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13.12.2005 Costa Rica-based but US facing Bodog.com has inked a deal this week with Spike TV for a made-for-TV special produced by Bodog.com Productions and starring founder and CEO Calvin Ayre. The program will raise funds for US servicemen and their families. Bodog claims it is the first company with roots in the online gaming industry to produce a TV show and host an hour-long TV special with U.S. soldiers and their families as the benefactors.
Bodog's celebrity "Thank you to the troops" charity event was held earlier this year for the 110,000 men and women of the U.S. military in Hawaii, many of whom were awaiting or returning from deployment in the Middle East. The two-day event has been distilled in a one-hour program, "Bodog Salutes the Troops: A Tribute to American Heroes," and is set to telecast on Spike TV on Sunday, December 18 (12:30 -1:30 a.m ET/PT; 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. CT)
The event benefited the Fisher House Foundation, which supports military families, and included celebrities, musicians, comedians and troops interacting in various activities, including a poker tournament and concert and comedy show in Oahu, Hawaii. The celebrity events brought together the servicemen and women of the NAVY, AIR FORCE, MARINES and ARMY based at Hickam Airforce Base, Schofield Barracks, Pearl Harbor and Kaneohe Marine Corps Base.
The weekend kicked off with an inter-service poker tournament overseen by world famous poker tournament director Matt Savage with military finalists playing alongside celebrities, professional poker players and Bodog players at Camp Bodog at the exclusive Kahala Mandarin Oriental resort.
The No Limit Texas Hold'em tournament was won by actress and first-time tournament player Estella Warren ("The Cooler," "Planet of the Apes"), who blazed a trail through the 90-player field, knocking out professional poker player David Williams along the way. Warren took home the grand prize trophy and a monetary donation was made in her name to the Army's morale welfare department.
The show's final table also featured Shannon Elizabeth ("American Pie"), Emmy Award winner Jorge Garcia ("Lost"), World Series of Poker winner Josh Arieh, four servicemen and Bodog winner Tim Johnson, who earned his trip to Hawaii through an online Bodog tournament. Sgt. 1 st Class Shane Woods of the Army was the lucky loser, taking home the second-place prize.
"We are incredibly grateful to Bodog for their compassion and generosity," said James Weiskopf, Vice President of Fisher House Foundation. "We hope that the weekend will bring added attention to the Fisher House Foundation and the military families that we support."
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