AIAS Ups the Ante for 2006 D.I.C.E. Summit 

AIAS Ups the Ante for 2006 D.I.C.E. Summit

CALIFORNIA – (PRESS RELEASE) -- The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) has raised the stakes for the 2006 D.I.C.E. Summit February 8 - 10 by adding a celebrity poker tournament to its schedule of activities. Following the opening reception Wednesday, February 8, 2006, the tournament will be held in the new Tournament Poker Room at Caesar's Palace, the largest private poker room in the United States. Slots are limited; registration for the tournament is $25 with a $200 buy-in and open to all registered D.I.C.E. Summit attendees.

Some of the top card sharks from the World Series of Poker are scheduled to appear:

Thomas "Thunder" Keller - Keller is a World Series of Poker (WSOP) champion, winning in his first attempt at the WSOP $5,000 No Limit Event in 2004 against one of the toughest No Limit Hold'em fields in history.

Edward Moncada - A three-year veteran of the WSOP, Moncada won the World Series of Poker $2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em tournament held earlier this year.

Scott Fischman - At 24, Fischman is the youngest player to win back-to-back WSOP titles. He also owns thefishtank.com, an online poker site, and is a featured player in the World Series of Poker video game.

Perry Friedman - A frequent competitor on the WSOP circuit, Friedman placed third at the $2,000 No Limit Hold'em tournament held in Las Vegas this past June.

Max "The Italian Pirate" Pescatori - Pescatori recently won the WSOP Circuit Limit Hold'em event in Atlantic City, NJ.

Chris "Jesus" Ferguson - Ferguson is a three-time WSOP champ and Ferguson is the lead technical designer of the Full Tilt Poker online website.

"In the World Series of Poker, these players are used to being the hunters; in this tournament, they'll be the hunted," said Joseph Olin, president, AIAS. "The AIAS has placed a 'bounty' on them all, and tourney participants have a shot at winning some great prizes if they can land one of these big fish."

The 2006 D.I.C.E. Summit (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) takes place at the Green Valley Ranch Hotel in Las Vegas February 8 - 10 and includes two-days of seminars by some of the most celebrated and creative minds in the video game industry as well as a few surprises from other entertainment fields. The D.I.C.E. Summit also serves as the home to the Academy's annual Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony. The peer-based awards recognize the outstanding products, talented individuals and development teams that have contributed to the advancement of the $30 billion worldwide entertainment software industry.