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12/12/03 10:32 AM EST
FORTY PLUS ROW GATHERS MOMENTUM
Is Odds On owned by English
Harbour?
Player outrage grew this week as the unusual
circumstances surrounding the failure of Forty Plus Casino
continued to come to light, with questions being asked about the
relationship that software provider Odds On has with its
only surviving licensee the English Harbour group.
Just over two weeks back Forty Plus Casino made an
unannounced and abrupt departure, leaving unpaid players in its wake. CEO
George Finley and Casino Manager Alan Roberts vanished
and ignored all emails, having assured players in the preceding weeks that
their overdue payouts would be honoured.
The turnkey provider for Forty Plus is Odds On, but
astonishingly this Toronto-based company and its CEO Pierre Gagnon
issued no public or private player communications in the weeks following the
casino's failure. And attempts over the past week or more by InfoPowa to
get comment and answers to legitimate questions regarding this affair were
ignored.
Players were not prepared to allow the matter to lie
unanswered, however and the main message boards were soon filled with
indignant posts and persistent claims that Odds On and its sole surviving
licensee English Harbour, together with e-processor Virtual Exchange
and EC Exchange and marketing outfit IP Marketing had
a common ownership bond.
And it appears from information that is still coming in
that this relationship requires more explanation.
With the message boards bristling, this week Gagnon
sallied out from behind his wall of silence. But it was not to make a
public statement. Instead he made a private telephone call to Bryan
Bailey, webmaster of the Casinomeister portal in
which he made the astounding claim that Odds On accepted no responsibility
because it had no access to the casino backend, had not known what was going
on at its licensee, did not know where the owners had gone and was in any
case merely the software supplier.
Gagnon also claimed to Bailey that he had no information
regarding the financial status of Forty Plus because the casino had used an
e-processor independent of Odds On's usual supplier for this critical
service. Cynics immediately asked how Odds On kept track of its Royalty dues
if it did not know what was happening at its licensee.
Perhaps concerned at the escalating issue,
English Harbour then posted widely across the industry that it was
in no way connected with Forty Plus Casino, but that it had confidence in
Odds On as its software supplier. When asked to explicitly deny or confirm
any common ownership connections with Odds On in order to allay rampant
speculation, the casino group inexplicably remained silent.
As we went to press some surprising and as yet
unconfirmed information was coming in from a variety of sources, and efforts
to track down the Forty Plus owners without the cooperation of Odds On
continued.
And at least one poster mysteriously withdrew a post claiming an ownership
connection, whilst there is information to suggest that an attempt is being
made to have the Odds On business addresses posted earlier, expunged.
Clearly there is behind-the-scenes activity!
In today's industry the "we're just the software
provider" approach is an unacceptable cop-out as far as online gamblers are
concerned, and the player community expects providers to stand behind and
properly monitor the conduct of their licensees. At
the very least Odds On should have communicated with the players and
investigated the possibilities of arranging a bailout for them through
another casino.
Odds On has seen several licensees fail, among them
Vegas Player which appeared around July 2002 and by October
had disappeared, re-emerging in December under new iCrystal software as part
of Gambling Federation. It is understood that Odds On eventually assisted
players in that closure.
Another contentious failure was Casino 388
that reportedly did not give players the courtesy of payment when it folded.
There was a warning at that time on 'Gambling Grumbles' which after a long
struggle gave the case up as hopeless.
Unless some radical re-thinking on this matter takes
place at Odds On, the damage to reputation is likely to be substantial, and
future consumer resistance to their product cannot be ruled out.
MARTY IS MAIN STREET VEGAS
Critical posts regarding The
Rx's new owner
The other issue making waves in the industry this week
was Marty Jensen's attempt to advertise one of the infamous
Main Street Vegas casinos on The Prescription,
which he recently bought in a multi million dollar deal from Ken Weitzner
aka The Shrink.
The Prescription is respected by many gamblers, and there
were immediate protests that escalated to a pretty intense row on The Rx's
forum when Twin Aces advertising appeared briefly on the site.
