Houston player wins grand prize at four day event in Las Vegas HOUSTON, Aug. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 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/. DATASOURCE: Continental Airlines CONTACT: Corporate Communications of Continental Airlines, +1-713-324-5080, Web site: http://www.continental.com/ http://www.goldennugget.com/ http://www.mastercard.com/

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