SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- February's Full Tilt Online Poker Series was a huge hit with online tournament players, presenting poker players with a variety of events including Texas Holdem, Stud, Omaha, and Razz. The 20-Event FTOPS concluded on Sunday, February 17 and paid out nearly $500,000 to its eventual winner.


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PocketFives.com members had several huge scores in this month's FTOPS, with "majdasad" earning $307,763 for his 2nd place finish in the $2,500+120 No-Limit Holdem event #17. This specific tournament was actually paused after players reached the money, and continued on the next day. Chris "ilikeaces86" Olson won the $300+22 6-handed rebuy Event #12 for $257,000, beating out top-ranked online tournament player Danny "THE__D__RY" Ryan, who earned $170k for 2nd. PocketFiver "ma77th3gr34t" took down the $240+16 Knockout Event #19 for $146k, and "aconsuma" earned over $130k for his 4th Place finish in the Main Event.

The unique PokerStars Turbo Takedown was a huge success on Sunday, February 17, when over 9,500 players competed for a 1st Place prize of $200,000. PocketFiver "Bleedblue33" took 3rd place in the event for $80,000. The Turbo Takedown was the largest prize pool ever for an online tournament that only required Frequent Player Points to participate.

Russell "rdcrsn" Carson moved up two spots to #6 this week in the PocketFives.com Rankings. Russell continues to enjoy a rankings boost from his stellar performance in January, in which he won over $250,000 in one week. Moving into the #9 spot this week is former high-stakes Sit & Go grinder Danny "THE__D__RY" Ryan, who cashed for over $170k in this month's FTOPS.

This week's guest on the PocketFives.com Podcast is Matt "All In At 420" Stout, who is currently ranked #36 in the world at online tournament play. In his interview, Matt Stout discusses his tournament strategy and answers listener questions on a wide range of topics. The Podcast can be subscribed to free of charge by downloading iTunes and clicking on the SUBSCRIBE link. You can also check out this week's Podcast blog by visiting the Podcast Landing Page. Former PocketFives.com Podcast guests include Joe Hachem, Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, U.S. Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), and U.S. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV).

The 2008 Los Angeles Poker Classic Main Event is currently underway, with real-time coverage provided by P5's Live Reporter Courtney Harrington on our sister site, PocketFivesLive.com.