
World Series of Poker champ Joe McKeehen had a $7.68 million payday this week, the WSOP also helping the financials that are third-quarter Caesars.
Caesars Acquisition Company (CAC), the investment arm in Caesars Growth Partners (CGP), released its third quarter profits for 2015 and the total results are mixed.
The parent company to Caesars Interactive Entertainment, the planet Series of Poker and a few casinos including Planet Hollywood, Harrah’s New Orleans, as well as the Horseshoe Baltimore, CAC reported total new profits jumped to $601.2 million into the three months finished September 30, a rise of almost 24 %.
Not all of the news had been positive, CAC also revealing that its web income from continuing operations was just $20.5 million, a 71 per cent drop year-on-year.
Caesars Acquisition’s CEO Mitch Garber had no qualms rotating the negatives into positives, saying his organization remains ‘encouraged by the performance that is strong of assets.’
Interactive Stays Active
The highlight of Q3 filing by CAC was once again its Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) arm, 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 name along with Caesars Palace Las Vegas and lots of gaming that is social including Bingo Blitz, Slotomania, and Caesars Bingo.
‘Our Interactive Entertainment business continues to create outstanding outcomes, primarily from our market leading social and mobile games business,’ 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 Number of Poker Holds
In 2014, the November Nine suffered a drop that is rather considerable viewership on ESPN for the 2 times of coverage. A total of 1.15 million people tuned in for the finale as Martin Jacobson outlasted Felix Stephensen and finisher that is third-place November Nine beginning big stack Jorryt Van Hoof.
The low rating in comparison to 2013 when Ryan Reiss survived Jay that is amateur Farber credited to non-Americans playing three-handed, and also three players whom competed in rather stoic manners.
In an effort to reignite interest and a larger television audience, ESPN and the WSOP included a 3rd night of November Nine coverage in 2015, and it seems to have at the least halted the trend that is downward poker TV marketability.
Though Sunday’s first night don’t crack 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 what we see through the ranks,’ WSOP’s Seth Palansky told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. ‘This is probably 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 everything it sought as having finisher that is 11th-place Negreanu reach the Niner would have paid enormous dividends.
McKeehen’s gigantic lead, starting Tuesday night’s play with a a lot better than three-to-one chip advantage over Blumenfield and Beckley may have also disengaged some people 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 site DraftKings. (Image Kevin C. Cox / Getty NA)
Day-to-day fantasy sports (DFS) could soon be declared illegal during the federal level by the Department of Justice (DOJ), based on 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 an investigation into the business types of the industry’s biggest hitters, after DraftKings’ customers had reportedly been contacted by FBI agents and questioned about their interactions utilizing the company.
The investigation is probably to center around the question that is legal of DFS is exempt, as it claims, from the Unlawful Web Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006.
‘Cauldron of Frequent Betting’
The authors associated with act developed a carve-out for fantasy sports at the behest of the sports leagues, but the fantasy that is season-long of 2006 were a global away from DFS as it exists today.
In fact, one of UIGEA’s writers, previous Republican Representative for Iowa Jim Leach, publicly denounced DFS not long ago as a ‘cauldron of daily betting,’ and included that there was ‘no credible way fantasy sports betting serves as a not gambling.’
In accordance with This new York Post’s source, the DOJ is likely to come quickly to the same conclusion, and is likely to ‘take some action prior to the end of the season.’
All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Get
In the event that source’s claims are accurate, it’s feasible that the DOJ will declare the activity a gambling endeavor in identical bracket as recreations wagering, as Nevada has done, which could mean that only those states with the best to license sports betting, (which are Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon), could theoretically allow their residents to take part in fantasy activities, after which only with a regulatory license.
None of these states have managed online activities gambling, nevertheless, because its illegal under the Wire Act, leaving DFS nowhere to go.
Meanwhile, those states that have legalized dream activities and declared it to not be a game f opportunity, such as Kansas did earlier this may have to rethink their stance year.
The major sports leagues, many of whom are stakeholders into the DFS industry, will even need to start thinking about their very own positions in the light of the opposition that is vocal to betting.
New York Lawsuit
Both Robert Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots, and Jerry Jones, owner regarding the Dallas Cowboys, both have equity in DraftKings, for instance. The NFL strictly forbids its workers, players and team owners from playing or advertising any form of gambling. Meanwhile, both the NBA and MLB have purchased shares in fantasy recreations operators.
Today, DraftKings and FanDuel sued filed lawsuits to challenge the judgment associated with the nyc attorney general’s office that DFS is illegal in the state and that the two sites must cease their operations there.
DraftKings said in its lawsuit that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s decision amounted to ‘strong-arm tactics’ that were ‘defying the rule of law.’
International Poker Index and USA TODAY Sports Partner to ‘Sportify’ Game
Alexandre Dreyfus gained a vital partner in their quest to sportify poker, the businessman landing a deal with United States Of America TODAY Sports to cover their upcoming Global Poker League. (Image: pokerlistings.com)
The worldwide Poker Index (GPI) and United States Of America Sports Media Group are joining strengths in a shared mission to ‘sportify’ the game of poker and revolutionize how it’s played today.
Acquired by Internet business owner Alexandre Dreyfus in 2012 under his Mediarex sports and entertainment company, the GPI runs TheHendonMob.com, poker’s database that is largest in the world, and is set to introduce the Global Poker League (GPL) in very early 2016.
12 franchised teams spread across the world will encompass the GPL, players ranked into the top 1,000 regarding the GPI offered to be drafted to the rosters that are five-person.
USA TODAY Sports, a leader that is global sports reporting, helps keep tabs on all the newest developments and results.
‘The partnership provides an essential platform to showcase our innovative new events and to market the players rated into the worldwide Poker Index,’ Dreyfus said in a press release. ‘It’s great to have the support and passion of an industry frontrunner like USA Sports, whose team shares our vision to ‘sportify’ poker. today’
In the event that You Build It…
In theory, Dreyfus’ reasons why you should transform poker into a game that may be marketed and digested on similar lines to professional sports makes sense. Poker’s roots date right back to long before many for the globe’s favorite sports were created.
It remains to be seen whether poker fans enjoy watching the game just as much as they enjoy playing it.
Poker’s Super Bowl occured previously this week, the 46th World Series of Poker (WSOP) crowning its $7.68 million champion on Tuesday night. The ESPN broadcast attracted 1,105,000 million viewers, fine for poker but dismal for recreations.
Here’s a look at 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 believing that poker has the prospective to become a appealing sport for casual gamblers and even non-players.
Final July, he secured $4.9 million in money from outside investors to promote and build the GPL.
Extra capital shall be raised from the selling of the 12 franchises, and then ideally admission product sales to tournaments.
One discussion that arrived up at this year’s WSOP Main Event was the notion 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 restrictions of 30 to 45 minutes per level.
Each hand are going to be followed closely by an ‘action clock’ that will count the player down’s change 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, producers, and digital creatives to cover the GPL headlines.
‘The Global Poker Index has been doing more than any other organization to unify poker,’ United States Of America sports VP Jason Ford said today. ‘we are excited to working together to create a 24/7 digital poker location.’