Initially The Shrink defended the decision, but had the
grace to concede the posters may have a point as the Main Street Vegas
history was briefly explored by certain players, and the advert was taken
down.
Jensen, who is believed to reside in Canada but has his
casinos fly the Costa Rican flag remains something of an enigma, and
maintained a low profile when The Rx deal was announced. Media questions
concerning the deal have to this day been ignored by The Shrink who is still
on the payroll.
However, in the course of the exchanges some new facts
regarding the sale emerged, principally that Jensen is not, as was the
impression created in the takeover announcement, the sole owner of The Rx.
There are apparently others involved who prefer to stay in the background.
And Jensen is as elusive and reticent as ever.
This interesting happening also produced an
unexpected opportunity for the many Main Street Vegas players who remain
unpaid despite a promise some 2 or more years ago that their accounts would
only remain locked for six months. The amounts involved in these arbitrary
lockouts are believed to be considerable, and The Shrink has invited those
concerned to resubmit their claims so that he can take the matter up with
Jensen who is still apparently the owner of Main Street Vegas.
Coincidentally, the exchanges also showed the involvement
of one George Finley in the Main Street Vegas group -
obviously before his tenure of office as CEO of the failed Forty
Plus Casino mentioned elsewhere in this bulletin. A number of
people want to talk to George....
The address to which Main Street Vegas players can submit
appeals is
shrink@therx.com
VEGAS RED COMES RIGHT
Player complaints settled
Readers will recall that casinos in the Vegas
Red, Casino Del Rio and Casino Tropez group were
given a hot time on the message boards recently due to bonus disputes that
were not entirely their fault.
Last week we opined that the proof of the pudding would
be in the continued resolution of genuine appeals by a group that seems to
be determined to conduct its affairs in a fair and honest manner, and we are
pleased to report that the news on this front remains positive.
After requesting that players submit their complaints
direct to casino management, we understand that those concerned rapidly
resolved the outstanding matters.
This incident does not end there, however. These casinos
use the large Playtech Support infrastructure in Antigua and we're told that
some improvements there are being insisted upon. And in an attempt to
establish direct communications between any players with a problem and the
casino management itself, a direct-to-casino-management email connection
will soon be incorporated into the sites for the convenience of players.
This is a valuable step forward for players frustrated by
uninvolved, non-responsive, indecisive or plain incompetent CSRs and it is
surprising that more online casinos do not have such a facility that could
represent the difference between losing an expensively acquired client for
no good reason and good customer relationships.
MICROGAMING ANNOUNCES LICENCE AGREEMENT
Successful
negotiation on Menashe patent
It was almost exactly a year ago that InfoPowa reported
on major UK litigation involving the William Hill online
gambling division and a company called Menashe Business Mercantile
Limited headed by Dr. Julian Menashe.
The finding by three senior judges was on William
Hill's appeal against the ruling of inferior courts, and the gambling
group was defeated after over a year of litigation and presumably heavy
expenses.
The case was a vindication for European Patent
(UK) No. 0625760 through which Menashe Business Mercantile Ltd
claims to hold an exclusive licence. It relates to an invention entitled
'Interactive, computerised gaming system with remote control'.
Claim 1 claims "a gaming system for playing an interactive casino
game comprising a host computer, at least one terminal computer forming a
player station, communication means for connecting the terminal computer
to the host computer and the program means for operating the terminal
computer, the host computer and the communication means … characterised in
that the terminal computer is situated at a location remote from the host
computer …"
This week, the patent again moved centre stage with an
announcement by leading turnkey software provider Microgaming,
which has acquired a strategically important license from Menashe that
ensures it is protected under the patent.
The brief announcement from Microgaming CEO
Roger Raatgever said, "Microgaming has concluded a patent licence
agreement with Menashe Business Mercantile Limited and Dr. Julian Menashe.
The licence enables Microgaming, its associates and licensees to exploit
the technology, used in online casinos, covered by Dr. Menashe's
interactive, computerised gaming patents.
"In a young industry like online gaming, it is
inevitable that patent and other intellectual property claims are going to
be made. Mostly these claims are either misplaced or simply spurious but,
in the case of the Menashe suite of patents, Microgaming is pleased to
announce that it has negotiated a licence".
