April infinity gaming magazine

5th WIG ceremony just around the corner

Holland Casino post huge losses

Galaxy Entertainment moving in to US?

InfinityGaming www.gaming-awards.com | ISSUE APRIL 2014

BWIN.PARTY

DEUTSCHE BANK

Investor calls for change

To sell Cosmopolitan

RANK GROUP

OSAKA

New CEO announced

Wants to be first in Japan

LADBROKES

Leaked document

Christina Lindley

MACAU

Beat revenues forecasts again

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Poker Princess

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SPECIAL FOCUS

INTERNET GAMBLING - No Problem

contents InfinityGaming

EDITOR’S LETTER

Interview Nicolas Lund.........................................04-07 Director at Vera&John speaks to Infinity Gaming

Ladbrokes Document............................................08-09 Fallout from leaked bookmaker document

Deutsche Bank..........................................................10-11 Bank looking to sell Cosmopolitan Resort in Las Vegas

Internet Gambling - No Problems....................12-15

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NICOLAS LUND

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CHRISTINA LINDLEY

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WHY IS SWEDEN SO GOOD?

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40 YEAR OLD CASINO MURDER CASE

Feature Article by Prof. Nelson Rose

Latest from Holland Casino.................................16-17 Worst revenues results ever

Interview with Poker Princess............................18-21 Christina Lindley speaks to the magazine

Industry research not fit for purpose..............22-23 London researchers criticise industry research

Ikea, Abba & Volvo..................................................24-25 Why is it Sweden leads the pack in online gambling?

The Lone Democrat................................................26-27 One Democrat supports Sheldon Adelson campaign

Martin Baird article.................................................28-29 Customer service, maybe just ask for help

US gaming news......................................................30-31 Revenuse, Christie and more

Illinois & Pennsylvania...........................................32-33

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Both states slow online gambling expansion

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Lawyer guilty over casino heiress murder.....34-35 1970’s murder of casino heiress concludes

Newsround up..........................................................36-41 All the very latest from the gaming industry globally

EDITOR’S LETTER Lana Thompson - Chief Editor

by

EDITORS NOTES

InfinityGaming

Welcome to the April edition of the Infinity Gaming Magazine.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Christina Thakor-Rankin Martin R. Baird Professor Nelson Rose J.J. Woods

Can you believe it is April and indeed hurtling towards May already!

One good thing about that is the 5th Women in Gaming Awards is not far away now. Indeed nominations close on Friday this week, so you still have time to get in the last few nominations for your colleagues, your self or friends who deserve recognition.

We have a great article from Christina on why Sweden leads the world in the online gambling sector, along with superb articles from Martin Baird and the brilliant Professor Rose.

In this month’s edition we have the lovely Christina Lindley, one of the few female professional poker players to reach the $1 million in prize money barrier, also Nicolas Lund from Vera&John tells us how the business is doing and their future strategy.

Enjoy

Enjoy the magazine and see you all in May.

Lana x

CONTACT US Clever Duck Media Suite 105 Park Plaza Point South Hayes Way Cannock WS12 2DB UK Tel: +44(0)1543 578 689 claire@cleverduckmedia.com PRODUCTION Clever Duck Media Suite 105 Park Plaza Point South Hayes Way Cannock WS12 2DB UK PUBLISHING Infinity Gaming Magazine is operated by © Clever Duck Media Ltd ® Company Reg. No. 687 1018 (Registered in England)

The Infinity Gaming

ADVERTISING: Sponsorship Opportunities Colin@gaming-awards.com

Opinion Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in all external articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Infinity Gaming Magazine Any content provided by our feature writers or authors are of their opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.

JOIN US

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Business Partnerships Svetlana@gaming-awards.com

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Interview with Nicolas Lund Director at Vera&John Infinity Gaming Magazine sat down with Nicolas Lund, Director of Vera&John to find out how the company is progressing after three years of business.

Q

: Thank you for speaking to us today, can we start with asking you how long has Vera&John be operational and where did the name come

from?

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NL: We recently passed our third year milestone and are proud to look back on what has been a hectic and highly rewarding journey. From initial conception, our focus was on the creation of a brand, an emotional association, something which resonates on a personal level with our players. We find that through the names Vera&John, we have an entity which people can associate themselves to. Someone who feels local in our many markets, someone who can be who the player wants them to be and essentially serve as the right communication platform, for existing customer engagement as well as to create awareness, attract new customers by standing out from the crowd and tell a story.

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Q: Where does the company focus their business, in what regions of Europe?

NL: Vera&John is a local brand globally. The Nordic region is a stronghold however we did set out early with an aggressive global expansion plan and have successfully reached, as well as established ourselves in many parts of the world. We will continue to nurture our position and ensure a stronger and more personal customer experience is made available to our ever-increasing

customer following.

Q: How has the company faired since opening for business?

NL: New businesses are often faced with a very unique set of challenges, each of which has their own influence on the overall business. We were acknowledged early on for entering what was considered a saturated market place however we have endured the early battles and now thrive in a very healthy position both in terms of bottom-line as well as top-line growth.

We are part of the new generation of casinos, which has led to the cementing of an online casino business to further agility and responsiveness in what is an aggressive and consistently fast-changing industry.

We made some very effective decisions early on, which led to securing a strong recruitment ethic alongside a high-level of knowledge transference, an empowered, strong and wide set of highly efficient and dedicated staff members, delivering market leading quality across all business competencies. We are today in a strong position and look forward to furthering our influence across the wider marketplace.

Q: What are your target customers, women, men age group?

NL: Amid our core strategies there has always been a

Exclusive interview with Nicolas Lund matured, we have progressed into growing and sustaining a strong table game player base.

Q: The industry sector you have launched in is already very competitive, what sets Vera&John apart from other sites?

NL: Our side of the industry was in a standstill for a long period of

Q: Vera&John offer a huge amount of slot games from a wide variety of suppliers, was that the strategy to start with, as many games as possible?

NL: The online casino industry had for some time been stuck in a deadlock with limited differentiation and tied to cumbersome wallet solutions sitting mainly on one dedicated supplier. The goal of offering a seamless experience to the player across multiple content suppliers was part of the strategy from day one. We opened with a seamless wallet solution across multiple suppliers and have continued to add premium content to our floor since. We will certainly continue to honour this position in 2014.

Q: The site offers table games and instant games, are they as popular as the slot games?

NL: have a comprehensive product offering and will be extending it even further with products for our European market. Our focus was originally more on the slot player in Europe, however as we have

time, which is why the founders Dan Andersson and JÓ§rgen Nordlund decided that online casino was the perfect channel for their next venture. Besides the more obvious softer look and feel of our site and brand, with consideration on the non-typical colour choices, working off our proprietary platform has enabled us to offer our customers a seamless experience from a vast number of suppliers. Whether it be casino content or payment solutions, accessible via any type of channel, with an extensive tailoring of CRM activities and communication into offering unique tournament opportunities, a vast set of bonus incentives, rewards for your activities and a shop where you can redeem coins for bonuses and other items. In short, we offer a more im-

mersive and personalised experience to our customers.

Q: Who are the founders of Vera&John?

NL: Our founders are a unique set of two highly visionary and complimentary business partners. Their first venture into the online gaming world began with them creating one of the largest and most successful online bingo brands and network operators in the world - Maria Bingo, which was acquired by Unibet in 2007. After the buyout, the partners decided to focus their entrepreneurial skills and spirit to the online gaming business once more. They identified a gap in the market for a uniquely themed and branded online casino games business and along with a team of handpicked experts and other business partners, they successfully launched Vera&John in early 2011.

The Partners today are very much the heart and soul of the business, providing their creativeness and visionary concepts to the group.

Q: The company is based in Malta and Vera&John has launched now in the UK, will it have problems with the new legislation coming into effect that all overseas operators must license themselves in the UK also?

NL: Vera&John is committed to a fair and responsible approach to gaming. We have and will continue to challenge the industry to deliver better and more well-connected offerings to each market place, serving both a fair, trustworthy and tailored offering to the individual

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greater focus on tailoring our offering on mass-level, both from a product perspective as well as from a brand communication position.

We appeal to a broad set of people and find that both men and women alike can associate themselves to our brand. With a broad product portfolio, we nurture a strong offering targeted at both the experienced, as well as the brand new online casino players. Although we lean towards a slightly older demographic we still remain attractive to the younger population.

