Following the recent launching of the mysterious Last Call Poker site, a gambling website with roots in the Wild West and a number of apparently deceased players frequenting its tables, fans of the 'alternate reality game' (ARG) began to notice that a formidable new effort was taking shape.
A number of website puzzles centered around mysterious characters playing on the poker tables at the site have already revealed insights into the complex story. Last Call Poker itself, which, according to an official press release, was "designed and funded by deceased millionaire, Lionel "Lucky" Brown", has now been linked to pre-order card deck bonuses for Neversoft and Activision's Wild West video game Gun, leading many to believe that the ARG has been designed to promote Gun's November 8th multi-console release.
Furthermore, according to the press release announcing the opening of the Last Call Poker website: "As his final resting place has been kept secret, an undisclosed amount of money has been set aside for "wakes" to be held in cemeteries nationwide where poker fans will play Tombstone Hold 'Em, a poker variant Brown invented while serving in Europe at the end of World War II."
The first of these get-togethers is due to occur tomorrow, October 15, in Colma, "San Francisco’s very own City of the Dead", at the Italian Cemetary. Further dates of the spooky 'Tombstone Hold 'Em' get-togethers are on October 22 in Washington, D.C., October 29 in Kansas City, November 5 in New York City, November 12 in Atlanta, and November 29 in Los Angeles, and more information is available on the Last Call Poker 'All In' page.
Finally, it's worth noting that seminal ARG creators 4orty 2wo Entertainment, maker of both the 'Cloudmakers' game based around the A.I movie and the most recent 'I Love Bees' alternate reality game based on Bungie's Halo 2, appear to be related to Last Call Poker. In fact, 4orty 2wo's Jane McGonigal has announced her talk at the Austin Game Conference will include "a close up look at how players of major alternate reality games like I Love Bees and Last Call Poker are redefining community in the MMO space", more specifically pointing to the company's role in this ARG's creation.
