WPTE's net loss for the fourth quarter of 2007 was $1.8 million, compared to a net loss of $1.1 million for the same period in 2006. For year-end 2007 the company's net loss was $9.6 million, compared to net earnings of $7.8 million in 2006.
The company's 2007 revenue was approximately $7.6 million lower than the year before. CEO Steve Lipscomb attributed that drop to two main factors.
The first is that WPTE delivered a total of only 22 episodes of television programming, as compared to 45 episodes the year before. The difference is almost completely attributable to the Travel Channel declining to pick up a second season of the Professional Poker Tour; it had ordered the complete first-season PPT run of 24 episodes in 2006.
The second is that WPTE's 2006 revenue included a $10.2 million pre-tax gain on the sale of PokerTek common stock. There was no such buffer against losses this year.
Other, more minor factors impacting WPTE's bottom line for 2007 were lower international television licensing revenues and lower online gaming revenues. The losses were partially offset by almost-doubled hosting and sponsorship revenues.
While WPTE's earnings and revenues both dropped substantially, Lipscomb is upbeat about the shift in strategy his company began undertaking in 2007.
"We have been focused on shifting our business from a traditional media and entertainment company to a multimedia entertainment and gaming company," Lipscomb said, noting the company's partnership with online gaming network Cryptologic and its new broadcast and promotion deal with GSN.
One of the most potentially lucrative new ventures for WPTE is its exclusive 10-year agreement with the China Leisure Sports Adminstration Center to "promote and grow the sport of Poker in China." That includes a five-year renewable agreement to sponsor China's first-ever National Traktor Poker Tour, based on a traditional Chinese folk game called Tuo La Ji that has been described as a cross between gin and bridge.
WPTE expects its association with China to boost future revenues through sponsorship, television, and online and mobile subscription opportunities.
The company also expects increased revenues from its new ClubWPT.com Web site, which it describes as "an innovative subscription-based online poker club targeted to the estimated 60 million poker players in the United States."
According to the CEO, WPTE's marketing strategy for the near future will focus on product improvements, localized content and driving players to its Web site.
"With our positive momentum and world-class brand," Lipscomb said, "we are enthusiastic about the prospects for 2008 and beyond."
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New Scientist: Researchers developing anti-fraud ‘Gambling DNA’
The New Scientist published an article today on an interesting evolution in online gambling fraud-prevention tactics: the development of a robust player profile, or DNA, that tracks tendencies and alerts a system to deviation from those established patterns. Excerpt from the story: To ensure a human, and ��...full article
The New Scientist published an article today on an interesting evolution in online gambling fraud-prevention tactics: the development of a robust player profile, or DNA, that tracks tendencies and alerts a system to deviation from those established patterns.
Excerpt from the story:
To ensure a human, and the correct human at that, is playing, Roman Yampolskiy of the University at Buffalo in New York and his colleague Venu Govindaraju have written software that monitors how you play. It catalogues how often and how much a player tends to bet, increases the bet, bets everything, or folds - giving up altogether. This information is bundled up into a personalised measure - the player’s “gambling DNA” - that can then be used to confirm their identity. Any deviation from that behaviour is flagged up as suspicious. After just an hour of play, Yampolskiy says, the software can authenticate players with 80 per cent accuracy - and that gets better the longer they play.
Sklansky drama update
The dramatics surrounding the situation involving Sklansky, Hawbaker et al continues, fueled by increasingly aggressive actions taken by 2+2 to suppress the story and corresponding reactions from other poker sites, most notably NeverWin Poker. For what it’s worth Sklansky has apparently been soft-banned by ��...full article
The dramatics surrounding the situation involving Sklansky, Hawbaker et al continues, fueled by increasingly aggressive actions taken by 2+2 to suppress the story and corresponding reactions from other poker sites, most notably NeverWin Poker. For what it’s worth Sklansky has apparently been soft-banned by 2+2, so they’re not explicitly playing favorites when it comes to the hammer-dropping.
Some comments on the situation below.
