Dallas Resident to be Inducted into Hall of Fame

Ben Gold of Dallas, Texas, is one of 29 inductees recognized for their video game achievements being inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame.

The International Video Game Hall of Fame (IVGHOF) has announced that a Dallas man is to be inducted into the IVGHOF on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2010, at the Bridge View Center in Ottumwa, Iowa.

Ben Gold, of Dallas, Texas, will be honored for his accomplishments as an arcade video game competitor. In a career that stretches back nearly 30 years, Gold has enjoyed recognition as the former world record holder on Stargate, Millipede and Q*Bert. Gold first attained national prominence as a video game competitor who appeared in a now-famous group photograph of video game superstars that was published in the January, 1983 edition of LIFE Magazine. He was the winner of history's first video game world championship which was filmed in Ottumwa, Iowa by ABC-TV's That's Incredible in January, 1983.  He was a founding member of history's first professional video game team, which toured the USA in the summer of 1983 under the name the U.S. National Video Game Team. As a member of the IVGHOF Class of 2010, Gold takes his place alongside 28 other gaming celebrities, including Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario and Donkey Kong; Ralph Baer,The Father of Video Games; and Pac-Man.

Gold graduated from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington DC with an MA in international relations.  He has lived, studied and worked in Europe for over 10 years of his life and speaks German, Italian, Romanian and Spanish.  Mr. Gold is an outside sales rep for a national HR and payroll outsourcing company and lives in Dallas.  He is married with 2 sons and a daughter on the way.

The IVGHOF was created to honor the video game age luminaries and to preserve artifacts and memorabilia generated by this dynamic industry. The IVGHOF is registered with the IRS as a 501C(3) not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization allowing it to accept donations and issue tax receipts.

The City of Ottumwa is recognized as being the "birthplace" of organized, competitive video game playing. The city was proclaimed the "Video Game Capital of the World November 30, 1982, by then-Mayor Jerry Parker. This claim was confirmed by Iowo Governor Branstad, Atari and the Amusement Game Manufacturer's Association (AGMA) in a special ceremony on March 19, 1983. Today, the City of Ottumwa conducts an annual four-day video game festival called "The Big Bang" to give further recognition to the gaming celebrities being inducted into the IVGHOF.

For more information, contact
Walter Day at 641-226-6275

or :
International Video Game Hall of Fame & Museum
217 East Main Street
P.O. Box 308
Ottumwa, Iowa 52501
info@ivghof.com

For more information on the event, please visit http://www.ivghof.com

About The Big Bang
The Big Bang is Ottumwa's Annual Video Game Festival, co-created by the Citizens of Ottumwa and the International Video Game Hall of Fame.  The Big Bang 2010: Making Gaming Matter is a four-day event held concurrently with the Grand Induction Ceremonies for the International Video Game Hall of Fame & Museum (IVGHOF&M).  The festival features contests, concerts, dealer showrooms, panel discussions, guest celebrities, costume contests and much more.  For more information visit: http://www.ivghof.com

About The International Video Game Hall of Fame
Located in Ottumwa, Iowa, the International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum is dedicated to honoring excellence in the field of electronic gaming by recognizing the champions, industries and professionals related to this popular activity. We will build and maintain a state-of-the art interactive facility containing historical archive exhibits describing the historic milestones of the video game industry, and preserve significant video gaming relics, memorabilia and artifacts of the times past and present.