Atlanta Reels in First $100,000 Fantasy Fishing Prize Winner as Georgia Prepares to Host $2.5 Million Forrest Wood Cup in 2010

/PRNewswire/ -- A little more than a year from now, Georgia will host the world's richest professional bass fishing tournament, the $2.5 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol, Aug. 5-8, 2010 on Lake Lanier near Atlanta, in which the world's best professional bass anglers will square off in the final tournament of the Walmart FLW Tour and compete in the world championship of bass fishing, and its $1 million grand prize.

For bass fishing junkies like Ryan Lawrence, a resident of nearby Marietta, Ga., the coming of the Forrest Wood Cup to Atlanta can't come soon enough. It's a dream come true to get up close and center to your favorite bass pros. That's because when he's not pouring concrete, Lawrence thinks about just one thing - bass fishing. He eats, sleeps and breathes bass fishing, religiously following the advice of bass pro heroes such as Team National Guard pro Scott Martin and Team Chevy pro Luke Clausen, while entertaining the fantasy of catching the big one some day.

Well, Lawrence's bass fishing fantasy has just come true, but not exactly in the way he thought. Instead of reeling in the 10-pound bass he's always dreamed of catching on nearby Lake Allatoona, Lawrence can brag about an even bigger catch -- $100,000 that he won for coming in first place playing FLW Fantasy Fishing. Lawrence is the first FLW Fantasy Fishing player from the Atlanta area to win a major prize in the international online game.

Playing FantasyFishing.com from the comfort of his home office, the owner of a small concrete construction company, Lawrence, 37, selected 10 professional bass fishermen who competed in the sixth tournament of the 2009 Walmart FLW Tour bass fishing series. Picking bass pros whom he regularly follows on weekend bass fishing television programs, Lawrence submitted his fantasy team just prior to the start of last weekend's Walmart FLW Tour bass fishing tournament on Lake Champlain near Plattsburgh, in upstate New York. It was the fifth FLW Fantasy Fishing tournament that Lawrence had entered this year at FantasyFishing.com, a game played in 123 countries around the world.

Earning points based on the performance of the bass pros that he picked, just like fantasy football or baseball, Lawrence scored more than 21,000 points when he picked the first place finisher of the Lake Champlain bass tournament, as well as the anglers who finished in sixth place (Team Kellogg's pro Dave Lefebre) and eighth place (Team M&M's/Snickers pro Greg Pugh). His exacta picks earned him huge bonus points on top of the points he earned by selecting a total of six bass pros who finished in the top 10. For his first place selection, Lawrence picked National Guard bass pro Scott Martin, a resident of Clewiston, Fla., who won the Walmart FLW Tour tournament presented by Folgers at Lake Champlain and its $125,000 prize with 10 bass for a final-round total weight of 36 pounds, 4 ounces.

"I'm hooked. This is unbelievable," said Lawrence, who's never played any other fantasy sports game before trying FLW Fantasy Fishing. "I'm totally beside myself."

Like a fishermen who relies on his confidence baits, the fishing lures that rarely let you down, Lawrence said he went to those bass pros with whom he had the most confidence in winning the final, regular-season tournament of the Walmart FLW Tour - names such as Scott Martin, Clausen, Team Chevy Pro Larry Nixon, Team Walmart pro George Cochran, Team Folgers pro Scott Suggs and Team Chevy pro Anthony Gagliardi.

A native of Ft. Madison, Iowa, Lawrence dreams of getting a new bass boat to replace the bass boat he bought four years ago with his prize money. But, it's likely that his wife Stacy will have first say on his $100,000 prize.

"I'd love a new Ranger bass boat," Lawrence said, "but I think my wife has her eye on a new kitchen. And, she's also hinting that it's time to expand our family."

While Lawrence and his wife may have to "sleep on" what they'll eventually do with their prize winnings, one thing they know they'll do for sure is take their two daughters to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

$1 Million Grand Prize to be Awarded in Pittsburgh, Aug. 1

All eyes in the world of fantasy fishing and fantasy sports are now turning to Pittsburgh, Pa. On Aug. 1, 2009, as part of the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup championship tournament activities, FLW Outdoors will name the champion of the 2009 FLW Fantasy Fishing season and its $1 million grand prize.

