The UK’s Daily Mail is reporting that PartyGaming has signed a deal with one or more US land-based casino groups – Las Vegas Sands, MGM, Caesars, Boyd, etc. – to supply them with an online poker product if/when the US gets its regulatory house in order. Given that there isn’t likely to be any changes at the federal level for at least a couple years, that would mean Party is for the moment aiming to touch down in New Jersey and/or California, plus any other state that might follow those jurisdictions down the intrastate poker route.
The deal, if true, couldn’t come soon enough for PartyGaming, whose stock closed Tuesday at 190p – a two-year low – supposedly based on ‘uncertainties’ over the pace of US regulatory changes. PartyGaming’s merger dance partner, Bwin, is also feeling no love from investors. The Austrian gaming outfit slipped to €27 – its lowest position in 20 months.
But let’s end on an upbeat publicly-traded note, shall we? John Jelley, an 88-year old Welshman who only began betting at age 85 after being laid up with a broken wrist, has taken Ladbrokes for £345k on a £9 horse bet. To put an even odder twist to this story, nag novice Jelley chose his combination of singles, doubles and an each-way accumulator because he “liked the horse’s names.” (Somebody please publish a how-to book based on this ‘system.’) We suggest the aging bachelor bettor get a move on enjoying his windfall. Remember that Alanis Morrissette song … ‘an old man turned 98, he won the lottery and died the next day.’ So get spending, John… If you’re looking to blow some on travel, we hear the Bodog Nation is wonderful this time of year…
