Aftermath Islands Partners with Vegas.com Creator to Launch Vegas Island in the Metaverse
New virtual island will support “Las Vegas-type” industries and businesses with Liquid Avatar Technologies providing digital identity solutions for gated access and age and location verification
Bridgetown, Barbados / Malaga, Spain / Toronto, Canada – November 16, 2021 – Oasis Digital Studios Limited (“Oasis”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. (CSE: LQID / OTCQB:LQAVF / FRA:4T51), a leader in blockchain powered digital identity solutions that empower individuals, governments and businesses to protect and monetize brand new identity driven business models in both the real world and the metaverse, is pleased to announce that Oasis’ metaverse client Aftermath Islands, expected to launch mid 2022 has partnered with the creator of Vegas.com to build an entertainment and gaming experience island in their upcoming metaverse. Oasis will maintain a vested interest in the Vegas Island program.
Vegas Island is expected to have key gaming, entertainment, remote conferencing, and tradeshow capabilities as well as broadcast capabilities for concerts and sporting events.
Vegas Island will be managed, in collaboration with Mr. Howard Lefkowitz, a seasoned industry executive, who led Vegas.com through its rise from $360,000 in annual sales to over $400 million annually over a 10-year period. Lefkowitz has been active in key entertainment, travel, and technology industries both as an executive and inventor, holding several industry patents. Mr. Lefkowitz also serves as a consultant to support key introductions, business development and growth opportunities for Liquid Avatar Technologies.
According to a report from Grand View Research, the global online gambling market size is expected to reach USD 127.3 billion by 2027, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.5% from 2020 to 2027. According to Forbes Business Insights, in a new report titled, Online Gambling market, 2021-2028, the global online gambling market size is projected to reach USD 158.2 billion by 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 11.4% during the forecast period. Aftermath Islands believes that virtual gaming and other related experiences are prime opportunities for metaverse activities.
Commercial, gaming, entertainment, and other enterprises along with individuals will be able to acquire key virtual land and other assets only available on Vegas Island, expected to begin early 2022, ahead of the platform launch. A waitlist has already been established at www.vegasisland.io
Vegas Island will deploy key digital identity and gating technologies, provided by Liquid Avatar Technologies, that will enable players with proper verifiable credentials access to services, supporting any gaming, age verification and jurisdictional requirements.
“We’re seeing the most sweeping changes in the shortest period of time in the history of mankind,” says Mr. Lefkowitz. “I enjoy being involved in helping people and companies adjust to, adopt, and enable those changes as there is no roadmap. We can bridge the gaps by shifting from legacy thinking and infrastructure to new, sustainable models by melding technology, marketing, and revolutionary thinking in this new multi-disciplinary digital world we live in. What is changing is the interaction among customers, providers, and business partners, and I see myself, Liquid Avatar Technologies, Oasis and Aftermath Islands at that intersection. While we know that change is inevitable, we want to ensure that growth and success are key factors as change occurs.”
MANAGING ACCESS TO AGE RESTRICTED AND OTHER GATED METAVERSE INITIATIVES
Being built to comply with regulatory and age restrictions, Vegas Island will use Liquid Avatar Technologies’ digital identity and age and location verification services to authenticate virtual island visitors. Only those meeting the requirements to participate in activities on the island will be granted access. This “gated” technology solution allows Aftermath Islands account holders to authenticate their identity, privately and without disclosing any personally identifiable information to vendors or other players using the Liquid Avatar Mobile App.
“With the potential growth of metaverse activities, there will be a need to introduce digital identity services and support a user’s right to manage and control their online identity while ensuring that industry, governments, educational, health and other institutions are able to verify access rights,” said David Lucatch, CEO Liquid Avatar Technologies, and Managing Director Oasis Digital Studios. “Liquid Avatar Technologies has solutions to enable age and geographic verification as well as providing users with the ability to share what they want, when they want and with whom they want, allowing them to manage their digital identity and personal data.”
LIQUID AVATAR TO SHOWCASE AFTERMATH ISLANDS AT LOS ANGELES COMIC CON IN DECEMBER WITH SPONSORSHIP, PRIME BOOTH SPACE AND MAINSTAGE METAVERSE PANEL
Liquid Avatar Technologies is the Digital Innovation Partner at this year’s Los Angeles Comic Con (“LACC”) and will share its 1,500 square feet of booth space with Oasis – Booth #1241 – and will conduct a Mainstage panel and other panels and is administering an augmented reality scavenger hunt for participants at the event. Prior to the pandemic, more than 123,000 people attended the last live LACC in 2019. Other exclusive events and limited-edition sales are also planned for this event.
On Aftermath Islands, players can own VL, participate in quests, hang out with friends and colleagues, shop and more, all through their connected devices. The island program allows progression based on computing power to move from a first-person gaming type experience to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) as computing power and bandwidth continues to accelerate. Commercial applications like eCommerce, virtual conference and more are in the early planning stage and will allow enterprises to quickly take advantage of the growing metaverse opportunity.
