MINNEAPOLIS – Hulk Hogan, one of the most charismatic icons of popular culture and co-host of the new, wildly popular NBC-TV show, “American Gladiators,” has teamed up with FLW Outdoors to become the celebrity spokesperson of its world-renowned professional fishing tournaments and its new FLW Fantasy Fishing game in 2008, the largest and richest fantasy sports game in the world.
MINNEAPOLIS – Hulk Hogan, one of the most charismatic icons of popular culture and co-host of the new, wildly popular NBC-TV show, “American Gladiators,” has teamed up with FLW Outdoors to become the celebrity spokesperson of its world-renowned professional fishing tournaments and its new FLW Fantasy Fishing game in 2008, the largest and richest fantasy sports game in the world.
Fans the world over have followed Hogan from his beginnings as the world’s biggest pro wrestling star to his induction into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame, to his many movie and television roles, including his most recent success as the co-host in the over-the-top reality TV show hit “American Gladiators.” The show ranked No. 2 in prime time in the Jan. 14 Nielsen ratings with 10.7 million viewers, according to a report in the New York Times.
A giant in the sports and entertainment industry, the 6-foot, 5-inch Hogan wrestled in the American Wrestling Association before being cast as Thunderlips in “Rocky III.” Later, his professional wrestling prowess and big personality helped propel not only the WWE, but the sport of wrestling as it is known today. He has won the WWE title numerous times and continues to awe fans as an actor and entertainer around the world.
“With Hulk Hogan on board, professional and recreational fishing is ready to experience unprecedented growth,” says Irwin Jacobs, chairman of FLW Outdoors. “Just as we’ve built the largest professional angling tournament organization in the world over the past 13 years, and now with the introduction of the largest and richest fantasy sports game in the world, FLW Outdoors’ new Fantasy Fishing will be making millions of sports fans worldwide aware of FLW Fantasy Fishing similar to what Hogan did in the world of professional wresting from a cult following into mainstream entertainment. He is the perfect person to represent FLW Outdoors’ new $7.3 million fantasy fishing game.”
Hogan will take center stage in a variety of venues for FLW Outdoors including a two-day personal appearance at this year’s first Wal-Mart FLW Tour event being held at Lake Toho in Kissimmee, Fla., on Feb. 28-March 2, 2008. Additionally, the Hulk will be hosting multiple podcasts covering the tournaments, writing a blog and various articles for the FLW Fantasy Fishing Web site FantasyFishing.com, and making several personal appearances in 2008 on behalf of FLW Outdoors as well as many other activities across all media.
In 2008, FLW Outdoors, the largest professional fishing tournament organization in the world, will be conducting 240 professional angling tournaments, including the six prestigious Wal-Mart FLW Tour events and the world’s largest single professional cash prize tournament event in the world, the Forrest Wood Cup, where a professional angler winner will take home as much as $1 million in cash.
FLW Fantasy Fishing is offering anyone who plays the game the opportunity to participate in being part of winning $7.3 million in cash and prizes without going fishing and in the comfort of their own home. Participants can play FLW Fantasy Fishing for free by logging on to FantasyFishing.com to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime. There is $6.7 million in cash being offered to FLW’s Fantasy Fishing participants, plus an additional $600,000 in valuable prizes including Ranger boats, a Chevy SUV, Yamaha and BRP ATVs and personal watercrafts, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club shopping gift cards, tens of thousands of dollars of BP free gasoline gift cards plus a whole lot more – all guaranteed to be awarded to the winners of the FLW Fantasy Fishing game in 2008.
Fans can follow the action along with Hogan as the fantasy fishing season kicks off Feb. 28, 2008, in conjunction with the Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on Lake Toho in Kissimmee, Fla. The contest culminates Aug. 14-17, 2008, with the world’s single largest and richest professional fishing tournament championship, the Forrest Wood Cup in Columbia, S.C. Consisting of seven events, FLW Fantasy Fishing mirrors the Wal-Mart FLW Tour schedule in 2008 that includes six regular-season tournaments and the Forrest Wood Cup championship.
FLW Fantasy Fishing participants will play the game by earning points based on their fantasy fishing team of 10 anglers’ placement finishes for each one of the seven FLW tournaments throughout the Wal-Mart FLW Tour in 2008. Each one of the six regular-season tournaments will award $100,000 to the participant with the most points in each one of the six individual tournaments plus an additional $100,000 will go to the participant with the most points in the Forrest Wood Cup. The $1 million cash grand prize will be awarded to the individual who accumulates the most points over all six regular-season tournaments and the Forrest Wood Cup.
For more information on Fantasy Fishing, please visit FantasyFishing.com, and for information on FLW Outdoors, visit FLWOutdoors.com.
About FLW Outdoors:
FLW Outdoors is named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, and it conducts the following tournament circuits:
• Wal-Mart FLW Tour
• Wal-Mart FLW Series
• Stren Series
• Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League
• Wal-MartTM FLW Walleye Tour
• Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League
• Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour
• Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series
• Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series
• Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series
These circuits offer combined purses to the professional angler participants of nearly $43 million in cash through 240 professional tournament events in 2008.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Walmart.com.
For additional information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