Dr. Menashe said, "An amicable settlement has been
reached between us, as I had hoped, knowing the reputation and standing of
Microgaming as a leader in the interactive gaming industry".
The acquisition of the license gives Microgaming a
significant advantage in the online gambling industry.
HOME HONOURS FOR THE MOB
Another successful tournament
for Prima's dream team
Poker celebrities, The Hendon Mob, finished in the money again on their
sixth stop of the Prima Poker Tour in Walsall, England,
last week taking home yet another trophy and £52,900 in prize money.
The Prima Poker.com network of twenty-some Microgaming-powered
casinos sponsored The Hendon Mob who have been winning an unprecedented
number of tournaments on their 8-stop tour.
Mobster Ross Boatman took a laudable 2nd place in The Midland
Masters 2003 £1,000 No-Limit Hold 'em Main Event, carrying
off £24,000 in prize money; while fellow Prima Poker Tour star Ram Vaswani
won £22,300 in a 1st place finish in the £500 No-Limit Hold 'em event and
added one more trophy to their string. Meanwhile, Joe "The Elegance" Beevers,
a third member of the Mob, finished in the money and took £3,600 for his 8th
place £1,000 No-Limit Hold 'em finish; and last but not least Barny Boatman
made two Hold'em finals netting £3,000 for 4th and 10th place finishes.
"It was a great feeling to be back at that final table, and although I
finished in the money I will be looking for the trophy at our next stop on
the Tour," says Ross.
"What Prima Poker's sponsorship of the Hendon Mob is
beginning to show is that sponsoring professional poker players, as with any
professional athlete, helps them focus on their game and improves their
performance. Prima Poker is helping to take poker to the next level, not
just by sponsoring professional players but also by sponsoring online
satellite winners to compete in terrestrial tournaments", said a Prima Poker
spokesperson. Prima Poker's online satellite tournaments give their amateur
online poker players a chance to compete in major poker tournaments around
the globe, thus elevating the level of competition in terrestrial poker.
Next stop on the Prima Poker Tour keeps The Mob on home ground - Luton,
England - where they will play in the Christmas Cracker 2003
from December 8 - 14 at the Grosvenor Casino.
The Prima Poker Tour is taking The Hendon Mob on an unprecedented global
tour to play in over 60 events, in eight venues, in three continents in an
effort to demonstrate that online and terrestrial poker go hand-in-hand. The
Tour represents the first major sponsorship in online poker and has elevated
its status by introducing it to the media as a mainstream sport. The Mob
have so far played 40 tournaments in 6 venues on the tour. They have had 27
final table finishes, 35 money finishes and picked up 8 trophies.
CASINO CAUTIONS
Is Futurebet interested in
selling emails?
An interesting exchange on the Start Casino site this week caused
speculation that the Futurebet turnkey provider might be
interested in selling email lists. It all started with a post from "Liron"
who was "....looking to buy quality email lists for casino
marketing purposes. Traffic or media deals welcome too." The response came
from a known Futurebet staffer, "Kelly" who asked Liron to "Please post a
working e:mail account or send me your contact info to kelly@futurebet.com"!
A more regal farewell
Casino Regal (Cryptologic-powered) has closed
in a quiet but orderly fashion.
THE PERFECT HAND
Record VP win for Intercasino
player
Video Poker may be a game
usually associated with nickel stakes at the casino’s bar, but it has been
given a technology makeover online at InterCasino.com,
allowing Internet gamblers to play 10 hands simultaneously....and pull in
huge winnings.
The multi-hand game offers
players the advantage of holding their preferred cards from their first
hand across the other nine, bringing the house edge down to 0.5% and
offering the chance to win the kind of mega-jackpot normally associated
with progressive games.
Cryptologic-powered
Intercasino.com claims that a gambler with the 'handle' KeyRock
is one of the first players in the world to win one of these very
significant jackpots on a non-progressive online casino game. After 30
minutes battling on the Jacks or Better game, KeyRock's world was rocked
by the highest-possible hand, a spades suited royal flush (A,K,Q,J,10),
on his first hand’s first round deal.
