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I personally think it’s crazy, but my colleague Brett Rivers just rocked his first 100 mile. The race was last weekend–the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 Mile–and he came in 3rd place. Without a doubt, a huge feat, considering he only completed his first ever marathon 11 months ago. I mean, can you imagine, running 100 miles?! He started at 5am and finished at 1:50am the next day. Amazing.

Congrats to Brett, who again, had only completed his first marathon less than a year ago, and to come in 3rd place at this major event is nothing short of amazing. If you want all the juicy details of some of the on and off elements of his delirium and paranoia (due to running in the pitch black Tahoe wilderness), read this: http://www.trailruntimes.com/?p=592

Here’s a pic of the man himself. Congrats Rivers–we’re proud of you and will look forward to following your trail.

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We have launched a new Twitter feed for Mafia Wars. Check it out here: http://www.twitter.com/mafiawars .

Follow us for the latest updates on Mafia Wars features and community. We will be periodically Tweeting about special community events and prizes, so keep a sharp eye out!

Steven Lurie Named General Manager of the Mobile Group; Roy Sehgal Named General Manager of the New Game Studio

San Francisco – April 30, 2009 – Zynga (www.zynga.com), the largest developer of social games, announced today two additions to its executive team. Steven Lurie has been named general manager of Zynga’s Mobile Group and Roy Sehgal has been named general manager of a recently created game studio that has yet to be officially named. Lurie will spearhead Zynga’s mobile division and will oversee development of all iPhone applications and be responsible for new digital revenue opportunities. Sehgal will be responsible for building out a strategic studio within Zynga focused on the development and operation of next-generation Zynga games.” Both will report to founder and CEO Mark Pincus.

Lurie joins Zynga from MHS Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund backed by leading entrepreneurs and industry leaders. Prior to MHS, he was CEO of Advice Company, which operates multiple leading Web sites including FreeAdvice.com, the most visited legal and insurance information advice site for consumers, and AttorneyPages.com, a national directory of qualified attorneys. Lurie is a veteran of venture-backed start-ups and has played key executive roles at Ingenio and Microsoft.

Sehgal joins Zynga from MTV Networks where he served as vice president of premium games and services as well as vice president of consumer products and strategy for MTVN’s Nickelodeon Kids & Family Division. At MTVN, he played a key role in managing and growing several of the world’s largest casual game websites and brands such as AddictingGames.com, Shockwave.com, NickArcade.com and MyNoggin.com. Previously, Sehgal held senior executive roles at venture-backed startups and public companies in the online and digital media industry including Atom Entertainment, InfoSpace and July Systems.

“This is an exciting and pivotal time in Zynga’s history and we’re making two, very strategic additions to our executive team to help us continue to best serve our players,” said Mark Pincus, CEO and founder of Zynga. “Steven and Roy are outstanding additions and we’re excited to add executives of this caliber to accelerate our growth even further.”

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Company bolsters management team with execs from Yahoo!, Electronic Arts, and Yandex Labs

San Francisco – June 9, 2009 – Zynga, the largest developer of social games, today appointed several new members to its executive team to help oversee the company’s casual and mobility group, game development, general counsel, human resources, and business operations departments. The new team includes Reggie Davis, Robert Goldberg, Vish Makhijani, Colleen McCreary, and Mike Verdu.

“We were looking for a team with the strongest possible combination of leadership, business skills, and relevant experience in various fields to create a powerhouse ecosystem,” said Mark Pincus, CEO and founder of Zynga. “Working together, these five individuals will address our users’ needs, and their dynamic leadership, business insight, and rich experience will help Zynga take huge strides in the social gaming space.”

Reggie Davis joins Zynga as general counsel. Davis spent nine years of his career at Yahoo!, most recently serving as vice president of network and exchange operations, and prior to that was associate general counsel at the company. Davis will be responsible for overseeing Zynga’s legal department.

Robert Goldberg officially joins Zynga as senior vice president of business operations, which includes revenue management, sales, marketing, business and corporate development, partner management and studio services. Goldberg brings over 25 years of senior management experience at industry leading media, e-commerce, enterprise software companies and venture capital firms, including Idealab and NBCi.

Vish Makhijani joins Zynga as senior vice president of casual and mobility. Makhijani was previously CEO of Yandex Labs, a Russian search company, and prior to that had a long career with Yahoo!, with his last position as senior vice president, Yahoo! Search. He brings with him a wealth of experience to help Zynga capitalize on web and social network opportunities.

Colleen McCreary joined the company in March as chief people officer. Previously, she spent five years at Electronic Arts (EA), where she was global corporate human resources director as well as the head of university relations, community relations, and diversity, and worked with EA’s studios around the world. Prior to EA, McCreary spent several years at Microsoft in a number of different roles.

Mike Verdu joins the company as vice president of game development. Verdu most recently served as vice president and general manager of Electronic Arts Los Angeles where he oversaw major franchises such as Command & Conquer, Medal of Honor, and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth. Prior to that, he led EA’s real-time strategy gaming business. His past credits include key roles on games that have sold more than 20 million copies in aggregate. Verdu brings his passion for the social gaming space and will be focused on helping Zynga scale its abilities with respect to people, process, and product.

Zynga Brings The Most Popular Social Vampire Game to iPhone, Allowing Gamers to Start a Vampire Clan and Dominate the Living

San Francisco – June 4, 2009 – The epic battle to create the largest immortal empire has finally arrived on the iPhone. Zynga (www.zynga.com), the largest developer of social games, today announced the launch of Vampires: Bloodlust, a mobile version of its popular fantasy game – exclusively for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Vampire Wars is a proven commodity on social networks with over three million active users per month across social networks like Facebook and MySpace.

Vampires: Bloodlust features an all new contemporary gothic art style that includes new artwork, music and sound effects. Enhancing the experience through art and design, the game features intense audio tied into every mission and action that players make. Immortal empires are built with blood, health, stamina, and rage, and equipped with attack, defense and movement abilities to fight with other clans in the game. Players can also track their friends’ progress through a ranking ladder and real-time newsfeed that is sure to trigger the thirst for blood.

“The enhanced art style is a perfect example of how we continue to bring innovation to games on the iPhone,” said Mark Pincus, CEO, Zynga. “We were the first to bring a truly social gaming experience to the platform and will continue to deliver a gaming experience the leverages the tremendous power of the iPhone.”

Vampires: Bloodlust is available on any iPhone with EDGE, 3G or Wi-Fi access as well as the iPod touch. The game application is free and premium versions ranging from $10 to $40 will be available soon. The game is located in the iTunes store at: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=316438305&mt=8