Betfair Games’ managing director Steve Ives was in Las Vegas last month to announce a deal that makes Betfair.com the “Presenting Sponsor” of the World Series of Poker Europe through to 2011.

The inaugural WSOP Europe presented by Betfair.com will take place in London between 6 and 16 September. The first World Series event to be held outside Las Vegas, the tournament will be held at three casinos operated by London Clubs International – Fifty, in St James’s; The Casino at the Empire, Leicester Square; and The Sportsman, on Marble Arch.

Mr Ives, based in Malta, joined WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack at a Las Vegas press conference attended by the world’s gaming press to formally announce the largest-ever union of its kind between an off-line and an on-line gaming company. As part of the agreement, Betfair will be integrated into several facets of WSOP Europe and will promote the event internationally on a year-round basis.

The World Series of Poker Europe presented by Betfair.com will consist of three events. The largest of these is the Main Event, a £10,000 buy-in, 750-player, six-day tournament spread over three casinos, with a prize pool of roughly £7.5 million. The winner could take home more than £1.5 million in cash, depending on the number of entrants, and a WSOP gold bracelet, the most coveted prize in poker. It will be the first time a WSOP bracelet can be won outside the US.