Stars Teri Hatcher, Joely Fisher plus Cheryl Hines, Camryn Manheim and Mindy McCready among Celebrities Scheduled to Participate at Rio Las Vegas.


While poker continues to grow worldwide, one of the biggest areas of growth is coming from female participation.


Thus, the anticipation for this year's World Series of Poker female-only event, the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em World Championship, is greater than ever before. The event last year had a record 1,286 entrants, more than 10 times the 112 entrants just five years ago.


A star-studded lineup of celebrities and poker professionals have committed to play in this year's event, slated as a three-day tournament beginning at 12 noon on Sunday, June 8, 2008 at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  Among the scheduled participants and current members of the Queen of Hearts team for 2008 are:


Celebrities:                    


Joely Fisher                   


Teri Hatcher                     


Cheryl Hines                                                            


Camryn Manheim                                                    


Mindy McCready             


Mimi Rogers (team co-captain)   


Jackie Collins (honorary captain)  


Poker Professionals:


Shawnee Barton


Sally Ann Boyer (defending champion)


Pamela Brunson


Barbara Enright (two-time winner of this event)


Maureen Feduniak


Clonie Gowen


Susie Isaacs (two-time winner of this event)


Linda Johnson


Mary Jones (2006 champion)


With an estimated $1 million-plus in the prize pool and a coveted gold bracelet up for grabs, the level of competition is expected to be the toughest yet.


"This event has grown remarkably over the last five years and is now one of the most anticipated events of the 55-event World Series of Poker," said Jeffrey Pollack, World Series of Poker commissioner.  "With leadership from the Queens of Heart for the third year in a row, we're confident the atmosphere and play will be fun and exciting." 


All celebrity players and poker professionals making a donation to Nevada Cancer Institute, the official charity of the World Series of Poker, join the Queens of Heart Team, a special group of women participating in this event who joined to help raise awareness and funds for good causes.


Lisa Tenner, the renowned marketing and branding guru, is the founder and co-captain of the Queens of Heart team, now entering its third year aligned to the World Series of Poker, and through her efforts more than $10,000 has already been provided to Nevada Cancer Institute from this year's team members.  Celebrity author Jackie Collins will not play in the tournament, but serve as the honorary captain and be on hand to officially start the event.


The 39th annual World Series of Poker will take place from May 30th to July 14th at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  The Main Event will begin on July 3rd, with the Final Table being determined on July 14th. The nine players who advance to the Final Table will return to the Rio on November 9th to play down to just two players.   The final two will go head-to-head late in the evening on November 10th to determine the champion and winner of poker's ultimate prize.


ABOUT THE WSOP


The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker's longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970.  In 2007, the event attracted more than 54,000 entrants from 87 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and awarded just under $160 million in prize money as players competed for game's most coveted trophy, a WSOP bracelet.  Harrah's License Company, LLC., an affiliate of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., has owned and operated the WSOP since 2004 and over the last four years, fostered an increase in player participation by nearly 300-percent.  In addition, the WSOP has experienced groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker Europe. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit our website at www.worldseriesofpoker.com.


Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino