Bodog.com Announces $1 Million Battle of the Bands Competition

Bodog.com Announces $1 Million Battle of the Bands Competition

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Calvin Ayre, Founder and CEO of the Bodog Entertainment Group, continues his march into mainstream entertainment with the launch of the Bodog.com $1 Million Battle of the Bands.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060320/LAM018 )

With over 20,000 Band registrations anticipated, an excess of 150 live shows in 17 major markets nationwide and a worldwide record deal with Bodog Music up for grabs, the Bodog.com Battle of the Bands is possibly the most aggressive music contest anywhere. This is a NO bull music competition. NO sign-up fees. NO image consultants. NO judging panels with Hollywood has-beens or ancient music moguls. This spectacle is about bands, music, fans and a $1-million grand prize.

Whoever emerges as the winning band will no doubt be primed for superstardom. Along with the cash, the grand prize includes guaranteed international distribution, touring, videos, marketing and publicity.

Bands can register on the official BodogMUSIC.com web site. Once a band signs up, a profile is created and made available to the public. These profiles are the bands' online identities. They contain: the band name (with logo), location, genre, a bio, streamed mp3s and pictures. Also available is a section for band stats where friends can be added, page hits viewed and messages received. A unique peer-to-peer network is being created for voters to register. Here, fans of the Bodog.com Battle of the Bands can also create their own profile and will be able to add links to their favorite bands in the competition and find friends on the network. This unique community will link bands to fans and the entire competition to the masses, including interactive message boards and more.

150 regional battles will be held in 17 major U.S. markets. Each local winner will move on to the semifinals and the top performers will reach the finals. Voting will be conducted online via the BodogMUSIC.com web site. As well, local judging panels will help determine the winners. Bands will work with a Bodog regional representative to advertise and promote the Bodog.com Battle of the Bands in their city. Contestants will be expected to promote themselves by distributing flyers and tickets, and generating an online community. However, the Bodog.com Battle of the Bands is not a popularity contest. The winning band must have much more than a trendy image and great songs. They must be smart, innovative, savvy, with a cunning work ethic and be prepared to scratch, claw, network, outperform and self-promote their music to the top.

Only the strongest, most talented, fiercely aggressive and hardest-working bands will make it to the semifinals and finals. With a slew of international sponsors aboard there are several prizing levels still to be announced, but only the best of the best will win the grand prize.

The Bodog.com Battle of the Bands is a natural fit for a company that lives by the Play Hard ethic of its founder. A self-made billionaire, Calvin Ayre has been making aggressive moves in television and pay-per-view entertainment. Last year, he launched Bodog Music, an international music label with offices in the U.K., Germany, the U.S. and Canada. Ayre is the head of the digital entertainment powerhouse Bodog.com and has emerged as the face of online gaming. He brings his personal style and sharp business sense to the Bodog.com Battle of the Bands. Having built a billion-dollar, truly 21st Century empire, he is now determined to find the "Best Band in America".

Sign up now to compete or vote at www.bodogMUSIC.com.

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, processed $7 billion in wagers in 2005. The Bodog.com Marketing Conference, www.bodogconference.com, will take place at the Wynn Las Vegas, July 23-26 2006, attracting the leaders of the online gambling industry. Bodog Entertainment Group also includes a music label, BodogMusic, an online magazine, BodogNation, a television production unit and further 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.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060320/LAM018
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN4
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Bodog Music

CONTACT: Media Relations of Bodog, +1-866-892-3371, pr@bodog.com

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

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

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

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