
World Series of Poker champ Joe McKeehen had a $7.68 million payday this week, the WSOP additionally helping the financials that are third-quarter Caesars.
Caesars Acquisition Company (CAC), the investment arm in Caesars Growth Partners (CGP), released its third quarter revenues for 2015 and the results are mixed.
The moms and dad company to Caesars Interactive Entertainment, the planet variety of Poker and several casinos Planet that is including Hollywood Harrah’s New Orleans, and also the Horseshoe Baltimore, CAC reported total new revenues jumped to $601.2 million in the three months ended September 30, an increase of almost 24 per cent.
Not most of the news had been good, CAC also revealing that its net income from continuing operations ended up being just $20.5 million, a 71 % drop year-on-year.
Caesars Acquisition’s CEO Mitch Garber had no qualms spinning the negatives into positives, saying their organization remains ‘encouraged by the strong performance of our assets.’
Interactive Stays Active
The highlight of Q3 filing by CAC was again its Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) supply, the division reporting $194.5 million in net revenues, a 20.4 percent yield compared to Q3 2014.
CIE is responsible for the WSOP brand along with Caesars Palace Las Vegas and many social video gaming internet sites including Bingo Blitz, Slotomania, and Caesars Bingo.
‘Our Interactive Entertainment business continues to come up with results that are outstanding mainly from our market leading social and mobile games company,’ Garber said.
Another bright spot in that unit is of course the World Series of Poker, the game’s most well-known competition concluding its 46th installment this week in Las Vegas.
World Series of Poker Holds
In 2014, the November Nine suffered a rather considerable drop in viewership on ESPN for the 2 times of coverage. A total of 1.15 million people tuned set for the finale as Martin Jacobson outlasted Felix Stephensen and finisher that is third-place November Nine beginning big stack Jorryt Van Hoof.
The reduced rating when compared with 2013 when Ryan Reiss survived amateur Jay Farber had been credited to non-Americans playing three-handed, and also three players who competed in rather stoic manners.
In an effort to reignite interest and a bigger television audience, ESPN and the WSOP included a 3rd night of November Nine coverage in 2015, and it seemingly have at the least halted the trend that is downward poker TV marketability.
Though Sunday’s first night don’t break the Nielsen’s top 100 cable programs, its finale on Tuesday landed smack in the center at #50 with 1.147 million viewers tuning in at 9:30 pm to watch chip that is commanding Joe McKeehen fend off Josh Beckley and amateur Neil Blumenfield.
‘ I don’t want to speak for ESPN, but we’re pleased with just what we see through the ranks,’ WSOP’s Seth Palansky told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. ‘This is most likely a path ahead.’
The WSOP got exactly what it was looking for compared to last year’s event: three Americans, an amateur underdog, and a rather talkative big stack by all accounts.
Of course, it didn’t get every thing it sought as having 11th-place finisher Daniel Negreanu reach the Niner could have paid enormous dividends.
McKeehen’s gigantic lead, starting Tuesday night of play by having a a lot better than three-to-one chip advantage over Blumenfield and Beckley could have also disengaged some viewers who rightly assumed this thing ended up being very long over.
DFS Could be Outlawed By DOJ By End of Year As Rumors Swirl
DFS stakeholder: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft holds equity in DFS web site DraftKings. (Image Kevin C. Cox / Getty NA)
Day-to-day fantasy sports (DFS) could soon be announced illegal during the federal level by the Department of Justice (DOJ), according to a Washington DC-based unnamed source who spoke to The New York Post this week.
In mid-October, it was reported by The Wall Street Journal that the DoJ had begun a study into the company types of the industry’s biggest hitters, after DraftKings’ clients had reportedly been contacted by FBI agents and questioned about the company to their interactions.
The investigation is likely to center around the question that is legal of DFS is exempt, as it claims, from the Unlawful online Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006.
‘Cauldron of Regular Betting’
The authors of the act developed a carve-out for fantasy sports at the behest for the sports leagues, nevertheless the fantasy that is season-long of 2006 were a world away from DFS as it exists today.
In reality, certainly one of UIGEA’s writers, previous Republican Representative for Iowa Jim Leach, publicly denounced DFS a few weeks ago as a ‘cauldron of daily betting,’ and added that there was ‘no credible method fantasy sports betting serves as a not gambling.’
Based on the latest York Post’s source, the DOJ is probably to come calmly to the same conclusion, and it is likely to ‘take some action ahead of the end of the entire year.’
