Gumball and Absolute Poker

Absolute Poker took the wheel this year as one of the primary sponsors for the Gumball 3000 Rally, an exclusive rally for millionaires and their high performance cars which was started by Maximillion Cooper eight years ago. With an Absolute Poker Ferrari F430 in the race and a significant presence at all of the Gumball checkpoints, parties and especially at the event's online race headquarters, Absolute Poker was able to bring the excitement of the racing around the world to its online poker playing audience, giving them the chance to win places at the Snoop Dog concert in Las Vegas and the wrap party at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills.

How It All Got Started
The Gumball 3000 Rally, was started eight years ago by Maximillion Cooper. The Rally started in 1999 when he invited 50 of his friends on a six-leg, 3,000-mile trip around the world. Since the first checkered flag was dropped, there have been seven rallies, lots of celebrities, at least 21,000 miles covered and many speeding tickets.

It all started for Absolute Poker when a long time friend of the company, Jeff Natland, decided to race his 2005 Ferrari Spider F430 in the 2006 event. Jeff was excited about the race and wanted Absolute Poker to go the distance with him and his driving partner and longtime friend, Steve Glavine. Absolute Poker signed on as a major sponsor of the Gumball 3000 Rally and also of Jeff and Steve's Ferrari in particular.

"We were very excited to be a sponsor of the Gumball and to support Jeff and Steve," explained Jason Reindorp, marketing manager for Absolute Poker. "Gumball's drivers are high-stakes, fun-loving folks and we knew there would be a great fit with the players on Absolute Poker's website. Our players scrambled to take part in our online Gumball poker tournaments and followed the race progress closely as they made their way around the world."

And They're Off!
Natland's car was flown to Gumball's starting line in London, England, and representatives from Absolute Poker's marketing team also flew in to wrap the Ferrari with Absolute Poker logos.

"Walking into the parking garage at the hotel, you were confronted with an amazing selection of Ferraris, Lamborghini's, Porsches, and Aston Martins to name just some of the cars in the Gumball fleet;" said Reindorp. "Maximillion estimated that the cars were worth about $30 million in total and I can assure you, no car enthusiast was left unhappy."

Reporters and fans kept AP's drivers busy during the day but on Saturday, April 29, Gumball and Absolute Poker through a kick-off party with 600 guests that included drivers, spectators, celebrities and 10 beautiful Absolute Poker girls who attracted a lot of attention as partygoers jockeyed for position to get their pictures taken. The best of these shots can be seen at http://www.absolutepoker.com/gumball.

The next day, before the start of the race, the Gumball cars were on display on the streets with more than 200,000 onlookers keen to see their favorite cars. The Absolute Poker Girls and the Ferrari were also in high gear, handing out free poker chips worth $10 on the Absolute Poker site for fans to show our support.

Around the World in Eight Days
The Rally shot through the Channel Tunnel and across continental Europe and $1,500 in speeding tickets later, Jeff and Steve, Absolute Poker's 'Team Ferrari' arrived in Belgrade where the cars were loaded onto cargo planes and flown to Thailand. After another exclusive Gumball Party, and a 14-hour plane ride to Phuket to catch up with their cars, the Gumballers arrived just in time for a moonlight beach party. Nine a.m. the following day and they set off on their 12-hour drive to Bangkok. And while driving 250 mph in North America will get you tossed in jail, in Thailand apparently you get off with a warning as long as you let the police officer sit behind the wheel of your Ferrari (see photo).

After many more speeding tickets and a blown tire, Steve and Jeff hit Bangkok. Taking stock, they discovered that about four cars had been totaled (the drivers were okay) and many had dropped out. The Absolute Poker team was still raring to go however and after another night of partying, the cars and drivers were loaded onto planes and flown on to Salt Lake City, Utah. From there they journeyed on to Las Vegas where the Absolute Poker girls gave their exotic cars special attention at the Absolute Poker Car Wash held at the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel. Things heated up for all concerned as the girls lovingly washed down the Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins and other Gumball cars. All that remained was a private Snoop Dog concert at the Hard Rock before the drivers were to hit the road the next morning for the final leg to Los Angeles. Absolute Poker Pros, Mark Seif and Lacey Jones and Lacey's fellow poker pro Lynette Chan were all on hand to take part as was 'The Grinder' Misrachi.

Playboy Bunnies and Poker, Poker, Poker
Sunday afternoon, after a fast but relatively uneventful ride from Death Valley to Rodeo Drive, the Absolute Poker girls welcomed the Gumballers across the finish line where after a quick show-and-tell session with thousands of Los Angelinos checking out the cars, drivers showered up and got into their evening wear for a night at The Playboy Mansion.

The Playboy Bunnies are always going to be a hit but just as popular that night was the Absolute Poker Tournaments and Poker Challenge. The exclusive tournament had 50 guests, including an AP player who won tickets online at Absolute Poker, competing for a $10,000 WSOP main event seat.

After the tournament Absolute Poker made a presentation to the Rock Works Charity in the amount of $10,000. After all of the Gumball awards were handed out, and all of the presentations were made, the drivers, guests, and celebrities kicked back and enjoyed the rest of the night.

To check out all the pictures Team Absolute Poker took at the Gumball event go to http://www.absolutepoker.com/gumball/photo-gallery.asp