Continental Airlines Awards 21 Million Frequent Flyer Miles in Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament

       Houston player wins grand prize at four day event in Las Vegas



    HOUSTON, Aug. 15 /EMWNews/ -- Continental Airlines today

announced that Bill Shiver, a Houston area resident and Continental

frequent flier, took home 21 million frequent flier miles as the grand

prize winner of its OnePass 21st Birthday Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament at

the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.



    Shiver, who has been playing poker for four years as a hobby, plans to

use some of his winnings toward a Mediterranean cruise, a trip to Italy

with friends, and to road football games of his alma mater, Texas A&M

University.



    "It was a wonderful experience," said Shiver, "I didn't talk to anyone

-- win or lose -- who didn't have a great time. I feel very fortunate and

really lucky to be the winner."



    "Continental's award-winning OnePass frequent flyer program has

recognized our customers with outstanding benefits for more than two

decades and we look forward to continuing this service for many years to

come," said Jim Compton, Continental's executive vice president marketing.

"We wanted to celebrate the 21st birthday of OnePass in a big way and are

pleased to award 21 million OnePass miles to Bill Shiver."



    Prizes totaling more than 25 million OnePass miles were awarded to the

top finalists in the tournament that drew 243 players. Second place winner,

David Michaels of San Francisco received one million OnePass miles. Other

top ten finalists received prizes ranging from 500,000 to 100,000 OnePass

miles, and the top 40 finalists received 50,000 OnePass miles each.






    OnePass 21st Birthday Texas Hold'em Tournament Top 10 finishers:



    1st Place  21 million bonus miles Bill Shiver         Spring, Texas

    2nd Place  1 million bonus miles  David Michaels      San Francisco,

                                                           Calif.

    3rd Place  500,000 bonus miles    Rajappa Chidambaram Sugarland, Texas

    4th Place  400,000 bonus miles    Bob Shega           Parma, Ohio

    5th Place  350,000 bonus miles    Diego Samaniego     Scottsdale, Ariz.

    6th Place  300,000 bonus miles    Steve Harris        Pompano, Fla.

    7th Place  250,000 bonus miles    Don Bowdoin         Avondale, Pa.

    8th Place  200,000 bonus miles    David Granik        Brooklyn, N.Y.

    9th Place  150,000 bonus miles    Adam Smith          Morristown, N.J.

    10th Place 100,000 bonus miles    Michael Black       Riverton, Utah



    Cris Farrell of Houston was the winner of 70,000 OnePass miles in a

slot tournament held during the event for players and their guests.



    The contest's grand prize could be redeemed for up to 200 roundtrip

BusinessFirst tickets from Houston to Rome, up to 400 roundtrip economy

tickets within the United States, or be used to bid on exclusive OnePass

Online Auction items including premier sporting events, VIP performing arts

experiences and vacation packages.



    In addition to the poker tournament, Continental Airlines is offering

21,000 OnePass bonus miles for new members who acquire the Continental

Airlines World MasterCard(R) during the 21st birthday celebration. The

offer is valid until October 31, 2008. Additionally, as part of the

commemoration, OnePass members will receive 2,100 bonus miles when they use

a MasterCard(R) card to purchase a First Class or BusinessFirst(R) ticket

on continental.com. For complete details, visit continental.com.



    ABOUT CONTINENTAL



    Continental Airlines is the world's fifth largest airline. Continental,

together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than

3,000 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving

140 domestic and 139 international destinations. More than 550 additional

points are served via SkyTeam alliance airlines. With more than 46,000

employees, Continental has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and

Guam, and together with Continental Express, carries approximately 69

million passengers per year.



    Continental consistently earns awards and critical acclaim for both its

operation and its corporate culture. For the fifth consecutive year,

FORTUNE magazine named Continental the No. 1 World's Most Admired Airline

on its 2008 list of World's Most Admired Companies. For more company

information, visit continental.com.



    ABOUT GOLDEN NUGGET LAS VEGAS



    Winner of the AAA Four Diamond Award since 1977, the Golden Nugget Las

Vegas is the most luxurious resort on the Fremont Street Experience, and

consistently receives critical acclaim for exceeding customer expectations.

The Golden Nugget offers more than 1,900 deluxe guest rooms and suites; a

high-energy casino featuring the most popular slot and video poker

machines, table games, race and sports book and poker room; nightly

entertainment; world-class restaurants; luxury spa and salon and The Tank,

a year-round outdoor swimming pool complete with a live shark aquarium. In

September 2005, Landry's Restaurants, Inc. purchased the Golden Nugget

hotels and casinos in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nev., and embarked on a

14-month, $100 million renovation project, which was completed November

2006. In December 2007, the Golden Nugget completed its $60 million Phase

II project, which expanded the resort west onto First Street and introduced

additional entertainment, event and dining venues. Hotel reservations and

additional information are available by calling 800-634-3454, or by booking

online at http://www.goldennugget.com.



    ABOUT MASTERCARD WORLDWIDE



    MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical

economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and

merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard

develops and markets payment solutions, processes over 18 billion

transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and

consulting services to financial institution customers and merchants.

Through its family of brands, including MasterCard(R), Maestro(R) and

Cirrus(R), MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210

countries and territories. For more information go to

http://www.mastercard.com.