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Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Peter Holmes à Court on SBS Tonight - South Sydney Rabbitohs - 29th April 2008
Rabbitohs Executive Chairman Peter Holmes à Court will appear in SBS’s ‘Insight’ program, the national current affairs show hosted by Jenny Brockie, tonight (Tuesday) at 7:30pm.
On tonight’s episode Peter and other panelists will be interviewed on problem gambling in Australia. Other participants involved in the discussion are the incoming Senator from SA Nick Xenophon, Jenny Macklin, Ross Ferrar from the Australian Gaming Manufacturers Association, Anthony Ball from Clubs Australia, musician Tim Freedman, problem gamblers and responsible gamblers.
Mr Holmes à Court explains why he and Russell Crowe made moves to scrap poker machines from South Sydney Leagues Club.
“It's about all clubs who are trying to make a change and who are trying to make better facilities for their members with less negative impact on the community. I hope that the Federal Government, the State Government will help clubs make the transition.”
Media Man Australia Profiles
Peter Holmes à Court
Poker
Gaming
Rabbitohs Executive Chairman Peter Holmes à Court will appear in SBS’s ‘Insight’ program, the national current affairs show hosted by Jenny Brockie, tonight (Tuesday) at 7:30pm.
On tonight’s episode Peter and other panelists will be interviewed on problem gambling in Australia. Other participants involved in the discussion are the incoming Senator from SA Nick Xenophon, Jenny Macklin, Ross Ferrar from the Australian Gaming Manufacturers Association, Anthony Ball from Clubs Australia, musician Tim Freedman, problem gamblers and responsible gamblers.
Mr Holmes à Court explains why he and Russell Crowe made moves to scrap poker machines from South Sydney Leagues Club.
“It's about all clubs who are trying to make a change and who are trying to make better facilities for their members with less negative impact on the community. I hope that the Federal Government, the State Government will help clubs make the transition.”
Media Man Australia Profiles
Peter Holmes à Court
Poker
Gaming
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Macao casino move cheers markets, by Tom Mitchell and Robin Kwong - Union Network - 24th April 2008
The Macao government’s decision, announced on Tuesday, to rein back rapid growth in the world’s largest gaming market has been a long time in the making.
Edmund Ho, chief executive of the Chinese special administrative region, said his government would – among other measures – extend a moratorium on the number of licensed casino operators in the territory, halt land allocations for new gaming investments and restrict expansion plans at existing casinos.
Revealed at an otherwise routine question-and-answer session with Macao legislators, Mr Ho’s shot across the bow initially shocked the market, then cheered it. Share prices of US and Hong Kong-listed companies with gaming interests in Macao surged on the news.
“It stops unfettered competition,” said one industry executive, who is nonetheless anxious to see the fine print from Mr Ho. “People can’t just come in and set up casinos. It will drive profitability per table up.”
The growth of Macao’s casino industry has surged in recent months, especially noticeable in a city with a population of just 500,000. In the first quarter of this year gaming revenues increased more than 60 per cent year on year to $3.72bn – more than the Las Vegas Strip and Atlantic City combined.
Measures announced by Edmund Ho
● Total number of licences and sub-concessions to be frozen at six “for the foreseeable future”
● No more land allocations for new casino development, although “we will continue to work with those who have begun construction or negotiations”
● Increases in the number of gaming tables and slot machines at existing casinos to be “tightly restricted” pending government review of casino industry policy.
● Junket commissions to be “regulated in accordance with law”
● Possible introduction of government licensing requirement for “all high-ranking casino executives”
● Ban on casino company involvement in other sectors, especially “public services” such as transport
“We have to ensure our continued economic growth – but also resolve the new problems that have arisen as a result of [it],” Mr Ho said.
“This move reflects the Macao government’s concerns – and probably also Beijing’s – about the side-effects of the gambling boom,” says Au Kam-san, a pro-democracy legislator who has long been critical of Mr Ho’s administration. “The gaming industry’s explosive growth has already exceeded the capacity of Macao’s limited resources.”
The Macao government’s angst can be traced back to early last year when Jorge Oliveira, an influential policy official at the territory’s gaming commission, e-mailed senior casino executives the March cover article from Macau Business, an English-language monthly magazine. The article’s headline was unambiguous: “The Game’s Up: Revenue sharing threatens the system; Gov moves to block new players”.
At that time Macao had just eclipsed the Las Vegas Strip as the world’s largest gambling market, vindicating the government’s decision five years earlier to terminate tycoon Stanley Ho’s monopoly in the industry. Five players were ushered in including Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands, which has opened the world’s two largest casinos in the territory, Steve Wynn’s Wynn Resorts and MGM Mirage, which formed a joint venture with Mr Ho’s daughter, Pansy.
But all was not well in Macao. The government was worried about “revenue sharing” or “franchise” agreements, under which outside parties piggy-backed off the licences of established players. Mr Ho’s gaming flagship, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, had pioneered these arrangements, running casinos for partners who bore most of the properties’ investment risk.
Although typically involving businessmen and companies little-known outside Hong Kong and Macao, bigger fish were beginning to surface as well. In January of last year, Sir Richard Branson told the FT the Virgin Group intended to open a $3bn Macao gaming resort in co-operation with a licensed casino operator. Sir Richard’s public enthusiasm was the final straw for Macao government regulators. “That was probably not the best way to do business in China,” says one person familiar with Virgin’s approach. For its part, Virgin says it is still exploring opportunities in the territory.
The Macao government’s skittishness was aggravated by anti-government protests on May 1 last year – the largest since the former Portuguese colony reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1999 – as people complained the boom had left them behind. In his remarks on Tuesday, Edmund Ho said the government would pay every Macao resident 5,000 patacas ($625) from its overflowing fiscal surplus – a sop that could damp turn-out at next week’s May Day march.
Further illustrating the stress the casino industry is putting on Macao’s social and physical infrastructure, the Venetian Macao – the world’s largest casino – opened in August with 15,000 employees, 5 per cent of the territory’s workforce. When William Weidner, Las Vegas Sands president, spoke of his new property as “the casino that ate Macao”, his joke struck some as being too close to the bone.
In this context, Edmund Ho’s announcement was perhaps inevitable. But as one senior casino executive says: “The government must get the new regulations out quickly so the industry knows what they are talking about. So far it’s only been a lot of froth.”
Media Man Australia Profiles
Macau
Casinos
Gaming
The Macao government’s decision, announced on Tuesday, to rein back rapid growth in the world’s largest gaming market has been a long time in the making.
Edmund Ho, chief executive of the Chinese special administrative region, said his government would – among other measures – extend a moratorium on the number of licensed casino operators in the territory, halt land allocations for new gaming investments and restrict expansion plans at existing casinos.
Revealed at an otherwise routine question-and-answer session with Macao legislators, Mr Ho’s shot across the bow initially shocked the market, then cheered it. Share prices of US and Hong Kong-listed companies with gaming interests in Macao surged on the news.
“It stops unfettered competition,” said one industry executive, who is nonetheless anxious to see the fine print from Mr Ho. “People can’t just come in and set up casinos. It will drive profitability per table up.”
The growth of Macao’s casino industry has surged in recent months, especially noticeable in a city with a population of just 500,000. In the first quarter of this year gaming revenues increased more than 60 per cent year on year to $3.72bn – more than the Las Vegas Strip and Atlantic City combined.
Measures announced by Edmund Ho
● Total number of licences and sub-concessions to be frozen at six “for the foreseeable future”
● No more land allocations for new casino development, although “we will continue to work with those who have begun construction or negotiations”
● Increases in the number of gaming tables and slot machines at existing casinos to be “tightly restricted” pending government review of casino industry policy.
● Junket commissions to be “regulated in accordance with law”
● Possible introduction of government licensing requirement for “all high-ranking casino executives”
● Ban on casino company involvement in other sectors, especially “public services” such as transport
“We have to ensure our continued economic growth – but also resolve the new problems that have arisen as a result of [it],” Mr Ho said.
“This move reflects the Macao government’s concerns – and probably also Beijing’s – about the side-effects of the gambling boom,” says Au Kam-san, a pro-democracy legislator who has long been critical of Mr Ho’s administration. “The gaming industry’s explosive growth has already exceeded the capacity of Macao’s limited resources.”
The Macao government’s angst can be traced back to early last year when Jorge Oliveira, an influential policy official at the territory’s gaming commission, e-mailed senior casino executives the March cover article from Macau Business, an English-language monthly magazine. The article’s headline was unambiguous: “The Game’s Up: Revenue sharing threatens the system; Gov moves to block new players”.
At that time Macao had just eclipsed the Las Vegas Strip as the world’s largest gambling market, vindicating the government’s decision five years earlier to terminate tycoon Stanley Ho’s monopoly in the industry. Five players were ushered in including Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands, which has opened the world’s two largest casinos in the territory, Steve Wynn’s Wynn Resorts and MGM Mirage, which formed a joint venture with Mr Ho’s daughter, Pansy.
But all was not well in Macao. The government was worried about “revenue sharing” or “franchise” agreements, under which outside parties piggy-backed off the licences of established players. Mr Ho’s gaming flagship, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, had pioneered these arrangements, running casinos for partners who bore most of the properties’ investment risk.
Although typically involving businessmen and companies little-known outside Hong Kong and Macao, bigger fish were beginning to surface as well. In January of last year, Sir Richard Branson told the FT the Virgin Group intended to open a $3bn Macao gaming resort in co-operation with a licensed casino operator. Sir Richard’s public enthusiasm was the final straw for Macao government regulators. “That was probably not the best way to do business in China,” says one person familiar with Virgin’s approach. For its part, Virgin says it is still exploring opportunities in the territory.
