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James Packer

Kerry Packer

Crown Casino

Virgin Casino

Richard Branson

Golden Palace

Keith Sloan

Joe Hachem

Media Man Australia Gaming

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Macau's top risk: too many casinos, by Glenda Korporaal - The Australian - 26th February 2007

Macau is facing a potential oversupply of casinos as James Packer's PBL and other licence holders negotiate fees to allow third parties to open their own casinos in the city, Deutsche Bank has warned.

PBL and Packer's Hong Kong-based partner, Lawrence Ho, are negotiating to allow Las Vegas casino operator David Friedman to operate a casino in the new $2.6 billion Macau Studio City on Macau's Cotai strip.

Under the deal, the joint venture between PBL and Lawrence Ho's Melco will receive a percentage of gross gaming revenue from Mr Friedman, the former chief counsel for Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands group.

Singapore's CapitaLand is taking a 20 per cent stake in the project, which is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2009.

The deal is one of an increasing number of franchise arrangements being negotiated by some of the six official licence holders in Macau, with local veteran, Stanley Ho, 85, leading the charge.

Malaysian casino operator Genting International has recently negotiated a deal to build a $1 billion Resorts World Macau under a franchise arrangement with Mr Ho's Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), following deals with players including Hong Kong-listed firms Emperor Entertainment, Golden Resorts, Century Legend and A-Max.

Stanley Ho also has another franchise arrangement with long-time partner David Chow, operator of Pharaoh's casino.

This has seen the number of casinos operated under Stanley Ho's licence jump from 11 to 17 over the past three years.

Richard Branson's Virgin Group is also reported to be negotiating a deal for a hotel-casino complex in Macau with the Hong Kong-based Galaxy group, another of the six official licence holders. In a research note, Deutsche Bank analyst Karen Tang says the prospect of Branson entering the Macau market highlights the growing number of operators coming into the city who are not licence holders.

Ms Tang points out that Virgin does not have a Macau gaming licence. "As such it will have to form revenue-sharing arrangements with one of the six licence holders to operate the casino.

"The news highlights industry supply risks as non-licence holders can relatively easily enter the market via forming revenue-sharing arrangements with concessionaires.'

Under Macau law the six official licence holders are free to negotiate deals with operators to run casinos under their licence.

While the deals are profitable for the licence holders such as PBL, which will be able to receive revenue from David Friedman's casino with no risk to their own company, they have the potential to drastically increase the supply in the city.

So while Deutsche and others are predicting continued strong growth in the demand for gambling in the city, as China expands the list of cities whose residents are free to travel to Macau, the question is whether margins will be squeezed by a possible oversupply.

"These deals highlight supply-side risks and increase competition for the six licence holders," Ms Tang notes.

The deals come as the official licence holders are also pushing ahead with their own multi-billion-dollar hotel-casino projects. Stanley Ho recently opened his new flagship, the Grand Lisboa, while PBL-Melco are set to open their first Macau casino, the Crown Macau later this year.

Ms Tang notes that the opening date of the Crown Macau casino, which was originally scheduled for late last year, is expected to be delayed again from April until May.

Profiles

James Packer

Crown Casino

Richard Branson

Virgin Casino

All bets on Packer to expand his gaming business, by Miriam Steffens - The Age - 10th May 2007

JAMES Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd will focus on expanding its $9 billion gaming business after splitting into two separate companies later this year, analysts say.

Crown, the new gaming company, will run PBL's casinos in Australia and gambling investments in Asia, North America and Britain. It might be able to raise more than $3.5 billion for acquisitions, UBS AG analyst Nola Hodgson wrote in a note yesterday.

Mr Packer has accelerated PBL's push into gaming since the death of his father, Kerry, 17 months ago. His first casino in Macau opened yesterday, with two more to follow, and he's been buying stakes in gambling venues in Britain, Canada and Las Vegas. The split will allow Mr Packer, Australia's richest man, to focus on Crown, where he will be executive chairman.

