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GSN Doubles Down for Second Season of Highly-Rated 'WORLD SERIES OF BLACKJACK'
Las Vegas' Golden Nugget and Casino Hosts Invitational Tournament
World's Top Blackjack Players Including Kevin Blackwood and MIT Mike Compete
for $500,000 in Total Prizes and Blackjack Champion Title
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 1 -- GSN has teamed with the
Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for the second season of WORLD
SERIES OF BLACKJACK, the network's highly-rated casino franchise. WORLD
SERIES OF BLACKJACK will feature 40 of the world's best amateur and
professional blackjack players and will award $500,000 in total prize money.
The grand prize for the invitational tournament is $250,000 to the winner --
up from last year's $100,000. Notable players at the Golden Nugget tournament
include MIT Mike, last year's winner, Stanford Wong, and Charles Gorson among
others. The 13-episode series will premiere January 11 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
The announcement was made today by Ian Valentine, Senior Vice President of
Programming, GSN.
"We have a stellar lineup this year of the best blackjack players in the
world at a premier location, the legendary Golden Nugget," said Valentine in
making the announcement. "We anticipate exciting episodes each week as the
players demonstrate their expertise and skill against the house and
competitors. We are confident that just like last season, each episode will
be thrilling for viewers until the last card is dealt."
WORLD SERIES OF BLACKJACK will continue with the same strategy, excitement
and drama of high-stakes tournament play, while observing the basic casino
rules. The players will compete against each other based on their strategic
manner and amount they wager on each hand. In every round, each player will
be staked with $100,000 in tournament chips. Episodes will culminate with
one finalist -- the player with the most money at the end of each show
advancing to semi-final rounds. There will be five players in the preliminary
and semi-final rounds and four players in the wildcard playoff and final
rounds. The first place winner will win $250,000 in addition to their
winnings earned in preliminary and semi final rounds.
As with the first season, TV sports personality Matt Vasgersian (CELEBRITY
BLACKJACK) returns as host along with Max Rubin, professional blackjack player
and gambling consultant who will provide humor, blackjack tips and insight
into the players' strategy as the color commentator for the series.
Also returning from last season are finalists such as season one champion
MIT Mike, "Hollywood" Dave Stann (who also serves as the dealer on GSN'S
CELEBRITY BLACKJACK), Regina Guzior -- who is legally blind and Anthony Curtis
-- publisher Las Vegas Advisor.
WORLD SERIES OF BLACKJACK is executive produced by Paul Abeyta and Peter
Kaikko for Montana Productions. The first season of WORLD SERIES OF BLACKJACK
doubled GSN's time period ratings average among Adults 18 - 49, Males 18 - 49,
and Males 25 - 54 while improving the audience composition of the key
18 - 49 demographic by 43%.
About Golden Nugget Las Vegas
The Golden Nugget Las Vegas is one of the premier hotel-casinos in Nevada
and the largest in downtown Las Vegas, offering 1,805 deluxe guest rooms and
102 plush suites and penthouses. Winner of the AAA Four-Diamond Award for
27 consecutive years, the Golden Nugget is the most luxurious resort in
downtown Las Vegas, and consistently receives critical acclaim for exceeding
customer expectations. The property is a foundation member of the Fremont
Street Experience, which was developed in 1996 to attract and entertain
visitors to the area. A 38,000 square-foot casino space features more than
1,208 of the most popular slot and video poker machines, 68 table games
including blackjack, roulette and craps, as well as keno and a complete race
and sports book and a poker room. Amenities of the property include headline
entertainment, five world-class restaurants, a complete spa and salon,
12 meeting and banquet rooms accommodating up to 400 people, and a year-round
outdoor swimming pool with cabanas. Additional information and online
reservations and travel packages are available at http://www.goldennugget.com.
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.
SOURCE GSN
Web Site: http://corp.gsn.com http://www.goldennugget.com
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