The newest beneficiary: online player "coralreefers," who turned 300 Full Tilt points into a $12,500 prize package -- including buy-in plus expenses -- for the World Poker Tour event of his choice, outlasting the field in the latest freeroll in the WPT "Winner's Choice" series.

coralreefers, a 24-year-old maintenance worker at a gym in San Diego, has only been playing poker for a little over a year and was pretty pleased with the win, considering he wasn't even sure he was going to play.

"I was supposed to go to a local casino for the day," he says, "but opened up my FTP account and noticed I was registered for this tournament. I didn't really think I had a shot until we were down to the final table, but I got lucky. With all the whining I've done about bad beats in the past, it was nice to play well and get lucky for once."

Drawn to poker by a roommate who was playing professionally, coralreefers says he's now hooked on the money and the competition and hits up Full Tilt about five times a day, either playing or watching.

"At work I am given a lot of Internet time, so in my free time I enjoy watching the high-stakes PLO games on FTP. That is one crazy game. I like Full Tilt. They do a good job offering MTTs and cash games for players at all levels, and overall their software is crisp and the site is easy to use," he said.

"I also go to PokerListings.com at least two or three times a day. I've become quite the poker nerd. I think it is set up really well and I enjoy the hand examples. The articles are also well written," he adds.

He's still undecided about his chosen WPT event -- leaning toward either the Mirage or Bellagio events -- but isn't particularly intimidated stepping up to a big-buy-in tournament.

"There's no one really I am nervous about playing," he said. "We all start with the same number of cards. But heads-up, luck and aggression have a lot to do with who wins and who takes second. As far as a player I'd be excited to play with, it would have to be Phil Hellmuth. I don't think anyone is a real poker player until they put a bad beat on Hellmuth and get ripped apart because of playing Q-J-off on a raise."

coralreefers won't be the only PokerListings.com player to get a shot at Hellmuth next year, with at least three more $12.5k WPT "Winner's Choice" freerolls on the schedule for Jan. 20, Feb. 10 and Mar. 16.

All PokerListings.com players (signed up at Full Tilt Poker through a PokerListings link) who earn 300 points in each respective 30-day qualifying period are eligible to play.

All players signed up through a PokerListings.com link are also eligible for private weekly $3,000 cash freerolls, set to go every Saturday right through to Feb. 23, 2008.

"Poker fans know the day-to-day perks of playing at Full Tilt," Sundell adds. "Massive traffic at all stakes and games. World-class pros to rail, play and chat with. Over $5 million guaranteed every week.

"If you're a poker fan, you're hard-pressed to find a reason not to play at Full Tilt. So to add these exclusive freerolls is really icing on the cake for our players.

"Congratulations to coralreefers, and we wish him the best of luck on the WPT."

About PokerListings.com:
PokerListings.com (http://www.pokerlistings.com) was launched in 2003 and quickly became the largest online poker guide in the world. It provides poker players with in-depth analysis of all major online poker rooms, the world's best sign-up bonuses and promotions, breaking poker news and detailed content on strategy, tours, tournaments and the game's best players. PokerListings.com also has the best live poker tournament reporting on the Web, including unrivaled year-round coverage from the WSOP, the World Poker Tour, the European Poker Tour and more.