The paddypowerpoker.com Irish Winter Festival 2008 will take place over the October Bank Holiday weekend (October 25th – 27th) at the Citywest Hotel and Golf Resort in Dublin, Ireland. Sponsor paddypowerpoker.com has big plans for the festival, which was run as a stand-alone festival in the famous Merrion Club from 2001 to 2003 and as the Dublin leg of the European Poker Tour (EPT) since 2004. A number of famous poker players have recorded impressive results at the Irish Winter Festival in previous years, particularly in the main event (Irish Masters).

Last year’s Irish Winter Festival served as a springboard for more aspiring poker legends; the Irish Masters main event was dominated by one of the most-talked about young players ever, Annette Obrestad, who held a massive chip lead on the final table, only to be beaten heads-up by the then-unknown American, Rueben Peters. Obrestad busted local favourite Andy Black in 10th spot on the way to her 2nd place, much to the dismay of the Dublin crowd!

This year’s Irish Masters will feature a most affordable buy-in of €1500 + €150 (as compared to €7,700 last year), but paddypowerpoker.com is confident that the fun and excitement associated with the Irish Winter Festival will be higher than ever before.

The Irish Winter Festival is headlined by the Irish Masters, a 3-day €1,500 + €150 No Limit Hold’em freezeout tournament starting on Saturday, October 25th, which will have an estimated prizepool of €1,000,000. The organisers expect more than 700 players to battle it out over the felt for the Irish Masters’ title.

Two 1-day side event tournaments are also part of the Irish Winter Festival; a €200 + €20 No Limit Hold’em rebuy tournament on Sunday, October 26th and a €500 + €50 No Limit Hold’em freezeout tournament on Monday, October 27th. Additionally, a €150 + €15 Super Satellite to the Irish Masters will take place on Friday, October 24th.