R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Announcement WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and its Camel brand have announced that Camels sponsorship of the Camel Pro Billiards Series events will end at the conclusion of the 1999 season. In making the announcement, Rick Sanders, president of Reynolds Tobaccos Sports Marketing Enterprises, said that the Camel Pro Billiards Series will be replaced with a program that allows Camel to expand its involvement in amateur pool, while still maintaining a presence in professional competition. Sanders notes that these changes reflect a reallocation of resources to gain a greater presence among adult smokers who are enthusiasts of the sport. The Camel Pro Billiards Series began in 1996 and, by the end of this season, the events will have distributed more than $2.8 million in purses and bonus awards. "The changes we are making next year are based entirely on business needs," Sanders said. "We have limited resources and feel that, moving forward, dividing these resources among two programs will not allow us to effectively promote and develop both professional and amateur pool play. With these resources divided between two programs, we feel we cannot continue to achieve a standard of excellence for either group. "Amateur competition is more grassroots in nature and has a significantly broader reach among adult smokers," Sanders continued. "And we believe that concentrating in the amateur-pool arena will allow us to better develop the sport and more efficiently gain greater presence among adult smokers who are also pool and billiards enthusiasts." Camel will refocus its involvement in professional pool by supporting its cornerstone event, the Camel Pro 8-Ball Championship, held annually at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. This event will be age-restricted (21 and over only) and boast a guaranteed purse of $150,000, doubling last years award. The Camel Pro 8-Ball Championship field should attract 128 of the worlds top players. "We're excited about the Camel Pro 8-Ball Championship," Sanders said. "The worlds greatest players have demonstrated the ultimate level of competition during Camel Pro Billiards Series tournaments. We look forward to hosting what we believe will be a premier event at our Camel Pro 8-Ball Championship in Las Vegas next year." The Camel Pro 8-Ball Championship in Las Vegas coincides with the American Poolplayers Association (APA) Camel Team Championship and the inaugural Camel Speed Shot Competition. The three Las Vegas events combined will pay more than $725,000 to professional and amateur players in August 2000. Camel will also hold a series of challenge matches among selected professional players at existing APA venues next season. These challenge matches will feature exciting offensive formats and opportunities for amateur players who are 21 years of age or older to be randomly selected to challenge a professional player. Cash prizes will be awarded to qualified winning amateurs. Camel partnered with the APA in 1994 as the primary sponsor of the Camel 8-Ball Classic and Camel 8-Ball National Team Championships. Both of these annual amateur-level competitions will continue to take place at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. The APA is the governing body of amateur pool and utilizes the Equalizer handicapping system among the 175,000 amateur pool players who compete in APA weekly league play.