both players were online qualifiers from www.PartyGammon.com in a field that
featured 10 former World Champions and 25 of the top 32 ‘Giants of Backgammon.’
The total prize pool exceeded the guaranteed $1 million and hit over $1.2
million. Maertens qualified online for $440, while Madsen reached the
tournament from a $35 online satellite.

( Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070130/243518 )

A PartyGammon.com spokesman said: "We saw the huge rise of the internet
qualifier in poker and, remarkably, at the very first attempt we have seen
online qualifiers compete and beat the world’s best players at backgammon. Like
poker, the entrance of the online aces promises to change the game of
backgammon forever."

Maertens, from Bielefeld, Germany, has form in both backgammon and poker,
winning the German Backgammon Open in 1996 and regularly playing on the poker
circuit. He was blown away by his win: "When I came here I hoped I had a chance
but never ever really thought that I could win as there were so many strong
players in the field. I’m not sure what I am going to do with the money, I’m
certainly going to play more high stakes backgammon but I am also going to buy
my girlfriend Monica a car."

Asked what he thought of becoming a backgammon superstar from its biggest
ever tournament he said, "It doesn’t get much better than this. How am I going
to top this? I certainly didn’t count myself as the best player here — I think
I would be in the top 100 though." This concurred with the views of bookmakers
www.PartyBets.com, who placed Maertens middle of the field pre-tournament with
France’s Francois Tardieu and Denmark’s Sander Lyloff the favourites.

The fact that the final was Germany v Denmark didn’t surprise the players
watching on the Dragon’s Patio at the Atlantis Resort or even the winner,
backgammon’s new superstar Maertens: "Germany and Denmark were the strongest
countries represented in terms of numbers and had excellent players. There are
more skilful individuals from other nations but in terms of quantity these
countries are the superpowers."

Maertens built up a huge lead in the final and it seemed like his win would
be inevitable but Madsen, a Research Executive from Copenhagen, who scooped
$144,096 for finishing runner-up, made a huge fight back and was pragmatic
about his failure to clear the final hurdle after coming back to just one point
away from victory. "In backgammon you can be almost there, then all of a sudden
far away from the winning post again, it makes the game so thrilling. I am
disappointed but I will be back to fight another day."

A PartyGammon.com spokesman continued: "This tournament has taken
backgammon to a new level and taken a previously unknown community into the
mainstream. There were plenty of characters around from groups that enhanced
their sports betting by using a doubling cube, to Victoria Smirnoff, an
attractive Russian player who was staying in the suite James Bond occupied
during Casino Royale. One thing is for sure though, the internet qualifiers
have arrived and are here to stay."

PartyGammon.com is a popular member of PartyGaming Plc’s growing suite of
online games that includes PartyPoker.com, PartyCasino.com, PartyBingo.com,
PartyBets.com, Gamebookers.com and EmpirePoker.com. www.PartyGammon.com burst
on the scene in June 2006 and has quickly moved to become the favourite of
online backgammon players.

SOURCE: PartyGaming Plc

CONTACT: Warren Lush of PartyGaming Plc,
warrenl@partygaming.com

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070130/243518

Web site: http://partygammon.com
http://www.PartyBets.com