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Interview with Nicolas Lund (continued)

C

ustomer within their local community. We trust that the regulatory developments in the UK will strive to achieve such a position making the UK an attractive place of business while still acknowledging the taxation perspective, to draw on competition between all the contenders in the industry and allowing for optimal end-user and community value to emerge.

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Q: Is the company planning any large scale advertising campaigns in the UK market?

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NL: The UK is a mature market that is largely exposed to gaming operators. The challenges, as we see them are to stand out in a crowded marketplace while also ensuring that messages you throw at your desired audience sticks. Taking the successful lessons learned to date from our initiatives around the world, along with our team of UK-experienced employees and our advanced CRM approach, Vera&John know that we can and will deliver a hugely

infrastructures to assist players who may experience gambling problems. We have and will continue to work towards a broader alliance and are in talks with several parties on various projects involving improvements and further innovations within the responsible gaming arena which we believe will support a healthy and viable industry for Vera&John and its customers. successful and strongly backed entry into the UK market with a brand that stands out in any crowd, ultimately positioning Vera&John in the hearts and minds of the UK gambling public.

Q: How does the company take their socially responsibility to customers, is it a priority and what steps are done by the company to protect vulnerable gamblers?

NL: Vera&John’s vision is to provide a lifetime of innovative and successful gaming experiences not only to our team, but also to our current and future customers. We believe that a large part of our sustainability as market leaders relies upon our unique attitude as being a genuine caring practice which transcends across all aspects of our business. This culminates into a strong focus on player protection in our responsible gaming controls. We have built internal problem gambling identifiers and have aligned ourselves with treatment support

Q: How important is branding for Vera&John?

NL: Our brand from inception was designed to stand out from the crowd. With the concept of “A FUN Online Casino”. We wanted to soften the edges of the gambling industry and make it more appealing to people in a social context. Furthering our position as a rewarding brand which cares for the individual and is always at the forefront of our core strategy. We constantly communicate this message and of course we keep delivering on our promises.

Q: What is next on the agenda for the company in terms of expansion?

NL: As mentioned earlier, the UK is certainly on our roadmap in 2014.

Alongside European expansions we’ll be furthering our position in both Asia as well as South America.

2014 will be a lot about deepening our established positions and expanding further within our existing markets.

NL: A marketplace such as the US is and will remain to many a strong bet with those looking at a resident player base possessing an existing high attraction to gaming and potentially higher attraction to

online gaming. The US is moving forward quite enthusiastically at the moment with a number of States developing newly regulated opportunities, however much still remains as to how many more States will re-regulate and what opportunities those new regulations will bring.

We will continue to monitor the developments there and are currently assessing what our position will be in this market in the future.

Q: How does Vera&John see the

online gambling sector in the coming years, expansion, more buy-outs or a smaller industry altogether?

NL: We believe that re-regulation and a definitive focus on socially acceptable games will lead to market devolution and a more open culture will grow for online gaming. These factors will contribute both to market expansion as well as desirable channels of investment. The real question of course remains as to how unique or harmonised countries will create their regulation.

We do believe that in line with this and considering the speed of technological advances, we’ll certainly see room for new operators as well as the next generation of suppliers to emerge and hence securing the continued growth of the industry.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE APRIL 2014

Q: Not a day goes by that the online gambling industry does not hear something from the US regarding gambling expansion or prohibition there, what are your thoughts on the US is it a good bet for the future?

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EUROPEAN GAMING NEWS

Ladbrokes leaked document Controversy

F

ollowing the leaked Ladbrokes document that shows the countries second largest bookmaker made £1 billion in a month from the highly controversial Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs), David Cameron the Uk’s Prime Minister will announce stronger penalties for any bookmaker that fails to enforce maximum playing times and loses for gamblers on the machines.

The leaked internal memo from Ladbrokes shows that the new rules coming in would not affect bookmakers as 92% of customers playing FOBTs do not play longer than 30 minutes consecutively.

Even the alarm on players losing over £250 stopping them playing and alerting a member of staff would not work as The Ladbrokes analysis shows that the average loss per “60-minute or over” session of roulette is a little more than £93, well below the cap proposed.

The Ladbrokes memo which showed in April 2013 that gamblers had played their FOBTs 4.8 million times, staking £1bn, over a fourweek period.

Over the last four years, annual player losses from the fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) have risen from £1.3billion to around £1.5bil-

lion. And last year the gambling industry regulator warned that the machines expose ‘even normal leisure gamblers to potentially harmful rates of loss whether or not they would be classified as problem gamblers’.

The latest news on Ladbrokes is another blow for the struggling bookmaker whose Chief Executive is already under fire and has until this summer’s world cup to turn around the companies fortunes and try to catch up with William Hill in both its online and retail businesses.

Spanish based gaming giant

Codere have rejected the latest debt for equity swap by creditors, the struggling gaming company requires 400 million euros of cash injection but said no to creditors offering the cash for 96.8% of the companies equity, saying it was too costly.

Instead the board and Directors of Codere are asking for 5 ½ year bond interest payments to gen-

erate 250 million euros with no equity in return, but observers say this will not happen.

If no agreement is reached to generate the much needed funding for the company by April 30 it will have to seek bankruptcy protection by the state. The fall from grace of the once mighty gaming company has been in part put down to the recession, increased taxes, stricter gaming regulations in the com-

panies gaming sectors and the no smoking ban in its core businesses in South America. Codere have suffered 8 straight quarterly losses in the last 2 years.

“The board will continue to make its best efforts to reach a consensual solution before having to seek full creditor protection and strictly observing Spanish laws, especially bankruptcy laws,” the board said in a letter to news agencies.

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Codere nears bankruptcy protection deadline

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US GAMING NEWS

Deutsche Bank to sell Cosmopolitan Resort

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eutsche Bank is looking to sell their stake in the loss making casino resort in Las Vegas The Cosmopolitan, according to reports from Bloomberg Germany’s largest bank that took control of the resort when developer Ian Bruce Eichner defaulted on a construction loan in January 2008.

Now the bank wants to sell the resort for $2 billion and has four interested parties according to reports, however many analysts believe getting $1.5 billion would be a result for Deutsche Bank, who said six years ago that the control of the resort was only temporary.

The Cosmopolitan resort eventually cost $3.9 billion to build on the Las Vegas Strip and has never seen a profit in all the time it has been open.

The Cosmopolitan – which has the marketing slogan of “just the right amount of wrong” — was redesigned and totally financed by the bank after Eichner defaulted on a $760 million loan from Deutsche Bank after just over 2 years from breaking ground on the resort.

On average the resort has posted net losses of $100 million each year since opening.

AC: Revel worth $73 million at best says union

The valuation follows a report by the union after researching Revel’s finances available through publicly available documents in the state.

“We want potential buyers to fully understand Revel’s financial position,” said Ben Begleiter, a research

analyst for Local 54. “It’s not good for the workers at Revel, the community or the industry if a buyer overpays for this property. Overpaying could lead to an even more painful bankruptcy down the road.

ductions, but because of the casinos continued loses the valuation was on the value of the land the resort covered and hotel rooms.

“Irrational enthusiasm and lack of clear-eyed analysis is what led to the mess we have today,” he added. “We don’t want the cycle to be repeated.”

So the unions valued the following going price of casino land in Atlantic City which they say is between $1.25 million and $2.71 million per acre, with hotel rooms being valued at between $28,925 and $52,198 each.

In the report the union also claim the Revel will not see a profit until 2024 at the earliest, the valuation says the research is calculated on earnings from the casino before de-

However the valuation could be biased as the union has been fighting the Revel ever since it opened as the company has a policy of non-union involvement for their employees.

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tlantic City’s most expensive casino ever built is now worth only $25 million to $73 million according to casino workers union Local 54 of the UniteHERE union. The casino they are talking about is the Revel which when built cost 42.4 billion.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Internet Gambling?

No Problems © 2013, I. Nelson Rose. Prof. Rose is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on gambling law, and is a consultant and expert witness for governments and industry. His latest books, INTERNET GAMING LAW (1st and 2nd editions), BLACKJACK AND THE LAW and GAMING LAW: CASES AND MATERIALS, and the recently published GAMING LAW IN A NUTSHELL, are available through his website, www.GAMBLINGANDTHELAW.com.

T

he casino industry is one of the most heavily regulated businesses in the world. But even if they did not have that government oversight, casino owners would still be among the most careful business operators in the world.

The reason is simple: It’s their money that’s at stake.

In lotteries, parimutuel betting and round (non-banking) games like poker, gamblers wager against each other, with the operator taking a piece off the top.

Casinos make almost all of their revenue from banking games. Craps in casinos is not street craps: Players are betting against a fund of money, a bank. Casinos act as the house, fading all of the bets of their customers.

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A cheat at poker steals from other players. A cheat at blackjack steals from the casino.

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To see how careful the casino industry is compared with something that we would normally think is more important, look at the relatively few malfunctions there have been with slot machines as opposed to voting machines.

Yes, there have been some well-publicized problems.

But given the hundreds of billions of times buttons have been pushed and handles pulled on gaming devices, the incidents are extremely rare.

If the states really wanted to make voting fast, accurate and secure, they should turn the running of elections

over to casinos. This doesn’t mean gaming device manufacturers and operators couldn’t be even more careful.

In England, where the jackpots are smaller, casinos have to pay off “winners,” when there is a malfunction. Not surprisingly, British casinos have even fewer slot machine malfunctions. But casinos in the U.S. do seem to care who is the legitimate winner more than some election officials seem to.

Casinos also face the theoretical risk of losing not just money but their most valuable asset: their licenses.

In practice, regulators rarely impose even substantial fines, let alone suspend or revoke licenses. But the threat is always there.

The risk of being closed down is even greater with Internet gaming.

On February 21, 2013, Governor Brian Sandoval signed a bill explicitly allowing Nevada to enter agreements with other states to allow cross-border betting. This will permit pooling of players in states where Internet poker is legal.

The law also included this language: “The Legislature hereby finds and declares that . . . A comprehensive regulatory structure, coupled with strict licensing standards, will ensure the protection of consumers, including minors and vulnerable persons,

INTERNET GAMBLING

Politically, it’s very important that the first state-licensed Internet gaming operators meet those standards. But is it also required by law?

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (“UIGEA”) expressly allows online wagers to be sent intra-state, but only if the bettor and operator are in the same state, the state has made the bet legal, and verifications are in place: “. . . age and location verification requirements reasonably designed to block access to minors and persons located out of such State; and appropriate data security standards to prevent unauthorized access by any person whose age and current location has not been verified in

accordance with such State’s law or regulations . . .”

Similar language applies to bets made between and among tribal Internet gaming operations.

There is no similar language in the UIGEA about other interstate or even international Internet gaming.

But this did not mean that Congress did not care about age and location verification for non-tribal, crossborder bets. It simply forgot to put it in. Remember, the UIGEA was put together overnight, without any hearings, or even having been proof-read.

The UIGEA does require that an Internet wager not violate the laws of the jurisdictions where the operator accepts the bet nor where the gambler makes the wager. And every state has restrictions on commercial gambling, and sets minimum ages for legal games.

There are complex legal questions whether these often archaic state

statutes apply to an Internet operator who is outside the state. And challenges have been filed that laws against gambling do not even apply to poker, which is arguably a contest of skill. But state-licensed online poker rooms and casinos are going to be very careful before they accept wagers from someone outside their state’s borders.

Changes in the law trail changes in society. So, not only do we have anti-gambling laws that pre-date the invention of the Internet, we even have some that predate the telephone. And hidden among these ancient statutes are legal landmines.

No U.S. operator would intentionally register someone who is from a state where Internet gaming is illegal. There are no reported cases involving anti-gambling laws where someone in the state or country bets with a licensed foreign operator after that operator took steps to avoid taking bets from that state or country. And many anti-gambling

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE APRIL 2014

prevent fraud, guard against underage and problem gambling, avoid unauthorized use by persons located in jurisdictions that do not authorize interactive gaming and aid in law enforcement efforts.”

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INTERNET GAMBLING

aws require a specific intent, like that the operator “knowingly” accepted the bets.

But the laws meant to protect children from what society regards as morally suspect industries often do not require a specific intent. In fact, they can be strict liability.

The best known of these involve serving alcoholic beverages to a minor. Even if a bartender does everything reasonably possible to verify the patron’s age, the bar owner could end up paying a fine.

In Nevada, a licensed casino can raise the defense that it reasonably thought the minor was of legal age.

But, in New Jersey a court upheld a fine imposed on an Atlantic City casino for allowing two minors in

the gambling area, even though the casino was not at fault.

Internet gaming operators have to be extra-careful about protecting minors and compulsive gamblers from themselves, preventing hacking, and making sure that no one can make a bet from a state or nation where online betting is illegal.

There are states that impose strict liability, meaning an operator is sometimes guilty of violating local anti-gambling laws, even if they have done everything superhumanly possible to prevent someone from that locale from making a bet.

Are the online operators doing enough? There have been complaints, both from players in Nevada who could not sign up with Ultimate Poker’s Nevada-licensed Internet

poker room, and from critics who say the geo-location safeguards are inadequate.

The standards will undoubtedly be toughened over time. But, in the real world, as long as an operator is doing everything possible to keep out minors and bettors from places where online gambling is forbidden, the most they face is a fairly small fine.

END

Next Month:

More from Professor Nelson Rose on the gambling industry.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE APRIL 2014

(Continued)

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EUROPEAN GAMING NEWS

Holland Casino post record losses

T

he Holland Casino Group which operates 14 casinos and is state owned announced record losses for 2013. The company posted a loss of €22.3 million with turnover down from €400 million in 2012 to €373 million in 2013.

Executives say that there was a one-off cost of €18 million incurred in those results as Holland Casino tries to reorganise their management structure to be more efficient. There was also a loss of €10.6 million due to portfolio investments made by the company in the hope that it would protect itself again rising interest rates.

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‘This is due to the poor economic climate, low consumer confidence and the growth of illegal gambling via internet,’ Holland Casino statement said.

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The state owned company has been struggling for several years with their business revenues and union issues that only this week saw multiple strike action in their casinos against what union leaders say is poor pay conditions.

The Government have listed Holland Casino as one of the state’s assets that is to be privatised.

Aspers announce latest results

The Aspers Group said it had an ‘outstanding’ year despite the affect of the security surrounding the Olympics staged nearby.

However the company said trading at Aspers Newcastle, where the company spent a significant amount on refurbishment, was ‘disappointing’.

Group total revenues for the year to June 20, 2013 were up 43% from £47.5million the previous year to £67.8million.

The total amount of customers visiting Aspers per day were at 6,717 spending on average £27.74 per person per visit.

Overall the company reported a pre-tax loss of £5.4 million for the year, most of that was due to the cost of closing the struggling Swansea casino. Aspers previous year result was a loss of £4.6 million both years results were due to the cost of expanding the companies portfolio of clubs.

bwin.party NEWS

Bwin.party new investor calls for change of management team up the online gambling giant would be more profitable, he also has brought into question the recent appointment of new Chairman Phillip Yea. Finally calling on CEO Norbert Teufelberger to replace the current senior management team with what he calls “a more competent team of managers”

Bwin.party Q1 results and new Chairman announced

Online gambling giant bwin.party announced

Spring Owl bought up the stake in the company from original founders Ruth DeLeon and Russel DeLeon who in part of their divorce agreement were to sell their remaining stake in the firm.

“Be it through personnel decisions which do not appear to take into account the needs of the business or compensation decisions which we don’t believe have been aligned with the success (or lack thereof ) of the shareholders, it is unfortunate that this Board has overseen a path which has seen the shareholders bearing the economic burdens of their mistakes,” Spring Owl said in a statement to the press.

“We look forward to meeting with Mr. Yea to understand his views on an appropriate path forward and how to pursue an appropriately composed board for the challenges faced by Bwin,” The statement added.

The response from bwin.party came: “We have had several conversations with Jason, welcome his investment and look forward to holding more in-depth dialogue.

We continue to urge him to use his right to nominate his representative to the Board as soon as possible so that we can take him through the full details of our plans.”

The boss of Spring owl believes that possibly breaking

The public limited company said the revenue decline was mid to short term as they focussed on value over volume, where the company are targeting newly regulated markets where returns are greater and has stability with regulatory conditions.

The markets bwin.party are focussing on specifically are Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy Spain, the UK, and the fledgling online market of the US. Daily revenues were up 4% in the first quarter compared to the previous, but down 9% compared to the same period last year, which was blamed on the blocking of their services to Greek customers, losing players due to the companies migration to a new platform and the strong challenge in the online poker segment of their business.

Revenues for the first quarter 1% against the previous quarter to 165.7 million euros, but represented a drop of 8% compared to the same period last year’s result of 180.2 million euros.

In other news from bwin.party it announced the appointment of Philip Yea as Chairman replacing outgoing Chair Simon Duffy when he steps down later in May this year.

Yea, 59, is a non-executive director of Vodafone Group PLC and was previously chief executive of 3i Group .

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ason Ader the controversial activist investor whose Spring Owl firm has acquired 6.1% of online gambling company bwin.party has come out and openly criticized the board on whether they are making the right choices to ensure the company return shareholder value.

their first quarter results which showed a drop in revenues from last year but a marked improvement from previous quarters.

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Christina Lindley Interview

Interview with Christina Lindley Southern Belle & Poker Princess

H

i Christina thank you for talking to us today, can we start by asking you to tell our international readers a little bit about yourself?

CL: A little about myself. Well, I am a former fitness model and actress turned professional poker player. Poker is the love of my life. I live in Las Vegas, NV. I am a Southern Belle who grew up in Atlanta, GA and Nashville, TN. I consider the South and West Coast my home. I’m a competitive cerebral gamer who loves pretty much any challenge you can throw at me. I’m outgoing, feisty, loyal, and my friends would describe me as full of life.

InfinityGaming • ISSUE APRIL 2014

Q: As a professional poker player, how much pressure is there on a professional to make their living? Is it a job you would recommend?

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CL: Well, there is the same pressure on a poker player to make a living as a doctor, or any other profession. The difference between being a doctor and a poker player though, is you never know when your next pay check is coming. Tournament poker can be really swingy. That is why it is really important to supplement tournament winnings with cash games and sponsorships, both of which are steady and more consistent.

Poker is very much like acting to me in that regard. The tournament winnings are huge when they come, but inconsistent.

Q: You are also news correspondent, is that connected

to the poker industry?

CL: When I was first getting into poker, I was asked early in my career to host for ESPN and Bluff Magazine covering the World Series of Poker one summer.

CL: This was a really great way for me to be exposed to poker. It also led to other gigs later in my career as a commentator and host in several different realms.

Being in front of the camera is just a really fun escape . After I am done with a project, I can’t wait to get back to the poker table.

Q: Where were you born Christina, did your family play poker, how did you get into the business?

CL: I was born in Atlanta, GA. I got into poker during a writers strike in Hollywood. There was no work in LA, it was a ghost town. I took this unexpected time off to fly home and spend time with my dad in Memphis, TN. One day he took me to a casino in Tunica. Pretty much the second I sat at the poker table, I was hooked.

Q: What is the biggest win in poker you have had? How much have you won at poker?

CL: To date, my largest single score live is $117,000 when I took 5th at the WPT Grand Prix de Paris. Online it is $127,000 when I won a $300 buyin WCOOP on Pokerstars. My cumulative tournament winnings live and online currently sit at $1.4 million.

Q: Do you play online or land based or both?

ments, live or online. I love options.

There is nothing worse than being stagnant in your life. Variety is the spice of life, and I switch it up all the time.

Q: Did the Black Friday shut down affect you badly?

CL: At first Black Friday was devastating.

However, I was forced to adapt. Transitioning into being a live poker player primarily has strengthened my game across the board. I think being good at both, and having experience at both, is really important to keeping up with the trends of the game, and remaining on top of your game in poker.

Q: Do you play online now in the US or is the player pools too small at present?

CL: I do play online in Nevada. Obviously the player pools are nowhere near where they were pre Black Friday, but it is growing. There is enough action online now that I can grind 3-6 tables of cash at one time. The tournament prize pools are still rather small, but occasionally sites run series that are worthwhile. I think the most important thing about states like Nevada legalising online poker is the satellites they run into bigger live events. Poker needs more satellite winners playing in major events, and online poker makes this possible for amateurs and recreational players to play in the highest stake tournaments with the pros.

CL: I play live and online.

CL: I think you can really live several places and make a living playing poker.

Personally, I love the lifestyle and freedom Las Vegas affords. My quality of life here is so amazing. I can play poker anytime, day or night, cash or tourna-

CL: My favorite poker site in Nevada is AcePlay Poker. It is the Stratosphere’s free play site that gives away seats all the time in satellites into bigger live events like I was just describing. They also give away concert tickets, dinners, tickets to shows, and several other great Vegas experiences.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE APRIL 2014

Q: Is Las Vegas still the best place for a poker professional to earn their money?

Q: What is your favourite online poker site?

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Q: How much do you travel Christina for poker tournaments?

CL: There is rarely a month that goes by that I am not on the road for at least a week for poker tournaments.

The only time I stay put is during the WSOP. The world comes to Las Vegas for essentially 2 1/2 months.

The end of May-mid July is just chock full of great value tournaments. In addition to the WSOP, pretty much every major casino takes advantage of everyone being in town and they run their own summer series.

highly rare in the field so you stand out more, if you achieve anything people tend to play it up more than male counterparts who have done the same thing or more.

The disadvantages are a little less obvious. As a woman, you are not instantly given respect the way most men are. You have to earn it, which I am ok with. I love a challenge. The other disadvantages are men being disrespectful or not

Q: How do you see the online poker scene in the US, with those opposed to online gambling and wanting to shut it down?

Q: You were a model also, do you still do modelling?

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CL: I give my heart and soul to poker. I spend hours a day studying, doing brain training exercises, watching final table replays, and training videos.

When I’m not doing that, I’m grinding 15 hour days in big events, playing online, or cash.

To be honest, unless the modelling is somehow related to poker, (for example I modelled for Dirty Pretty Things jewelry around an ad campaign for the Summer and WSOP) , I focus on playing. This is not to say I am not open to it, I’d just rather be playing poker most of the time unless it is a really fun project with great people.

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Q: Is it an advantage being a women poker player, do you ever use your looks to distract your opponents?

CL: I think there are advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are pretty obvious: people soft play you sometimes, sponsorships are more easily procured since women are

are pretty lofty. My more immediate goals are to win a WPT Main Event, and a WSOP bracelet. I intend to consistently win poker tournaments live and online, continue to grow as a cash game player. In the grand scheme of things in poker, I’d like to achieve a level of winning in a consistency that puts me in the realm of all the greats. Beyond poker, I’d like to continue to be involved in producing behind the camera, and writing.

wanting a woman at the table, and making it obvious. That happens way less than you would think though. Like anything else, I just stand up for myself and meet aggression with aggression. People like that back down pretty quickly most of the time when a woman refuses to take it.

Q: What does the future hold for Christina Lindley?

CL: Well, I am not a psychic. I do however, have several goals which

CL: I think people opposed to online gambling should really wakeup. The tax money alone that online poker can raise in the US should be enough on its own to get it approved. It blows my mind that you can buy a lottery ticket at a gas station, but can’t play a game of skill for money in the comfort of your own home. The underage argument is absurd as well.

It is easier for an underage person to walk into a casino with a fake i.d. and sit down to a poker table, than it is to go through all of the paperwork, and verification required online in order to be able to play poker.

Q: Best place you have ever visited to play poker?

CL: By far my best poker trip experience was to Paris. I got to see places I had read about my entire life. It was so magical. The food was fantastic, and everyone looked like they had just stepped off the runway. I can not say enough good things about Paris. Making my first

Q: Would you recommend poker to women looking to become professionals?

CL: Poker as a profession really takes a certain kind of person. Regardless of what sex you are there are certain qualities I see again and again in the best poker players that are crucial to success. You have to be aggressive, competitive, okay with financial instability, and a gambler by nature. You have to be able to handle being punished again and again. You have to be okay with punishing others. Winning and losing are a daily experience that brings emotional highs and lows a lot of people would not be able to handle. Poker offers incomparable

freedom to be your own boss, your own coach, your own employee. This is a freedom some people can not handle who need more structure.

Being on the road all the time, and the lifestyle makes it incredibly difficult to maintain friendships, relationships, and to have a family. You can do it, it is just takes a ton of work. To be truly great at poker, it can not be your livelihood, it has to be your way of life. If you are ok with all of those things, and are truly passionate about the game, I would tell you that there is nothing that has been more rewarding to me than being a professional poker player.

(Images provided by acePLAYpoker.com)

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE APRIL 2014

CL: big tv final table there was really just a bonus to the amazing experience I will never forget.

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EUROPEAN GAMING NEWS

Gambling Industry research is not fit for purpose claim researchers ence over research. They control funding, prioritize banal questions, determine who can access crucial data, and set the terms of that access.”

She also indicated that the methods conducted on research were not properly carried out and as such rendered the reports in-effective.

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niversity of London researchers have said that the gambling industry should not conduct their own studies into problem gambling as their reports are subjective.

One such report the prestigious university researchers highlighted was the “Fair Game” report was at best conservative and that the Responsible Gaming Trust (RGT) should implement changes in their research by administering conscien-

tious reforms.

Lead Researcher Professor Rebecca Cassidy of the project into gambling industry reports said that external bodies such as charities and the government can influence the reports and create subjectivity.

The Professor said “This research shows that the gambling industry, charities that are funded by contributions from the industry, and the government have too much influ-

“As a result, gambling research is not asking the right questions.

Instead of placing the blame for so-called ‘problem gambling’ at the feet of the individual, they should instead focus on how the industry and the state benefit from certain policies.” The Professor said.

The main proposal from the team was that a professional code of ethics for gambling studies should be introduced to ensure correct reporting and avoid subjective and un-balanced reports.

Russia blocks online gambling firms

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ussian authorities have made Internet Service Providers (ISP) in the country block online poker websites from offering their services to Russian players.

Although it was back in late 2012 that the Russian government said that ISPs should block online gambling sites it was mainly online casino sites that were blocked and not online poker, now with the latest move many in the online poker industry both players and companies are concerned about the latest

developments, with Russian players making up a large portion of the online sectors players.

The Deputy Head Maxim Ksenzov said that the blocking of the online sites has occurred at the request of the prosecutor’s office based on these court decisions in 2012, why they have only just decided to get round to it now is not clear.

Of the big online operators that have now been affected they are Ladbrokes, Sportingbet, PokerStars,

Betway and Unibet among many others.

PokerStars released a message to all players that had concerns about the latest blocking by Russia saying that their deposits were safe and can be withdrawn as normal, as well as saying that the company will continue to offer online poker to Russian players along with operating under several licenses issued to PokerStars in various jurisdictions and that they always abide by all relevant laws and regulations.

EUROPEAN GAMING NEWS

Rank announce new CEO

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he Rank Group has announced the appointment of Henry Birch, who will succeed Ian Burke as chief executive of Rank with effect from 6 May 2014. Ian Burke, who is currently also executive chairman of Rank, will become non-executive chairman with effect from 6th May 2014.

The Rank board believes it appropriate to ensure that the Company benefits from some continuity to ensure a smooth transition of executive responsibilities.

Henry Birch- brings online speciality to Rank

Prior to working at William Hill

Online, Henry was the chief executive officer of Leisure & Gaming plc, an AIM-listed company that owned and operated a number of online and retail betting and gaming subsidiaries. Prior to working at Leisure & Gaming plc, Henry was the chief operating officer of Bettingcorp Ltd, an Israeli company focused on the development and operation of online and interactive TV gaming platforms. Prior to working in

the gambling industry, he held management roles at Time Warner, Turner Broadcasting and Riffage, an early digital music operator based in Silicon Valley, and started his career working in the House of Commons.

With his track record in the online betting and gaming sector, the Rank board believes that Henry is well-equipped to lead Rank’s continued exploitation of growth opportunities in the gaming and leisure markets.

The board would like to thank Ian for his commitment and hard work over the past eight years and is delighted that, after consultation with a number of its shareholders, the Company will continue to benefit from his significant experience in his role as non-executive chairman of Rank.

Ian Burke - Stepping down

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Henry Birch, aged 45, is currently a non-executive director of the AIMlisted CFD trading platform operator, PLUS 500 PLC. Henry has more than 20 years of experience in the betting and gaming sector and in online and broadcast media. Most recently he was the chief executive officer of William Hill Online, the joint venture between William Hill plc and Playtech plc, which managed William Hill’s online business.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Abba, Ikea and Volvo The Secret of Swedish Gambling Success:

By Christina Thakor-Rankin Our feature writer Christina Thakor-Rankin looks at why Sweden has the secret of success for online gambling.

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he temptation to kick off any discussion about Sweden and gambling using an Abba reference, followed by mention of Ikea and Volvo is too strong to resist – so there it is. To some this is nothing more than a predictable clichéd. To others the simile goes some way to understanding one of the sector’s biggest success stories.

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If we were to measure the success of individual nations within the European gambling sector, there are three stand-out states without whom the landscape would be very different: the UK, Israel and Sweden.

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The UK is arguably the oldest, taking its first tentative steps into regulation back in 1710 with an Act designed at ‘better preventing of excessive and deceitful Gaming.’

This was an Act which aimed at keeping an activity which could not be denied or stopped, fair. The Act also took gambling from something which was casual and private, to introducing the concept of openness and fairness, and by default the concept of arbitration. Cue the middle-man – the bookie, or in today’s multi-channel, multi-product world – the operator.

The operator, who, as a middle man could provide an ‘arbitration service’ of sorts, and in due course, act as a proxy tax collector – switching allegiance between legislator and consumer as best suited to their immediate survival needs.

The global gambling landscape has been driven by these middle-men – whether it be by forcing regulation, taking advantage of it, or quite simply finding innovative ways of operating around it. The Brit-pack has until very recent times led the way with Betfair’s exchange model, and William Hill, the 1930s godfather of UK book-making taking a tried and trusted model into the US and Australia, whose national appetite for gambling is no less, and arguably more, than the UK. No discussion about the industry’s big nation state players could be complete without the epic rise and rise of Israel, and in particular the juggernaut that is Playtech. A state which came into being as a result of one of the most atrocious events in world history, it is synonymous with survival, fighting spirit and success.

A combination of events and circumstances pushed Israel to

embrace, explore and exploit technology far earlier than others, with more focus on software rather than hardware. As a result of this, when the .com boom arrived, Israel was perfectly placed to take full advantage, identifying a way of bridging the gap between one of the world’s oldest and most popular leisure pursuits and .com.

Gambling is one of those rare industries where supply and demand can work ether way as a result of which we have seen operators become suppliers and suppliers become operators, and the boundaries between operator and supplier becoming increasingly blurred.

This brings us to the puzzle of Sweden, which sits in neither camp but has undeniably carved itself a niche as one of Europe’s most successful nations within the gambling sector.

Sweden has a strong racing history dating back to the 1870s and the ATG (or Tote) has been around since 1974. Like the UK, Swedes like a bit of a punt. Unlike the UK, Sweden is very much a closed market – a monopoly.

The fact that Sweden’s home-grown talent cannot legally operate within its own domestic market makes the level of Sweden’s success even more surprising.

Ironically, the reason for the Swedish gambling success story is the same as that of Abba, Ikea and Volvo - they all put their ‘customer’ first.

All of them have succeeded because they give which meets the customer’s needs - but replacing the traditional hard sell with a softer social conscience.

A visit to a Swedish gaming site is like a visit to Ikea: the customer knows what to expect - pleasant surroundings, nicely laid out, functional, and any surprises tend to be pleasant ones. Like a Volvo, you know what you are paying for, the service is reliable and you should encounter very few issues, but if you do they will be fixed.

Mostly though the Swedish ap-

proach to gambling is a little like Abbas’s approach to entertainment.

Whilst their peers focused on inconsequential, happy or neutral themes for their inspiration, Abba often used real life – mixing the good with the bad and showing that life was a mixture of winning and losing – and managing to convey the losing with empathy, sympathy and without a sense of shame or guilt.

They told it like it was.

And it is this last point which is perhaps Sweden’s biggest legacy and contribution to its gaming success. Gambling has a dark side which operators and providers are not always keen to promote. The Swedes do not shirk away from this.

They are the champions of social responsibility.

Gambling has three components: operators, suppliers and customers. Whilst the UK, Israel and others have the first two in hand, the Swedes, have consciously aligned themselves to the customer -

whether its product, quality, value, experience or protection, the overriding message is customer.

As a customer that’s a more compelling marketing message than money, money, money.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Christina Thakor-Rankin is Principal Consultant at 1710Gaming working with start-ups, investors, operators regulators, and industry groups internationally, covering all aspects of the gaming and gambling cycle - from initial research, licence and operational go-live, to new markets and opportunities, to customer engagement and experience. She has over 20 years industry experience and has previously held roles at William Hill, Blue Square, Tote (Sport) and Virgin Games managing multiple business disciplines, functions and teams.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE APRIL 2014

Granted Sweden’s conflicting domestic laws make it one of the most ‘open’ closed markets in Europe, thereby allowing Swedish operators to target service customers, but this does not explain their pan-European success. Nor does it explain why some of the world’s most popular slots games are provided, not by one of the industry heavy-weights, but by a Swedish game developer.

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US GAMING NEWS

Sole Democrat senator goes it alone with Adelson put her name opposing the expansion of online gambling in the US.

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hen California is gearing up for a bill that would allow online poker within the state, with the support of most politicians and more importantly most of the leading Indian tribes on board, one confused democrat senator in the state has

Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein has shocked most politicians in her native California by signing up to Shedon Adelson’s campaign to outlaw online gambling in the US. Indeed the Senator is the ONLY democrat to sign up with Adelson and showing how out of tune she is with her own state that are in favour of legalizing internet gambling.

A statement released by the chair of the California Tribal Business Alliance, Leslie Lohse said: “We’re concerned that there appears to

have been no consultation before she decided to support this bill, which would have direct impacts on California tribes. We look forward to having government to government consultation with Sen. Feinstein, and ultimately doing what’s best for California and Indian Country.”

The senators opinion against gambling is well known in the state, the issue is she never consulted with her colleagues, supporters or those she represents prior to aligning with Adelson’s group.

Keith Sharp, who represents card rooms in the Los Angeles area said about Feinstein: “She’s been consistent when it comes to issues of gambling, and that she is not in favor of seeing an expansion of gambling.”

AC: Revel speaks to more than 20 potential buyers running costs and debt repayments with the business eventually entering chapter eleven two year ago and although has come out of that since, there are worries the Revel will again has to look at chapter eleven protection once more.

The $2.4 billion cost of building the Revel has never been a success with re-payments of the resort weighing down the operation, ever since the resort opened it has been at the bottom of earners of the eleven casinos operating in New Jersey and has never made enough to cover

“We talked to every major and even minor gaming company in the U.S. about the Revel opportunity, and I never had any conversation with anyone relating to a closure,” Kreeger told The Associated Press.

“We are optimistic that discussions with these parties are progressing

well.”

By the end of this 2014, Kreeger hopes to conclude a deal for the sale of the Revel, a strategic alliance with another company or a joint venture among two or more companies to operate it. He also said he cannot rule out a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing again.

“It is premature to speculate on the results of this process, but we are mindful of our employees’ concerns regarding job stability,” Kreeger said.

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tlantic City’s most expensive casino resort ever built, the Revel has been talking to over 20 different potential buyers with all them promising to keep the business running as a going concern.

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ARTICLE

Here’s A Great Idea for Better Casino Customer Service – Just Ask for Help Our feature writer Martin Baird in his April article stresses that asking for help from customers is maybe not such a bad thing to do.

By Martin R. Baird

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very now and then, while doing something completely mundane, an idea hits me like a bolt out of the blue. That happened while I was watching an episode of “Restaurant Impossible” on the Food Channel.

As I watched a team of experts try to revive a struggling restaurant, the thought came through loud and clear – casinos serious about improving their customer service to survive brutal competition should bring in a small group of experts to give it a once-over and make recommendations. All they have to do is ask for help.

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How does this work? On “Restaurant Impossible,” struggling restaurants ask chef Robert Irvine to rescue them.

He assembles and oversees a team of professionals in all aspects of running a restaurant. They have $10,000 and 48 hours to fix the restaurant’s problems. Everything is explored, from the decor to the menu to food preparation. The restaurant closes for the two-day period and then reopens. In addition to the makeover, the restaurant gets amazing national television exposure.

All of this doesn’t cost the restaurant a dime.

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Inc. magazine does something similar for struggling small businesses. It’s called “Case Study.” Business owners interested in breathing new life into their enterprise are reviewed by a panel of small business experts. The experts write up their recommendations. Then the magazine publishes a profile on the business, along with the experts’ suggestions. Talk about major media placement! Again, the advice and exposure don’t cost the business anything.

These are just two high-profile examples of how this

process works. Now, I’m not suggesting that casinos tell the world about their problems through the media.

What I am suggesting is they might want to give serious thought to asking for help. There’s no shame in that.

What’s wrong with bringing in a small group of experts on different aspects of casino customer service and letting them take an unbiased look at your operations?

What’s wrong with having them draft suggestions and then having a sit-down to go over them? The answer to both questions is a resounding “absolutely nothing!’

There are two ways to go about this: paying for the advice or getting it for free. Casinos could pay a group of sharp people to come in and do a tough, fast review. It would need to happen in a timely manner to keep costs down. And, frankly, if they’re being paid, the experts should feel a responsibility to do the best they can.

But there could be other resources right in the casino’s community and they might be free (or inexpensive) and just as valuable. I’m not sure what these institutions are called in other countries, so I will focus on the United States. What about joining the local chamber of commerce and tapping its resources? Yes, you pay dues but the chamber’s sole mission is to help businesses succeed. And if you succeed, the chamber succeeds.

In other words, the chamber has a stake in the process.

What about university professors? Might they jump at the opportunity to do some work in the business world?

They could recruit top students to help and that creates a learning experience for potential future employees for your casino. Community colleges might be another source of help. Small casinos might want to approach the U.S. Small Business Administration.

ARTICLE

(Continued) You get the idea. One way or another, help can be found.

No matter how wonderful a casino’s guest service may be, it can always be better. Employees get set in their ways and it can be very difficult to change their habits.

And good service habits lead to an excellent gaming experience that keeps guests coming back. This is where training enters the picture. You need an honest review of your training program and honest input on how it can be improved.

happy employees having fun with guests, then service must be great. But what happens on the floor when the GM isn’t hanging out? You need a complete review of your service that includes input from management, employees and customers. You likely will need additional help to get customer feedback. For example, mystery shoppers might be in order.

And now some final thoughts. From my point of view, casinos need to take a look at their employee orientation, actual customer service in practice on the floor and the reward system they use to encourage employees to do a better job.

research shows that praise ranks higher than money as a motivator. If you have a formal reward and recognition program, you need someone to take a hard look at it. Trust me, many casinos get it wrong and that’s worse than having no program at all. Have an expert take a look and make suggestions.

I can hear it now – you know all about your customer service and don’t need help in that area. But what is the source of your information on the quality of your service? If the general manager strolls the floor and sees

Martin R. Baird Bio Martin R. Baird is chief executive officer of Robinson & Associ-

Or Read on AppandStore their guest service so they can compete generate future ates, Inc., a Boise, Idaho-based consulting firm to the global

gaming industry that is dedicated to helping casinos improve growth and profitability. Robinson & Associates is the world leader in casino guest experience measurement, management and improvement. For more information, visit the company’s Web sites at http://casinocustomerservice.com and www.advocatedevelopmentsystem.com or contact the company at 208-991-2037. Robinson & Associates is a member of the Casino Management Association and an associate member of the National Indian Gaming Association.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE APRIL 2014

Does your employee orientation get new hires charged up or does it make them want to make a mad dash for the parking lot? Often, orientation scares the heck out of people. Gaming is heavily regulated and there seem to be endless ways to mess up. Don’t lay out how easy it is to get fired. Instead, give employees a realistic overview of the casino and clearly explain what management expects of them. In other words, set them up to succeed.

Finally, there’s the matter of rewarding employees for a job well done. This is also known as positive reinforcement. You don’t need a doctorate in psychology to understand that people respond to praise. In fact,

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They all laughed...

Now they wished they had listened

InfinityGaming • ISSUE APRIL 2014

Ready for the CULTURE of Service Excellence?

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Over 20 years of helping casinos measure, manage and improve guest service

US GAMING NEWS

Presidential hopeful and Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie shot himself in the foot when making a speech at Sheldon Adelson’s organised spring meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Christie was one of three governors that are hoping to be nominated as the 2016 Republican candidate for the White House top job. However speaking at the meeting which is a platform for major donation contributions to the push for the presidency Christie angered Sheldon Adelson the boss of Las Vegas Sands by saying in his speech, “I took a helicopter ride from the occupied territories across, and just felt personally how extraordinary that was, to understand the military risk that Israel faces every day,” said Christie in part of his speech.

The words “occupied territories” angered those leading Jewish donors including Adelson who believe that Israel has a legitimate claim to the Palestinian lands.

It is reported that Christie made a personal apology to Adelson for his comments.

AC casinos suffer 35% profit decline for 2013

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tlantic City profits for 2013 were 35% lower than in 2012 according to figures released by the New Jersey Gaming Enforcement.

Even thou the 12 casinos left in the state showed impressive climbs in revenues for the last quarter of the year it was not enough to suffer over a third of its profits loss for the 2013.

Profits for last year for the casino industry in Atlantic City were at £235

million, compared to 4360 million for the previous year. That is even with a 73% profit increase for the last quarter of 2013 which was down to casinos closing down for 12 days in 2012 due to hurricane Sandy.

“Listen, everybody would like the numbers to be even better, but we had a lot of factors last quarter that didn’t allow that.

We were also dealing with a ton of snow,” New Jersey Casino

Control Commission Chairman Matthew Levinson said.

Out of the 12 casinos that operate in New Jersey seven of them posted a profit for the last year, the biggest winner in terms of profit gain was the Tropicana Casino Resort, which saw a rise of 47% to $26 million for the year. The Revel Casino Hotel again suffered badly as its losses grew by 17% to $130 million for 2013.

Nevada release online poker revenue figures

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he Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) have released the first figures for online poker in the state after the third online operator triggered the release of figures for the first time. The NGCB said it would only release online poker revenues when three operators entered the market, so with the entrance of South Point, started offering online poker along with Station

Casinos and Caesars Entertainment the board have shown revenues for online poker within the state.

February online poker revenues for Nevada were $824,000 between all three operators, which is tiny in respect to land based revenues for the state which stood at $926 million for the month.

In total since the launch of online poker in April 2013 revenues stand at

$8.5 million, which equates to less than a month’s revenues in New Jersey who joined the online gambling business in the US last November. Indeed February New Jersey revenues for online gambling were $10.3 million.

“Clearly from the Nevada figures the state desperately needs to join up with other states, New Jersey for certain to help boost revenues,” said one industry observer.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE APRIL 2014

Christie apologises to Adelson for speech error

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Atlantic Casino Consultants

InfinityGaming • ISSUE APRIL 2014

www.atlanticcasinoconsultants.com info@atlanticcasinoconsultants.com

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JJ Woods - Director of Operations

Phone/Fax: +35315156370 Mobile: +353 (0)863512555

US GAMING NEWS

Pennsylvania & Illinois delay online gambling expansion

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ennsylvania and Illinois look certain to hold back this year against introducing online gambling to their respective states.

In Pennsylvania it seems that neither Republicans or the Governor are really interested in pushing for the introduction of legalizing online gambling with House Republican spokesperson Stephen Miskin saying “I’m not sure there’s a whole lot of support in our caucus right now for it.”

There is an appetite to expand gambling and recently the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee were asked to explore the impact of online gambling on the state and the results of that study are due out in May. The finding are expected to fire up both sides of the debate, those for and against, however it could be a

one way fight as there seems little want for support of online gambling this year at least.

A spokesman for Governor Tom Corbett said on Friday: “The governor would be reluctant to have wholesale expansion of online gaming, or even something like online poker.

Online gaming presents issues associated with access. It could be used by individuals that, by law, should not be allowed to play, and those can include minors. The governor’s goal, when he announced small games, was, ‘We need to look at this in a measured fashion and ensure that safeguards are in place.”

In Illinois online gambling was hoped to be the savior of a $1.5 billion budget black hole the state is suffering, but it seems the need to resolve the issue of land based casinos first is top of the agenda prior

to considering introducing internet gambling.

The state has 10 river boat casinos which brings in $10 million a month in taxes for the state, to this they want to add from one to five land based casinos to increase taxes more, but there is strong opposition to the idea.

To this Senate President John Cullerton said recently, “I think, though, that we cannot take that issue [igaming] up until we resolve whether or not we’re going to have new casinos in Illinois and that again is very difficult to predict.

Problem is, there’s so many different interests. There’s a bunch of folks that don’t believe in gaming, there’s casino interests, there’s horse racing interests, and it’s very hard to thread the needle on that bill.”

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evenues for Las Vegas fell by 20.2% for February according to figures released by the State’s Gaming Control Board compared to the same time last year.

The state’s revenues for gambling were $926 million for the month compared to $1.1 billion for February 2013.

One of the main reasons for the steep decline was baccarat with a huge 40% drop in revenues to $158 million compared to February 2013 which stood at $263.8 million.

However the difference in baccarat was put down to the record win on the tables last year for the casino’s with the Chinese New Year being a factor in 2013, so the fall this month was a re-alignment in revenues.

BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE APRIL 2014

Las Vegas suffer revenues fall for February

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InfinityGaming • ISSUE APRIL 2014

SPECIAL Feature Article

Lawyer found guilty over murder of casino heiress in 1970’s The 76-year-old was sentenced to 20 years in his third trial for the killing of his then-mistress. Her body has never been found.

Maurice Agnelet, 76, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in his third trial for the killing of his then mistress, Agnes Le Roux. She disappeared in October 1977, aged 29. Her body has never been found.

during a camping trip in Italy and then dumped the body by the side of the road.

He said his father had also confessed in the 1980s to knowing the location of the corpse.

Italian police launched their own probe after the accusation.

Agnelet showed no emotion as the verdict was read in the court in the northwestern town of Rennes.

Agnelet was initially acquitted of the murder but convicted on appeal in 2007 to serve 20 years — a verdict that was later overturned by the European Court of Human Rights.

His retrial in Rennes has seen a number of shocking new revelations, including testimony from Agnelet’s own son who said he believes his father committed the crime.

Guillaume Agnelet, 45, told the court on Monday that his mother had confided to him that his father had killed Le Roux in her sleep

Agnelet’s ex-wife and the mother of Guillaume, Annie Litas, rejected the accusations during her own tearful testimony, accusing her son of suffering from psychological problems.

Before the end of the trial on Friday, Agnelet apologised to Le Roux’s family for his “attitude” since her death.

He said he was sorry for any hurt “I

may have caused the family with my attitude and my statements since Agnes’s unbelievable and tragic disappearance”.

In a three-hour closing statement on Thursday, prosecutor Philippe Petitprez said there was no other explanation for Le Roux’s disappearance than her killing by Agnelet.

“Maurice Agnelet is the one at the middle of this. Everything brings us back to Maurice Agnelet,” he said. “I am sure that Maurice Agnelet is guilty.”

In his closing statement, defence lawyer Francois Saint-Pierre had urged the jury to acquit, saying there was no concrete proof of Agnelet’s involvement.

She disappeared months after becoming embroiled in a hostile takeover bid of her mother’s casino.

Agnelet had seduced Le Roux and persuaded her to vote against her mother at a board meeting in June 1977 and to allow the casino to be sold to a rival owner.

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former Riviera lawyer was convicted of killing a glamorous casino heiress 36 years ago, after a legal battle that has gripped France.

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ASIA GAMING NEWS

Osaka want to be first for casinos

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saka wants to be the first Japanese city to have a casino resort by inviting International casino developers to visit the city and the reclaimed land of Osaka Bay says the cities governor.

Governor Ichiro Matsui said to Reuters news agency that Osaka officials will meet later in April to confirm that Yumeshima, the reclaimed area now called Osaka Bay will be the proposed site for a casino resort, with land available for any construction of 420 acres.

By naming the site early Osaka are hoping to beat Tokyo to attracting the first wave of investment for a resort, as of yet the Japanese capital has not officially named any location for a casino resort.

It may all be a bit early as the countries parliament has yet to pass the

bill that would legalise casinos in Japan, but Osaka does not want to miss out. Many observers say that four license will be issued once Japan passes the bill allowing for gambling resorts, with Tokyo certainly named as one of the locations along with Osaka.

“It’s about time that as a city we narrow down the candidate sites,” Matsui said, “We have reached the point where we need to start accepting proposals,” he added.

Parliament are expected to debate the gambling bill in May and then goes to the upper house for review with alterations expected.

The timetable supporters have is that a revised bill will be presented in mid-2015 and then passed into law sometime shortly after that.

The Japanese government hope to have casino resorts in the country built and ready for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

North Vietnam casino resort a go for Lim brothers

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onaco the Asian Casino Operator run by KT Lim nephews, Joey & Ben Lim, whose uncle is founder of the Genting empire have confirmed that their new development in North Vietnam will be operational on the 18th May.

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The five star 428-room hotel and casino will have a soft launch in May prior to full opening, with the hotel and casino targeting Chinese gamblers in the bordering Yunnan province.

Joey & Ben Lim have raised over $100 million for future develop-

ments in Asia from investment firms and will be announcing further deals on casinos shortly says their spokesperson.

