It’s been 15 years since Europe’s biggest AIDS fundraiser, the Life Ball, kicked off. More than a decade later, there is still need for more research and the Life Ball continues. This year, PokerStars is serving as one of the events chief sponsors. PokerStars is donating $100,000 and $1 for every charity freeroll entry it gets in the run-up to the event. What’s more, if you play in one of the freerolls, you have a chance to attend the gala event in Vienna, Austria.

You can now play in PokerStars’ daily “AIDS Charity” Freerolls which run at 2pm EST (8pm CET). Players who place 1-27 in each freeroll will play in an online final scheduled for May 6th and May 20th, where they will have the chance to win an exclusive Life Ball package. For full package details, visit the PokerStars Life Ball freerolls page. These special freerolls are located under the “Tourney/Freerolls” tab in the PokerStars lobby.

For full information on the 2007 Life Ball, visit the PokerStars Life Ball page.

Poker is an important part of all of our lives. However, in light of the all-too-real tragedy at Virginia Tech, it’s a lot easier to see that our game is just that…a game. When faced with the insanity of real life, it’s sometimes hard to figure out how to help.

PokerStars and its players are stepping up to help the people of Virginia Tech with a special fundraiser. Here is a snippet from the announcement:

This Saturday, 28 April 2007 at 3:00pm eastern U.S. time, PokerStars will host a tournament to raise money for the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. The Fund has been established by Virginia Tech to cover expenses including, but not limited to: grief counseling, memorials, communication expenses, comfort expenses, and incidental needs of those affected by the tragedy.

You can find this tournament under the Tourney/Special tab on PokerStars, under the name Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund – $20 fundraiser. $0.01 from each entry will go toward the tournament’s prize pool. The remaining $19.99 from each entry will be matched by PokerStars and then sent to the Fund. Registration is open now.

For those wishing to contribute directly to the Fund, information on doing so is available on the Virginia Tech website.

If you are one of those people who have been trying to come up with a way to help, this is one way you can use your bankroll for good.

The PokerStars Sunday Million again proved why it has become appointment poker for the world’s best. More than 6,700 players signed up for the $1.3 million event. In just eleven hours, the Netherland’s SvZff put them all away, pocketing more than $160,000 after a three-way deal.

Here’s how the action played out.

Cashcondo was the first to go when he open-pushed with a pair of threes. Anywhat called with pocket fives and sent cashcondo out with an $8,300 win in ninth place.

Bad Rodin caught a bad river when he got pocket jacks in against chaimr’s naked ace. An ace on the river put Bad Rodin out in eighth with an extra $13,000 in his bankroll.

Matilaro went out when he couldn’t find a way to beat chaimr’s 55 on a [7d 6s Ac 8d] [2s] board. Nonetheless, a $22,000 win is a pretty good return on his investment.

ShiP ThA $$$ was looking to get his chips in and re-raised all-in with 88 after a raise from SvZff. WiCane woke up with TT and got all his chips in as well. No miracle on the board and ShiP ThA $$$ won $30,000 for sixth place.

Gator615 suffered a rough beat when he got his AK in against SvZff’s KQ on a K44 flop. A queen on the turn and no ace on the river put Gator315 out in fifth place for $43,000.

Just before the discussion of a deal, chaimr’s pocket aces got cracked by WiCane’s 67 on a K67 flop. The deal was immediately canceled and though he managed to double up once, chaimr was out a few hands later, earning more than $56,000 for his finish.

With chaimr’s exit, talk of a deal resumed. After some brief negotiation, the players worked out a chip count chop and got back to work. Anywhat was out shortly thereafter, running his 9T into WiCane’s KK.

Heads up play lasted just ten minutes. WiCane did his best to battle SvZff’s big stack, but in the end his AK couldn’t outrun SvZff’s KT on a ten-high flop.

Here are the final table results.

PokerStars Sunday Million Results
Based on finishing order and a three-way deal that left $30,000 for first place

1. SvZff (Netherlands) $163,974.12
2. WiCane (United States) $113,000.00
3. Anywhat (Austria) $90,000.00
4. chaimr (Canada) $56,540.40
5. Gator615 (United State)s $43,213.02
6. ShiP ThA $$$ (United States) $30,962.60
7. mantilaro (Chile) $22,212.30
8. Bad Rodin (France) $13,462.00
9. cashcondo (United States) $8,346.44

I remember when PokerStars introduced the VIP Club and its Supernova concierge service. I asked someone at PokerStars privately, “So, really, what do you think people are going to use that for?”

The answer was both intriguing and a little mysterious: “Just about anything they want.”

Oh, really? From time to time, I hear stories about what players are using their FPPs for. One player used his FPPs to buy a guitar. Another bought a kayak. And , in my personal favorite to date, one player used FPPs to pay for a wedding.

All of that, I think, is pretty cool. However, I just learned today about one of the neatest FPP transformations yet. Supernova bouh just turned a bunch of FPPs into an African safari.

Bouh took a ton of pictures on the trip. The one above is nice and the rest are just as amazing. To check them out, see bouh’s Picasa Album from the trip.

For more information on on the concierge service at PokerStars, check out the PokerStars VIP Club FPP store.

A 35-year-old Philadelphia man has pleaded guilty to running a credit card scam and stealing nearly $2 million at the Foxwoods Resort Casino.