Each participant in the charity tournament donated €100 to the hospital, with Paddy Power Poker donating all registration fees collected from the tournament.

“We are delighted with the amount of funds raised at the Irish Open and it will go a long way in helping us in our work, the main focus of which is upgrading our A&E department”, said Tom Hickey, Development & Promotions Executive for the Children’s Medical & Research Foundation at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital. “I would like to thank Paddy Power Poker, the Jackpot Casino and everyone who played in the event. All of these efforts are greatly appreciated by everyone in Crumlin Hospital.”

“It is a privilege to be able to support such a fine cause as that of Crumlin Hospital,” said Eric Booth, Head of Poker at Paddy Power Poker. “Poker players show time and time again that they are one of the most generous groups of people out there and the Irish Open proved no exception. I’m very proud of what we all contributed over the Irish Open weekend!”

Christer Johansson today won the Paddy Power Poker Irish Open Poker, winning a first prize of €600,000. The 39-year old Swede is a well-known online cash game specialist who plays unPower Pokerder the handle ‘sendmemore’. Johansson triumphed over a professional-heavy field of 700 players, including such stars as Dan Harrington, Jamie Gold, Phil Laak, Marty Smyth, Ciaran O’Leary and Neil Channing.

TV presenter and former model Kara Scott finished in second place, taking home €312,600, with Andrew Pantling receiving €205,200 for third place and Antanas Gueorguiev winning €163,300 for finishing fourth. Lee Brooke-Pearce (€130,600), William Kassouf (€100,800), Bradley Verburg (€74,600), Andy Bradley (€56,000) and Irishman Philip Baker (€37,400) finished in fifth through ninth places respectively.

Sixteenth place finisher Marcel Koch became paddypowerpoker.com’s €100,000 Sole Survivor by outlasting more than one hundred other paddypowerpoker.com online qualifiers, winning a prize package worth €100,000.

The tournament began on Friday, April 10th and featured a total prizepool of €2,240,000. The buy-in for the tournament was €3,500 and 72 players made the money. A live webcast and comprehensive updates were available throughout the weekend on the official Irish Open blog, with the tournament scheduled for broadcast on TG4 (Ireland) and ITV4 (UK) during May and June.

Paddy Power Poker today announces that the Irish Open will be broadcast live via web stream. Coverage will begin at the start of play at 2pm on Friday, April 10th and will conclude with the presentation of the champion’s trophy on Monday, April 13th.

The live stream will be accessible via the Irish Open website and official blog page and viewer interaction with the commentators will be possible via Twitter.

Additionally, Paddy Power Poker will offer live fixed odds betting on the colour of the flop cards seen.

“Our live stream is another ‘first’ for the paddypowerpoker.com Irish Open” said Eric Booth, Head of Poker for paddypowerpoker.com. “Those viewing from home will be able to follow the action from Dublin in real time while playing in one of our Irish Open Online tournaments! Our live stream and dedicated team of bloggers will ensure that this year’s Irish Open will be easier to follow than ever before; online visitors will know what’s happening as soon as those playing do!”

Paddy Power Poker today announces that Antanas ‘Tony G’ Gouga, Brian ‘sbrubgy’ Townsend and 2006 world champion Jamie Gold are the latest professional players to confirm their attendance at this year’s Irish Open. They join Marty Smyth, Phil ‘The Unabomber’ Laak, Ciaran ‘Big C’ O’Leary, Neil Channing and many other pre-registered professionals. The €3200 + €300 No-Limit Holdem tournament is taking place from April 10th – April 13th 2009.

Tony G is one of the most recognisable professional poker players, known for his over-the-top table talk and fearless play. He is also celebrated for the substantial charitable contributions he has made with his tournament winnings, including his large donation to various Asian and Australian causes after winning an Asian Poker Tour event.

Brian Townsend is an online poker player who has achieved legendary status among the internet poker community as a result of his cash game successes. He plays some of the highest stakes available online, specialising in short-handed and heads-up play, and is lead instructor for the popular CardRunners online poker training site.

Jamie Gold shot into poker super stardom after winning the WSOP* $10,000 Championship Event in 2006, capturing a record prize of $12,000,000 and the coveted gold bracelet. Mentored by poker legend Johnny Chan, Jamie is motivated by philanthropic ideals to devote much of his time to charitable causes via poker tournaments and other events.