On November 4, 2021, Aftermath Islands launched its VL sales for Phase 1 of its metaverse platform on Shopify using the Waxify App offering Digital Collectibles on the Wax blockchain. While some key land has already sold out, a limited number of single plots of VL representing 1,000 square meters are still available at introductory prices starting at $35 USD, and larger limited parcels of VL starting with four and as large as 100 plots are also still available.
According to Aftermath Islands, just over 7,500 parcels on themed, community and estate islands, with an aggregate opening list value of approximately $1.4 million USD, have been released in the opening sale with other phases currently in development. VL purchases can be made with fiat (traditional currencies), as well as select cryptocurrencies, using PayPal and Coinbase, with no gas fees, and with assets automatically dropped to connected wallets.
OASIS STUDIOS EXCLUSIVE AGENCY AGREEMENT PROVIDES POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT REVENUE AND EQUITY IN AFTERMATH ISLANDS METAVERSE
Aftermath Islands is under an exclusive agency contract with Oasis, which will receive up to 30% of the revenue from all sales, including primary VL and items, a portion of land and item resales, property management fees, together with a significant grant of VL, and exercisable equity in the platform. The Liquid Avatar Mobile App is also slated to play a role to support digital credentials required to manage Aftermath Islands metaverse accounts and asset verification.
All Aftermath Islands’ players will also have the ability to create a Liquid Avatar account allowing them to manage their digital identity and certain “crossover” assets and activities connecting their in-game activities to their real-world activities and engagement. Potential opportunities include managing avatars, items, integrated AR events and programs, and purchasing conventional items like sneakers or trainers through KABN KASH and earning exclusive bonuses, like matching digital assets for use in Aftermath Islands.
According to Aftermath Islands, limited brand and private island partnerships that will allow consumer, entertainment, sports, DeFi, fintech, and commercial organizations to build and manage their own experiences inside the Aftermath Islands metaverse are currently in discussion.
Aftermath Islands advises that in the coming months, updated white papers and technical reviews will be available, the initial governing council will be formed, and additional themes, new communities, and estates will open allowing players to own VL across a wide range of islands. For entertainment, financial, game, product, and other brands, select island environments will allow commercial operations and ownership, providing enterprises with the tools to create and support economic opportunities.
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For information on Vegas Islands and to receive updates, please click here
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About Howard Lefkowitz
Howard Lefkowitz likes to build things—be they companies, a team environment, new revenue streams or entirely new business models. He has had a career as a change agent inside and outside organizations around the globe.
During his 25+ years as an executive for companies such as Vegas.com, EarthLink, Home Shopping Network, Row 44, and board positions encompassing the tech, media, and health care industries, Lefkowitz has been innovating, operating, changing, and building. By merging marketing, content, and product with new and legacy technologies, he finds new and profitable business models and creates true team culture within organizations and across partner organizations.
Mr. Lefkowitz was CEO of VEGAS.com for ten years. He started with a 19-person team and a content-based Web site with 100,000 monthly, unique visitors and re-engineered it into the most visited city Web site in the world that receives more than 2.5 million visitors each month and is supported by 400 employees. Lefkowitz established strong consumer brands and focused on multiple revenue streams. Lefkowitz also spearheaded development of mission-critical, back-of-house systems used by most Las Vegas hotels, including payment gateways for credit card processing, box office and show ticket operations, systems integration, product development, concierge desks and retail systems and operations. The company went from $360,000 per year in sales to nearly $400 MIL annually under his leadership and became a globally renowned brand under his leadership.
These efforts have won numerous honors and awards, including the Odyssey Award for Best Domestic Marketing Campaign from The Travel Industry Association (TIA), more than 14 gold, silver, and bronze awards from the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and Editor & Publisher’s EPpy Award for Best Internet Shopping Service. Vegas.com was also a finalist for the Codie Award for Best Online Software Service by the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA). Lefkowitz also has 9 hospitality technology patents in the US, Canada, China, India, and other global jurisdictions.
Currently Mr. Lefkowitz is involved with a few promising startups in healthcare, pets, blockchain and crypto currency, and ecommerce, including Liquid Avatar Technologies, Oasis Digital Studios and Aftermath Islands.
A highly regarded leader and innovator, Lefkowitz has been featured in hundreds of magazines, newspapers, and television segments, including NBC Nightly News, ABC News, The Today Show, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Inc. Magazine, USA Today and many others. He has appeared as a public speaker at dozens of industry trade shows and universities, including the Haas Business School at University of California Berkley, San Diego State, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas among others.
Mr. Lefkowitz is a past Executive Board member of Interactive Travel Services Association (ITSA) and served on the Desert Springs Hospital Board of Directors and on the Executive Board for the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism at Valley High School. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Nevada Medical Center.
About Aftermath Islands – www.aftermathislands.com
Aftermath Islands as first described in the initial whitepaper published in 2017 and then subsequently updated, was based on the premise of a water-world with islands that represented destinations in a global virtual game. Since then, the Aftermath Islands metaverse has evolved and now represents exciting themed based islands, communities, and estates where players can experience a wide range of adventures and opportunities.