The Macao government’s skittishness was aggravated by anti-government protests on May 1 last year – the largest since the former Portuguese colony reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1999 – as people complained the boom had left them behind. In his remarks on Tuesday, Edmund Ho said the government would pay every Macao resident 5,000 patacas ($625) from its overflowing fiscal surplus – a sop that could damp turn-out at next week’s May Day march.
Further illustrating the stress the casino industry is putting on Macao’s social and physical infrastructure, the Venetian Macao – the world’s largest casino – opened in August with 15,000 employees, 5 per cent of the territory’s workforce. When William Weidner, Las Vegas Sands president, spoke of his new property as “the casino that ate Macao”, his joke struck some as being too close to the bone.
In this context, Edmund Ho’s announcement was perhaps inevitable. But as one senior casino executive says: “The government must get the new regulations out quickly so the industry knows what they are talking about. So far it’s only been a lot of froth.”
Media Man Australia Profiles
Macau
Casinos
Gaming
Is online gambling empire Bodog losing top dog?, by David Baines, Vancouver Sun - 22nd April 2008
Maverick Canadian businessman and part-time Vancouver resident Calvin Ayre says he has quit Bodog, the online gambling empire that brought him fame, fortune and heat.
"It's true, I'm packing it in," Ayre announced Monday on Bodog's website.
"I'm totally surprised. It's the last thing I would have expected," said Chris Costigan, publisher of Gambling911.com, which closely follows the online gambling industry, in an interview from Miami Beach, Fla.
"I don't know how somebody could go from being the centre of attention to a recluse," Costigan said. "Whether he can keep that up, I somehow doubt it."
Ayre, now 47, became involved in the online gambling industry in the late 1990s, and introduced Bodog in 2000.
He promoted Bodog as a lifestyle, along the lines of Richard Branson's Virgin and Hugh Hefner's Playboy. He also diversified into music, mixed martial arts and film, which attracted more attention to the website.
By 2006, the company was generating more than $7 billion US in wagers, making it the seventh-largest online gambling company in the world.
That same year, Forbes magazine featured Ayre on the cover of its March issue as one of the world's 794 billionaires. People magazine named him one of its 40 hottest bachelors.
Ayre lived in a multi-million-dollar compound in Costa Rica (he has since moved to Antigua) and maintained a $6.2-million penthouse in Yaletown.
He also ran two related business in Metro Vancouver. One was Riptown Media, which employed close to 250 people in advertising and marketing support in downtown Vancouver. The other was Triple Crown Customer Service, which employed an estimated 200 people in customer account services in Burnaby.
By all appearances, Ayre was living a charmed life. Then his past came back to haunt him.
Reporters revealed he had been implicated in a marijuana-trafficking ring in 1987. He was not charged, but his father and brother in law received lengthy jail terms.
Reporters also revealed he was involved in a shady Vancouver company called Bicer Medical Systems. In 1996, he admitted to serious stock offences and agreed to a 20-year suspension from the B.C. securities market.
Meanwhile, U.S. Department of Justice officials stepped up their war on online gambling. They made it clear they had Ayre in their crosshairs. Fearing arrest, he stayed clear of U.S. soil.
His announced departure may indicate he has tired of the cat-and-mouse game with U.S. authorities. On the other hand, it may signal a renewal of that same game.
As well as announcing his departure, Ayre announced he had transferred ownership of Bodog last year to the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, which runs hundreds of gaming websites from the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal.
"I was really more of a brand ambassador for Bodog the past while anyway -- but it was fun while it lasted," he said on the Bodog website.
This was news indeed. Last September, Ayre announced he had licensed Bodog's North American operations to the Morris Mohawk Group, but there was no indication he had transferred ownership.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Calvin Ayre
Bodog
Gaming
Casinos
Maverick Canadian businessman and part-time Vancouver resident Calvin Ayre says he has quit Bodog, the online gambling empire that brought him fame, fortune and heat.
"It's true, I'm packing it in," Ayre announced Monday on Bodog's website.
"I'm totally surprised. It's the last thing I would have expected," said Chris Costigan, publisher of Gambling911.com, which closely follows the online gambling industry, in an interview from Miami Beach, Fla.
"I don't know how somebody could go from being the centre of attention to a recluse," Costigan said. "Whether he can keep that up, I somehow doubt it."
Ayre, now 47, became involved in the online gambling industry in the late 1990s, and introduced Bodog in 2000.
He promoted Bodog as a lifestyle, along the lines of Richard Branson's Virgin and Hugh Hefner's Playboy. He also diversified into music, mixed martial arts and film, which attracted more attention to the website.
By 2006, the company was generating more than $7 billion US in wagers, making it the seventh-largest online gambling company in the world.
That same year, Forbes magazine featured Ayre on the cover of its March issue as one of the world's 794 billionaires. People magazine named him one of its 40 hottest bachelors.
Ayre lived in a multi-million-dollar compound in Costa Rica (he has since moved to Antigua) and maintained a $6.2-million penthouse in Yaletown.
He also ran two related business in Metro Vancouver. One was Riptown Media, which employed close to 250 people in advertising and marketing support in downtown Vancouver. The other was Triple Crown Customer Service, which employed an estimated 200 people in customer account services in Burnaby.