"We believe Crown will be even more focused on future transactions as a pure play," Goldman Sachs JBWere analysts Christian Guerra and Adam Alexander said.

Separating Crown and Consolidated Media Holdings was Sydney-based PBL's second major restructure in seven months. In October, Mr Packer sold half of the company's media assets into PBL Media, a venture with buy-out firm CVC Asia Pacific, to raise $4.5 billion to fund his casino expansion as his NineNetwork lost viewers and advertising sales.

Crown would get PBL's "war chest" of $2 billion cash and raise $2 billion in debt to fund a $3-a-share return to investors as part of the split, leaving it with flexibility to add further acquisitions or ventures with international partners, Mr Guerra and Mr Alexander wrote.

"We would expect that Crown will continue to pursue highly leveraged deals," JPMorgan Chase & Co analyst Cameron McKnight said. Crown might also spin off assets into separate investment trusts to free funds for acquisitions and reap management fees, he said.

Crown's shares will be valued at $14.34 and Consolidated Media at $5.07, the average estimate of six analysts shows.

Consolidated Media, which will hold 50 per cent of PBL Media, the owner of Nine and Australia's biggest magazine publisher, as well as stakes in pay TV networks Foxtel and Fox Sports and internet companies, will be run by PBL chief executive John Alexander.

The media business would struggle to expand because it had $3.8 billion in debt and earnings depended on dividends from its investments, Ms Hodgson said.

Profiles

James Packer

Crown Casino

To release value is just.... - The Age - 11th May 2007

WORDS at the heart of Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd's budget-day announcement of its plan to separate its gaming and media interests into two listed companies suggest it is a valuation issue. That, however, seems to be simply the starting point for James Packer's ambitions.

The logic of splitting PBL is straightforward and indeed is simply an extension of the logic that drove Packer to sell half of PBL Media to CVC Asia Pacific last year, releasing $4.5 billion of cash in the process.

Gaming has increasingly become the focus of Packer's growth plans, with PBL embarking on a frenetic expansion of its activities offshore. It already accounts for 60 per cent of PBL's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, and has far greater growth potential than the more mature core of PBL Media.

The CVC deal, while there was a strong element of opportunism — Packer saw a chance to grab a big lump of capital on terms that, thanks to the frenzy of private equity deals, might never be available again — recognised the looming collision between the ambitions of the two businesses.

It made no sense within the old structure to allocate capital for expansion of PBL Media. Not only was that business low-growth and facing big challenges, but in the wake of the Coonan media law reforms expansion opportunities would be expensive. From PBL's perspective, the case for directing all its discretionary investment into the higher-returning and faster-growing gaming business was compelling.

The CVC deal worked at several levels. It capitalised on the value of the media businesses to a private equity group in the midst of a scramble for cash-generating assets, to create a huge war chest for the expansion of gaming. It also, however, dramatically lowered PBL Media's cost of capital, allowing it seriously to contemplate expansion.

What it didn't do, however, was to break the nexus between gaming and media. Substantial expansion of PBL Media along the lines envisaged by the partners would create the prospect that it would grow relative to the more highly-rated gaming operations and therefore undermine one of the most appealing elements of the transaction.

Substantial growth might also mean PBL was forced to redirect some of the capital it had released back to the media business. Packer wasn't going to dilute PBL's exposure to gaming in order to support PBL Media's growth ambitions.

The formal separation of the two sets of businesses ends the linkage and the conflicts that created for PBL. Moreover, PBL has a messy executive super-structure. Separation allows a clearer allocation of responsibilities and accountabilities.

The demerger will probably see Crown valued more highly than it has been within the present structure but that may not necessarily be at Consolidated Media Holdings' expense.

PBL Media has a raft of new media exposures, as well as Nine Network and PBL's magazines. Within the existing group the interests in Foxtel, Fox Sports, Seek and Ticketek aren't particularly visible. Given that Consolidated Media will own 50 per cent of PBL's old media businesses but fully own its interests in new media, they will get far more attention.

