POKERSTARS PLEASED WITH S.C.O.O.P. SUCCESS


Posted 5/27/11 :

POKERSTARS PLEASED WITH S.C.O.O.P. SUCCESS
 
400 000 poker fans participated, and over $43 million in prize money was paid out
 
International online poker operator Pokerstars showed why it is top of the industry leaderboard – regardless of its American tribulations – when it published the results of its latest SCOOP tournament this week.
 
The Isle of Man-based operator revealed that over 400 000 poker fans took part in the competition, receiving prizes totalling more than $43 million.
 
German, Russian and British player numbers all increased, to some extent compensating for lower US participation. The company recalls that in 2010 American players were responsible for 147,026 SCOOP registrations, representing over 31 percent of the 461,936 buy-ins generated that year.
 
Combined with French players – who are now excluded from SCOOP following the ‘liberalisation' of that market, the US contribution comprised some 38 percent of the buy-ins in 2010.
 
This is reflected in this year's 13 percent drop in SCOOP 2011 participation, but with an impressive total of 403 378 buy-ins, the tournament continued to showcase the continued popularity of online poker untrammelled by the interference of enforcement agencies.
 
The numbers show that Russian players delivered the biggest national increase in participation, more than doubling to 46 878, a feat almost replicated by Spain, where 21 681 players came forward.
 
German registrations surged, too – up from 47 130 in 2010 to 57 378 in 2011, whilst Greek registrations soared from 3 500 to 9 348 this year, despite the economic travails of that nation.
 
Pokerstars notes that Canadian registrations were disappointingly down, declining to 29 347 from 30 763 in 2010.