From Wicked Chops Poker:
And we get some of the motivation as to why the bans are happening. When people are posting private photos/saying thing about someone that you probably didn’t want ever getting out–and for good reason, which is why we won’t post or link to those photos despite receiving emails about it from numerous people–then you could see this all unfolding and realize it was about to get ugly.
But like we posted last week, David Sklansky is too old to be getting himself involved in this stuff, and he kind of brought it on to himself, which makes the bannings ultra-hypocritical. In fact, he should probably ban himself from the forum just to save face. Actually, 2+2 head honcho Mason Malmouth has more or less done that already
Gary Carson seemed to take pleasure in the absurdity of the situation in his blog:
Maybe if Mason started a new policy of not employing 60 year old men who dated 16 year old runaways, 21 year old autistic women, or 30 year old alcholoic hookers then some of this stuff would not happen so often.
What’s the law in Nevada about men having sex with women who aren’t mentally capable of giving consent?
I’m glad the writer’s strike is over. Mason would never be able to come up with these story lines without his team of comedy writer’s back in action.
Here’s the latest thread on 2+2 discussing the various bannings.
Lightning Poker, PokerTek in New Legal Skirmish
Pennsylvania-based Lightning Poker, Inc. announced on Tuesday that it had filed a patent infringement lawsuit against PokerTek, Inc., its primary competitor in the 'live' electronic poker table market. The latest action by Lightning...
Win your way to the Bodog Poker Open with PokerNews!
Bodog Poker launches the first ever Bodog Poker Open (BPO) and are giving PokerNews players the chance to win a Main Event seat for only $1!
WSOP-C Prelim Event's Chip Leader Disqualified for Bad Behavior
It's not unusual for a player to be eliminated at a final table, nor, unfortunately, is it unusual for a player to display unsportsmanlike behavior. It is, however, unusual for a player to be ousted from the final table for bad conduct...
PartyGaming CEO steps down
Garber joined the company in April 2006, just seven months before the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed. Since then PartyGaming and all of its brands including PartyPoker, PartyBets, PartyCasino, PartyBingo and PartyGammon have pulled out of the U.S. market.
According to the story with Bloomberg, Garber won't renew his contract beyond May 1, 2009. The 43-year-old executive is planning to move his family back to their native North America.
Despite the company's ventures into new markets in Asia and Europe, PartyGaming stocks have taken a beating in the past few months. Net income fell from $128.4 million in 2006 to $41.6 million in 2007.
Talks are still ongoing with the U.S. Department of Justice; if the outcome is positive, PartyGaming might return to U.S. markets in the future.
"We have every reason to believe that we can reach a resolution in 2008," Garber said in the Bloomberg story .
Meanwhile the company will begin seeking a replacement for Garber will begin immediately with both internal and external candidates considered.
"I think it's great for the company to promote from within," Garber said. "A number of people who have come to PartyGaming through acquisitions or progressed through the company would have relevant skills."
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Canadian racetrack owners speak on online gambling
Racetrack owners have gotten into the recent conversation on online gambling in poker. Earlier this week, the Canadian Minister of Justice suggested steps may be taken to stop online poker and gambling sites licensed by the Kahnawake nation, along the lines of a U.S.-type UIGEA ��...full article
Racetrack owners have gotten into the recent conversation on online gambling in poker. Earlier this week, the Canadian Minister of Justice suggested steps may be taken to stop online poker and gambling sites licensed by the Kahnawake nation, along the lines of a U.S.-type UIGEA bill.
Racetrack owners have told the government that they would like to see online gambling stop altogether in Canada, or they would like be allowed access to the market.
According to pokerpages.org:
Track owners say that while they add to local employment and pay taxes, they labor under many restrictions. Most important, they are allowed to take online bets only in their local areas, while offshore operators can take all sorts of sporting bets from anywhere without supporting the local industry.
“It’s having a severe impact on our business,” said Jane Holmes, vice-president of corporate affairs for Woodbine Entertainment Group, whose holdings include Toronto’s Woodbine Racetrack. She estimates it has lost about $200 million to other sites.
