WHALE BOWL BENEFITS 

WHALE ANNOUNCES “WHALE BOWL APPRECIATION NIGHT” PROMOTION

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Whale Bowl Ticket Purchasers will be Offered Special Deals on Tickets and Merchandise at Wednesday, March 2 Whale Game

HARTFORD, February 24, 2011: Whalers Sports and Entertainment president and COO Howard Baldwin Jr. announced today a “Whale Bowl Appreciation Night” promotion for the Connecticut Whale’s next home game at the XL Center, which is this Wednesday, March 2 against the Springfield Falcons.

Whale Bowl ticket purchasers who present their Whale Bowl ticket stub at the XL Center ticket office can purchase one $19 or $12 ticket for the March 2 Whale game, and receive a second of equal or lesser value free.  On top of that, the Whale will add a coupon for 15% off all Whale Bowl merchandise.  The coupon is redeemable at the Whale Pro Shop, which is located in the Hartford Store at 45 Pratt St. in downtown Hartford and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM to 4:30 PM.  The coupon is good only for Whale Bowl merchandise.

“We would sincerely like to thank all of the fans who bought tickets for Whale Bowl as part of the 2011 Harvest-Properties.com Hockey Fest held at Rentschler Field,” Baldwin, Jr. said.  “Whale fans helped to set a new AHL attendance record on February 19, braving the frigid elements in order to do so, and we are deeply grateful for all of their support of this historic event.”

The Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl drew an all-time AHL high of 21,673 to Rentschler Field this past Saturday, as the Whale lost a 5-4 shootout thriller to the Providence Bruins, following a celebration of some of the great names in Connecticut hockey history, in a Whalers legends vs. Boston Bruins legends game.

Tickets for the March 2 game, and all 2010-11 Whale home games, are available now at the XL Center box office, through Ticketmaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Tickets start at $7 each at the XL Center ticket office on game day.

The Whale’s next action is a two-game set in Charlotte, NC vs. the Charlotte Checkers, tonight and this Saturday, February 26.   Both games face off at 7:00 PM (WTIC HD-2, www.ctwhale.com, www.wtic.com).

For information on Whale ticket packages, group sales and VIP packages, call (860) 728-3366.

The AHL’s CT Whale is operated by Whalers Sports and Entertainment, a Hartford-based sports marketing and event firm founded by Howard Baldwin.  The team is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers.

Since 1972, the CT Lottery has generated more than $19.3 billion in sales and has transferred nearly $6.7 billion to the state’s General Fund.  Prizes have exceeded more than $11.1 billion.  Purchasers must be 18 years or older.  If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-346-6238.  For more information about the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, call (860) 713-2000, or visit the CT Lottery web site at ctlottery.org.