VIPpoker.com Teams Up With Normandie Casino, ESPN's Mason & Ireland and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to Create Unique Poker Tournament

VIPpoker.com Teams Up With Normandie Casino, ESPN's Mason & Ireland and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to Create Unique Poker Tournament

LOS ANGELES, May 10 /PRNewswire/ -- VIP Management Services announced today a unique project linking land-based and cyberspace gaming. Through its VIPpoker.com brand, VIP has partnered with the Normandie Casino in Los Angeles to create a $25,000 cash-guaranteed poker tournament with proceeds benefitting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The May 15th tournament will be hosted by ESPN radio personalities Mason & Ireland, who host the number one sports talk show in Southern California. Called the "Big Show Tournament", the event will feature free food, free beer, playboy models and celebrity players.

"The big story around this event is getting a land-based casino and an on- line casino to work together," said Mike Shumard, Marketing Director for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Mike Jamerson, the event coordinator for this project, said, "We had to convince the Normandie management that there were synergies from working with an online company. The fact of the matter is that people play online to hone their skills in privacy, till they have the confidence to actually go play in the testosterone-filled games in the casino. It is a natural progression."

Jamerson continued, "This is a win/win for everybody involved. However, the key point to this project is running satellite tournaments online where Normandie players can go to VIPpoker.com and win their seat -- a $230 buy-in -- for free. That's value added for the Normandie customer and creates a new customer for VIPpoker.com. Additionally, the VIP customer is exposed to a quality land-based poker room, where they may decide to go play one day."

The online satellite tournaments run daily on VIPpoker.com and Southern California players can log on and play to win their seat in the Big Show Tournament. VIPpoker.com has been enticing players to participate in the free satellite tournaments with an advertising campaign. Called "Short of Cash", it targets players who might normally be put off by the $230 entry fee.

Alistair Assheton, CEO of VIP Management Services, said, "We believe the idea of bringing card club players into cyber space to qualify for land based games is an exciting and new concept. We are delighted to be working with the Normandie Casino and we look forward to working with other land-based clubs in the future."

Source: VIP Management Services

CONTACT: Alistair Assheton, CEO of VIP Management Services,
press@vipmanagementservices.com

Web site: http://www.vipsports.com/

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