Local Team Wins Ultimate Rock Band Tourney

Four bands went head-to-head this weekend at the finale of Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.'s and MTV Games' landmark Total Rock, Total Rewards Rock Band Competition at Showboat Casino in Atlantic City. The finalists - chosen from the nearly 600 Rock Band bands from across the country that entered the competition - rocked their way through an edge-of-your-seat finale when The Gurnkillers triumphed over 2nd place band, FA/KE, by only three points.

The richest Rock Band competition in history, The Gurnkillers took home $10,000 in prize money and, on Saturday night, rocked out at the House of Blues in Atlantic City as the Opening Act for the legendary B-52s.

In a statement following their championship win, The Gurnkillers said, "We would like to thank Harrah's Resorts, MTV, and Harmonix for organizing the tournament and for bringing so many amazing gamers and rockers from around the country together. We'd also like to express our gratitude to the B-52s & the 88's for letting us take the stage to open for them and live out our rock star fantasies in a real venue, in front of a crowd of hundreds! It was an epic adventure beyond our wildest dreams. Also, a huge debt of gratitude to The Gurn Killer Army, we couldn't have done it without you!"

The meteoric road to victory for New York City's The Gurnkillers started when they successfully competed during a Rock Band Night on April 24th at Showboat Atlantic City, scoring a phenomenal 2,614,748 points on Disturbed's "Down With the Sickness." From there, the band won the chance to battle it out with other victorious, local gamers at the Eastern Regional competition hosted by Hip-Hop icon and MTV News Correspondent Sway Calloway on May 7th at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City where they nabbed the top regional slot. And the rest is now Rock Band history.

Self-described "NONSTOP" Rock Band fans since Rock Band came out and regulars at Almost Famous Tuesdays at NYC's Village Pourhouse, The Gurnkillers is made up of singer (and data product developer) Joel Micalizzi, 23, guitarist (and web designer) Chris Daou, 28, bassist (and producer) Miguel Molinari, 30, and drummer (and sound designer) Luca Fusi, 25. The Gurnkillers' confidence and competitive spirit was evident from the beginning. On their official Twitter page, they described themselves as "the Hottest, Most Rocking Rock Band That Will Win The Harrah's RB Tourney!"

The other national winners from the Total Rock, Total Rewards Rock Band Competition include:

2nd Place - FA/KE, representing Harrah's Rincon, who took home $1,500.

3rd Place - Ninjas in Disguise representing Harrah's St. Louis, who took home $750.

4th Place - Wet Nelson and the Hot Commodities representing Harrah's Metropolis, who took home $500.

The regional events and Atlantic City competition, for the unprecedented Total Rock, Total Rewards Rock Band Competition, were produced by MTV Networks Special Events, and hosted and judged by MTV, Harmonix, Harrah's Operating Company, and local celebrities.

For more information on the competition, please visit http://www.harrahs.com/rockband.