KeyRock simply held all
five cards for a guaranteed Royal Flush across all ten hands. Betting $5 a
hand on all 10 hands meant that this player won a $20,000 a hand for the
guaranteed total mega-jackpot win of $200,000 that entered him into that
elite circle of poker aces that have pulled off Video Poker’s “Perfect
$200,000 Hand”.
The “Perfect $200,000 Hand” is online gambling’s most
valuable non-progressive win. The odds of pulling it off are greater than
1:1,000,000.
MORE ON MOBILE
Cool deal for Sporting Index
More on mobile... we reported the rise in mobile gaming
predicted by a Juniper survey last week, with bullish
claims that mobile betting will soon be making massive profits.
It appears that Sporting Index are
making moves to reap the benefits of this developing technology by
teaming up with mobile technology providers mfuse,
which has led to the launch of the new Bet on the Move
service.
This is in effect an extension for mobile users of SI's
online spread betting service . Bet on the Move punters will get free
Java handsets incorporating the latest colour display technology to
provide live betting updates on odds to gamers. Clients will be able to
view their open bets, close bets, withdraw and deposit money in a
similar fashion to internet vehicles.
Sporting Index has been around since mid-2001 and now
owns 70% of the market for online spread betting. Last year rivals
UKBetting signed up with Orange to
offer betting on mobiles.
GOING PUBLIC
Floating on the mobile wave
The Brit newpaper Mail on Sunday reported another budding mobile
gambling story last weekend.
The Million-2-1 mobile telephone gambling firm is
close to appointing advisers for a flotation next year, the report
reveals, disclosing that the company runs text message lotteries for
charities and sports gambling games and is expected to be valued at
about £50m.
Chief executive Chris Sheffield is holding talks with
Arsenal and its shirt sponsor mmO2
over match-day lotteries for the club.
Sheffield, a former IT consultant with Deloitte & Touche, said the
firm was within days of finalising a £2m pre-flotation shares deal.
Until now he has funded the firm with the proceeds of the sale of web
design group Eunite to N Brown Group in 2000 for
£18m, 15 months after it was launched.
A TAD OPTIMISTIC
New mobile gambling survey predicts
$16 billion by 2008
Completing our trio of mobile gambling stories this week is news of a
perhaps optimistic survey predicting revenues of $16 billion by year
2008 for this new form of remote gambling.
Alexander Resources, a research company out of
Dallas, Texas says in a press release that while it may
be necessary to overcome some significant regulatory and legal
hurdles, worldwide revenues for all forms of gambling on mobile
phones could reach $16 billion by 2008.
New 2.5G and 3G wireless technologies and phones will play a
prominent role in the growth of mobile gambling, the company says.
In addition to making mobile gambling more convenient and secure
than in person and desktop internet gambling, these new networks and
devices will allow real-time, dynamic and peer to peer betting.
The report identified three segments that are expected to account
for the majority of mobile gambling revenues:
-- Mobile casino style betting: Sophisticated
phones with colorful graphics will allow users to play against the
system or other users in real time. Revenues are expected to reach
almost $6 billion by 2008.
-- Mobile lotteries: By allowing users with
simple digital phones to play and by leveraging off the immediacy
and penetration of mobile phones, lottery sales from mobile phones
are expected to reach slightly more than $5 billion by 2008.
-- Mobile sports and other betting: will open up
new forms of betting and allow users to play more frequently.
Players will be able to make real time bets on the outcome of
particular events and dynamically bet through their handset on the
outcome of a particular micro event during a game. Revenues by 2008
are forecasted to reach $5 billion.
While holding great promise, certain user, payment, security,
privacy, regulatory and technology challenges could at worst stymie
this market even before it gains traction, or at best could heavily
influence the amount of revenues forecasted.
EXEC UPDATE A HIT
Fifty UK execs attend
Last week's first Executive Update in London, UK for
online gambling executives drew some 50 industry professionals in a
lecture theatre at Imperial College and was hailed as a very useful
event.
Sponsored by Lyceum Media, iGaming Business and
Gambling Online Magazine, and hosted by editor Michael
Caselli, the session dealt with a number of current industry topics of
interest.
