Xprize

I just read about Golden Palace sponsoring the xprize. That is pretty awesome to say the least. For anyone who hasn’t received the press release here it is:

Internet Casino Boldly Goes Where No Casino Has Gone Before

GoldenPalace.com Streaks into Space with Ansari X Prize Competition

TORONTO, CANADA, AUGUST 5, 2004 – In another first for the online
casino industry, gaming site GoldenPalace.com will boldly go where
no casino has gone before with the GoldenPalace.com Space Program:
Powered by The da Vinci Project (http://www.davinciproject.com).

This will be the Canadian entry in the Ansari X Prize $10,000,000
competition for the first team to privately finance, build, and
launch a spaceship carrying three people to a 100 kilometer altitude
(62.5 miles), return safely to Earth, and repeat the launch with the
same ship within 2 weeks. The casino’s brand will also appear on the
ship itself-the Wild Fire-during its historic flight to the very
edge of Space and into the history books. The Ansari X Prize is
intended to promote the Space tourism industry through competition
among the most talented entrepreneurs and rocket experts in the
world.

“This is a momentous occasion that will really place
GoldenPalace.com on the world stage,” said GoldenPalace.com founder
and CEO Richard Rowe. “This will go down in history as one of the
key moments in humankind’s race to Space. Years from now, children
will be learning about this event in school along with the moon
landing.”

Just as the building of the city of Las Vegas turned the Nevada
desert into a city of lights, GoldenPalace.com hopes to do the same
in the final frontier just as they pioneered the online casino
industry in 1997. Team leader and pilot Brian Feeney will be
bringing a laptop along for the ride in order for his team to enjoy
the GoldenPalace.com casino games on their trip to sub-orbital
Space.

“As this technology progresses, we want to set up junkets so players
can enjoy our games from high above the Earth,” said Rowe. “We are
going to be the first casino to visit Space; we also want to be the
first casino IN Space. Then you’ll really see some casino action
that is out of this world.”

For the GoldenPalace.com Space Program: Powered By The da Vinci
Project, this is a classic David and Goliath match-up as their main
competition for the prize is Microsoft co-founder and billionaire
Paul Allen’s Scaled Composites team. Although the GoldenPalace.com
project is on a smaller scale than Allen’s multi-million dollar
investment, they believe that Feeney and his dedicated group of over
600 specialized volunteers have the ability to win this historic
competition. GoldenPalace.com is extremely proud and excited to be a
part of the evolution of spaceflight, and believe this will be
something that will be talked about for years to come.

“Brian has an exceptional team working for him and I have every
confidence in this project and the successful flight of the Wild
Fire,” said Rowe. “From a marketing perspective, this is an
incredible opportunity for us but it is also a way to give something
back to the hundreds of volunteers that have worked so hard and
committed 150,000 hours to make this dream a reality. Their
determination, perseverance, and innovative thinking have raised the
bar in the pursuit of progress, and we are proud to be a part of a
team that’s moving forward. Regardless of which team wins this
competition, the benefits to the human race will be considerable as
we move another step closer to viable commercial spaceflight. We
would like to thank Brian and his team, and wish Godspeed to the
Wild Fire crew.”

Although the rules of the competition state that a three passenger
load is required for the flight, GoldenPalace.com also plans for a
stowaway to make the trip. The casino recently made headlines when
they purchased the “Beckham Ball” on eBay from the ecstatic fan that
caught the ball during the Euro 2004 match. The ball that superstar
David Beckham sent sailing over the net to dash England’s hopes of
victory will now sail higher than anyone expected, streaking into
space.

“This is one of The Ball’s stops on a world tour to raise money for
charity,” said Rowe. “We will be setting up promotional events so
that people will get to participate in penalty shoot-out style
competitions using The Ball. Now they will also be using the first
football to have been in Space.”

“It’s important to us to always be on the cutting edge, whether in
casino gaming, marketing, or technology,” said Rowe. “I believe
future generations will consider the GoldenPalace.com Space Program:
Powered by The da Vinci Project to be akin to the founding of Las
Vegas. This truly is a historical event and we are proud to help
make it happen. Maybe sometime in the future we’ll even find a way
to make history with the first streaker in Space wearing a
GoldenPalace.com tattoo.”

The launch of the Wild Fire is scheduled for October 2, 2004; the
world will be watching.