By all appearances, Ayre was living a charmed life. Then his past came back to haunt him.
Reporters revealed he had been implicated in a marijuana-trafficking ring in 1987. He was not charged, but his father and brother in law received lengthy jail terms.
Reporters also revealed he was involved in a shady Vancouver company called Bicer Medical Systems. In 1996, he admitted to serious stock offences and agreed to a 20-year suspension from the B.C. securities market.
Meanwhile, U.S. Department of Justice officials stepped up their war on online gambling. They made it clear they had Ayre in their crosshairs. Fearing arrest, he stayed clear of U.S. soil.
His announced departure may indicate he has tired of the cat-and-mouse game with U.S. authorities. On the other hand, it may signal a renewal of that same game.
As well as announcing his departure, Ayre announced he had transferred ownership of Bodog last year to the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, which runs hundreds of gaming websites from the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal.
"I was really more of a brand ambassador for Bodog the past while anyway -- but it was fun while it lasted," he said on the Bodog website.
This was news indeed. Last September, Ayre announced he had licensed Bodog's North American operations to the Morris Mohawk Group, but there was no indication he had transferred ownership.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Calvin Ayre
Bodog
Gaming
Casinos
Rudd needs to play cards right on Pay TV gambling, by Bernard Keane - Crikey - 22nd April 2008
The Opposition will today challenge Kevin Rudd to walk the walk on gambling by banning Pay TV gambling services.
This morning, interactive media company Two Way announced the launch of its Sky Racing ACTIVE service, developed with Tabcorp and Foxtel. The service is available in NSW and Victoria and provides racing-related information for those who like to bet on watching short men flog large animals round paddocks. In Victoria, however, punters will also be able to bet on races via their Pay TV service.
The NSW Government refused to approve gambling via Pay TV, but the Victorian Government ticked off on the service in February, allowing Tabcorp account holders to wager from their sofas.
While online and telephone betting on the nags and dogs is currently permitted, the Pay TV gambling initiative (presumably, to use interactive media parlance, "lean back gambling" rather than the lean forward variety offered by the internet) outraged anti-gambling advocates like Tim Costello and Nick Xenophon, who criticised it as turning the lounge room into a gambling den. The Victorian Opposition quipped that it allowed punters to lose their homes without leaving it.
Kevin Rudd, of course, is at one with the professional handwringers over gambling. It’s barely a month since he ordered - guess what - a review of problem gambling, to be led by Jenny Macklin. It came at the same time as he pressured Victoria into committing to the long-term removal of ATMs from gambling venues.
Brendan Nelson and low-profile shadow Communications Minister Bruce Billson will challenge Rudd to use the Commonwealth’s control over broadcasting regulation to ban the Two Way service. Minister for Zeroes and Ones, Stephen Conroy, is also in charge of broadcasting regulation, and a ban would pit him squarely against not merely Victorian Right factional colleague John Brumby but Two Way backer Sam Chisholm and James Packer, who controls 25% of Foxtel.
Nelson has lobbied Rudd on gambling on several occasions, including publicly requesting another Productivity Commission inquiry, specifically into poker machines. Crikey understands Nelson has also raised gambling privately with Rudd. Undoubtedly both men are serious on the issue, although with Steve Fielding and Nick Xenophon occupying key positions in the Senate after June, you’d suspect there’s more than a small element of political calculation in Rudd’s positioning.
With both the Coalition and Fielding on side, an amendment to the Broadcasting Services Act to deprive punters of this semi-new way pay the tax on innumeracy that is gambling would be simple to pass. The question is whether Rudd is happy to send Conroy full-tilt into his mates in the Victorian Government, and upset some powerful media types as well. Otherwise, the anti-gambling crowd will have reason to wonder whether the Prime Minister is indeed much talk but little substance.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Foxtel
Politics
Gaming
Casinos
Poker
The Opposition will today challenge Kevin Rudd to walk the walk on gambling by banning Pay TV gambling services.
This morning, interactive media company Two Way announced the launch of its Sky Racing ACTIVE service, developed with Tabcorp and Foxtel. The service is available in NSW and Victoria and provides racing-related information for those who like to bet on watching short men flog large animals round paddocks. In Victoria, however, punters will also be able to bet on races via their Pay TV service.
The NSW Government refused to approve gambling via Pay TV, but the Victorian Government ticked off on the service in February, allowing Tabcorp account holders to wager from their sofas.
While online and telephone betting on the nags and dogs is currently permitted, the Pay TV gambling initiative (presumably, to use interactive media parlance, "lean back gambling" rather than the lean forward variety offered by the internet) outraged anti-gambling advocates like Tim Costello and Nick Xenophon, who criticised it as turning the lounge room into a gambling den. The Victorian Opposition quipped that it allowed punters to lose their homes without leaving it.
Kevin Rudd, of course, is at one with the professional handwringers over gambling. It’s barely a month since he ordered - guess what - a review of problem gambling, to be led by Jenny Macklin. It came at the same time as he pressured Victoria into committing to the long-term removal of ATMs from gambling venues.
