This week, World Poker Tour Enterprises, which is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange in the United States under the symbol “WPTE,” announced the hiring of Thomas Flahie to be the company’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Flahie began his new position on October 13th. At the time of writing, WPTE shares were up nearly 8% on the day to $0.49.
In a press release that appeared on MarketWatch and was distributed by Business Wire, World Poker Tour Founder and Chief Executive Officer Steve Lipscomb spoke about what Flahie’s hiring means to the company: “We are very pleased to welcome Tom to the World Poker Tour team. Tom has a wealth of finance and accounting expertise and a particularly strong management record with an emphasis on growth businesses. We look forward to his valuable input and hands-on participation as we rightsize our operations and continue to focus our business on our growth initiatives of television sponsorship, ClubWPT.com, and WPT China.”
Flahie most recently served as the CFO for Intermix Media, Inc. and focused on building out MySpace, a popular social networking site. He is a Certified Public Accountant and has prior gaming experience from serving as the Chairman of the Internal Control Standards Committee of the National Indian Gaming Association. In the same press release, Flahie commented on his new role: “This is an exciting and dynamic time for WPT Enterprises and I look forward to working closely with the Company’s executive team and the Board of Directors to realize the potential of the WPTE assets and brand.”
Over the last year, WPTE stock has traded between $0.26 and $2.75. It reached a peak of $26.50 back in July of 2005, but has since taken a nosedive. It fell below $10 in September of 2005 and fell below $5 in May of 2007. The company has since been put on notice by the administration of the NASDAQ Stock Exchange that if it fails to raise its stock price to $1.00 and keep it there for 10 straight business days (approximately two weeks), it may be de-listed.
Earlier this month, Lakes Entertainment, which is managed by poker personality Lyle Berman, announced that it was distributing its 61% ownership stake in WPTE common stock to its own shareholders in the form of a dividend. The date of distribution will be November 21st. Tim Cope, the President and CFO of Lakes Entertainment, commented in a press release, “The spin-off of WPTE shares to our shareholders provides an option for them to monetize the value of WPTE shares if they so choose.”
Last night, the World Poker Tour concluded its annual North American Poker Championship, which is held at the Fallsview Casino in Ontario, Canada. In the end, Glen Witmer, a 67 year-old amateur, defeated a final table stacked with poker pros (including World Series of Poker bracelet winner Kathy Liebert, Marc Karam, and WPT title holder Gavin Smith) to win the $1.2 CAD first place prize. The WPT’s production staff will now pack up shop and quickly travel westward for the Festa al Lago, which begins on Monday. The $15,400 buy-in event stretches for seven days of play and will crown a champion on October 26th.
ClubWPT tournaments air weekly on Fox Sports Net on Sundays. The six contestants on the show win their way in on ClubWPT.com, which is the World Poker Tour’s subscription-based online poker room. Season VII WPT tournaments are scheduled to begin airing before January on FSN.