In Aftermath Islands’ virtual world, users can buy, develop, trade, and sell Virtual Land (VL), property and assets, like buildings, crafted items, transport, and other items all through NFTs, a non-fungible token that represents the ownership of virtual and other assets. Each plot or parcel of VL is unique and owners get to choose what content they want to publish on their VL. This can range from simple scenery and structures to an interactive game, store, warehouse, dwelling, facility, or destination. Users can purchase VL as well as all other goods and services in Aftermath Islands with CREDITS, the current code name for in-game currency, fiat and other authorized currencies, coins, and tokens.
Aftermath Islands is a shared virtual world, much like the Metaverse described by author Ernest Cline in his science-fiction novels Ready Player One and Ready Player Two. Expected to launch mid-2022, Aftermath Islands will allow users to connect and interact with each other, create content, craft, participate in activities and quests and play games. Aftermath Islands will have a virtual economy where users can engage in a myriad of in-world economic transactions as well as monetize the content, items, quests, and applications they build.
For more information about Aftermath Islands, please visit www.aftermathislands.com
About Oasis Digital Studios Limited – www.oasisdigitalstudios.com
Oasis Digital Studios Limited (“Oasis”) brings together leading individuals and organizations in blockchain technology, computer graphics, augmented reality, entertainment, art, sports, gaming, music, media, comic book, memorabilia, and pop culture arenas to support the fast-paced and growing digital collectible and NFT marketplace. The Oasis business model is to create storytelling, experiential and collectible partnerships with artists, sports personalities, talent, brands, and commercial enterprises to create digital offerings and digital / physical product programs via digital collectibles and NFTs. Oasis uses multimedia, cinematics, animations, and other techniques to create unique products together with the latest Augmented Reality and virtual technologies to tell the Artist and Talent stories providing immersive experiences for Digital Collectibles and NFTs. The Oasis AR Enhanced NFT experience, powered by ImagineAR, will be available exclusively through the Liquid Avatar Mobile App, which features the ability for users to create digital icons that allow them to manage, control and create value from their biometrically verified digital identity, and is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store.
About Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. – www.liquidavatartechnologies.com
Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. focuses on the verification, management and monetization of Self Sovereign Identity, empowering users to control and benefit from the use of their online identity.
The Liquid Avatar Mobile App, available in the Apple App Store and Google Play is a verified Self Sovereign Identity platform that empowers users to create high quality digital icons representing their online personas. These icons allow users to manage and control their digital identity and Verifiable Access and Identity Credentials, and to use Liquid Avatars to share public and permission based private data when they want and with whom they want.
The Liquid Avatar Verifiable Credentials Ecosystem (LAVCE) has been developed to support all participants in a digital credential ecosystem, including the Holder, Issuer and Verifier, using state-of-the-art blockchain and open standards technologies initially as a node on the Indicio Network. The Company is a voting and steering committee member of the Trust over IP Foundation, founding and steering committee member of Cardea, a Linux Foundation Public Health project, member of the Good Health Pass collaborative, DIACC, the Covid Credentials Initiative (“CCI”), The Linux Foundation and a founding member of the Lumedic Exchange.
The Company has a suite of early-stage revenue generating programs that support the Liquid Avatar Mobile App program, including KABN KASH, a cash back and reward program that has over 500 leading online merchants. In Canada, the Company also has the KABN Visa Card, a “challenger financial” platform that allows users to manage and control a range of financial services for traditional and digital currencies. The Company is currently exploring expansion of the KABN Visa Card program to other geographic regions, including the USA.
The Company’s subsidiary, Oasis Digital Studios, is a creative and development agency that supports a wide range of artists, talent, and enterprises with Non-Fungible Token (NFT) solutions.
Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. is publicly listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the symbol “LQID” (CSE:LQID).
The Company also trades in the United States, on the OTCQB under the symbol “LQAVF” and in Frankfurt under the symbol “4T51”.
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For more information, please visit www.liquidavatartechnologies.com
For further information, please contact:
David Lucatch
Chief Executive Officer
647-725-7742 Ext. 701
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Nicole Rodrigues
NRPR Group
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Forward-Looking Information and Statements
This press release contains certain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only the Company’s beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company’s control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “will continue”, “will occur” or “will be achieved”.
The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained herein include, but is not limited to, statements regarding the future launch of sales of digital and physical collectibles, Non-Fungible Tokens and other related products through Oasis Digital Studios and / or its clients, partners and other service providers, statements regarding the future capabilities of LAVCE, statements suggesting LAVCE (“Company Services”) will be successfully launched and integrated into the Liquid Avatar platform and partner programs, information concerning the timing for the launch of Liquid Avatar apps, the plans for future features of the Liquid Avatar apps, expected geographic expansion, the ability of the Company to generate revenues, roll out new programs and to successfully achieve business objectives, and expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors.
By identifying such information and statements in this manner, the Company is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable