POKERSTARS.COM OFFERS POKER FANS THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME AT "IGN LIVE": COMPETE WITH ICONS GREG RAYMER AND WIL WHEATON FOR A TRIP TO THE BAHAMAS
Winners of Tournaments Featuring Poker Superstars Raymer and Wheaton to be Awarded Seats in a World Poker Tour Event at the Atlantis Resort
BRISBANE, CA - Oct. 3, 2005 - IGN Live responds to the poker craze overtaking the nation when they partner with the world's leading tournament poker site PokerStars.com to make amateur poker players' dreams come true. At IGN Live, the two-day videogame lifestyle festival, poker fans can play against champion players for a trip to the Bahamas!
PokerStars.com will host 15 tournaments to culminate with tables featuring Greg Raymer, 2004 World Series of Poker Champion, and Wil Wheaton, poker aficionado and television star. The winners of these two final tables will win satellite entries into PokerStars' Caribbean Adventure, a 2006 World Poker Tour event at the Atlantis Resort next January. The PokerStars games at "IGN Live" are open to all attendees of the festival, which takes place Oct. 22-23, 2005 at Southern California's Anaheim Convention Center.
Greg "Fossilman" Raymer won the $5 million first prize in the 2004 World Series of Poker main event. Raymer received the $10,000 entry fee to the tournament by winning a $160 satellite event on PokerStars.com, just like the 2003 winner, Chris Moneymaker. Raymer is nicknamed "Fossilman" due to his hobby of collecting fossils and for the pair of holographic glasses that appear to be shiny dinosaur eyes that he is known for wearing during hands.
Wil Wheaton played as part of the PokerStars team at the 2005 World Series of Poker. He will also be recognizable to fans at "IGN Live" as Wesley Crusher from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and, for those listening carefully, as the voice of characters from many top videogames including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and EverQuest II.
PokerStars' 15 tournaments are divided into eight different sit-n-go hands on Saturday, Oct. 22, and seven sit-n-go hands on Sunday, Oct. 23, all taking place at the PokerStars.com booth. The winners of each will return to play in that day's final table. The final table on the 22nd will feature Greg Raymer, who will also be signing autographs at the booth earlier that day. Wil Wheaton takes the reigns over on Sunday, competing in the final table and signing autographs earlier that day.
There's something for everyone at the PokerStars booth, even for those who don't want to play. The PokerStars saloon girls will be on hand to spice up the events and make sure fans are equipped with fun PokerStars gifts, and there will be plenty of computers available for fans to explore the site.
IGN Live is presented by IGN Entertainment, Best Buy and Action Media. Partners and exhibitors also include Dolby Labs, Electronic Arts, the Game Developers Conference, Gamefly, Jamdat, Midway Games, Nintendo, THQ, Ubisoft, Vivendi Universal Games and 2K Sports. Discount tickets are now available for $15 at www.ignlive.com.
Tickets will be available at the event for $25. Tickets purchased online include a free 21-day trial to GameFly videogame rental service.
For more information please visit www.ignlive.com.
About IGN Entertainment
IGN Entertainment is a leading Internet media and services company focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, these properties reached more than 30 million users worldwide in the month of August 2005, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. The company's network of videogame-related properties (IGN.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others), is the web's number one videogame information destination and attracts one of the largest concentrated audiences of young males on the Internet. IGN also owns and operates the popular movie-related website, Rotten Tomatoes and one of the leading male lifestyle websites, AskMen.com. In addition, IGN provides technology for online game play in videogames. The company is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S.
About Action Media
Action Media is an integrated marketing and event production company that provides a unique, powerful gateway to the potent, yet elusive Gen X-Y audience. Producing more than 20 annual events in the top North America markets, Action Media provides compelling original concepts and turnkey solutions for an extensive list of clients.
Their event strategy is to create an interactive and entertaining environment that empowers the Gen X-Y audience to express their individuality. The current portfolio of Action Media events include their signature series and longest running show Hot Import Nights, the RC Expo (RCX), Fresh Tracks Snow and Skate Expo and Holiday Havoc.
IGN Entertainment, IGN.com, GameSpy, AskMen.com, Rotten Tomatoes, FilePlanet, TeamXbox and Direct2Drive are trademarks of IGN Entertainment, Inc. Other trademarks and copyrights mentioned are the properties of their respective holders.