Play65 is happy to bring back the backgammon arena tournament, where €4000 are split between the top 32 winners and the 1st finisher walks home (in his gladiator sandals) with €1400 first prize!

The backgammon arena tournament will take place on Sunday, September 5th at 20:00. Entry fees are €46, but there is a satellite tournament today, at 18:00 GMT (entry fees: €6.60).

Don’t forget that every tournament you enroll, adds VIP points (and Shop points) to your balance; these points would magically turn into cash once you gather at least 650 of them to enter the first Bronze VIP level, and could be redeemed at our VIP gift shop and our cashier.

Gaming Intelligence reported on the launch of Play65 Backgammon VIP Club. Since the content might be available only to members, we bring you here the entire article:

While Swiss Backgammon Open qualifier winner, Ginaretto Iseppi, is getting ready for the Swiss Open 2010, Play65 Japan Open qualifiers are about to take place.

Japan celebrated backgammon festival, Japan Open, is scheduled to October 9-11, 2010, but Play65 qualifiers will begin next Saturday.

To win a $575 seat to the Championship Flight – where you can win an entry to the final World Backgammon Tour stop at Enghien les Baines near Paris, France – mark your calendar on August 28 and September 4 at 11:00 GMT ($75 buy-in; 8 players minimum).

To win a $140 seat to the Intermediate Flight – where you can win a 150,000 yen (about $1750) trip to an international backgammon event paid by Japan Backgammon League – play the August 28 freeroll satellite at 11:00 GNT (free entry; 3-5 points).

Japan Open is the biggest and most important backgammon event in Asia, and this year, it became a part of the World Backgammon Tour, and has 2009 World Backgammon Champion, Masayuki Mochizuki (Mochy) as the tournament director. Besides, it is probably the only backgammon tournament opened with a special sushi party.

Play65 is happy to introduce the first VIP Club in backgammon – Play65 VIP Club.

Play65 VIP Club includes three progressive levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold.
VIP players earn VIP Points and Shop Points on every real money backgammon games played at the software.
Bronze level players earn 1 VIP point & 1 Shop point for every $1 stake
Silver players – 1.5 per $1
Gold – 2.5
Your VIP status is being recalculated every month based on your last month activity.

VIP Points are used measure your VIP level
You’ll need 650 points to reach Bronze VIP level
3000 points for Silver
10000 points for Gold

Shop Points can be used for Play65 Gift Shop, open exclusively for VIP members, offering everything from backgammon sets to game consoles and laptops that can purchased with your Shop Points, i.e. the money you had already spent playing backgammon online; Shop Points can also be used for Play65 tournaments’ entries or be traded in cash.

For more information, check out Play65 VIP Club FAQ

Play65 is holding special qualifiers for the Swiss Backgammon Open, where you can win tickets to the Main and the Intermediate divisions of the Swiss Open 2010, that will take place along the Backgammon Swiss Championship between 27 and 29 of August 2010 at the Casino Barrière in Montreux on the French-speaking western-side of Switzerland. Play65 also sponsors the drinks served during the welcome cocktail on Friday 19:30. Organized by the Swiss Backgammon Association, the Swiss Open and Backgammon Swiss Championships are expected to be attended by some of the top players in backgammon.

Play65 Swiss Open qualifiers will start tomorrow, on August 2 at 19:00 (GMT) and continue to run daily until August 7; €9 entry fee, 6 players minimum, first prize - free entry to the final qualifier on August 8 19:30 (entry fee: €50, first prize: free €375 seat to the Swiss Open Championship). To win free €140 seat to the Swiss Open Intermediate division, you can enter Play65 freeroll on August 7, at 19:30; no entry fees, 8 players minimum.

Play65 Swiss Open Bonuses

For this special occasion, Play65 is offering special bonuses for first time depositors and frequent players alike.
First depositors can deposit minimum $50 and maximum $150, insert the bonus code GAMEON65, and have their first deposit matched back with a 100% bonus.
Play65 frequent players can enter the bonus code Swiss50 and earn 100% bonus, up to $150.

Play65 backgammon allows you to connect to Facebook (and/or other popular social networks including Myspace, Twitter, Yahoo, Linkedin, Google and Wodpress) using Play65 login info. That way, you can share your online backgammon achievements with your friends; brag about winning games and raising rating levels; announce on logging in, enrolling to tournaments or creating private tournaments (and at the same opportunity, inviting them to join).