Online gaming operators, developers and publicists for the online
gaming industry heard Professor Thomas Usher
speak with authority on the many complications of the Gambelli legal
ruling, Italy's protectionist decision on i-gaming which will have
an impact throughout the European Union (EU) in particular.
Also winning loud applause was Hilary Stewart Jones,
for her thorough and concise explanation of the UK's November 19th
report, released by the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS),
on the gambling reforms for the UK. These reforms are widely expected
to have positive effects for online gambling and will also influence
the attitudes toward the industry of other governments, particularly
those in the EU.
This was the pilot event for a series planned in the months ahead,
designed to keep busy executives informed of crucial industry
developments.
FESTIVE CHARITY
Sportsbooks spread good cheer
We heard of two commendable charity initiatives by sportsbooks this
week, and commend them for the following:
The Sportsbook Association of Costa Rica
is now leading a computer fund drive to help underprivileged children in
the poorer parts of that country to have access to computers through
donations by the sports books. Many of these books have an excess of
computers they do not use and have been donating surplus equipment.
Computers give the underpriveleged a window on the world and access to
knowedge, so the donation of obsolete but working computers can make a
real difference. Contact
christinecrawford@tamira.com for more details about this very
important drive.
SBG Global, Grand Central Sports, Heritage Sports, Tradewinds
and others participated in a Costa Rican telethon last week to raise
money for orphanages in that country. The success of the
event was considerable and a large sum of money was raised.
And in New Zealand gaming machine
companies are doing their bit, too. The Charity Gaming Association
members give $68 million in the last six months to communities such as
rescue services, kindergartens and schools, guide dogs, Surf Life
Saving, sports clubs, medical researchers and thousands of other good
causes.
Members of the association have just published details of grants
made to thousands of New Zealand community groups. Charity Gaming
Association chairman The Rt Hon Paul East said the Association's
members are committed to raising as much money as possible so that
communities around New Zealand receive maximum benefit.
The money raised all came from gaming machines operating by Charity
Gaming Association members - The New Zealand Community Trust, Lion
Foundation, Scottwood Group, Castle Trust and The Southern Trust.
These five charitable trusts support the Association's strong emphasis
on ethics and integrity in community fundraising and follow the
Association's code of practice.
The success of the Association in promoting honest and ethical
gaming has seen it grow to the point where members now donate more
than $130 million a year to community groups and operate more than 40
per cent of the gaming machines in New Zealand.
Kudos to these gaming organisations for taking part
in such worthwhile activities.
GAMBLING.COM DEAL OFF
Buyer misses payment
deadline
We have had confirmation on this story from Gambling.com, after
reliable sources informed us that the sale of the Internet's top portal is
off due to IGH failing to meet the payment deadline.
Gambling.com owner Graeme Levin told us, "The
deal has fallen through because the deadline was not met."
Graeme's highly successful Gambling.com was a pioneer in the online gambling
portal space, making GBP 1.6 million in earnings last year. In October this
year a little known portal group called Interactive Gaming Holdings
announced that it was to take over Gambling.com for an impressive purchase
price of GBP 2.5 million.
The deal was that GBP 500 000 would be in cash but the remainder would
presumably be in the form of equity or profit sharing once the company has
successfully been floated on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in
London, England. IGH hoped to raise some GBP 8 million through this
listing, enabling it to add more websites to its network of online gambling
and betting operations.
IGH's goal is to become a one-stop destination for online bettors, and
despite its low profile claims already to control over 1100 gaming related
sites. The company plans to use "white label" e-gaming tactics whereby
operators permit the company to present their websites as its own, for a
share in revenues generated.
Driving the IGH listing project as chairman is experienced online gambling
executive Craig Marshak, a former director of Schroders
and the co-founder of CV Holdings, the developer of the
successful Be The Dealer private label casino gambling
platform. Thomas Taule is the companys managing director and was formerly
CEO and co-founder of iSleuth.com, a Nasdaq-listed search engine company.