Despite the spate of offshore gambling interests PBL has acquired since the deal with CVC it must have become obvious to Packer that PBL simply had more capital than it could deploy sensibly. It was awash with cash, and that would dampen its performance statistics and value.

Hence, as part of the separation, $2 billion will be returned to shareholders. That will still leave Crown with a near-ungeared balance sheet to fund its growth. The dispersal of the cash sends a clear signal, however: that Packer is not contemplating the much-speculated tilt at Tabcorp or any other large, single target.

Packer himself will extract about $760 million from the restructure. While he apparently plans to use the cash to pay down debt in his privately owned Consolidated Press, it will give him the capacity to support any new capital needs for either of the two demerged entities, in which he will retain a 37 per cent interest. It might also, of course, provide the capital for expansion elsewhere.

With the demerger, Packer will have two separately listed and focused vehicles in different sectors and a foot on a third through his 20 per cent-plus holding in Challenger Financial Services, now a $3 billion company. His privately held hedge fund, Ellerston Capital, is apparently growing rapidly and could, if brought next to Challenger and a range of smaller financial services interests, help create a third pillar for his portfolio.

THE rumours of a BHP Billiton bid for Rio Tinto have subsided almost as quickly as they emerged, with most of the market concluding that a merger is something that perhaps ought to happen rather than something about to happen.

With hindsight, it is obvious that there is no imminent move planned by BHP on Rio or anyone else of substance.

Almost every working day this year BHP has filed a notice disclosing on-market purchases of shares in the British entity with its dual-listed company structure, BHP Billiton plc. There is no way BHP would allow that buyback program to continue while it was planning a major acquisition and, therefore, held extremely market-sensitive information.

The buying is part of a $US10 billion ongoing capital management program, most of it dedicated to acquiring plc shares. Any suspension of that program will, of course, provide an early warning signal that BHP is planning something substantial.

Profiles

James Packer

Media Man Australia Gaming and Casino profiles updated.
Profile of the month: Virgin Casino

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Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia

Virgin Media, Virgin Casino / Virgin Gaming and more Virgin Enterprises Limited and Richard Branson news

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Poker News Media - Branson, Packer, US, China, Australia

See the Poker News Media Updates
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Media Man Australia James Packer Profile
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More poker and casio updates - Poker - Casino

Poker Media Update We have updated our Poker and Casio profiles Poker profile Casino Directory We are also delighted to announce that we have also come to business terms with Poker Listings Australia. Keep checking our Poker Profiles page for updates. Thanks. Best Regards Greg Tingle Director Media Man Australia

Media Man Australia Poker Tourney

Sydney, Australia

20th January 2006

Media Man Australia is delighted to announce that they will be launching their debut, self-branded, online poker tournament series on 24th January, commencing at 8pm Sydney time.
The company has long been associated with the gaming industry, having reported on and interviewed gaming entities such as Keith "Bendigo" Sloan, Dr Bob, Harry M. Miller and Max Markson.

Media Man Australia has employed the world-renowned Absolute Poker technology and is delighted to be spearheading the initiative in Australia.

The two will conduct an interactive online global network of poker players and enthusiasts, combining world-class online poker technology with the brand power, awareness, and reach of Media Man Australia.

Both seasoned poker players and those new to the sport will be able to battle for $500 in cash on the easily accessible and customer friendly interface www.absolutepoker.com/br/mediaman


About AbsolutePoker.com
AbsolutePoker.com is the world's fourth largest online poker destination, offering worldwide access to multi-player online games 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Driven by proprietary software, AbsolutePoker.com offers the most comprehensive, interactive online poker room, providing such features as hand history and stat retrieval, player note taking and chat, locate a player, three-table play, and representative image selection. Multi-player games offered include: Texas Hold'em, Omaha High, Omaha Hi/Lo, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, One on One, and Tournaments.


