It's part sweepstakes, part instant win game as Pizza Hut signs on with EA to promote the latest entry in their boxing franchise, due out June 30th for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Players can enter the sweepstakes once per day for a chance to win a trip for two to Las Vegas to watch a championship fight in person, so you can compare the real thing to the fake thing. Perhaps of greater interest to our readers, however, is the instant win portion of the contest, where they'll be giving away 10 limited-edition Fight Night 4 Xbox 360 consoles, and 200 copies of the 360 version of the game.

Entering the sweepstakes takes you to the instant win game, where you must click on a punching bag to see if you win. I didn't, which means the chances that you will just got that much better. Good luck!

Update: EA Sports passed along a couple of pictures of the consoles for us, and damn if they don't look worth entering a contest for.

Rumble in the Ring Sweepstakes [Pizza Hut]

Sure, it'll be in a small window and you won't be able to physically touch Mr. Spock, but think how much nicer your house smells compared to the event! Come to think of it, if I wanted to smell unwashed Trek fans I just wouldn't shower for a couple days. Bad smells are better when they're yours.

August 10 Webcast Info! [Star Trek Online]

The pass also gets you into the Free Realms beta test, a beta for an upcoming EQ2 expansion, gifts, in-game items, and the chance to listen to John Smedley talk for a bit.

Of course if you'd rather miss out on all the All-Access goodness you can pick up a day pass for $39, which just seems like a giant waste of time and money. Head over to http://www.soefanfaire.com/ and mention my name when you register to receive the awkward joy of having my name on your attendee badge. I've been doing it for years, and look where it's gotten me!

Your cellphone rings, and a detective calls you to the scene — just like a real CSI detective. This combination of game play with popular content and a whole new level of interactivity represent enormous entertainment and business potential for the mobile world.

It sounds like a pretty cool gimmick actually and leaves me wondering if this might tie in somehow with the mysterious cell phone I received yesterday...

It seems we finally have the full story on the Master Chief wax figure that was revealed today in an event at Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas. The official post-unveiling press release states that the figure was introduced by Fall Out Boy's Pete "I'll kiss anybody" Wentz in a ceremony held this afternoon. Pete had a somewhat wooden, obviously PR department written speech for the occasion:

For me, the launch of Halo 3 will be the entertainment event of the year. It will be as big as or bigger than any of the summer's movie blockbusters," said Wentz. "Master Chief is as much of a hero today as characters like Spiderman, Frodo and Luke Skywalker were for previous generations.

Pete Wentz? Really? I'll just move past that bizarre choice in celebrity and move on to the additional announcement that Madame Tussauds will also be carrying a whole "array of Halo licensed products" that museum visitors can purchase. Somehow, I think that will surprise absolutely no one.

Unfortunately, the press release odd did not include any photos of the finished piece so you'll have to make do with this old one. Full press release available for consumption after the jump.

EPIC HERO OF XBOX 360'S HALO 3 UNVEILED AT MADAME TUSSAUDS LAS VEGAS

Master Chief Joins Heroes of Television and Film as the First Video Game Character to be Immortalized in Madame Tussauds' 250-Year History

LAS VEGAS (September 8, 2007) - Madame Tussauds Las Vegas honored Xbox 360's Halo by immortalizing Master Chief as the first video game character to be enshrined in the world famous attraction's 250-year history. The impressively life-sized figure of Halo's Master Chief was revealed to the world by song writer and bass player Pete Wentz of 2007 Teen Choice Award Winner and Grammy nominated band Fall Out Boy at an official unveiling ceremony Saturday afternoon.

"For me, the launch of Halo 3 will be the entertainment event of the year. It will be as big as or bigger than any of the summer's movie blockbusters," said Wentz. "Master Chief is as much of a hero today as characters like Spiderman, Frodo and Luke Skywalker were for previous generations."

The figure was created at the Madame Tussauds Studios in London specifically for the Las Vegas attraction. Master Chief stands at an impressive 7'2" tall, with an approximate finished weight of 275 lbs. A total of 10 studio artists worked on the massive figure, dedicating an estimated 892 man-hours for the finalization of the stoic soldier. Total man-hours included 687 hours for sculpting, 168 hours for molding, and 37 hours for painting. Materials included over 1,000 pounds of
clay.

"Master Chief is the first computer gaming personality immortalized by Madame Tussauds in our 250 year history - recognizing the 'celebrity' of the Halo series that we had to capture", commented Adrian Jones, General Manager for Madame Tussauds Las Vegas.

Visitors to Madame Tussauds Las Vegas will have the opportunity to see the massive figure up close and personal before the most anticipated game release of 2007 - Halo 3, scheduled for September 25, 2007. Master Chief will be stationed at the attraction's front entrance area - providing guests with a "disarming" greeting at the door. With its towering presence, this newest attraction at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas
is sure to bring out the most devoted fan base - Halo Nation, for a personal look and photo with their iconic hero. As is Madame Tussauds standard operating procedure, guests will be able to interact with the figure for photos and a close-up look at the artistic details that bring this digital game world hero to life.