Now with the North Vietnamese resort shortly to open the companies stock price has soared by 227% with the news that the new Vietnamese casino has cleared final regulatory approval.

Both Joey & Ben Lim would not expand on where Donaco would either purchase an existing casino in Asia or build, but observers believe that a purchase by the Lim brothers is most likely.

INTERNATIONAL EWS

Japanese Pachinko giant looks for casino partner Macau March gaming revenues beat forecasts again!

Yoji Sato (far right)

perfect fit.

Yoji Sato, Dynam’s chairman and one of Japan’s wealthiest businessmen, said the company wants to announce a partnership with an Asian operator once an initial bill is passed creating what is thought to be a market worth $40 billion a year.

According to Sato the company have already held talks with the main Aisan gaming companies such as Galaxy Entertainment, SJM Holdings, Melco Crown Entertainment and South Korea’s NagaCorp.

It is widely expected that the Japanese government will pass a law allowing for casinos to be built for the first time on the Japanese mainland in June of this year with most estimates saying four casinos will be allowed to be built and ready to operate before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Macau gambling revenues for March were $4.44 billion which is a rise of 13% from the same period in 2013, which was higher than analyst’s estimates and the world’s largest gambling hub continues to beat all expectations in revenue forecasts.

Most analyst’s predicted 10-12 percent gain but stronger than expected growth in the middle class gambling sector again beat expected revenues.

The former Portuguese colony that is the only legal place to gamble for Chinese nationals equals the total annual income of Las Vegas in just two months business, with last year Macau full revenues were $45

Preston gives green light to casino

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reston has moved closer to having its first casino form decades after local councillors passed plans to allow the former Fives building in Guildhall Street into a casino.

With councillors saying they thought a casino would bring a more “cosmopolitan” atmosphere to the city.

Councillor Brian Rollo said: “This is a gambling establishment which probably would be beneficial to Preston city centre – it would bring a different clientele.

At present no casino operator has been named as a suitor for the Preston project.

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iant Japanese Pachinko hall operator Dynam Holdings says it is in talks with the major casino operators in Asia to partner up in building a casino resort in Japan once the country legalizes gambling.

Currently parliament is soon to debate a bill that would see casinos in the country before the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. It is understood by many gaming observers in Asia that it is a formality that Japan will pass a law allowing for what could be the world’s third largest gambling hub and every casino operator in Macau, Las Vegas and Asia wants it.

However parliament officials have made it clear that any overseas operator looking for a license will have to partner up with a local business and with Dynam Holdings one of the biggest companies in the country many operators see them as a

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INTERNATIONAL GAMING NEWS

Galaxy Entertainment to move into US gaming market?

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alaxy Entertainment now the second largest casino operator in the Macau gambling sector could be looking to purchase a casino operator in the US or elsewhere to expand their gaming empire.

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Dr Lui Che-woo the Chairman of Galaxy Entertainment said in a recent Bloomberg interview that he see further growth in Macau to which his company is expanding further their Galaxy Macau resort four fold in the next few years, however he also said that Galaxy would look for opportunities in foreign markets including the US, where revenues in the gaming industry have now taken an upward turn.

The billionaire boss of Galaxy Entertainment who recently received the Outstanding Contribution to Gaming Award at the 7th International Gaming Awards in London has not

said if his company would consider a single operation or a group of casinos in his interview, but let us consider his options.

Caesars Entertainment, is certainly a possibility with its expansive operations throughout the US, UK and soon to be South Korea, indeed the US based operator has some great casino operations, but on the negative side they also have many failing operations, too many casinos in New Jersey and a debt pile of over $21 billion. It does have a fledgling online gambling business also which would be a bonus to Galaxy Entertainment but the signs are that Caesars still believe they can go it alone and a purchase is unlikely.

St. Louis. The cost of purchasing Pinnacle would be far less than Caesars and gives the Macau Operator an opportunity to expand on a strong base. Boyd Gaming has properties in Atlantic City and Las Vegas among others, is has a strong balance sheet and shows growth of over 16% last year, making it an attractive option.

There are other smaller operations that could interest Galaxy such as Pinnacle Entertainment and Boyd Gaming. Pinnacle has operations in eight locations with their strongest properties being New Orleans and

Having a Galaxy Entertainment operation in the US would be an interesting proposition said one gaming industry insider, could a Macau operator make it big in the US? Maybe just maybe we will find out.

What is for certain if Galaxy Entertainment would want to expand into the US would be its ambition to create stunning gaming resorts in high location traffic areas which currently are Las Vegas and Atlantic City where Boyd Gaming Has operations, making it the favourite for a takeover among observers.

AUSTRALIAN GAMING NEWS

James Packer wants Japan casino license and really driving the next stage of growth that the Abe government is looking to do to reinvigorate the Japanese e­ co­nomy,” Todd Nisbet said.

Melco Crown are also looking at South Korea and Vietnam for expanding their casino empire outside of Macau.

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Crown executive vice president James Nisbet said, “Melco Crown was in talks with several Japanese corporations in an attempt to find a local partner for the bid.”

It is expected once Japan clears the way in Parliament for casinos to be developed in the country that one of the stipulations for any overseas casino operator to gain a license will be that a local partner will have to be on board with the development.

Once the government allow for casinos in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, it is understood that only four casino licenses will be issued, making winning a license very precious and Melco Crown certainly want one of those. Indeed James Packer is in Tokyo with Australian Prime Minister on a business delegation trip and will be hoping to impress the Japanese government enough to gain support for his companies application when it comes.

“There’s been this moment in time where the Olympics has crystallised thinking around what’s the best way to capitalise on Japan being on the world stage

Ladbrokes buy up Aussie online bookmaker UK Bookmaker Ladbrokes have purchased Australian online bookmaking business Betstar for a fee between $20 and $25 million. Alan Eskander and his father who owned the online Australian business look set to scoop a windfall of $19 million from the sale.

The official announcement on the sale is expected very soon, however it is not all good news as employees at Betstar have already been informed that redundancies are expected following the sale.

Betstar was founded by father and son Michael and Alan founded the business in 2007 has revenues of in excess of $18 million a year and is the second purchase

by Ladbrokes in less than a year with the buy-out of another online betting form in Gaming Investments for $22.5 million in August 2013.

Australian online gambling is worth an estimated $13 billion annually

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ames Packer and Lawrence Ho want to invest $5 billion into a new casino resort in Japan and are currently looking for a Japanese local partner to push the proposal further once the government legalise gambling in the country.

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INTERNATIONAL GAMING NEWS

Twelve bid for Great Barrier Reef resorts

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here have been twelve official bids for developing casino resorts in Queensland Australia that has the Great Barrier Reef as a backdrop to lure customers and tourists for the state to become bigger than Singapore.

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Indeed such names on the bidding list are James Packer of Crown Resorts, Billionaire Cheng Yu-tung, Echo Entertainment and Hong Kong billionaire investor Tony Fung’s Aquis Resorts are all hoping to get into the development that could generate revenues of over $5 billion a year.

Queensland deputy premier Jeff Seeney confirmed the names of the bidders in a statement to the press

and with a shoreline longer than India with the Great Barrier Reef the Premier is hoping for millions in tax dollars each year once the casino resorts are built and running.

The government wants “world-class resorts that will revitalise the tourism and construction sectors of the economy,” Seeney said in the statement.

They’ll be “draw cards for both international and domestic visitors and provide employment for thousands of Queenslanders,” he said.

The department of state development will consider the bids and prepare a final short-list by the middle of 2014, Seeney said, with a decision on the licenses expected a year later.

Former Comet boss looks at Gala Bingo purchase

Henry Jackson the founder of investment vehicle Opcapita has shown an interest in purchasing Gala Bingos in a deal worth £250 million.

However the controversial boss who previously owned failed electrical retailer Comet which went bankrupt in November of 2013 with the loss of thousands of jobs and which Business Secretary Vince Cable ordered an inquiry into the collapse of Comet after rumours that Opcapita made £70 million from the Comet deal even thou it went bust.

Gala are looking to sell their bingo halls later this year after appointing Lazard the investment bank specialists to advise on the sale. It is expected to be a popular sale following British Chancellor George Osborne halving the tax on bingo halls. Gala have 140 site across the UK and Luke Johnson, the former Channel 4 chairman, whose firm Risk Capital Partners is among the other likely bidders to announce their interest once Gala officially launch the bidding process on the sale.

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