The BASS ZONE and Trifecta Fishing are proud to announce the 2nd Annual Fish and Chips Tournament presented by Downstream Casino Resort. This event challenges the worlds top professional bass anglers, both on and off the water, as they compete for over $100,000 in prize money in this unique format. Anglers will compete in 2 days of bass fishing on Oklahoma's Grand Lake, along with 2 days of Texas Hold'em competition at Downstream Casino Resort. The overall Fish and Chips champions will be decided based on combining the points earned in both the bass fishing and angler poker sections of the event. While the invitation only field has not been finalized, some of the professional anglers who competed last year that will be included in the 2010 field are: Kevin VanDam, Skeet Reese, Rick Clunn, Mike Iaconelli, Boyd Ducket, Gerald Swindle, Jeff Kriet, Kelly Jordon, Mark Zona and defending champ, Dean Rojas.
"We are thrilled to announce the second year of this incredible event," said The BASS ZONE's Mark Jeffreys. "Grand Lake is an outstanding fishery and Downstream Casino Resort is the perfect venue." We've made some adjustments to the format this year that should improve the poker portion of the tournament and there's no doubt that the quality of the fishing will improve as well." added Jeffreys. "Downstream Casino Resort is honored to be the host of this year's event," stated Downstream's Marketing Director, David Bren. "We are excited to show off our 2-year old property to these great anglers and their fans. It's a great opportunity for the public to play with some of the top anglers too, which should make for an exciting event. With over 200 hotel rooms and suites, 5 restaurant venues, an outdoor pool and cabana area, meeting & banquet facilities, an RV park and of course, over 2000 slot machines and live games (such as blackjack, poker and table craps), we're sure everyone will have everything they need, all under one roof. Any time we can combine good fishing, poker-playing, great food and entertainment, we want to be involved."
The unique team format will pair each professional angler with an amateur of their choice. The pro's partner must be someone who has not fished as a professional on either the Bassmaster Elite Series or FLW Tour within the past five years. "Last year's event was incredible and we are definitely looking forward to defending our title." said the 2009 inaugural champion Dean Rojas. "Jayson and I were fortunate enough to be able to grind out a win against some pretty strong competition. We are really excited about the change of venue and looking forward to fishing Grand Lake in the fall." added Rojas.
Anglers will compete on the poker tables Thursday, November 4th and during the Main Event on Sunday, November 7th. The fishing part of the event will take place at Grand Lake on November 5th and 6th with the weigh-ins taking place each evening at Downstream Casino Resort in Quapaw, Oklahoma. Thursday night will feature the angler only final table Texas Hold'em event along with a fan friendly, Meet the Pro Night in the Downstream Casino Resort Pavilion. Additionally, bass fishing fans will be welcome at the weigh-ins on Friday and Saturday evening as well as at Sunday's poker Main Event.
November 7th will be the day for the poker Main Event, featuring the pro anglers and their partners. In addition to the pro anglers participating in the Fish and Chips event, there will be an opportunity for poker players and bass fishing fans to buy-in and compete against their favorite bass fishing pro on the felt. More details about the Main Event will be available soon. "Last year's Fish and Chips tournament was absolutely awesome. Fans got to mix side-by-side with the best in the sport in a very relaxed setting, but trust me....when the bell rang on the water and at the table....these guys were 100% ALL IN." said Mark Zona of ESPN Outdoors.
While the event will feature professional bass anglers, there will be five spots up for grabs this year for amateur teams. Prior to the Fish and Chips event, The BASS ZONE and Trifecta Fishing will host a satellite bass fishing tournament where amateur bass anglers will have a chance to compete for five available positions in this year's Fish and Chips event. "The addition of the satellite event this year will allow some regional anglers the chance of a lifetime to compete against the best anglers in the world." said Trifecta Fishing's Keith Odom. More information on the satellite bass fishing tournament will be available in the coming weeks.
Stay tuned to The BASS ZONE for more details on this exiting event.
http://www.basszone.com/2010zlines/fishandchips.htm
