Skateboarding’s Biggest Names and Rising Stars Compete for Largest Skateboarding Purse in History – Over $450,000 in Prize Money at the OC Fair July 10-12

2009 Online Video Contests: Search for Ams and Model Search Begin March 1

The Maloof Money Cup (www.maloofmoneycup.com), a three-day, five event competition and festival  hailed as the world’s greatest skateboarding competition  is back for a second year. The event, created by Joe Maloof, owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, returns to the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, Calif. during the opening weekend of the OC Fair, July 10-12, 2009.

Sanctioned as the National Championship by World Cup Skateboarding (www.wcsk8.com), the Maloof Money Cup (MMC) — presented by industry vets, etnies and action sports staple Monster Energy— is the largest pursed event in the history of professional skateboarding with more than $450,000 in prize money.

New for 2009, SPoTlight Productions, based out of the walls of Skatepark of Tampa, has been tapped to run the World Industries Amateur Street and Vert Contest. The 2009 event will also feature an innovative new street course designed by some of the top names in the skateboard industry and extended broadcast coverage, 3 1/2 hours in original content, on NBC and MTV2.

“The Maloof Family is honored to be presenting the World Championship of Skateboarding again this year. We are particularly excited about all of our skaters and sponsors that helped make last year such a huge success and we look forward to seeing them all back again at the OC Fair this summer,” said Joe Maloof.

Highlighting the weekend’s events will be the Zoo York U.S. Pro Street Championship, which will feature a $100,000 first prize and the Carl’s Jr. U.S. Pro Vert Championship that will award $75,000 and a tricked-out SUV to the winner who exhibits the best ―big air‖ and ―off-the-wall‖ tricks. The U.S. Women’s Pro Street Championship will offer the largest first prize in women’s
professional skateboarding with $25,000 going to the winner. The three-day event will also feature a 40,000 square-foot interactive festival village featuring action sport retailers and skateboarding activities.

The inaugural event featured 100 of the world’s best professional and amateur skateboarders and drew more than 20,000 attendees to watch the high energy competition. Nearly 200,000 people visited the festival village that featured action sports retailers and manufacturers, interactive games and skating skill activities for fans of all ages.

2009 Contests Announced

The Maloof Money Cup ―Search for Ams‖ contest and the ―Maloof Money Cup Model Search‖ begin March 1. The 2009 ―Search for Ams‖ contest will award two winners from the Street category and two winners from the Vert category with a spot in the World Industries Amateur Contest at the Maloof Money Cup. Videos should be submitted at www.maloofmoneycup.com. Entrants for the 2009 Maloof Money Cup Model Search can submit pictures and a short video of themselves at www.maloofmoneycup.com. The entrants will be narrowed down through an online voting process. The final 20 women will be the official Maloof Money Cup Spokesmodels for 2009 and will be part of the MMC Street Team.

“Last year’s group of incredible, world-class skaters made the competition the greatest skateboarding event in history. We are very happy to have been embraced by the skateboarding industry and plan to make this year even bigger,” said Maloof.

As part of the opening weekend of the 2009 OC Fair, the Maloof Money Cup brings fairgoers an exciting opportunity to see some of the world’s best professional and up-and-coming amateur skateboarders compete. Last year, nearly 200,000 people attended opening weekend and nearly 1.1 million patrons overall made their way to the OC Fair, setting the second highest attendance record in the Fair’s 116-year history. The 2009 OC Fair (www.ocfair.com), located off the 405 and 55 freeways at 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa, will run from July 10 – August 9 (closed Mondays and Tuesdays).

About Maloof Money Cup

The Maloof Money Cup is the premiere showcase for amateur and professional skateboarding. The three-day festival takes place July 10-12, 2009 at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, Calif., during the opening weekend of the OC Fair. The Maloof Money Cup 2008 boasted the largest purse in the history of professional skateboarding with more than $450,000 in prize money awarded in three professional U.S. Championship Competitions – Men’s and Women’s Pro Street, Men’s Pro Vert and the U.S. Amateur Championships.

Tickets for the 2009 Maloof Money Cup will be available soon at all Ticketmaster locations, online at ticketmaster.com, by calling (714) 740-2000 or (213) 480-3232, or at the OC Fair & Event Center Box Office at the Pacific Amphitheatre. Ticket prices range from $13 - $30. The official website, www.maloofmoneycup.com, shares the competition experience with a global audience, featuring contests, social networking, video episodes, photos, news stories and more.