CONFERENCE CORNER
A great time of the year to be in Sydney
Sharpen your pencils and get out the diary - the second annual
Pacific Congress on Interactive Gaming (PCIG) is being held at
the beautiful Star City Hotel & Resort in Sydney, Australia.
Close to Darling Harbour, the Sydney Opera House and many other Sydney
attractions, the conference will be held over March 1-3, next year - a
great time to visit Sydney when the weather is just about perfect.
Topics on the agenda include: roundtable on Good Neighbor policies in
the region, Australia's Interactive Gambling Act, Wireless and iTV
landscape, race and sports wagering landscapes and much more. View the
entire conference program and confirmed speakers at the official event
website:
FIGHTING DOS EXTORTION
Counter measures are improving
InfoPowa has carried several bulletins on the extortionate attacks
from Eastern Europe using the threat of DOS attack. This week IGN
published a useful article on first hand accounts of such assaults,
and measures to combat the crooks.
The report reveals that these attacks can
completely shut down business service networks, rendering them unable
to communicate with their customers, sometimes for several hours. DDoS
attacks are successful because they clog a network's bandwidth with so
much incoming traffic that no outgoing traffic is able to escape.
After the attack has been launched, a ransom demand arrives via
e-mail.
Although rumour has it that a few gambling
sites have given in to extortion demands, the untold story is that
many have been successful in battling attacks.
The attackers typically demand $30,000 to be sent
via Western Union to Russia by Saturday lunchtime. If it is not sent,
the crooks up the ante to $40,000 before Sunday to stop the assault.
Attackers threaten to return every weekend of the year until the
victim pays.
The article goes on to discuss the critical
importance of professional server hosts, the range of counter measures
that can be deployed to counter the attack or ameliorate its effects,
and the subsequent clean-up that is carried out. It urges those who
have dealt with attacks to pass the word to businesses not to succumb
to similar extortion demands. Like the operator whose account is
given, other business operators can benefit from the knowledge that is
gained, and it is important to note that there is no guarantee that
the attackers will refrain from further assaults in the future.
The importance of an active communications plan
for both staff and clientele during an attack is emphasised.
There are a number of companies who provide
products to block DDoS attacks. One such company is Riverhead
Networks, which uses a Multi-Verification Process with five different
modules-- Dynamic Filtering, Anti-spoofing, Anomaly Recognition,
Protocol Analysis, Shaping & Rate Limiting-- that work together to
address any type of attack. The system not only detects, but also
automatically blocks attacks.
Meanwhile, hacker assaults of all types are on the
rise. The Financial Times estimates that there were 114,000 computer
viruses in January through October of 2003, compared to the 21,000
that existed two years ago. In February 2003 a single virus infected
300,000 machines in just 14 minutes, while in 2001 it took Code Red,
the most infamous virus, 26 hours to infect that many machines.
IGN quotes Keith Tilley, managing director of
Sunguard Services, who told the Financial Times that a brokerage
company can lose up to $6.1 million in just one hour of downtime. In
the same amount of time a credit card company can lose up $2.4
million, a retail catalogue sales company can lose $88,000, and an
airline reservations company can lose $87,000.
NO ONLINE GAMBLING FOR MONTANA
State warning
Associated Press reports that the state Justice Department is
warning Montanans not to become Internet gambling entrepreneurs
because doing so is illegal.
Justice officials have for years said that gambling online is
illegal in Montana, but now they've learned a company is offering
Montanans the chance to set up gambling Web sites as well.
An advertisement published in The Billings Gazette last week
encouraged people to operate their own online casino, Gene
Huntington, state Gambling Control Division administrator, said
Tuesday.
Huntington said all gambling is illegal under Montana's
Constitution unless specifically authorized by the Legislature, and
lawmakers have not approved online gambling.
WORLD POKER TOUR BOOST FOR TOURNAMENTS
More action for more people
As the World Poker Tour emerges as a smash hit on television and
becomes the engine driving a huge increase in customers to poker
rooms and casinos across the country, those not currently on the
roster of WPT Tournament Member Casinos are asking how they can get
in on the action.
