LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An eventful evening at the XS Nightclub inside Wynn Las Vegas on October 1 saw Multimedia Games (NASDAQ: MGAM) crowning the new National TournEvent of Champions® victor, the announcement of a $1 million grand prize for the 2015 TournEvent of Champions Championship, and $30,000 awarded to various charities.
In the marquee event, Kathryn McDonald, representing the Snoqualmie Casino in Snoqualmie, Wash. prevailed over 122 other top tournament slots players in a loud and intense competition to become the 2014 National Champion in the National TournEvent of Champions. McDonald walked away with an exquisite champion’s ring and a $200,000 winner’s check.
In a day that kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month, McDonald, a two-time breast cancer survivor was all smiles as she celebrated her victory with a crowd of well-wishers.
“My husband keeps trying to give me strategy,” she said, “but I told him I would win by having fun, and I did. I’m just so happy.”
The National TournEvent of Champions finals pitted 123 finalists representing 103 casinos from around the country in a high-energy battle for tournament slots supremacy that started with qualifying TournEvents as early as April of this year.
“Our casino partners all across the country did a great job at hosting the qualifier events throughout the summer,” said Patrick Ramsey, Multimedia Games® CEO. “And all the competitors here tonight for the finals represented their casinos with fierce competitiveness, showcasing the intensity of TournEvent. Our congratulations go out to Kathryn for her exciting victory.”
Although just in its third year, the National TournEvent of Champions has exploded in popularity and virtually doubled in size each year. And 2015 promises to do the same with an announced $1 million dollar grand prize for a total purse of $1.3 million.
“The success of TournEvent of Champions really belongs to the casinos running events throughout the year,” said Ramsey. “The format of the event adds undeniable electricity to the casino floor, and the casinos along with our promotions team, do a great job of drawing in big crowds to compete — many of them competing for the very first time.”
Earlier in the evening, Multimedia Games kicked off the championships with its first-ever TournEvent for Charity™ event in which a mix of celebrities, and local and industry media members squared off on behalf of their favorite charities. In the end, JC Fernandez of KMXB Mix 94.1 claimed victory and the $10,000 winner’s check for the Shine Family Foundation. The remaining charities were winners in their own right, sharing in the $20,000 total contribution made by Multimedia Games.
Planning for the 2015 TournEvent for Charity is already underway as Multimedia Games aims to make the event an annual kickoff for the National TournEvent of Champions finals. Starting next year, Multimedia Games will partner with Save A Warrior — a program dedicated to healing US veterans struggling to cope with life after returning home from the battlefield — to make the organization the charity of choice for Multimedia Games and TournEvent for Charity. Multimedia Games capped the announcement with a $10,000 donation to Save A Warrior.
“Save A Warrior is honored, humbled and thrilled to be named Multimedia Games’ national charity of choice,” said Ronald ‘Jake’ Clark, Creator and Executive Director for Save A Warrior. “This charitable donation only serves to make us seek to work harder, and to serve more active duty and returning Warriors at risk for PTSD-related suicide. We are immensely grateful for this benevolent partnership that will save lives and will cause military families to stay together.”
About Multimedia Games Holding Company, Inc.
Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Multimedia Games, Inc., Multimedia Games Holding Company, Inc. ("Multimedia Games") develops and distributes gaming technology. The company is a creator and supplier of comprehensive systems, content and electronic gaming units for Native American and commercial casinos. Revenue is derived from gaming units in operation on revenue-sharing arrangements as well as from the sale of gaming units and systems that feature proprietary game content and game themes licensed from others. Multimedia Games also supplies the central determinant system for the video lottery terminals ("VLTs") installed at racetracks in the State of New York. The company was recently listed as one of Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies of 2014. Please visit www.multimediagames.com, twitter.com/MultimediaGames or facebook.com/MultimediaGames, where Multimedia Games discloses important information about the company, its sales, and its business.
About the National TournEvent of Champions
The National TournEvent of Champions is a collaboration between Multimedia Games and top casinos across the country to bring unprecedented competition, intensity and glory to the casino floor through a national slot tournament, crowning the only Slot Tournament National Champion. The first National TournEvent of Champions took place in 2013 with 88 players, representing 77 casinos competing for the national title and $100,000 grand prize. The 2014 National TournEvent of Champions finals hosted 123 players, representing 103 casinos for a chance at $500,000 in total prize money, including a National Champion’s share of $200,000.