Brendan Nelson and low-profile shadow Communications Minister Bruce Billson will challenge Rudd to use the Commonwealth’s control over broadcasting regulation to ban the Two Way service. Minister for Zeroes and Ones, Stephen Conroy, is also in charge of broadcasting regulation, and a ban would pit him squarely against not merely Victorian Right factional colleague John Brumby but Two Way backer Sam Chisholm and James Packer, who controls 25% of Foxtel.
Nelson has lobbied Rudd on gambling on several occasions, including publicly requesting another Productivity Commission inquiry, specifically into poker machines. Crikey understands Nelson has also raised gambling privately with Rudd. Undoubtedly both men are serious on the issue, although with Steve Fielding and Nick Xenophon occupying key positions in the Senate after June, you’d suspect there’s more than a small element of political calculation in Rudd’s positioning.
With both the Coalition and Fielding on side, an amendment to the Broadcasting Services Act to deprive punters of this semi-new way pay the tax on innumeracy that is gambling would be simple to pass. The question is whether Rudd is happy to send Conroy full-tilt into his mates in the Victorian Government, and upset some powerful media types as well. Otherwise, the anti-gambling crowd will have reason to wonder whether the Prime Minister is indeed much talk but little substance.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Foxtel
Politics
Gaming
Casinos
Poker
Packer's Melco casino's new boss, by Glenda Korporaal - The Australian - 26th April 2008
James Packer's US-listed Macau casino company, Melco PBL Entertainment, has appointed Mirvac chairman James Mackenzie to its board.
The company announced the appointment yesterday following the resignation of director David Elmsie, who has become chief operating officer of the international business of Mr Packer's Crown Limited.
Mr Mackenzie, who is based in Melbourne, will chair the audit committee.
Melco PBL, which listed on US over-the-counter market, Nasdaq, in December 2006, owns the Crown Macau casino in Macau, where it is also building the $2.3 billion City of Dreams and has plans for a third hotel/casino development.
Crown Limited has a 37.9 per cent stake in Melco PBL, along with the Hong Kong-based Melco, which is run by Lawrence Ho, son of Macau casino veteran Stanley Ho.
Mr Mackenzie is a former chairman of the Victorian Workcover Authority, managing director of funds management and insurance with ANZ, chief executive of Norwich Union Australia and chairman of Victoria's Transport Accident Commission.
The former partner of accounting firm Deloitte also spent 10 years working in Asia and Britain, and on assignment in mainland Europe and the US.
Melco PBL shares have had a rocky time since listing in the US over a year ago at $US19 a share, following the downturn in world share markets and investors' uncertainty over higher risk and speculative investments. The company's shares fell to a low of $US8.20 before rising to their current price of $US13.85 ($14.87) after a share-buying exercise last year.
It received a boost this week with news from Macau that the government had no immediate plans to offer any more casino licences in the territory, bolstering the position of the six existing licence holders.
Media Man Australia Profiles
James Packer
Macau
Casinos
James Packer's US-listed Macau casino company, Melco PBL Entertainment, has appointed Mirvac chairman James Mackenzie to its board.
The company announced the appointment yesterday following the resignation of director David Elmsie, who has become chief operating officer of the international business of Mr Packer's Crown Limited.
Mr Mackenzie, who is based in Melbourne, will chair the audit committee.
Melco PBL, which listed on US over-the-counter market, Nasdaq, in December 2006, owns the Crown Macau casino in Macau, where it is also building the $2.3 billion City of Dreams and has plans for a third hotel/casino development.
Crown Limited has a 37.9 per cent stake in Melco PBL, along with the Hong Kong-based Melco, which is run by Lawrence Ho, son of Macau casino veteran Stanley Ho.
Mr Mackenzie is a former chairman of the Victorian Workcover Authority, managing director of funds management and insurance with ANZ, chief executive of Norwich Union Australia and chairman of Victoria's Transport Accident Commission.
The former partner of accounting firm Deloitte also spent 10 years working in Asia and Britain, and on assignment in mainland Europe and the US.
Melco PBL shares have had a rocky time since listing in the US over a year ago at $US19 a share, following the downturn in world share markets and investors' uncertainty over higher risk and speculative investments. The company's shares fell to a low of $US8.20 before rising to their current price of $US13.85 ($14.87) after a share-buying exercise last year.
It received a boost this week with news from Macau that the government had no immediate plans to offer any more casino licences in the territory, bolstering the position of the six existing licence holders.
Media Man Australia Profiles
James Packer
Macau
Casinos
Calvin Ayre Announces Retirement from Bodog - Press Release - 21st April 2008
Calvin Ayre, the internationally noted billionaire playboy founder of Bodog, will be retiring from his largely ceremonial role as the face of Bodog.
Additionally he will no longer be involved in Bodog operationally. In mid-2007 he successfully transferred ownership of the Bodog brand in North America to the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group. Internationally Bodog has put in place a very competent and significantly European executive team that is already managing Bodog Europe and Africa and plans to further expand to Latin America.
