LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Poker fans, players and aspiring enthusiasts now have access to a comprehensive online resource providing an inside look into the world of poker and the best live tournament poker players with the launch of EpicPoker.com.

The new poker league launched by Federated Sports + Gaming (FS+G) - Epic Poker League - kicks off its inaugural event on Aug. 5 at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and EpicPoker.com will be there to document all the action on and off of the felt with live-event coverage, photos, videos, features and results of the Pro/Am, Charity, and Main Events scheduled.

“Our team behind EpicPoker.com is aiming to raise the bar - for the standard of poker feature journalism and live-tournament poker coverage, in addition to the recognition for poker professionals as elite competitors with the skills and charisma to capture the attention of the general public,” said Michael Craig, editor-in-chief of EpicPoker.com. “We are committed to celebrating and documenting the accomplishments of the best live tournament poker players in the world and we are thrilled to bring this content to a world wide audience via EpicPoker.com.”

With the debut of the website, the company has also launched an Epic Poker social media poker game on the league’s Facebook page, Http://apps.Facebook.com/epic-poker.

“Extending Epic Poker to the Facebook platform is the next step in our evolution,” said David Goldberg, co-chief executive officer of Epic Poker and Federated Sports + Gaming. “Our goal is to provide a gaming experience that mirrors the tremendous spirit and excitement of our league, while, at the same time, elevating the quality of social poker. In the future, our social media players will be offered exclusive benefits tied back to our live tournament events and television programming.”

As a destination for Epic Poker League coverage, EpicPoker.com currently features Season One renewal criteria for players, open qualification for Season Two and the qualification criteria for viewing. In the coming weeks, the site will roll out polls, contests, forums, strategy content, news, tournament results and other features from the world of poker.

EpicPoker.com is home to a variety of content that celebrates the game of poker and many of its best live tournament players:

• Unparalleled player information - Detailed biographies on each of the Epic Poker League and Global Poker Index (GPI) qualified members will be featured. The Player section of the website will also offer information on all career cashes in partnership with the Hendon Mob (http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/fed). In addition, visitors will have access to baseball-card style yearly statistics, totaling cashes, top finishes, wins and earnings. Each player page will also include pictures, videos, and links to management information, and affiliations, websites and Twitter feeds.
• Stories from the players themselves - The site will feature video content from league members providing an inside look into the world and the mind of a premiere poker player.
• Blog postings by Epic Poker League members and other top players - Read advice, strategy, and insights into the life of a poker professional.
• Weekly features - Such as the Know the Pro column about league members you know and those you should know, and the Players to Watch column, which will feature non-league players making their bid for tournament poker preeminence.
• Regular columns by a roster of top poker writers and columnists - Read about the most interesting and entertaining issues in professional poker by poker experts:

• Shane Schleger - The poker pro and Two Plus Two forum contributor keeps you abreast of online poker communities with Stickied: Inside the Forums of Two Plus Two.
• Kevin “KevMath” Mathers - The poker reporter, personality, and blogger will take readers inside Twitter, Facebook, and other social media with Social Director: A Review of Poker in Social Media.
• Jessica Welman - The Bluff Magazine managing editor, WPT reporter and webcast personality is responsible for shedding light on the latest accomplishments of Epic Poker League members in tournaments around the world in Epic Adventures: League Members in the Spotlight.
• Mark Gahagan - The poker commentator and San Diego player will analyze current news developments in Winners & Losers: Handicapping Outcomes from Poker Developments.
• Martin Harris - The popular blogger, teacher and “hard boiled” detective novelist shares his insight on poker’s relationship with the world at large in Community Cards: Poker and Popular Culture.
• Jennifer Newell - The popular and versatile poker writer will be a source for synthesizing and analyzing developments in Congress, state governments, court filings and decisions, and laws around the world pertaining to poker in The Law Blog.
• John Vorhaus - The author of the Killer Poker series and co-author with Annie Duke of Decide to Play Great Poker offers regular advice to beginning and social-media game (SMG) players in Fish Bites Man: Advice for Hungry Poker Players.
• Fred Bevill - The Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) producer and commentator takes you along on the odyssey of the HPT in Gone by Sunrise: Life on the Road with the HPT.

The Epic Poker League Inaugural Season at Palms Casino Resort includes four rake-free $20,000 Main Events, each with $400,000 in added money, and a $1,000,000 freeroll Championship Event for the top 27 players in the League. To be eligible to compete, 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).

2011-12 Federated Sports + Gaming Season I Tournament Schedule at Palms Casino Resort

Pro-Am

Charity Tournament

League Main Event

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

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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 (www.epicpoker.com) - an exclusive tournament series at the Palms Casino Resort 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 www.globalpokerindex.com, and through www.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.

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Source: Federated Sports + Gaming