Electric~Spin and NDS Partner with Dream Shot to Offer Golf Fans $10 Million Prize

Electric~Spin, NDS, Dream Shot Golf and the Wayne Gretzky Foundation join forces to host the world’s first Live Virtual Golf Tournament at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic Presented by Samsung


TORONTO.-Electric~Spin, the creators of the award-winning Golf Launchpad series of golf simulators, and NDS the world’s leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV today announce the locations for the world’s first Live Virtual Golf tournament — the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic Par-3 Challenge presented by Samsung. In addition, Dream Shot, a promotional program between Dream Shot, Inc. and golf course operators, will see fans get the chance to win $10 million at the Dream Shot Shootout in Las Vegas!

“We are honored to be involved in the Live Virtual Golf Tournament at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic and offer golfers a chance at their Dream Shot,” said John Brda, Dream Shot President. “The golf fan(s) who can sink a hole-in-one shot will be presented with our $10,000 prize package which includes $5,000 cash and a trip to the $10 million dollar Dream Shot Shootout for an opportunity to win $10 million.”

Thursday, June 26 through Sunday, June 29, while the Classic is being played in the Town of the Blue Mountains, Ontario, fans can compete in the world’s first Live Virtual Golf tournament played on Electric~Spin’s home golf simulator, the Golf Launchpad Tour. Participants will compete, virtually, in a closest-to-the-pin contest on Hole 17 of the Georgian Bay Club one of the Classic’s host clubs.

The Live Virtual Golf Tournament can be played at the following locations:

* Samsung Tent @ Blue Mountain Village Thursday, June 26 - Friday, June 27, 11am-6pm
* Samsung Tent @ Georgian Bay Club Thursday, June 26 - Sunday, June 29, 8am-5pm
* Wayne Gretzky’s Restaurant Saturday, June 28 - Sunday, June 29, 11am-5pm

Although golf fans won’t be able to compete for the Wayne Gretzky Classic purse, there is a wide variety of prizes up for grabs.

Competition prizes for the Live Virtual Golf Tournament include:

* A Samsung ML-1640 printer for each day’s closest-to-the-pin winner and a Samsung U3 MP3 player for each day’s contest runner-up
* A dream golf simulator setup including a Golf Launchpad Tour, Stance Mat, Sony PlayStation3 console and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 for PC and PlayStation3, courtesy of Electric~Spin for the grand prize winner
* A $10,000 prize for the golf fan(s) who sinks a hole-in-one shot, which includes $5,000 cash and an entry to the $10 million Dream Shot Shootout in Las Vegas

“Live Virtual Golf is the world’s first application that combines simulation and telecast to create a truly unique golf experience, so we’re very excited to debut this technology at such a first-class event,” said Anees Munshi, CEO of Electric~Spin. “This will also be a great opportunity for fans to help the Wayne Gretzky Foundation in their mission to help less fortunate youth, while experiencing the thrill of competing against the pros.”

Live Virtual Golf combines the Golf Launchpad Tour, Electric~Spin’s most recent addition to its line of ultra-realistic home golf simulators, with NDS’ industry leading Xtreamplay™ advanced games technology, enabled by NDS MediaHighway® set-top box middleware, to create the ultimate virtual golf experience. Golf fans can play and compete with their own clubs, on the same course, at the same time – from the comfort of their own home.

“Live Virtual Golf is a great showcase for our Xtreamplay™ technology, which combines video and interactive overlays to bring a unique experience to golf fans.” said Jesper Knutsson, Global Vice President of Interactive at NDS. ”We are also pleased to support the Wayne Gretzky Foundation in their worthy activities”