Online Entrepreneur Calvin Ayre Hosts 'Bodog Salutes the Troops,' Airing December 18 on Spike

Online Entrepreneur Calvin Ayre Hosts 'Bodog Salutes the Troops,' Airing December 18 on Spike

Hawaiian Tournament Raises Funds and Awareness for Fisher House Foundation

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Bodog.com announced a deal with Spike TV for a made-for-TV special produced by Bodog.com Productions and starring Bodog.com Founder and CEO Calvin Ayre. The recent deal marks another milestone in Ayre's plan to utilize television to help turn Bodog.com into a 21st century media and entertainment giant. Bodog is the first company with roots in the online gaming industry to produce a TV show and host an hour-long TV special with U.S. soldiers and their families as the benefactors. This move again redefines the playing field for online gaming companies, forcing the rest of the industry to reexamine their business models.

Bodog's celebrity "thank you to the troops" charity event was held for the 110,000 men and women of the U.S. military in Hawaii, many of whom were awaiting or returning from deployment in the Middle East. The two-day event has been distilled in a one-hour program, "Bodog Salutes the Troops: A Tribute to American Heroes," and is set to telecast on Spike TV on Sunday, December 18 (12:30 - 1:30 a.m. ET/PT; 11:30 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. CT), a great way to cap a pre-holiday Sunday night for Spike's young male audience.

The event benefited the Fisher House Foundation, which supports military families, and included celebrities, musicians, comedians and troops interacting in various activities, including a poker tournament and concert and comedy show in Oahu, Hawaii. The celebrity events brought together the servicemen and women of the NAVY, AIR FORCE, MARINES and ARMY based at Hickam Air Force Base, Schofield Barracks, Pearl Harbor and Kaneohe Marine Corps Base.

The weekend kicked off with an inter-service poker tournament overseen by world famous poker tournament director Matt Savage with military finalists playing alongside celebrities, professional poker players and Bodog players at Camp Bodog at the exclusive Kahala Mandarin Oriental resort. The No Limit Texas Hold'em tournament was won by actress and first-time tournament player Estella Warren ("The Cooler," "Planet of the Apes"), who blazed a trail through the 90-player field, knocking out professional poker player David Williams along the way. Warren took home the grand prize trophy and a monetary donation was made in her name to the Army's morale welfare department.

The show's final table also featured Shannon Elizabeth ("American Pie"), Emmy Award winner Jorge Garcia ("Lost"), World Series of Poker winner Josh Arieh, four servicemen and Bodog winner Tim Johnson, who earned his trip to Hawaii through an online Bodog tournament. Sgt. 1st Class Shane Woods of the Army was the lucky loser, taking home the second-place prize.

Other tournament participants included Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich ("Survivor," "The Amazing Race 7"); Dule Hill ("The West Wing"); Peter Berg (Director, "Friday Night Lights," "The Rundown"); Joshua Malina ("The West Wing); Kelli Williams ("The Practice"); as well as 14 Bodog.net players and more than 60 U.S. troops. Performances included Snoop Dogg, Colin Quinn ("Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn," "SNL"); Paul Rodriguez ("The Original Latin Kings of Comedy"); and Wanda Sykes ("Monster-in-Law," "Wanda Does It").

"The weekend exceeded all our expectations," said Ayre. "Bodog Salutes the Troops was designed to raise awareness for Fisher House Foundation and provide entertainment for the troops, and judging by smiles on faces and the tremendous support from all involved, the events were a great success."

"We are incredibly grateful to Bodog for their compassion and generosity," said James Weiskoff, Vice President of Fisher House Foundation. "We hope that the weekend will bring added attention to the Fisher House Foundation and the military families that we support."

About Bodog

Bodog.com, located in San Jose, Costa Rica, is federally licensed by the Costa Rican and UK governments. One of the pioneers in the field, Bodog.com is the top-ranked US facing online gambling brand, with highest site traffic amongst multi-product US gaming web sites according to Hitwise. Bodog.com, valued at over US $1 billion and ranked in the Power 10 online companies by eGaming Review, has processed over $6 billion in wagers in the last 12 months. Bodog.com Marketing Conference, www.bodogconference.com, will take place in Las Vegas, Summer 2006, attracting the leaders of the online gambling industry. Bodog Entertainment Group also includes a music label, BodogMusic, an online magazine, BodogNation, and other properties coming soon. For more information, contact Media Relations at 1-866-892-3371, or pr@bodog.com. BODOG is a registered trademark of Bodog Entertainment Group S.A.

Source: Bodog.com

CONTACT: Scott Houston of Rogers & Cowan, +1-310-854-8196,
shouston@rogersandcowan.com, for Bodog.com; or Susan Mainzer, +1-866-892-3371,
smainzer@riptown.com, for Bodog.com

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

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

-------
Profile: intent