(May 9, 2007 – Arlington Heights, IL)  “Every Player.  Every Game.  Every Location.”  More than just a tagline on the logo of Incredible Technologies’ most successful national contest, these words embody the spirit and philosophy behind the Golden Tee LIVE Regional Championships.

Starting June 1, every Golden Tee LIVE operator in the country can become part of the largest Golden Tee tournament in history – and it won’t cost them a cent!

The 2007 Golden Tee LIVE Regional Championships (GTLRC) is a series of three Golden Tee LIVE contests.  Every Golden Tee LIVE 2007 game across the U.S. can participate in either the Midwest, Southeast or Western region.  Each regional event includes 6 weeks of online qualifying that requires players to play at least 50 games in order to compete in a live final with over $25,000 in cash and prizes at stake. 

Scott Morrison, IT’s VP of Marketing, was enthusiastic about this year’s event.

“Last year we had thousands of players qualify online and over 500 attended the live finals,” he said.  “It was a huge shot-in-the-arm for our operators and locations as collections actually increased during the historically slow summer period.  The strategy behind the Regional Championships is simple: drive thousands of players to our operators’ games to play Golden Tee LIVE, have fun and win money!  Happy players and powerful earnings go hand-in-hand,” he added.

The format for the GTLRC is unlike any other Golden Tee tournament.  The unique three-tiered approach was designed to appeal to the vast number of casual GT players – with the main goal being repeat play.  Each Regional Championship consists of a main event for $25,000, an exciting Pub Champ competition for an additional $1,000 prize and a Team USA Shootout. 

The Team USA Shootout consists of the top 50 GTLRC qualifiers in each region.  These top shooters will playoff on Friday night of the live final for 3 coveted spots on Team USA.

“Last year we awarded 1 team spot in each Regional,” Morrison explained, “and took only the top 16 qualifiers.  It was clear that many top players were left out of this important competition.  With 50 qualifying spots and 3 slots on Team USA at stake in each Region, we expect the die-hards to really step up the amount of games they play.  I wouldn’t be surprised if some guys play over 1,000 games during the 6 weeks.”

Pub Champs must play all 50 of their online qualifying games on one Golden Tee LIVE machine in their favorite location.  Each machine will have a special Pub Champ leaderboard that lists the players with the best 50-game scoring average on that machine.  The top player on each machine will represent their bar as a Pub Champ at the finals and compete in an exclusive closest-to-the-pin contest for a top prize of $1,000. 

“The Pub Championship proved to be our most popular event last year,” said Morrison.  “A true Pub Champion has pride in their pub and a true pub has pride in their champion.  New this year, if the live final Pub Champ winner is sporting their pub's official shirt or jersey, they win the Pub Pride Bonus.

·    A $200 Golden Tee LIVE Gift Card for the Regional Pub Champion

·    A $400 Cash bonus for the Regional Pub Champion's Pub Owner

·    A $400 IT Bucks bonus for the Regional Pub Champion's Amusement Operator

“For the first time ever operators and locations will share in the winnings of their players,” Morrison said.  “We encourage every operator to work with their locations to sponsor their Pub Champs at the Regional final.  If your guy wins – you win too!”

Marketing director Gary Colabuono explains that the 3 formats were developed because they are attractive to both players and operators. 

“The 3 levels of competition were designed so players have a reason to continue playing Golden Tee LIVE long after their initial 50 games are in,” he said.  “The Team USA shootout will appeal to the nationally-ranked top players in each region, and we all know the incredible number of games that these players can shoot.  The Pub Champ contest breaks the GTLRC down to a local level.  It’s the perfect opportunity for operators to partner with their locations to sponsor a Pub Champ and win a few extra bucks.  Finally, the casual guy who just wants to play free Golden Tee and hang out with other players for a weekend, has to up his number of games to get into the live final.  Last year this format proved that it can generate an enormous amount of play.”

There is no cost to operators to participate.  Everything is free.

Incredible Technologies is spending more to promote the Regional Championships than any other single event.  Besides a text message at the start of every game alerting players to the
tournament, over 20,000 posters will be sent to all Golden Tee LIVE operators along with “Promo Pocket” inserts and an optional AdWiz CD for every game.  A push to mainstream television, magazines and newspapers will be coordinated through IT’s press agency and
www.goldentee.com will serve as the tournament’s online hub. 

“Everybody will know about the Golden Tee LIVE Regional Championships,” Colabuono said.

About  the Golden Tee LIVE Regional Championships

For more information about the Golden Tee LIVE Regional Championships, including rules, regional breakdown or final event details, visit www.goldentee.com. 

For questions regarding the tournament, including local marketing and promotional ideas, contact IT Marketing Director, Gary Colabuono at 847-870-7027 x 192.

About Incredible Technologies

Arlington Heights, Illinois-based Incredible Technologies is the largest manufacturer of coin-operated video games in the United States.  Along with its flagship video golf series, Golden Tee LIVE, IT’s portfolio of top-earning products includes Silver Strike Bowler’s Club – 2005’s Video Game of the Year – and Target Toss Pro: Bags, the hottest new game in the country.  For more information about the company and its products visit the Incredible Technologies websites at www.itsgames.com, www.goldentee.com, www.silverstrikebowling.com, and www.targettosspro.com.