DELRAY BEACH, Florida, October 21 /PRNewswire/ - Atlantic City Event Draws Cream of East Coast Card Crop

The inaugural "Poker Pro Magazine Classic" poker tournament was a hugesuccess, attracting a tough field that included the cream of the East Coastpoker crop.

Ninety-five players packed the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City Saturdayfor the deep-stack event. For a $560 buy-in, competitors were given agenerous 20,000 in chips and faced very skill-friendly 40-minute blindlevels. The prize pool reached almost $50,000.

"This is a great structure," said one player who had traveled five hoursfor the event. "I hope Poker Pro plans more of these."

When the dust settled after 14 hours of play, David Thorpe Sr. of Cato,New York, had raked in the $19,000 first prize, with Arthur Peters of Brick,New York, taking second for $10,925 and Cris Belkewitch of Roselle, NewJersey, pocketing $5,140 for third.

Of the nine final-tablists, three hailed from New Jersey, four from NewYork, one from Maryland and one from Virginia.

Terry Peaden of Greenville, North Carolina, achieved the dubious honor ofknocking Poker Pro Editor-in-Chief John "Johnny Quads" Wenzel out of thetournament when his pocket aces crushed Wenzel's ace-queen. Since there was abounty on the editor's head, Peaden received a free stay at the Taj Mahal forhis good fortune.

"It was a good structure and a good time," said Wenzel. "We'll definitelyhold more of these events for the Poker Pro family of readers."

Poker Pro Media, parent company of Poker Pro, Online Poker Pro and PokerPro Europe magazines, was established in 2004 and now has seven titlesworldwide that every month bring readers up to speed on the major happeningsin the poker world. As an industry leader, the Poker Pro Media family ofpublications provides readers with an entertaining and informative mix ofpoker-related news, pro profiles, event reports and strategies. Visit PokerPro at http://PokerProMagazine.com. For advertising inquiries, please contactGary Softin at gsoftin@pokerpromedia.com.

SOURCE Poker Pro Media