All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go
In the event that source’s claims are accurate, it’s feasible that the DOJ will declare the activity a gambling endeavor in the same bracket as sports gambling, as Nevada has done, which could suggest that only those states with the proper to license sports wagering, (which are Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon), could theoretically allow their residents to take part in dream activities, and then just by having a regulatory license.
None of these states have managed online activities gambling, but, because its illegal under the Wire Act, leaving DFS nowhere to go.
Meanwhile, those states that have legalized dream recreations and declared it to not be a game f chance, such as Kansas did earlier this may have to rethink their stance year.
The major sports leagues, a lot of whom are stakeholders in the DFS industry, will even need certainly to start thinking about their very own positions in the light of their opposition that is vocal to betting.
New York Lawsuit
Both Robert Kraft, whom owns the New England Patriots, and Jerry Jones, owner of this Dallas Cowboys, both have equity in DraftKings, for instance. The NFL strictly forbids its employees, players and group owners from playing or advertising any style of gambling. Meanwhile, both the NBA and MLB have purchased shares in fantasy activities operators.
Today, DraftKings and FanDuel sued filed legal actions to challenge the judgment associated with the New York attorney general’s office that DFS is illegal in the state and that the 2 sites must cease their operations there.
DraftKings stated in its lawsuit that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s decision amounted to ‘strong-arm tactics’ that were ‘defying the guideline of law.’
Global Poker Index and USA Sports Partner to ‘Sportify’ Game today
Alexandre Dreyfus gained a partner that is vital his quest to sportify poker, the businessman landing a cope with USA TODAY Sports to cover their upcoming Global Poker League. (Image: pokerlistings.com)
The worldwide Poker Index (GPI) and USA TODAY Sports Media Group are joining strengths in a shared mission to ‘sportify’ the overall game of poker and revolutionize how it’s played.
Acquired by Internet entrepreneur Alexandre Dreyfus in 2012 under his Mediarex sports and entertainment company, the GPI runs TheHendonMob.com, poker’s database that is largest into the world, and is set to introduce the Global Poker League (GPL) in early 2016.
12 franchised groups distribute around the world will encompass the GPL, players rated within the top 1,000 associated with GPI open to be drafted to the five-person rosters.
USA TODAY Sports, a leader that is global sports reporting, may help keep tabs on all the most recent developments and results.
‘The partnership will provide a platform that is essential showcase our innovative new events also to promote the players rated in the Global Poker Index,’ Dreyfus said in a press launch. ‘It’s great to have the support and passion of an industry leader like USA TODAY Sports, whose team shares our vision to ‘sportify’ poker.’
In the event that You Build It…
In theory, Dreyfus’ reasons why you should transform poker into a game that will be marketed and digested on similar lines to professional sports makes sense that is perfect. Poker’s roots date straight back to long before many of the globe’s favorite sports had been created.
It stays to be seen whether poker fans enjoy watching the overall game just as much as they enjoy playing it.
Poker’s Super Bowl was held earlier in the day this week, the World Series that is 46th of (WSOP) crowning its $7.68 million champ on Tuesday night. The ESPN broadcast attracted 1,105,000 million viewers, fine for poker but dismal for recreations.
Here is a appearance during the other big four sports audiences in 2015:
Super Bowl: 114.5 million
World Series, Game 5: 17.2 million
NBA Finals, Game 6: 23.25 million
Stanley Cup, Game 6: 8 million
Going All-In
Dreyfus is not alone in thinking that poker has the possible to become a appealing sport for casual gamblers and even non-players.
Last July, he secured $4.9 million in financing from outside investors to market and build the GPL.
Additional capital shall be raised from the selling of the 12 franchises, and then preferably admission product sales to tournaments.
One discussion that arrived up at this year’s WSOP Main Event had been the thought of implementing a play clock. To result in the game more engaging for audiences, the GPL will play heads-up and six-handed matches with set time limitations of 30 to 45 minutes per level.
Each hand is going to be followed closely by an ‘action clock’ that will count the player down’s turn comparable to speed chess or even the NBA.
Though terms of the partnership weren’t disclosed, it’s apparent USA Sports is also buying into Dreyfus’ blueprint today. The media group will need to assign journalists, manufacturers, and creatives that are digital cover the GPL headlines.
‘The Global Poker Index did more than virtually any organization to unify poker,’ USA TODAY Sports VP Jason Ford said. ‘We’re anticipating to working together to create a 24/7 digital poker destination.’