The world of poker has changed dramatically over the last few years. The game has gone from a weekly activity involving barbeque, beer and cigars, to a world-wide entertainment product. Anyone with cable can watch a televised poker game at any time of the day, and everyday people are becoming professional poker players without leaving the comfort of their own home. Many of the current poker players have only been playing the game for a couple of years and most of them learned the game via an online poker room.

With their cleaver marketing strategies, online poker companies have managed to bring people to the online poker tables; many of these people would not have played the game otherwise.

It's easy to see the world of poker is growing every day and with such a rapid growth companies in the business are using events like The World Poker Congress to take a look at the industry and research the live and online elements of the poker business. The two-day-event will begin June 27th, 2006 and will take place at the Conference Center in Stockholm, Sweden.

"Online poker operators are facing increasing competition at all levels," says Sue Schneider, president of the River City Group, and one of the conference organizers. "The World Poker Congress will highlight the strategies, products and services that will help any online poker room stay at the top of their game."

Organizers of the event are hopeful that the work they do at the conference could potentially mold their industry and they feel anyone in the poker industry could really gain a lot by being part of this experience.

"To be successful in the poker world, you must understand the challenges and opportunities," explained Paul Dworin, the publisher of Global Gaming Business and PokerBIZ magazines. "The World Poker Congress will give operators and vendors a window into poker's future."

The World Poker Congress will feature some of poker's most prominent speakers sharing their knowledge with the attendance. Jeffrey Pollack, the first commissioner of the World Series of Poker, and Steve Lipscomb, current president of the World Poker Tour will both step behind the podium and share their take on the industry.