PokerWorks

The World Series of Poker often announces alliances with other companies, some of which - Milwaukee’s Best Light and All In Energy Drink - are generally expected. But the recent announcement that the WSOP will team up with Zynga, a social game developer with a poker game on Facebook, to promote the WSOP and offer two main event seats was a fresh move.

Zynga is the developer of many social internet games that are typically found on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. It’s free Texas Hold’Em Poker game ranks as its most popular and boasts of over 12 million people who play it monthly. With the 2009 WSOP only weeks away, an alliance between the WSOP and Zynga has been formed that will offer tournaments on Facebook that merges the popularity of them both.

A number of “shootout” tournaments on the Facebook poker application will be offered from June 8-22, and the top 18 players from those events will play in the final showdown tournament to take place June 29-30. That will result in two winning players to be announced on July 1 walking away with WSOP main event packages. Each winner will receive roundtrip airfare to Las Vegas, three nights in the Rio All-Suit Hotel and Casino, a backstage tour of the WSOP set-up at the Rio, and a pass to the VIP players’ lounge, in addition to the main event seats for one of the WSOP’s four starting days.

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus said of the alliance, “We built our Texas Hold’Em Poker game into the largest game on Facebook by keeping an eye on what is important to our players. We know that poker is a lifestyle which includes playing online and offline, and watching it on TV. This partnership is an opportunity to bring those worlds together.”

WSOP vice president Craig Abrahams added, “Any poker player knows the Holy Grail is to win the Main Event of the World Series of Poker. Now for the first time, we’re reaching fans in a new way, through Zynga’s platform. Players from all over the world can play the free Texas Hold’Em game from the convenience of their living rooms, and win a seat to the biggest poker tournament in the world.”

To compete for the WSOP seats, one must establish a free profile account on Facebook and accept the Zynga application. All of the requirements are free, and players can log on to Zynga.com/WSOP for more information and the actual tournament dates.