About Media Man Australia
Media Man Australia is a Sydney based media and publicity company established since 2000. The company was established by Greg Tingle who enjoys a background in the Australian telecommunications and marketing business, having represented Australia's big two, Telstra and Optus. MMA works with TV, radio, print, internet, events and relationships. Their company website attracts over 1 million hits per month and is the 8th most popular website of it's kind in Australia (reference: Hitwise Australia). The company motto is "Putting your name out there".

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e: greg@mediaman.com.au

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Media Man Australia to announce online poker deal

Media Man Australia will soon be announcing a major business association with a US based online poker company which will be branded Media Man Australia Poker.

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Keith Sloan profile - Media Man Australia

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Article - Flush with success

Poker is rapidly becoming the hottest new trend and this month 250 top players from around the world compete for $1 million at the Aussie Millions poker tournament.

Poker, the game which for decades conjured up Kenny Rogers songs and images of grizzled, cigar-chomping men with pockermarked cheeks, in officially hot. Trendy, Sexy, even. And it's thanks to televised games, a hit new variation and a rise in women players. And then there's the Hollywood megastar factor - watching the flawless skin and perfect smiles of A-list celebrities sliding their chips across a seas of green velvet has gone a long way towards sexing up the game's image.

Everyone from George Clooney to Whoopi Goldberg have become regular poker players, while, like Ben Affleck and Tobey Maguire are even making a small fortune out of it in tournaments. There's even a movie about the poker world, Lucky You, which is coming out this year starring Eric Bana.

Ask Australian-based poker promoter Keith "Bendigo" Sloan what the game's appeal is for big stars and he suggests poker is the great equaliser.

"It's certainly not the money for these guys," Keith says. "They're not stars during a game. They're like anyone else."
But it's not just the US which is seeing a boom in poker. Europe and Australia are in its grip as well. Young and old, women and men alike, are switching on to the game.

In Australia the boom is so pronounced that Keith won't call it that. "It's more like a phenomenon," he says. "Now it's cool to play poker."

Poker is hardly new. Its origins are open to debate but some experts suggest it dates back as early as 900AD when Chinese emperor Mu tsung played "domino cards" with his wife. Persia and France also have claims to the game's origins but, either way, by the mid 1800s it was a standard involving a fistful of four or five cards and players competing for the best hand.

These days one of the most popular methods of gameplay is internet poker, which has about 100,000 players online who can compete with each other over cyberspace, with bets starting from as little as 50c.

This was how full time Perth poker player Han, 28, got his start. Originally a casino dealer/croupier, he started playing the game on the net. Then, as he got better, so did the stakes. Now he's cruising the big leagues.

"I'll win $20,000 in one hand and I've lost $20,000 in another," he says. "On average though, it's a few thousand."

It's the sort of vocation to turn one's parents' hair grey. Han, who doesn't want his surname published, admits his parents did have their misgivings at first. "They were very worried at the start but now they have confidence in me," he says.

Han will be part of the Australian contingent competing for the $1 million winner's prize at the Aussie Millions tournament at Crown Casino, part of the Crown Australian Poker Championships which kicked off this week. He made the final tables last year.

"A local in Melbourne has a better chance," says Han. "There's a few private games in Perth. Burswood Casino has only two poker games going. The Crown has 40 50 games."

Despite Perth's small poker scene, it is growing.

"When I first started playing online I was one of the only players," Han says. "Now there are hundreds just from around Perth."
Han has been playing poker for five years, the past year full time, and coyly says he makes "good money". By that he means somewhere between $100,000 and $200,000 a year.

But if he does well at the Aussie Millions this month, he could substantially add to that income.

In the tournament, each player puts up $10,300, with $1 million of the pool going to the winner and 26 runners up sharing the balance. Each player keeps going until their chips are all gone or they have won.

The first Aussie Millions event came about thanks to Keith. He convinced the Crown Casino a high stakes poker tournament had merit and helped it set up a poker room and train staff. In 2003 the Aussie Millions entry stake hit $10,000 and prizes were scraping a stratosphere high enough to lure in some of the top players from around the world.

