FIRST-EVER STANDARDS AND CONDUCT COMMITTEE FOR A POKER TOURNAMENT SERIES

Stephen Martin Named as League’s Independent Ethics Advisor

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS CONTACT:
Heather Krug, Rogers & Cowan, 310.854.8156  hkrug@rogersandcowan.com

Los Angeles, CA (May 26, 2011)­– Federated Sports and Gaming (FS+G) today announced the charter and composition of its professional poker league Standards and Conduct Committee, which will work to ensure fair play, good character and integrity in every aspect of the league’s operation.

The professional league Standards and Conduct Committee is comprised of seven voting members. Five of the committee members are cardholders in the league:  Eric Baldwin, Andy Bloch, Chad Brown, Joe Hachem and Nick Schulman. The remaining members include Tournament Director Matt Savage and an independent professional ethics advisor, Stephen Martin.

“I am honored to be on the Standards and Conduct Committee for the Federated Poker League. I hope my small contribution helps to make this very prestigious league the worldwide success I believe it will be,” said Chad Brown.

Professional league Commissioner Annie Duke is the only non-voting member of the committee. The committee members will serve for an initial term of two years.

“The members who have been invited to sit on the Standards and Conduct Committee were carefully selected for their knowledge, understanding and desire to promote excellence and professionalism in poker,” said Duke.

The professional league Standards and Conduct Committee has the following responsibilities:

• Monitoring the FS+G league member qualification and admission process.
• Partnering in the development of league tournament rules and other membership policies.
• Overseeing the continued eligibility of players to participate in the league after their initial qualification period.
• Functioning as a league and player resource for establishing and maintaining the credibility and integrity of the league.
• Overseeing player compliance with the league’s Code of Conduct, tournament rules and managing other related policies and procedures.

"I am excited about taking a position on this committee, I intend to work hard to uphold the organization’s integrity so that we can build a true professional league that all poker players can be proud of,” said Eric Baldwin.

Stephen Martin, a former Federal prosecutor in Washington D.C., and a highly-regarded corporate governance expert and ethics professor at the University of Denver, is helping guide the committee’s formation and initial work.

“There is an opportunity to further professionalize the game of poker through a focus on fair play and application of the same standards of conduct expected in other professional leagues.” said Martin.  “I am honored and excited to be part of this effort and work with the committee members.”

Beginning in August, the Palms Casino Resort will host four FS+G event weeks in the inaugural season, along with the 2011-12 championship event.  The four 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 main event (http://www.federatedinc.com/our-companies/poker-league/event-schedules).

Each tournament week at the Palms will begin with a $1,500 Pro-Am event, which is also rake free for league members, in which the top nine finishers will be awarded a temporary league card for that week’s league Main Event.  The nine Main Event buy-ins will be withheld from the Pro-Am tournament prize pool and the remaining prize money will be awarded to the top 10-percent of the Pro-Am players, including the players who are awarded the temporary league cards. The Pro-Am tournament will be open to all players 21 years and older.

About Federated Sports + Gaming

Federated Sports + Gaming(FS+G) was founded in 2010 to create proprietary world-class sports and gaming brands through the integration of traditional and digital media, including televised events, social media gaming and interactive digital programming. The company breaks new ground in the poker world through its launch of a revolutionary professional poker league in 2011. FS+G will celebrate the world's top live tournament poker players by providing them with the spotlight they have long deserved. FS+G is dedicated to creating new traditions in poker entertainment by providing fans and players with an unmatched poker tournament, poker TV and interactive poker experience.  FS+G offices are based out of Los Angeles and Washington D.C. For more information please visit www.federatedinc.com.

 About The Palms

The 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. Amenities include the legendary Playboy Club; Ghostbar; Rain Nightclub; The Pearl Concert Theater; Moon Nightclub; N9NE Steakhouse; Nove Italiano; Little Buddha; Simon Restaurant & Lounge; The Palms Pool & Bungalows; 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. The Palms has played host to MTV’s Video Music Awards, Real World: Las Vegas and Bravo’sCelebrity Poker Showdown, and E!’s Girls Next Door and Sunset Tan feature the resort on a regular basis. The Palms Casino Resort is located just west of the Las Vegas Strip and I-15 on Flamingo Road. For reservation information, 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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  FSG Press Release May 26 2011.pdf