LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Federated Sports + Gaming (FS+G) announced it has launched the Global Poker Index™ (GPI™), a patent pending system to rank and track the weekly performance of the world’s top 300 live tournament poker players. The GPI will conclusively answer for the first time who is currently the best player in live tournament poker. Starting today, the GPI will launch in USA Today Sports and on GlobalPokerIndex.com <www.globalpokerindex.com>, and will also be available through EpicPoker.com <www.epicpoker.com> after the site’s launch later this month.
“This system is revolutionary for poker and will provide a clear-cut, statistically definitive means for comparing the live tournament accomplishments of top players,” said Annie Duke, commissioner of the Epic Poker League. “Many of the world's best players are not well known outside of the avid fan base. The Global Poker Index will not only create excitement around the rankings of the more established players, but will also put a focus on a new generation of young players.”
The GPI system assigns a score for a player’s performance in qualifying tournaments within a rolling 36-month window and accounts for all qualifying buy-in and field sizes. A player’s composite score is derived by a combination of finishing-place, buy-in and aging factors for each tournament in which the player records a result. Precise details of the GPI system are available at www.GlobalPokerIndex.com.
The GPI will play a key role in the third Epic Poker League Main Event this December with the seeding of information for players entering the Heads-Up Event. For likely the first time, a heads-up poker competition will determine the best player by starting with a draw of matches based on transparent quantitative rankings.
FS+G, in conjunction with Palms Casino Resort, will launch the first of four Epic Poker League Pro/Am tournaments in Las Vegas beginning Aug. 5. The Inaugural Season includes four rake-free $20,000 Main Events, each with $400,000 in added money, and a $1,000,000 freeroll Epic Championship Event for the top 27 players in the League. To be eligible to compete, Epic Poker League Main Event players must earn membership determined by a rigorous set of objective criteria (http://www.federatedinc.com/poker-league/qualification-criteria). A complete roster for players that have qualified for Season 1 of the league can be found on the FS+G website at: http://www.federatedinc.com/poker-league/season-one-roster.
The four professional league main events will feature different formats of No-Limit Texas Hold’em, including six-handed play, a heads-up tournament with an innovative seeding structure and a special multi-format tournament to round out the season. Each event week will include a Pro-Am event, a charity tournament, and a $20,000 buy-in rake-free main event (http://www.federatedinc.com/our-companies/poker-league/event-schedules).
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2011-12 Federated Sports + Gaming Season I Tournament Schedule |
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| Pro-Am | Charity Tournament | League Main Event | |||||||||||||||||||
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Event #1 |
August 5 - 8, 2011 | August 7, 2011 | August 9 - 12, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Event #2 | September 2 - 5, 2011 | September 4, 2011 | September 6 - 9, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Event #3 | December 9 - 12, 2011 | December 11, 2011 | December 14 - 18, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Event #4 | January 27 - 30, 2012 | January 29, 2012 | February 9 - 12, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Championship | ---- | ---- | February 13 - 14, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||
About Federated Sports + Gaming (FS+G)
FS+G is a leading poker entertainment company that serves players and fans through nationally televised events, interactive digital programming and social media gaming.
The company is breaking new ground in poker with the launch of the Epic Poker League – an exclusive tournament series designed to serve more than 200 of the world’s top live tournament players, as determined by a set of objective, analytically rigorous qualifying criteria. In its first year, the Epic Poker League is staging four $20,000 rake-free Main Events for its members and awarding to its champion a $1 million cash prize.
Through its ownership of Heartland Poker Tour (HPT), FS+G also serves poker players and fans across the United States. Built on a grass-root strategy of “Real People, Unreal Money,” HPT provides poker enthusiasts across the country with a televised tournament experience that prides itself on affordable buy-ins. HPT has hosted more than 81,500 entrants, awarded more than $28.6 million in prize money, produced more than 170 hours of television content, and staged nearly 90 events since 2005.
FS+G has developed and made available for poker players and fans everywhere the Global Poker Index (GPI), a patent pending system to rank and track the weekly performance of the world’s top 300 live tournament poker players. The GPI is distributed weekly through GlobalPokerIndex.com, and later this summer through EpicPoker.com.
FS+G has offices in Los Angeles, Fargo, N.D., and Washington D.C. For tournament schedules and information please visit www.federatedinc.com, www.epicpoker.com, www.HPTpoker.com and www.globalpokerindex.com.
About Palms Casino Resort
Palms Casino Resort, heralded as one of Las Vegas' hippest resorts, is an all-encompassing, one-stop destination. Owned by the Maloof family, the boutique property boasts three distinct towers and a diverse mix of bars and restaurants across a 95,000-square-foot casino. Premier amenities and world-renowned venues include 9 Group operated hotspots, such as Playboy Club; ghostbar; Rain Nightclub; Moon Nightclub; N9NE Steakhouse; Nove Italiano and Palms Pool & Bungalows; as well as The Pearl concert venue; Little Buddha; Simon Restaurant & Lounge; Palms Spa and AMP Salon; Drift Spa & Hammam; LA Sunset Tan; Brenden Theatres, a 14-theatre Cineplex; Huntington Ink Tattoo Lounge; the Fantasy Suites, including the Hardwood Suite, the only hotel room in the world with its own basketball court; and over 60,000 square-feet of meeting space. Palms has played host to MTV’s Video Music Awards, Real World: Las Vegas and Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown, and E!’s Girls Next Door and Sunset Tan feature the resort on a regular basis. Palms Casino Resort is located just west of the Las Vegas Strip and I-15 on Flamingo Road. For room reservations, call toll free at (866) PALMS-RES, (866) 725-6773, or visit www.palms.com. For groups of 15 rooms or more, contact the Sales Department at (866) PALMS-MTG or (866) 725-6768.