German win in Everest Poker final

Ten mainly European-based online poker players gathered this week for a luxury Mediterranean cruise - and some big-win poker - as guests of Gigamedia's Everest Poker website.

The players, who hailed from six countries, were the survivors of a series of poker tournaments in the Everest Poker Avalanche initiative and they were aiming to win the main prize in a live game with a prizepool of $710 000

"There was some great gameplay on the cruise ship," said Jonathan May, Everest Poker property manager. "It's always good to see our players compete live but this time, they really excelled."

Germany's Frank Stumpf came in on top after a difficult start, winning $233 300 and claiming first place. Second place and $127 200 went to Matthias Lotze, also from Germany. French player Frederic Pasquier captured third place and walked away with $95 400.

The rest of the ten finalists finished as follows: Stephan Gerin (France) $74 200; Eric Liu (Canada) $53 000; Hubert Koeman (The Netherlands) $42 400; Raoul Kristache (Norway) $31 800; Ann Wijns (Belgium) $21 200; Didier Fabre (France) $18 500; Marc Perucca (France) $13 500.

"With this event wrapped up, it's time to get our players started with our Live The Dream promotion," added May. "We're giving ten players the chance to become a poker professional for a year!"