Ayre will be taking some time to himself in his home in Antigua and will continue to support charitable opportunities through the Calvin Ayre Foundation.
Ayre noted, “While it has been great fun to live my life in front of the world’s cameras and online though my blog, I am looking forward to a more private and meaningful period of giving back and working to support the Calvin Ayre Foundation.”
About Morris Mohawk Gaming Group
The Morris Mohawk Gaming Group (www.morrismohawk.com) is located in the territory of Kahnawake just outside Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission to offer gaming services from Kahnawake to users worldwide. Morris Mohawk Gaming Group is led by Olympic Gold medalist, Order of Canada recipient and First Nations' leader Alwyn Morris. For more information, contact Media Relations at pr@morrismohawk.com.
About Bodog
Bodog has its head office, and is licensed in, the Caribbean nation of Antigua. Bodog (www.bodoglife.com) offers online gaming, which includes Poker, Casino and a host of other gaming products. Bodog does not offer ‘for money’ gaming services within North America. For more information, contact Media Relations at pr@bodoglife.com.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Calvin Ayre
Bodog
Poker
Gaming
Casino
Calvin Ayre, the internationally noted billionaire playboy founder of Bodog, will be retiring from his largely ceremonial role as the face of Bodog.
Additionally he will no longer be involved in Bodog operationally. In mid-2007 he successfully transferred ownership of the Bodog brand in North America to the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group. Internationally Bodog has put in place a very competent and significantly European executive team that is already managing Bodog Europe and Africa and plans to further expand to Latin America.
Ayre will be taking some time to himself in his home in Antigua and will continue to support charitable opportunities through the Calvin Ayre Foundation.
Ayre noted, “While it has been great fun to live my life in front of the world’s cameras and online though my blog, I am looking forward to a more private and meaningful period of giving back and working to support the Calvin Ayre Foundation.”
About Morris Mohawk Gaming Group
The Morris Mohawk Gaming Group (www.morrismohawk.com) is located in the territory of Kahnawake just outside Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission to offer gaming services from Kahnawake to users worldwide. Morris Mohawk Gaming Group is led by Olympic Gold medalist, Order of Canada recipient and First Nations' leader Alwyn Morris. For more information, contact Media Relations at pr@morrismohawk.com.
About Bodog
Bodog has its head office, and is licensed in, the Caribbean nation of Antigua. Bodog (www.bodoglife.com) offers online gaming, which includes Poker, Casino and a host of other gaming products. Bodog does not offer ‘for money’ gaming services within North America. For more information, contact Media Relations at pr@bodoglife.com.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Calvin Ayre
Bodog
Poker
Gaming
Casino
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Hi-tech pokies chase young gamers, by Clare Masters - Daily Telegraph -22nd April 2008
# Gambling machines could get videogame-style graphics
# Gen Y gamblers could be lured in with customisation features
A NEW futuristic line of poker machines with Xbox-style graphics will rake in a younger generation of gamblers according to experts.
The hi-tech machines will use better graphics and interactive technology to appeal to junior punters and will be designed to be as versatile as a home computer.
The plan for more sophisticated, hi-tech pokies was canvassed at a recent Future Trends in Gaming conference in Queensland, where major industry organisations outlined their vision to attract younger players.
"I don't think (gaming rooms) are an environment Generation Y wants to be in. They get bored easily," Justin Brown of Aristocrat Leisure Industries told the conference.
"How do we get them into venues? Group activities and games are the way of the future - as are challenges and tournaments."
An Aristocrat spokesman told The Daily Telegraph Mr Brown declined to comment further but confirmed he had made the statements.
Ross Ferrar, from the Australasian Gaming Machine Manufacturers Association, backed the plan, saying gaming machines needed to be updated to be more in line with 21st century technology.
"At the end of the day where all this is headed is making the equipment more similar to mass IT equipment," he said.
"Gen Y wants to do things like change the background colour or put their favourite character in."
The plan was condemned by anti-pokie advocates, who said it was a manoeuvre to rope in new gamblers.
"It is fundamental to their business plan to target (Generation Y), there is so much money at stake," World Vision Australia chief executive Tim Costello said.
The State Government is also alarmed about the spike in young pokie punters and has commissioned a study into help for junior gambling addicts.
The move follows a report that found young men who left school at Year 10 were over-represented among problem gamblers.
"I am concerned that research has shown that problem gamblers are more likely to be 18 to 24-year-old males," a spokeswoman for Gaming Minister Graham West said.
The Government is working on a campaign that will use internet and SMS technologies to educate young gamblers.
Mr Ferrar said the shift towards more user-friendly machines was partly because of younger gaming designers.
"It may be more appealing to Gen Y but it's also about making the game as entertaining as possible to everyone," he said.
He said there was a 10-step process of gaining approval for new games, which could take up to three years.