"I just figured Australia needed a tournament," Keith says. "In 2003 we had 122 starters, 2004 we had 133 starters, this year 250 starters."

One favourite to win is Marcel Luske The Flying Dutchman, a 190cm "real cool dude", says Keith.

But many eyes will also be on other possibilities Spider Man star Tobey Maguire is rumoured to be a potential starter; and Rosa Bennett, from Melbourne, whose killer instinct makes her a player to watch.

Keith rates her abilities highly. "She's sponsored by one of the online poker sites," he says. "She's great."

But don't get the idea Rosa is a soft touch across the table from all the boys. Any player who dismisses her abilities learns to regret it.
"I tend to be super aggressive at times so that the men don't push me around," Rosa says. "I've been known to streamroll tables at times. I also think, at times, it's very hard for men to take a beating from a woman.

"At first I think it is difficult for women. We almost have to prove ourselves and show that we can play the game. After we punish a few men, then they get the idea that we do know how to play the game."

Locally, poker player Irene Holzmann says she and another women are the only regular female players she knows of in Perth. Dubbed Queen Irene, she hopes to head to Melbourne this month to play in one of the smaller Crown Casino poker tournaments.
But it is not a game for the faint of heart, she warns.

"A lot of women are not game enough," Irene says. "You have to have guts. Know your game, have the capital, have a bankroll."
Irene grew up with poker in Singapore her family played it and, after moving to Australia in 1978, some years later took it up again, playing in private games and online.

"Poker's a very challenging game and exciting. Quite a skilful game, too. If you don't understand it, you shouldn't play," she advises beginners. "You just end up wasting your money."

While Rosa and Irene buck the stereotype in poker, given famous female poker players are few and far between aside from Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Anniston, the number of women taking up the game is steadily on the rise, especially in the US.
"Women have got the ability to think of more than one thing at a time," Keith says.

And he says there is an added appeal for young, single women. "Where else do you go where you can socialise in a secure environment with a ratio of 10:1 men," he laughs.

The socialising aspect of poker is one which is often overlooked, especially as it is sometimes accused of being the catalyst for financially crippling addictions.

"That's absolute bullshit," Keith believes. "I can't see what's wrong with people sitting down having a game of poker. Those wowsers would do themselves a huge favour to go along and see people playing, encouraging each other, being social.

"What's nice is you can sit down and on your left is a doctor, a young student, a uni professor, a guy who swings a pick all week, and a taxi driver. Where else are you going to meet that spectrum?"

Keith, once a competitive player himself, directs his energies to getting the game out around the globe. And on that score, poker is on the move, particularly in Perth.

Coming soon is speed poker, a phenomenon sweeping the US which, as its name suggests, involves a 15 second timer on the players to set a cracking pace. Keith is selling the rights to speed poker games to TV networks internationally and is in negotiations in Australia to air it here.

Also on the cards, literally, is Texas Hold 'em, a variation of poker that is wildly popular internationally. Like speed poker, Keith predicts it will be at Perth's Burswood Casino later this year.

But for now, the most exciting news is that rich Crown Casino tournament in Melbourne, which runs until January 20, and whether the 80 odd Aussie players can topple the greats from overseas.

Han has his hopes but knows poker is a fickle game.

"On the surface it seems so basic and simple," he says. "Anyone can win playing poker you can get a lucky hand. But to win consistently, 80 per cent of the time, that's skill.

"You can play your absolute best, do everything right, you can play a perfect game of poker and still lose. That's poker."

TIPS
Keith Sloan offers his tips for winning at poker:
o Know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.
o Bet, don't sweat don't sit there and work out what the other person might or might not have. Get out there and put your chips down.
o Be patient you have to throw a lot of hands away in a game. Be selective.
o Be aggressive when you do bet, go for it.
o Don't be predictable don't always bet the same way..

Profiles

Keith "Bendigo" Sloan

Kerry Packer

Poker websites

Media Man Australia: gaming