Liberal MP Roy Cullen, whose Etobicoke North riding includes Toronto’s Woodbine Racetrack, said he plans to follow the Minister of Justice’s lead by introducing a private members’ bill that would require financial institutions and credit card companies to block Internet betting transactions.
Joe Delaronde, spokesperson for the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, said it has no objection to other segments of Canadian business entering the online gambling fray. “If the Canadian government changes their laws and allows that, it’s free enterprise, it’s a competitive market,” Delaronde said.
Bodog Poker Open Event 4 goes to foldpreflop85
foldpreflop85 didn't live down to his screen name, working his way through a roster of opponents that included Team Bodog poker pros David Williams, Josh Arieh and Jean-Robert Bellande.
Some other notable Bodog Poker regulars were in the mix as well. Joe "Dyzalot" Morneau, daisyxoxo, iLLNuGWichie, Smith "nevertilt22" Collins, Jonathan "UFPokerStar" Wester and Matt "thatsNice" Larsh also put up the $215 buy-in for this Pot-Limit Hold'em event.
Despite plenty of success on the poker site, none of those players landed in the top spot. That honor went to foldpreflop85 as he pocked $14,100 and a seat in the main event for the win.
The final-table results were:
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | foldpreflop85 | $14,100 |
| 2nd | shipthechezz | $9,400 |
| 3rd | alcarmo | $5,593 |
| 4th | basebaldy | $3,760 |
| 5th | Jack Splat | $3,055 |
| 6th | MOBstar | $2,350 |
| 7th | cmizzles3687 | $1,645 |
| 8th | PROMETHEUS | $1,222 |
| 9th | vinnyb9 | $799 |
Players keeping an eye on the Bodog Poker Open results may notice an interesting pattern forming. Once again, alcarmo made the final table of an event, finishing third in Event 4. He has already made a sixth-place finish in Event 2 and landed in fourth place in Event 3; now this third-place finish is further evidence of his prowess.
It also gives him a total of $17,628.50 so far in the Bodog Poker Open, and Bodog is touting him as a possible favorite to win the Main Event.
The final preliminary event of the series gets under way today at 8 p.m. (EST) with a $150+$10 Limit Hold'em event. Bodog Poker will also be sweetening the pot by adding another $10,000 to the prize pool.
The series will take a break on Saturday to focus on satellites into the main event. Starting at 6 a.m. (EST), satellites will be running at least every hour leading all the way up to the main event on Sunday.
On Sunday at 9 a.m. (EST), satellites will begin running at least every half hour, with Last Chance qualifiers running every 15 minutes as the start of the main event nears.
The $500 Bodog Poker main event is scheduled to start Sunday, March 9, at 4 p.m. (EST). Bodog Poker will be adding $25,000 in additional money to the prize pool.
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Bodog Poker Open Event 2 goes to 3pounder
3pounder outlasted 249 players to take down first place at BPO Event 2: 6-handed. The online player beat pepsiontherocks to win $23,292.
The second event of the BPO brought out many of the elite poker crowd including Team Bodog members David Williams, Josh Arieh and Evelyn Ng. In addition, a number of Bodog regulars like Joe "Dyzalot" Morneau, Matt "thatsNice" Larsh and Jon "PearlJammer" Turner played in the event.
3pounder was another well-known Bodog player and has earned close to $250,000 at the online poker room. Incredibly 3pounder cashed in a $30 re-buy tournament that was also being held on Bodog just after finishing the BPO event.
Next up for the BPO will be Event 3: $100+$10 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em with re-buys. Play gets under way at 8 p.m. (EST) today with Bodog kicking in an extra $10,000 to the prize pool.
The entire series will culminate on Sunday with the BPO $500 buy-in main event featuring a prize pool with an added $25,000 and an Omega Speedmaster watch.
Here are the complete final-table results from Event 2:
1. $23,292.50 - 3pounder
2. $14,822.49 - pepsiontherocks
3. $9,825.20 - SheehanMatt
4. $6,776 - ShuMoneyTonite
5. $5,082 - herdgolf86
6. $3,811.50 - alcarmo
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