Greg Tingle comment:
What about online gaming. Have a look at Virgin Casino, 888 and Golden Palace for example. I think its too late for the clubs to cash in on the young. The internet is where the actions at.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Casino
888
Golden Palace
Virgin Games
Online Gaming
Gaming
# Gambling machines could get videogame-style graphics
# Gen Y gamblers could be lured in with customisation features
A NEW futuristic line of poker machines with Xbox-style graphics will rake in a younger generation of gamblers according to experts.
The hi-tech machines will use better graphics and interactive technology to appeal to junior punters and will be designed to be as versatile as a home computer.
The plan for more sophisticated, hi-tech pokies was canvassed at a recent Future Trends in Gaming conference in Queensland, where major industry organisations outlined their vision to attract younger players.
"I don't think (gaming rooms) are an environment Generation Y wants to be in. They get bored easily," Justin Brown of Aristocrat Leisure Industries told the conference.
"How do we get them into venues? Group activities and games are the way of the future - as are challenges and tournaments."
An Aristocrat spokesman told The Daily Telegraph Mr Brown declined to comment further but confirmed he had made the statements.
Ross Ferrar, from the Australasian Gaming Machine Manufacturers Association, backed the plan, saying gaming machines needed to be updated to be more in line with 21st century technology.
"At the end of the day where all this is headed is making the equipment more similar to mass IT equipment," he said.
"Gen Y wants to do things like change the background colour or put their favourite character in."
The plan was condemned by anti-pokie advocates, who said it was a manoeuvre to rope in new gamblers.
"It is fundamental to their business plan to target (Generation Y), there is so much money at stake," World Vision Australia chief executive Tim Costello said.
The State Government is also alarmed about the spike in young pokie punters and has commissioned a study into help for junior gambling addicts.
The move follows a report that found young men who left school at Year 10 were over-represented among problem gamblers.
"I am concerned that research has shown that problem gamblers are more likely to be 18 to 24-year-old males," a spokeswoman for Gaming Minister Graham West said.
The Government is working on a campaign that will use internet and SMS technologies to educate young gamblers.
Mr Ferrar said the shift towards more user-friendly machines was partly because of younger gaming designers.
"It may be more appealing to Gen Y but it's also about making the game as entertaining as possible to everyone," he said.
He said there was a 10-step process of gaining approval for new games, which could take up to three years.
Greg Tingle comment:
What about online gaming. Have a look at Virgin Casino, 888 and Golden Palace for example. I think its too late for the clubs to cash in on the young. The internet is where the actions at.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Casino
888
Golden Palace
Virgin Games
Online Gaming
Gaming
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Virgin Games - PRESS RELEASES - London, 8th April 2008
London, 8th April 2008
February/March 08
Best improved affiliate competition winners announced.
Congratulations to Gtingle, RTR and Virginspikey who respectively win the Casino, Poker and Bingo best improved affiliate Competition Prize for March 08. Kudos to you!
Same for Hardpete, LPL and Takimeto who ran away with the Casino, Poker and Bingo best improved affiliate Competition Prizes for February 08. Well done :)
Every month, the affiliate who shows the best improvement in active cash player registrations from one month to the next will receive £100 (Casino) or £50 (Poker and Bingo) worth of Virgin vouchers (or an extra £100 added to their monthly affiliate commission, if preferred).
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Games
Virgin Casino
Virgin
Casinos
Gaming
London, 8th April 2008
February/March 08
Best improved affiliate competition winners announced.
Congratulations to Gtingle, RTR and Virginspikey who respectively win the Casino, Poker and Bingo best improved affiliate Competition Prize for March 08. Kudos to you!
Same for Hardpete, LPL and Takimeto who ran away with the Casino, Poker and Bingo best improved affiliate Competition Prizes for February 08. Well done :)
Every month, the affiliate who shows the best improvement in active cash player registrations from one month to the next will receive £100 (Casino) or £50 (Poker and Bingo) worth of Virgin vouchers (or an extra £100 added to their monthly affiliate commission, if preferred).
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Games
Virgin Casino
Virgin
Casinos
Gaming
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Virgin Games Affiliates - March 2008
WHAT THEY SAID
"I can now most comfortably say that the Virgin Games affiliate program is the most impressive, rewarding and profitable I have ever worked with, and one could scour the earth and never find a better brand to work with than Virgin.
In a world (gaming) of extremely mixed reports, Virgin Games takes out the guesswork, minimizes risks, delivers outstanding results, and hooks you up with one of the world's most impressive and respected brands and success stories.
The program works, the code is easy to set up, administer and fine tune, and the audience has the opportunity to enjoy some of the world's best online games in a secure and friendly environment.
Virgin continues to set the standard in customer service, value for money, profitable business, and keeping things fun."
Greg Tingle, Director, Mediaman Australia http://www.mediaman.com.au.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Games
Virgin Casino
Poker
Gaming
WHAT THEY SAID
"I can now most comfortably say that the Virgin Games affiliate program is the most impressive, rewarding and profitable I have ever worked with, and one could scour the earth and never find a better brand to work with than Virgin.