The WPT now has an answer. The WPT and Lakes Entertainment, which
owns 80% of the venture, have formalized a WPT Satellite program
designed specifically to encourage casinos and online poker rooms to
run low cost satellite events that will feed directly into the
season-ending World Poker Tour Championship, April 19-23, 2004 at
Bellagio, Las Vegas, where the total prize pool is estimated to
reach over $5 million.
"Now that we have proven this successful formula works for our
member casinos, we feel it is time to expand participation to other
casinos in the poker industry," says Steve Lipscomb, founder and
CEO. "By joining together we achieve many goals, not the least of
which is the synergy that will enable casinos to improve the appeal
of the game and draw a new generation of poker players."
By holding WPT Satellites, casinos can leverage the appeal of the
World Poker Tour to attract new players that are likely to come back
between tournaments, increasing revenues. They also receive exposure
on the WPT website listing their satellites and if a player from
their casino makes it to a WPT Final Table, the casino will be
mentioned on the Travel Channel broadcast (Wednesdays, 9 p.m.
ET/PT). The association with the wildly popular World Poker Tour,
which has nearly 5 million devoted viewers a week and has been the
force changing the image of the game and its players, brings added
brand leverage, a competitive edge and increased credibility to each
of the casinos hosting WPT Satellites.
Certainly one of the results of the effort will be to
dramatically increase the prize pool for the WPT Championship. Last
season, the event drew 111 players and offered a prize pool of $2.6
million, with $1 million going to the winner. With the WPT Satellite
program in place, the finals are expected to draw more than 200
players, resulting in a $5 million prize pool and $2 million first
prize for the champion.
Here's how the events work: Casinos across the country create a
WPT Satellite or series of tiered satellites within their casinos.
Winners of each WPT Satellite go on to compete in a $2,600 satellite
at Bellagio, Las Vegas, plus receive airfare and accommodations for
two nights at an MGM Mirage property. Should they win their table at
Bellagio, they receive a $25,000 entry into the WPT Championship
game, and the WPT will extend their free accommodations until they
are eliminated or win the tournament.
To maximize the value of the WPT Satellite program for both
parties, the WPT will provide promotional assistance to each
participating casino. This package includes artwork for advertising,
promotional materials, templates for signage, promotional video,
DVDs and publicity materials to build the buzz for the event. The
winner of the WPT Championship will be profiled in the final
televised show--spotlighting his journey to the finals and the
casino. Casinos are also offered the opportunity to share in the
proceeds from the sale of WPT merchandise.
Initial casinos that have enthusiastically signed up include
Turning Stone Casino Resort (Verona, NY); Players Casino (Federal
Way, WA); Spirit Mountain Casino (Willamina, OR), Village Club
(Chula Vista, CA), Divi Carina Bay Casino (Christiansted, Virgin
Islands), Wildhorse Casino Resort (Pendleton, OR), Six Card Charlies
(Long Beach, WA), Planetpoker.com (online), and AbsolutePoker.com
(online).
CASINOWEBCAM KIOSKS
Kiosks to be Deployed in Asia this month
Fortuna Casino and CasinoWebcam,
the live online gaming software and services firm, have announced a
partnering deal to introduce an internet kiosk product that brings
CasinoWebcam's live online casino to those Asian markets where home
computer ownership is not yet pervasive.
Fortuna Casino will use the kiosks, situated in a network of
gaming shops, to bring a live casino experience to players via the
internet.
Kiosk deployment will commence on December 20, 2003, in time for
Chinese New Year, with an initial 20 kiosks featuring CasinoWebcam's
popular live online baccarat game, localized into Mandarin Chinese.
An additional 30 kiosks will be deployed by December 31, 2003. A
total of 200 kiosks will be deployed by the end of March 2004.
Through the medium of real time webcast, kiosk customers will be
able to see, hear, and play live baccarat games run by
CasinoWebcam's croupiers and floor supervisors in accordance with
industry standards for fairness and integrity.
"The introduction of this product demonstrates the versatility of
our live online casino software and services," said Adam
Anhang, CEO of CasinoWebcam's licensing arm. "It also
solidifies CasinoWebcam's position as the dominant online casino
software and services provider in Asia."
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