In Holland Casino Amsterdam the winner of the us$ 6,000 Texas Hold’Em freezeout on November 9-11 will be awarded cash and a seat in the WSOP Main Event next summer.

"This is an early step in our development and execution of an international growth strategy for the World Series of Poker," said Jeffrey Pollack, vice president of sports and entertainment marketing for Harrah’s Entertainment. "We’re very pleased that Holland Casino, whose Master Classic of Poker is Europe’s most popular annual gaming event, is including a seat in the World Series of Poker as part of its prize package. This alliance will help drive new, incremental exposure for the World Series of Poker."

"The Master Classic of Poker is in its 13th year and has been the biggest poker tournament in Europe during that period," said Ron Goudsmit, vice president of Holland Casino. "Last year we awarded us$ 1.2 million in prize money just for the Texas Hold’Em event, and the 2006 World Series of Poker seat will be a great additional bonus for this year’s winner. Total prize money was us$ 2.2 million last year."

Other international casinos licensed to award World Series of Poker seats include the Crown and Star City casinos in Australia; CIRSA Casinos’ properties in Venezuela, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Panama; and the Conrad Punta del Este in Uruguay.

The 2005 World Series of Poker at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas awarded more than us$ 103 million in prize money, and 560 players shared nearly us$ 53 million during the Main Event alone. WSOP has seen a doubling of both number of entrants and total prize money each of the past three years.