In addition to getting their picture taken with the legendary Master Chief at Madame Tussauds, Halo 3 fans will have the opportunity to purchase an array of Halo licensed products, at the Madame Tussauds Las Vegas location in addition to other gaming, specialty, and traditional retailers courtesy of Microsoft's exclusive Halo 3 licensing agent 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising.

Old and old-shool gamers who have a fondness for The Longest Journey, Zork, or Gabriel Knight should clear their calendars for the August 28th and 29th get together as it promises some pretty big names... in the adventure game world, of course.

Registration is open now and the whole shebang will set you back $599 per person (including hotel rooms, meals, and con tickets), but cheaper packages are available. Hardcore adventure games hitting Vegas in the middle of summer? I expect a sexy, texty time! Michael McWhertor

AdventureCon Plans Adventure Game Celebration [Gamasutra]

But don't worry, you're in capable hands and of course team Gizmodo is covering all that non-gaming stuff that will happen here, which I like to call crap I don't care about.

I can't tell you why I'm here for less than 12 hours, but it was interesting enough to roust me out of my frozen lair and fly here pretty much last minute. Check back later today for more details and through the week for plenty o Mike at CES goodness. Brian Crecente

With the Consumer Electronics Show going down next week in Las Vegas, I'm just about to make my trip east to score a little Kotaku coverage. That means I won't be playing much in the way of games this weekend. Outside of pulling a few slot machine arms and a handful of games of blackjack at the cheap tables, I'll probably play nothing but a few quick rounds of Bit Generations games on my Game Boy micro.

Scratch that. I just remembered I installed Diablo II and the Lord of Destruction expansion on my MacBook Pro this week. I think I'll be making a run at Diablo with a new Barbarian in between rounds of heavy drinking on the Strip.

What's on your plate this weekend, dear Kotaku readers? Anyone out there making the trek to CES? Let us know what you're spending time with in the comments. Michael McWhertor

Anime Tour for The Cure, a joint effort between Anime FF & Anime Vegas to provide a non profit Anime Convention to help raise money for a Breast Cancer Foundation, is giving away some next-gen consoles at their event early next year.

To help stoke the anime competition, the Tour for the Cure is giving away two Playstation 3s and six Wiis.

But if you want to enter you better get on it, you only have until Dec. 20 to submit your fan art to the site.

From now until December 20th, submit your fan art entry to theOtaku.com's fan art site (you have to register first to do this) with the tag "awareness" and include *something* in the piece related to breast cancer awareness. We're keeping the latter requirement loose; you can use the color pink prolifically, you can feature the breast cancer awareness ribbon, or you can go all-out on the subject. Characters depicted must be original creations, nothing from licensed anime (e.g. Naruto, DragonBall, etc.). Be creative!

After December 20th, we will select all or a portion of the submissions and prepare them for exhibition at AnimeFF. On site, attendees will vote on their favorite works. There will be EIGHT winners, based on votes. You do not have to attend the convention to enter this contest, only to vote.

Sadly, this contest is only open to people based in the United States, due to technical/legal issues.

First and second place win a PS3, third through Eighth land a Wii each and the prizes are already in their hot little hands.

While you don't need to attend the event to enter, keep in mind that 100 percent of ticket sales go toward breast cancer research. Brian Crecente

Major Anime Art Competition [The Otaku, no relation]

Nintendo just announced that in cooperation with the opening of a retirement community in the "gated country club community" Stallion Mountain in Las Vegas, this weekend will be host to a Brain Age soiree of methuselan proportions. Says Gamasutra:

During the event, hundreds of seniors aged 55 and older will have an opportunity to play Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day, a game designed to keep people's minds active with mental workouts that incorporate the voice-command and touch-screen capabilities of Nintendo DS.

In addition, Nintendo noted that ten individuals will win a Nintendo DS Lite and a copy of Brain Age. The event will take place Saturday, July 15, between 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. PDT.

So pack up grandma and tell her she's going to Vegas. Pick up an extra stylus or two because they're bound to be dropped and forgotten, buy the old girl a martini and peel out. Your family won't blame you for long. Eliza gauger

More here [Gamasutra]

"It could be harmful economically, and it may be something that's not entitled to free speech (protection)," Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said of the game's realistic scenes, which he had not personally viewed.
"It's based on a false premise," Goodman said, adding federal and state leaders have repeatedly assured him that Las Vegas is "the safest place imaginable" nearly five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the East Coast.
"I will ask ... whether or not we can stop it," Goodman said of the game's planned November release.