BRAVO LAUNCHES ITS FIRST ONLINE POKER TOURNAMENT ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13WINNERS OF THE TOURNAMENT WILL WIN A TRIP TO VEGAS AND THE CHANCE TO PLAY IN THE NEXT "BravoTV POKER CELEBRITY SHOWDOWN" SERIES ON BRAVO
NEW YORK - October 6, 2005 - BravoTV.com will launch the "Celebrity Poker Showdown Online Tournament" where consumers can play to win a trip to Las Vegas and the chance to appear on Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown." Also on Thursday, October 13 (9:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), "BravoTV Poker Celebrity Showdown" returns with an all-new tournament featuring twenty-five stars competing for the series' highest prize pot ever with a total of one million dollars going to charity. From Thursday, October 13 to Saturday, November 19, qualifying rounds of Texas Hold 'Em will be played online daily, potentially advancing hundreds of winners to the final round. On Sunday, November 20, those lucky winners from the qualifying rounds will compete in the grand finale game online at BravoTV.com. The last five eligible players remaining at the virtual table will win a trip to Las Vegas to battle it out face-to-face and one of them may get the chance to sit at the poker table with celebrities for the taping of the hit series "BravoTV Poker Celebrity Showdown. "
The BravoTV Poker Celebrity Showdown Online Tournament provides a fun and engaging way for Bravo to develop a deeper connection with its viewers through a show and game that they already love," said Lauren Zalaznick, President, Bravo.
Coinciding with the launch of the "BravoTV Poker Celebrity Showdown Online Tournament," will be the premiere of "BravoTV Poker Celebrity Showdown's" seventh tournament, also on Thursday, October 13 (9:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT). Six all-new, two-hour episodes, hosted by Dave Foley joined by poker expert Phil Gordon will include celebrities such as Carlos Bernard, Joey Fatone, Gina Gershon, James Woods, Kevin Nealon, Kelli Williams, Oksana Baiul and Dean Cain all competing for serious cash. The premiere episode of tournament seven will star the men of "Desperate Housewives" Mark Moses (Paul Young), Steven Culp (Rex Van De Kamp), Ricardo Antonio Chavira (Carlos Solis), James Denton (Mike Delfino) and Doug Savant (Tom Scavo).
On Thursday, September 22, Bravo launched its first online poker games on www.bravotv.com. The poker games are currently up and running on the site allowing visitors to compete for fun in live matches of Texas Hold 'Em at Bravo's virtual table. Those wanting to get a feel for the site before joining the tournament can play these games 24-hours-a-day.
Entrants of the "BravoTV Poker Celebrity Showdown Online Tournament" must be legal residents of and must physically reside in the continental United States and must be 21 years of age or older as of the date of entry. Details rules for the tournament can be found at www.bravotv.com/Celebrity_Poker_Showdown/Online_Poker/.
"BravoTV Poker Celebrity Showdown" is produced by Picture This Television in association with Bravo. Marcia Mul?, Bryan Scott and Lisa M. Tucker are executive producers along with Andrew Hill Newman and Joshua Malina ("The West Wing"). Cadillac is the official sponsor of "Celebrity Poker Showdown."
Bravo is the cable network that plugs people into arts, culture and pop culture with original programming, movies and by showing a whole different side of celebrities. Currently available in more than 79 million homes, Bravo is known for breaking exciting new personalities, shaking up the way we look at style, media, fame and Hollywood, pulling back the curtain on the creative process and making influential and inventive original programming. Its critically acclaimed and award-winning original programming includes "Inside the Actors Studio," "BravoTV Poker Celebrity Showdown," "Project Greenlight," as well as the 2004 Emmy winner for Outstanding Reality Program, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." The network's other hits include "Project Runway," "Blow Out" and "Being Bobby Brown."
Bravo is a program service of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBC Universal one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Bravo has been a NBC Cable Network since December 2002 and was the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980.For more information visit www.bravotv.com.