The National Poker League (NPL) announced today that it is hosting the first-ever NPL 2007 UK OPEN at the famed Loose Cannon Club in the heart of London, England. The UK OPEN will take place beginning August 12th with several tiers of buy-ins leading to the final table on August 18, 2007.

The UK OPEN is the first stop of the NPL 2007 World Circuit Tour that will also host poker tournaments in Monte Carlo, Monaco; Manila, Philippines; Toronto, Canada; and culminating with the Vegas Open in Las Vegas and the World Championship Table in early December 2007. The tournament will feature a "Texas Hold'em" format that offers multi-tiers of open play that will culminate with a final event that features a £2,500 buy in and an estimated prize pool of £500,000($1 Million USD)

"We are extremely pleased that the Loose Cannon Club has partnered with the NPL to host our first international televised poker tournament in Europe," said Sam Riddle, President of NPL's Television division. "We will be filming throughout the qualifying rounds and producing six (6) one hour episodes of the UK OPEN," said Riddle. The NPL will produce twenty-six television episodes in total that will be broadcast in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia and Latin America. In America the NPL OPEN World Circuit Tour is televised on the WGN Superstation and INHD (High Definition network seen on all cable systems nationwide). In addition, the NPL OPEN World Circuit Tour will also be seen on most CBS-owned stations via syndication.

According to Riddle, the NPL series expects to reach over 100 million households via their U.S. and global broadcast partners. The entire 26 one-hour episodes will be filmed in high definition and will also feature entertaining and engaging player interviews, tips and other useful information for poker players and fans.

Tournament play gets underway on Sunday, August 12th and requires pre-registration which may be obtained online at www.nplworldpoker.com or by visiting the Loose Cannon Club. English law requires non-club members to pre-register for the UK OPEN at least 48 hours prior to participating. The tournament director will be Roy Houghton of the Loose Cannon Club and TDA rules will apply. All interested players are encouraged to register early for the first-ever NPL UK OPEN which promises to be an exciting and rewarding opportunity for players. In addition to winning a cash prize, the winner will also be presented with a beautiful Silver-plated NPL UK OPEN Cup that is being produced exclusively for the event.

All players and VIP guests will be invited to a charity event at the club to be held on Thursday 16th of August. The party will feature a "silent auction" of NPL and sponsor gifts, all monies raised from the auction will go to the London based Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity (www.Gosh.org) "It is our way of continuing to demonstrate to the community that "Poker Cares" and an opportunity for our players to support this effort" said Jose "Nene" Gonzalez, NPL President and CEO.