Canadian Poker Tour Signs Deal with Deepstacks Live

June 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

LAS VEGAS–(Business Wire)–
HeadsUp Entertainment International Inc. (Pinksheets: HDUP) operators of the
Canadian Poker Tour (CPT) and Canadian Poker Player Magazine are pleased to
announce that they have entered into an agreement to hold a Deepstacks Live
seminar at the 2010 Canadian Open Poker Championships. Numerous Team DeepStacks
Pros, led by champion poker player Mike “The Mouth” Matusow will be on hand for
this full day special event.

This deal marks the beginning of a long term partnership between the two
companies to market poker training seminars across Canada and capitalize on the
infrastructure that the Canadian Poker Tour has built. DeepStacks CEO Chris
Torina and HeadsUp Entertainment President Kelly Kellner are meeting this week
in Las Vegas at the World Series of Poker to finalize the strategic partnership.
More details will be forthcoming.

This deal is another in the vertical integration strategy that HeadsUp is
implementing to maximize revenues through strategic partnerships aimed at
monetizing the poker marketplace.

About HeadsUp Entertainment International Inc.

HeadsUp Entertainment International Inc. is a global media and entertainment
company engaged in the creation of branded entertainment through the
development, production and marketing of televised programming based on poker
and other entertainment themes. For more information see the Company’s website
www.headsupentertainment.com.

About DeepStacks Live

DeepStacks Live (www.DeepStacks.com) was developed to radically improve the
abilities of poker players. Based on military and law enforcement scenario-based
high risk training techniques, DeepStacks Live seminars are offered at casinos
and card rooms across the U.S. and Canada. DeepStacks Live instructors, dubbed
Team DeepStacks, are the best in the world. Led by such legendary professional
poker players as Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, Poker Hall
of Fame Inductee TJ Cloutier and WSOP Main Event Champion Tom McEvoy, Team
DeepStacks has combined to capture 1 WSOP World Championship, 16 WSOP bracelets
and more than $40 million in lifetime tournament earnings.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of
the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this
release, words such as “estimate,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “projected,”
“planned,” forecasted” and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements, which are, by their very nature, not guarantees of
HeadsUp Entertainment International Inc.’s future operational or financial
performance, and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date of this release. Due to the risks and uncertainties, actual
events may differ materially from current expectations. The Company disclaims
any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations:
HeadsUp Entertainment International Inc.
Kelly B. Kellner, 403-269-9039
www.headsupentertainment.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010

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Tokyo firm rents fake family, friends for weddings

June 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

It’s the wedding season in Japan but instead of opting for a small event in tough times, couples can rent fake family, friends and colleagues to plump up the guest list.

Many in Japan see weddings as a formal event that must be attended by as many family members, friends and co-workers as possible. At the party, bosses often give speeches, colleagues or friends stage performances, and families greet other guests.

But what if you’ve got no one to do that for you?

“We’ll attend the wedding as your friend instead of your friend,” Hiroshi Mizutani, who heads Office Agents in Tokyo, a company that rents out guests, told Reuters.

“Suddenly, a guest might not be able to make it. Or maybe you are concerned about the gap in the number of guests you have compared to your partner. Or, there are many temp workers these days and they may be uncomfortable inviting the boss.”

For 20,000 yen ($200), Office Agents provides a staff member to attend the ceremony. For an additional 5,000 yen, that person can perform a song or a dance. Pitch in another 10,000 yen and that person can make a speech that would make you proud.

As recession hits Japan, Mizutani said work-related requests are rising, with clients asking for a fake boss, who in real life may have become too busy for the wedding after losing his job, or coworkers for temporary workers that switch offices often without getting to know those they work with.

At one wedding, all 30 of the family, friends and coworkers of the groom were fakes, Mizutani said. This was the second marriage for the groom, who wanted to avoid inviting the same guests from the first wedding.

The firm gets about 100 wedding requests per year and has some 1,000 fakes available for various occasions, including funerals and training seminars.

It even offers fake lovers to introduce to your family and stand-in secretaries for those that want to look important.

The key qualification for Office Agents’ staff is that they do not stand out.

“What’s important is that these are normal people… normal as in they are cheery and clean and look like they have regular jobs,” Mizutani said.

Sometimes not even the marriage partner is aware.

“People are proud and they don’t want to tell their partner that they do not have many friends,” Mizutani said.

“The environment is so that people don’t have anyone to invite. It may be that they are lonely and it may also be that the way people work are changing.”

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Doga: The dogged path to practising yoga in US

April 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

In Chicago, Kristyn Caliendo does forward-bends with a Jack Russell terrier draped around her neck. In Manhattan, Grace Yang strikes a warrior
pose while balancing a Shih Tzu on her thigh. And in Seattle, Chantale Stiller-Anderson practices an asana that requires side-stretching across a 52-pound vizsla.

Call it a yogic twist: Downward-facing dog is no longer just for humans.

Ludicrous? Possibly. Grist for anyone who thinks that dog-owners have taken yoga too far? Perhaps. But classes of doga — yoga with dogs, as it is called — are increasing in number and popularity. Since Caliendo, a certified yoga instructor in Chicago, began to teach doga less than one year ago, her classes have doubled in size.

Not everyone in the yoga community is comfortable with this. “Doga runs the risk of trivializing yoga by turning a 2,500-year-old practice into a fad,” said Julie Lawrence, 60, a yoga instructor and studio owner in Portland, Oregon.

“To live in harmony with all beings, including dogs, is a truly yogic principle. But yoga class may not be the most appropriate way to express this.”

Appropriate or not, this is how it works: Doga combines massage and meditation with gentle stretching for dogs and their human partners. In chaturanga, dogs sit with their front paws in the air while their human partners provide support.

In an “upward-paw pose,” or sun salutation, owners lift dogs onto their hind legs. In a resting pose, the person reclines, with legs slightly bent over the dog’s torso, bolster-style, to relieve pressure on the spine.

Doga instructors are not required to complete certification, though teacher training seminars do exist. Guiding these techniques is an agreed-upon, though not officially stated, philosophy: Because dogs are pack animals, they are a natural match for yoga’s emphasis on union and connection with other beings.

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