• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, January 13, 2006

America Online on Thursday announced a partnership with the gaming television network GSN to launch a digital blackjack hub on AOL in April.

The blackjack area will feature no-stakes entrée to blackjack games with others online, tips from gambling professionals, and behind-the-scenes footage from GSN's World Series of Blackjack TV show in April.

From Jan. 19 through Feb. 8, AOL will be promoting the hub with a chance to win one of eight trips to Vegas, where winners will play in a qualifying Blackjack tournament taped exclusively for AOL.com.

The two finalists of the qualifying tournament will be among 40 players competing for a piece of the million-dollar prize pool at the World Series of Blackjack at the Las Vegas Hilton. The grand-prize winner will receive $500,000.

The World Series of Blackjack will consist of 13 one-hour weekly episodes which will begin airing in June on GSN. As part of the partnership, GSN will direct viewers of World Series of Blackjack and its Casino Night programming on Monday nights to the new Blackjack area on AOL. The World Series of Blackjack program will also be promoted across relevant sites on the AOL network, including AOL Games, AOL Television, and AOL Vegas, among others.

AOL recently partnered with Harrah's Entertainment to create a World Series of Poker online area on AOL.com, which features free poker games for players of various skill levels, and opportunities for players to win a seat at World Series of Poker events. AOL also recently launched AOL Vegas, a new Las Vegas destination dedicated to all things Vegas from casino games, travel planning, and original programming.