Welcome to a Friday the thirteenth edition of the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily. It’s always been my lucky day! Today, Kentucky attorneys call out Party Gaming, EPT Tallinn breaks attendance records, and CryptoLogic’s CEO steps down amid fledgling financial figures. Try saying that three times fast. It’s all coming up… RIGHT AFTER THIS!
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.
This week, Kentucky attorneys amended an existing lawsuit against Pocket Kings – the owners of Full Tilt Poker – to include Party Gaming. The amended complaint states that Party Gaming serviced Kentucky residents prior to two-thousand six, when it vacated the U.S. market after the passage of the UIGEA. Party Gaming is a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange and signed a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Government last year. One of its owners, Anurag Dikshit, pled guilty to violating the Wire Act in 2008 and will be sentenced later this year.
Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association Chairman Joe Brennan called out Kentucky’s attorneys for amending the lawsuit right after Party Gaming announced intentions to merge with bwin: “This is a last minute ploy by the Commonwealth to try to force a settlement. I think they named Party because the company is engaged in a merger and they’re trying to use that to get money out of them. They’re probably trying to get Party to pay out some cash settlement. Party has been around for a while and nothing has changed other than they’re trying to undergo a merger.”
The European Poker Tour’s stop in Tallinn, Estonia drew four-hundred twenty players for the largest tournament in the history of the country. This is the first stop for the seventh season of the EPT, which will also head to Portugal, the United Kingdom, Austria, Spain, and the Czech Republic by year’s end. PokerStars sponsors the annual European tour, which saw pros like Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Katja Thater, and Dario Minieri show up for the Tallinn Main Event.
Finally, online poker and casino software developer CryptoLogic announced on Thursday that CEO Bryan Hadfield has stepped down following a poor second quarter that resulted in record losses for the company. Hadfield, who took over the position in 2008, will be replaced by Chairman David Gavagan on an interim basis.
CryptoLogic posted a loss of twelve point seven million dollars in the second quarter after dropping three point two million in the prior quarter. Total revenue dove nearly 35% in part due to the collapse of its poker network, which was dissolved last year. Boss Media absorbed CryptoLogic’s sites, ending the company’s participation in the online poker market.
Well, that does is for this Friday edition of the daily deal and be sure to come back during the weekend for updates to our site as news breaks in the poker industry. I’ll be back Monday with an all new episode of The Daily Deal, and until then, have a GREAT poker weekend!