The 10 fantasy fishing players who have accumulated the most points over FLW Fantasy Fishing's tournament season, which is based on the six tournaments of the Walmart FLW Tour, will be invited to the $1 million FLW Fantasy Fishing award ceremony at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. The FLW Fantasy Fishing player who has accumulated the most points over the entire season will be named champion and will receive a check for $1 million. The other top nine point finishers also will receive major prizes, which include a Ranger Z20 Comanche bass boat powered with an Evinrude engine (second place), a Ranger Reata fish and ski boat powered by an Evinrude engine (third place), a Chevrolet Malibu sedan (fourth place) and a $25,000 Walmart gift card (fifth place).

The Forrest Wood Cup is the final event in the Walmart FLW Tour. To catch all of the action at the Forrest Wood Cup, watch FLWOutdoors.com, as well as the "FLW Outdoors" television program, which is broadcast in high definition (HD) on VERSUS, the network that brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated "FLW Outdoors" airs each Sunday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Eastern time.

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Georgia Reels in Major Championship Fishing Tournament

overnor Sonny Perdue joined FLW Outdoors Chairman Irwin Jacobs and other state and local officials December 16 to announce Lake Lanier and Atlanta as the site of the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol. This championship fishing tournament, which is scheduled for August 5 – 8, 2010, will draw the top bass anglers in the country as they compete for a $2.5 million purse. The tournament will be staged out of the Go Fish Georgia mega-ramp currently under construction at Laurel Park on Lake Lanier. The weigh-ins are slated for the Georgia Dome, and the Family Fun Zone and Outdoor Show will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center.

“The Forrest Wood Cup is the largest fishing tournament in the country, and bringing this tournament to Georgia is exactly what I envisioned for the mega-ramps we are building as part of Go Fish,” said Governor Perdue. “This tournament will provide nationally televised exposure for our fishing resources, generate excitement about fishing in Georgia, and provide a positive economic impact on our local communities.”

Go Fish Georgia is designed to establish Georgia as a national fishing destination by improving the quality of fishing in Georgia waters, improving access to lakes and rivers for fishing in Georgia and increasing participation through promotion and marketing of Georgia’s exceptional fishing resources. Plans call for the development of a Go Fish Georgia Visitors Center and Hatchery and an 18-site bass fishing trail with mega-ramps to accommodate large fishing tournaments.

“We are proud to have Atlanta serve as host for Forrest Wood Cup in 2010,” said Irwin Jacobs, Chairman of FLW Outdoors. “The Forrest Wood Cup is not just another tournament and an outdoor show. This is a weeklong event that brings the entire community together. Young anglers showcase their talents in the National Guard Junior World Championship and professional anglers vie for the most prestigious title in bass fishing, Forrest Wood Cup Champion. The Forrest Wood Cup showcases everything that makes bass fishing the greatest sport in the world, including the richest payout in all of fantasy sports, $1 million to the grand prize winner of Fantasy Fishing.”

The Forrest Wood Cup is bass fishing’s crown jewel and the richest tournament in competitive fishing with a total purse of $2.5 million and offers $1 million to the winner. The 78 pro anglers competing for the title qualify through the Walmart FLW Tour, Walmart FLW Series, Stren Series, and includes the champions of the Walmart Bass Fishing League and the National Guard FLW College Series.

In 2008, coverage of the Forrest Wood Cup was broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program that aired Sept. 28 and Oct. 5. “FLW Outdoors” was also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia and the Middle East through a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone, the organization offered more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits.

Fishing is big business in Georgia and has an estimated annual economic impact of $1.9 billion. The Go Fish Georgia Bass Trail alone will provide a sound return on investment in Go Fish Georgia. The state provided $5 million toward the development of the mega-ramp trails which was matched by local communities who wanted to build these ramps to attract large fishing tournaments. Mid-sized tournaments can have an economic impact of up to $5 million; large championship tournaments like the Forrest Wood Cup can generate upwards of $20 million.

Since 1996 when the first made-for-television tournament aired, the sport has grown rapidly. Fishing now ranks as the fifth most popular sport in the nation. According to the 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-associated Recreation, conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Commerce and the Fish and Wildlife Service, about one in every six U.S. residents 16 and older fish. Resident and non-resident anglers in Georgia currently spend $1 billion each year with an estimated $1.9 billion in economic impact.

“We look forward to working with FLW Outdoors and local and city governments to make this a very successful tournament that brings in the top professional anglers to Georgia,” said Georgia Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Noel Holcomb. “Lake Lanier is the perfect venue to accomplish all of these things and we hope that this will bring home to Georgians that fishing can be enjoyed by everyone.”

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