With the 2007 Aruba Poker Classic now wrapped up, industry experts are beginning to reflect on the success of the island tournament and what it says about the state of online poker.

"The 2007 Aruba Poker Classic (http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-promotion/aruba-classic) was one of our most successful events ever," stated UltimateBet spokesperson George MacLean. "The fact that this year's tournament featured more players and a bigger prize pool than in 2006 speaks volumes about the state of the online poker industry and the success of the UltimateBet site."

Travis Rice, a poker player from Fort Worth, Texas, conquered the Texas Hold'em tournament, securing the first place prize of $800,000. But it's several other high-value numbers that make UltimateBet's signature poker tournament one of the most talked about to date.

• The 2007 Aruba Poker Classic featured a field of 548 poker players. That number is four times the 137 players that World Poker Tour organizers saw in their Turks and Caicos event, held one week prior to UltimateBet's signature poker event from September 25th - 30th.
• The UltimateBet (http://www.ultimatebet.com) poker event boasted a $2.74 million prize pool, overshadowing the $996,675 on the table in the Turks and Caicos event.
• Travis Rice's first place prize of $800,000 stole the spotlight from the $436,675 first place prize won in the Turks and Caicos Poker Classic.

MacLean attribute's the success of UltimateBet's poker tournament to the reputation his site holds in the online poker community. Famous for excellent software, fast gameplay and some of the best poker tournaments, UltimateBet has continued to attract Texas Hold'em players from all over the globe including the United States.

In fact, according to MacLean, the site experienced some of its highest traffic during the Aruba Poker Classic final table when UltimateBet streamed the poker tournament live, complete with hole cards exposed. A one-hour delay ensured fair play.

Online poker players were able to win their way to Aruba for the Texas Hold'em tournament through satellites on UltimateBet and Absolute Poker. The 2007 Aruba Poker Classic took place at the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino from September 29th through October 6th. A full recap of the tournament is available at UltimateBet.com.