In a world (gaming) of extremely mixed reports, Virgin Games takes out the guesswork, minimizes risks, delivers outstanding results, and hooks you up with one of the world's most impressive and respected brands and success stories.
The program works, the code is easy to set up, administer and fine tune, and the audience has the opportunity to enjoy some of the world's best online games in a secure and friendly environment.
Virgin continues to set the standard in customer service, value for money, profitable business, and keeping things fun."
Greg Tingle, Director, Mediaman Australia http://www.mediaman.com.au.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Games
Virgin Casino
Poker
Gaming
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Virgin Games, Virgin Poker, Virgin Casino and Virgin Bingo
Media Man Australia is delighted to be in business with Virgin Games, Virgin Casino and Virgin Bingo.
This adds to Media Man Australia's online advertising arrangements promoting Virgin Mobile Australia and Webjet (of which Virgin Blue is a partner).
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
Media Man Australia is delighted to be in business with Virgin Games, Virgin Casino and Virgin Bingo.
This adds to Media Man Australia's online advertising arrangements promoting Virgin Mobile Australia and Webjet (of which Virgin Blue is a partner).
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Virgin Casino, Richard Branson, James Packer and Private Casino
Richard Branson's Virgin Casino, which falls under the Virgin Games banner is still the top pick from Media Man Australia
James Packer, his Crown Casino and other casino business interests continue to do well.
Private Casino, leveraging off the Private brand, appears to be about ready to make a significant come back
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Casino
Virgin Games
Richard Branson
James Packer
Private Casino
Gaming
Richard Branson's Virgin Casino, which falls under the Virgin Games banner is still the top pick from Media Man Australia
James Packer, his Crown Casino and other casino business interests continue to do well.
Private Casino, leveraging off the Private brand, appears to be about ready to make a significant come back
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Casino
Virgin Games
Richard Branson
James Packer
Private Casino
Gaming
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
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.
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.
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.
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
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
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Media Man Australia Gaming and Casino profiles updated.
Profile of the month: Virgin Casino
Best Regards
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
Profile of the month: Virgin Casino
Best Regards
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Virgin Media, Virgin Casino / Virgin Gaming and more Virgin Enterprises Limited and Richard Branson news
Check out the Media Man Australia profiles on:
Virgin Media
Virgin Casino
Virgin Enterprises Limited
Richard Branson
Best Regards
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
Check out the Media Man Australia profiles on:
Virgin Media
Virgin Casino
Virgin Enterprises Limited
Richard Branson
Best Regards
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Poker News Media - Branson, Packer, US, China, Australia
See the Poker News Media Updates
Media Man Australia Poker Profile
Media Man Australia Gaming Profile
Media Man Australia James Packer Profile
Media Man Australia Richard Branson Profile
Media Man Australia Virgin Enterprises Limited Profile
See the Poker News Media Updates
Media Man Australia Poker Profile
Media Man Australia Gaming Profile
Media Man Australia James Packer Profile
Media Man Australia Richard Branson Profile
Media Man Australia Virgin Enterprises Limited Profile
Monday, July 17, 2006
| 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 |
Thursday, January 26, 2006
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".
Contact
Greg Tingle
Media Man Australia
t: +61 424 223 674
e: greg@mediaman.com.au
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".
Contact
Greg Tingle
Media Man Australia
t: +61 424 223 674
e: greg@mediaman.com.au
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Poker websites associated with Media Man Australia
Aussie Millions - Crown Casino
Speed Poker TV
Casino's that have collaborated with Media Man Australia
Crown Casino
Conrad - Jupiters, Gold Coast
Star City
Directory
Media Man Australia Gaming Directory
Aussie Millions - Crown Casino
Speed Poker TV
Casino's that have collaborated with Media Man Australia
Crown Casino
Conrad - Jupiters, Gold Coast
Star City
Directory
Media Man Australia Gaming Directory
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.
For more information contact:
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
e: greg@mediaman.com.au
w: www.mediaman.com.au
a: PO Box 4055 Maroubra South NSW 2035 AUSTRALIA
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.
For more information contact:
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
e: greg@mediaman.com.au
w: www.mediaman.com.au
a: PO Box 4055 Maroubra South NSW 2035 AUSTRALIA
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Monday, August 29, 2005
Poker Media News Update
Media Man Australia is delighted to provide this media update
Keith "Bendigo" Sloan heads up SpeedPoker.tv
Keith Sloan profile - Media Man Australia
MMA has initiated a liaison between Sloan and Freehand TV
Media Man Australia Gaming, Gambling & Betting Directory
Thanks for your time and support.
Best Regards
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
Media Man Australia is delighted to provide this media update
Keith "Bendigo" Sloan heads up SpeedPoker.tv
Keith Sloan profile - Media Man Australia
MMA has initiated a liaison between Sloan and Freehand TV
Media Man Australia Gaming, Gambling & Betting Directory
Thanks for your time and support.
Best Regards
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
Monday, June 20, 2005
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 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..
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