Mansion Launches Superstar Challenge

On July 12, three free-roll internet qualifiers will battle it out against a trio of the world's top poker professionals in a single table MANSION Speed Poker™ shootout, each fighting tough for the lion's share of the $1 million purse.

It's the world's best value freeroll, and with payouts to the top three finishers, that's a 50/50 chance of finishing in the money. MANSION continues to raise the stakes in what is anticipated to be the most electrifying stand-alone live to tape poker event to be telecast nationally on a leading broadcast network across the United States.

As the six players line up at the felt, expect it to be a no-holds-barred assault in a bid to be crowned the world's most up-to-the minute Poker Superstar. Make no mistake - from novice through to the seasoned professional alike, when the runners enter the fray, the action is guaranteed to be fierce, no doubt creating some tense moments, hot-tempered exchanges and overall compelling TV Poker viewing.

Stars of the game who have confirmed participation in a series of elimination tournaments to produce the starting pro field for the July event include Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Antonio 'The Magician' Esfandiari, Marcel 'The Flying Dutchman' Luske, Jennifer Harman, Scott Fischman, Kenna James, Kirk Morrison, Erick Lindgren and Freddy Deeb.

In a format designed to even the odds, the three online contestants will each enter the arena with the advantage of a deeper chip stack than their pro rivals, and each with a coach in their corner – three of poker's best pound for pound professional guns, who will not only mentor their assigned protégé in the lead up to the game, but will also stand tall for them intra-tournament when the cards are in the air.

Three of the most charismatic names in poker - Mike 'The Mouth' Matusow, Annie Duke and Howard 'The Professor' Lederer - have been hand selected to fill the all-important shoes of poker 'wingman'. They will coach the three internet qualifiers on the nuances of a live tournament and walk them through the added pressures they can expect to encounter facing off against three of the world's classiest and toughest land based champs.

A unique twist to the format allows the poker mentors intervention twice throughout the challenge via two-way communication technology, while each coach is allowed one 60 second timeout from the sidelines, to be invoked at any stage as crucial plays unfold.

The four hours of eye-opening televised poker will be filmed at the interim home of The Poker Dome at the Tropicana in Las Vegas to deliver an exhilarating brand of must-see poker to the audience. The three internet qualifiers will be flown to Las Vegas a week before the big game, to be marched through their paces in an intensive five-day Poker Boot-Camp that will see the online qualifiers and pros playing Hold'em, analyzing strategy and preparing for combat.

A "Work Hard, Play Harder" philosophy will apply as each student of the game will be privy to an after hours itinerary usually enjoyed only by poker's crop of coolest card players, with planned visits to the city's most exclusive restaurants, access to the most celebrated bars and nightclubs in town, and entry into some of the biggest and most elite games in town.

A fly-on-the-wall style camera crew will tail each pair as the intense workout progresses at both work and at play, and all the blood, sweat and tears spilt between mentor and 'charge' will be captured, packaged and broadcast to over 100 million households worldwide.

The MANSION Superstar Challenge promises edge-of-your-seat television at its finest, culminating in the three lucky winners facing off against the three poker pros in a six-handed shootout for a share of the $1million prize pool. .

The Way to Play

If you are not a Superstar yet, but want to be, you can qualify online with MANSION by participating in any of the three daily satellite tournaments, commencing June 12 until June 17 inclusive.

Superstar Challenge - Daily Qualifier Times, June 12th- June 17th ,2006:
GMT	 CET	EST	PST
17:30	19:30	13:30	10:30
22:30	00:30	18:30	15:30
02:30	04:30	22:30	19:30

The top 6 finishers from each qualifying tournament win entry to play off in a Final on Sunday June 18, for a $150,000 seat.

Superstar Challenge Qualifier – Final, June 18th , 2006:
GMT	CET	EST	PST
22:30	00:30	18:30	15:30

There are three $150,000 value seats to be won, and players have a real opportunity to parlay their way into the MANSION Superstar Challenge, a thundering, tantalizing Texas Hold'em Pro-Am event set to create the hook-of-all-hooks in televised tournament poker. That means a prize pool of US$1 Million, 6 players, 6 seats, and 3 winners …and it is going to cost you nothing to get there.