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AOL and GSN Join Forces for 'World Series of Blackjack'
New Blackjack Area on AOL.com Offers Players the Exclusive Opportunity to
Enter for a Chance to Win a Seat at the World Series of Blackjack Tournament
Featuring a Million-Dollar Prize Pool
Through New Partnership, AOL to Also Offer
GSN's Online and Interactive TV Games
NEW YORK, Jan. 13 -- AOL has partnered with GSN, the Network
for Games, to create a new blackjack area on AOL.com. Coming in April, the
new blackjack hub will offer free Blackjack gameplay, tips from the pros and
-- during the show's airing in June -- exclusive behind-the-scenes video
content from GSN's "World Series of Blackjack" TV show. In addition,
Blackjack fans can visit http://www.aol.com/blackjack beginning January 19 to enter
for a chance to win a seat on the GSN television series "World Series of
Blackjack" and compete for the million dollars at stake.
"The World Series of Blackjack" will consist of 13 one-hour weekly
episodes which will begin airing in June on GSN. As part of the partnership,
GSN will direct viewers of "World Series of Blackjack" and its "Casino Night"
programming on Monday nights to the new Blackjack area on AOL. The "World
Series of Blackjack" program will also be promoted across relevant sites on
the AOL network including AOL Games, AOL Television, AOL Vegas and more.
January 19 through February 7, Blackjack fans can visit
http://www.aol.com/blackjack to enter for a chance to win one of eight
eight-day/seven-night trips to Las Vegas where the winners will play in a
qualifying Blackjack tournament taped exclusively for AOL. The two finalists
of this qualifying tournament will be among 40 players competing for a piece
of the million-dollar prize pool at the "World Series of Blackjack" at the Las
Vegas Hilton. The grand-prize winner receives $500,000 and all 40 players
will be compensated. AOL-selected participants will be prominently featured
on the "World Series of Blackjack" program, appearing on one to four episodes
depending on their performance, and will be profiled in player background
segments. GSN will also provide exclusive footage to AOL featuring the "Vegas
experience" of the AOL players.
In addition to the "World Series of Blackjack" promotion, GSN's online &
interactive TV games such as Lingo, Ballbreakers and others will be made
available on AOL Games at http://www.aol.com/games.
"Casino games such as blackjack and poker have become wildly popular among
mainstream audiences and that trend is reflected on AOL Games," said Ralph
Rivera, Vice President and General Manager, AOL Games. "AOL is excited to
join forces with GSN to give blackjack fans fun exclusive content and unique
community interaction, as well as the only online resource where they have a
chance to win a seat at the World Series of Blackjack."
"This is a great partnership with AOL to provide their winners with a
chance to compete in the first and only Blackjack tournament on television,"
said Dena Kaplan, Senior Vice President of Marketing, GSN. "As GSN is the
leader of interactive TV games, it makes perfect sense to join forces with AOL
to promote the World Series of Blackjack on their robust game site."
In addition to its new Blackjack area, AOL recently partnered with
Harrah's Entertainment to create a "World Series of Poker" hub on AOL.com,
which features free poker games for players of every skill level, and
opportunities for players to win a seat at "World Series of Poker" events.
AOL also recently launched "AOL Vegas," a new Las Vegas destination dedicated
to all things Vegas from casino games, travel planning and original
programming.
About AOL Games
AOL Games provides access to unique and exclusive high-speed and
narrowband programming features for online, PC and console gamers, and
provides more than 150 online games to approximately 8 million game fans per
month.*
About America Online, Inc
America Online, Inc. and its subsidiaries operate a leading network of Web
brands and the largest Internet access subscription service in the United
States. Brands include the AOL(R) service, the AOL.com(R) website, and the
AIM(R), MapQuest(R), Moviefone(R), Netscape(R), CompuServe(R) and ICQ(R)
services. America Online offers a range of digital services including the
TotalTalk(R) voice service. The company also has operations in Canada and
Europe. America Online, Inc. is based in Dulles, Virginia, and is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.
About GSN
GSN, the Network for Games, is the only U.S. television network dedicated
to game-related programming and interactive game playing. The network
features game shows, reality series, documentaries and casino games. GSN is
the industry leader in interactivity and as such allows viewers a chance to
win prizes by playing along with GSN's televised games via GSN.com. Reaching
57 million Nielsen homes, GSN is distributed in the U.S. through all major
cable systems and satellite providers. The network is jointly owned by Sony
Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corporation. For further media
information, visit GSN's press website at corp.gsn.com.
* comScore Media Metrix, November 2005
SOURCE GSN
Web Site: http://www.gsn.com http://www.aol.com
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