To connect your Play65 account with your social network/s account/s, simply login to Play65. Note that below the usual login window there is a new box, where you can select a social network and login (or register with Play65 login details if you do not have an account), by clicking the corresponding icon.

If you do have a social network account – insert your social network login info, click OK and connect your accounts. From now on, a Play65 login would connect you to your Facebook friends, your Twitter followers, your Wordpress blog readers or other online social network contact persons.

If you do not have a social network account – you can open one now using the same username, password and email you use when logging in to Play65, then click Allow when asked by the chosen network to approve your request. From now on, you can login to your new social network simply by clicking Play65 icon on your desktop.

New on Play65 backgammon platform: from now, you can add avatars to your personal profile and let your opponents whether you are a shark or a pigeon, a frog or a gorilla. Play65 offers selection of about 15 original avatars you can upload to your profile, simply by right clicking Setting. Of course, if you do not want to play a backgammon game when both opponents are wearing the same avatar, you can change an avatar temporarily or permanently.

Play65 also gets ready to the World Cup that starts tomorrow with a special backgammon bonus (40% up to $150, only during the WC period), and a special tournament that will take place right before the final.

Play65 offers special 40% bonus for the World Cup period (11/6 – 11/7). All you need to do is make a deposit and insert the bonus code "wc2010". Play65 World Cup bonus is limited to a maximum of 150 (in any currency) and to one bonus per account.

More on Backgammon and Football (or Soccer)

Play65 World Cup Bonus is not the first crossroad of backgammon and football.

- Backgammon and football have both been played on Lost, along with ping pong, poker, tic-tac-toe and other sports and board games, but none of them has received such free publicity as backgammon and its parent game the ancient Egyptian Senet.

- Play65 once sponsored an Israeli fifth league football club, Hapoel play65 Kiryat Shalom, planned to be the first interactive football team in history, the first to be managed entirely by its fans via online social networks.

- Play65 also sponsored a charity soccer match for the Israeli Foundation for Medicine Funding back in 2008.

- Two world-class backgammon experts, Frank Frigo and Chuck Bower, have developed a computer software called Zeus, designed to analyze American football games the same way backgammon bots such as Snowie and GNU analyze backgammon matches.

- The Green Bay Packers keep a backgammon table in their locker room, what turned backgammon automatically into the team’s #1 pastime, at least for the present season.

- For Marc Olsen, the a midfielder for Denmark 1st Division, backgammon is not just a favorite pastime, as he already published a backgammon book and joined the celebrated Danish team at the Denmark vs. the World backgammon match held at the last Nordic Open.

Mary Hickey, the winner of Play65 US Open satellites, is the second US Backgammon Open Champion. After beating backgammon giant Falafel 7-6 at the Play65 satellites final, Hickey, also known as Mamabear64, fought Dorn Bishop at the 17-point US Open championship final, not minding even a 9-point lagging – and won.

US Open Championship is Mary Hickey’s highest backgammon achievement so far, and it awards her with about $9,000 first prize, free entry to the next World Backgammon Tour event (the Swedish Open, in Stockholm, Sweden on September 2010) and a chance to win over $50000 at the tour grand finale. And it all begun with a $60 Play65 tournament…

The fact the US Open is won for the second time by a woman backgammon player is also worth mentioning. Last year, the US Open backgammon tournament was launched with the winning of Carol Joy Cole, who beat former World Backgammon Champion Joe Russell at the final, and this year - Mary Hickey, who overcame a field of 44 players including some past and present giants (not including the giants she beat on Play65 to free enter the event). My guess is that next year the field will be filled with backgammon giantesses.

Play65 has completed its first successful collaboration with Backgammon in London, the largest backgammon club in London and is heading up for the next one.

Backgammon in London tournament

Play65 and Backgammon in London first joint event held on 4th May 4th, with Play65 contributing extra £200 to the total prize fund, which grew up to a sum of £2869 that was shared between the winners of the evening Swiss tournaments, knockouts and jackpots ( while the small time winners were awarded with Play65 backgammon boards).

Sean Williams (?) playing backgammon on Play65 board

The next backgammon tournament in the series will be held, again, on the first Tuesday of the next month, on 1 June at the Lockside Lounge on Camden, starting at 18:00 with Swiss tournaments and continuing with knockouts for latecomers and the traditional "Camden auction", Backgammon in London answer to Play65’s online backgammon satellites.