Author: George Hansen

Taking a liking to the occasional bout of slots, George used to moonlight as a roulette dealer, giving him a unique perspective into the casino world. From there he continued his journalist education and has been with us ever since a star-aligned graduation brought him and our team together.

Black Ridge Acquisition forms Allied Esports Entertainment

Posted on by George Hansen
  • Black Ridge Acquisition snaps up Allied Esports & WPT to form a new poker/esports-focused entity
  • Ourgame International Holdings, the previous owner, will be part of the new entity
  • Allied Esports Entertainment is to be listed on NASDAQ as soon as it opens

Black Ridge Acquisition has managed to reach a deal with Ourgame International Holdings, snapping up both the World Poker Tour brand and Allied Esports, the quickly-growing competitive video gaming company.

Poker and Esports Closer Together after Black Ridge Acquisition’s Successful Bid

Ourgame International Holdings and Black Ridge Acquisition had a final sit-down to formalize the sale of Ourgame’s World Poker Tour (WPT) and Allied Esports brands for the sum total of $213.8 million.

Having acquired the assets, the company will merge both divisions into the newly-baptised Allied Esports Entertainment (AESE), with the focus of operations equally shared across a number of key development verticals:

  • Cross-platform content
  • Specific gaming & poker services
  • Meeting specific on-demand requests by multi-billion audience

While negotiations are now done and dusted, the deal will be officially formalized in Q1, 2019, with the new business entity hitting the NASDAQ Capital Market Exchange as soon as it begins to operate legally.

Despite the acquisition, Ourgame will still land executive expertise in the face of CEO Frank Ng, who will assume the same position in AESE. Lyle Berman will step into the role of Chairman of the Board at AESE.

Mr. Berman hurried up to outline the immediate plans of the company and how the fresh capital would be put to good use.

The capital from the Black Ridge SPAC will be used to expand AESE’s global property network, accelerating their first-mover advantage as the company continues to build a brand that is synonymous with esports.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ng will bring onboard the same team that has helped him run Ourgame, making sure that the same successful business models can be leveraged within the new entity. Mr. Ng highlighted the importance of the competitive video gaming industry known collectively as esports.

How the Brands Will Work Together

As stand-alone brands, both the WPT and Allied Esports are familiar with each other. Allied Esports is associated with the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas, which has also been chosen by the World Poker Tour Pro Series as the venue for the final tables of several poker competitions.

The WPT was acquired from bwin.party back in 2015, with the company snapping it up for the considerably modest sum of $35 million at the time. Since that time, the WPT has become one of the most significant poker events in the competitive world, with the European tournament reuniting global talent at a fantastic rate.

Allied Esports WPT Arena
Hyper X Las Vegas Esports Arena hosting the final tables of the World Poker Tour.

Allied Esports has recently introduced its esports venue affiliate program intended at helping business develop and grow competitive video gaming facilities fit for the purposes of fielding participants in international tournaments leading up to the HyperX Las Vegas competition at the end of the regional qualifiers.

Allied Esports also partnered with HyperX to introduce the so-called Mobile Arena Truck providing esports coverage on the go and allowing the brand to tour the United States dropping at various venues.

While poker is not as heavily discussed by the executives charting the course of AESE, we could potentially see the inclusion of many interesting new products into the tournament, such as digital card games, which have come to offer significant prize pools.

Most recently, Magic: The Gathering (MTG) announced that it would invest $10 million in prize money for the upcoming competitive season in 2019, apart from offering salaried positions ($70,000) to 32 players who will compete in a newly-formed competitive format.

George Hansen

Taking a liking to the occasional bout of slots, George used to moonlight as a roulette dealer, giving him a unique perspective into the casino world. From there he continued his journalist education and has been with us ever since a star-aligned graduation brought him and our team together.

Aristocrat Gaming’s Las Vegas Campus Opens Doors

Posted on by George Hansen

iGaming developer Aristocrat has launched a new Las Vegas campus where the company’s local employees will converge to work on cutting-edge gaming products.

Aristocrat’s New Home

Developer of iGaming solutions Aristocrat has opened its new campus worth $45 million in Las Vegas, bolstered by its strong results worldwide. The facility will bring together all 1,100 employees from the area who will converge at the site to work on the company’s future projects.

The new facility is based in Summerlin, located in the west quarters of the city with the campus sprawling on 180,000 square metres and two buildings. The buildings bear all the signs of modern designing and architecture with an open-space layout and over 100 Aristocrat games showcased in a special section of the facility.

Aristocrat made sure that the project was erected using environmentally-friendly materials, which reduce the building’s CO2 footprint. To secure the comfort of its employees, the company has also decided to introduce a range of amenities and facilities purposed for various leisurely activities.

The campus currently offers a gym, a meditation and game rooms, bike path, an outdoor patio, and a park. Additional products are available at each and every turn throughout each floor.

According to Matt Wilson, Managing Director at Aristocrat for the Americas, the environment played an important role in the creative process in the company. By providing employees with an inspiring work environment, each individual could perform and contribute better to the overall work process, Mr. Wilson opined.

Creating an inspiring environment for employees is critical to our success and to our culture, today and in the future. – Matt Wilson, Aristocrat’s Managing Director

Mr. Wilson continued by explaining that building the campus had been an important step for the future development of the company, with Aristocrat striving to provide a home-like, employee-centered environment first.

The design is also intended to lead to further collaboration and innovation between separate departments and co-workers, Mr. Wilson estimated.

With a quick turnout, Aristocrat saw the building completed in a little over a year, with the company now planning to hold the property for a period of 15 years.

Behind the Works of the Share Price

The good results for the Australian game maker had been strong before the announcement of the new campus. According to experts, Aristocrat owns the largest share of slot machines in Macau, in terms of shipped units.

Meanwhile, JP Morgan Securities LLC issued a note in November, outlining the robust profitability of Aristocrat throughout North America. JP Morgan also felt confident that the company’s earnings before EBITDA will rise by 17.5% or $627.1 million.

Aristocrat Leisure Ltd has strong recurring revenues and is consistently gaining market share in North American gaming operations. – JP Morgan

However, JP Morgan had miscalculated, because at the end of November, Aristocrat posted 34% increase in its net profit after tax, with the sum total reaching $729.6 million. The period spanned the 12 months leading up to September 30, 2018.

It’s in this context that Aristocrat is now pushing with expansion in new markets and consolidating its existing operations by investing in its internal infrastructure.

George Hansen

Taking a liking to the occasional bout of slots, George used to moonlight as a roulette dealer, giving him a unique perspective into the casino world. From there he continued his journalist education and has been with us ever since a star-aligned graduation brought him and our team together.

Casino Classic with Washington’s Center for Leadership

Posted on by George Hansen

The Center for Leadership and Community Engagement partnered with Ellensburg Adult Activity Center to host the first Casino Classic meet-up, featuring a number of mind-stimulating casino games. The inaugural event looked up volunteers eager to give classic treats, such as Texas Hold’em and Blackjack, a go.

Casino Classic Full with Top Games

The Center for Leadership and Community Engagement (CLCE), part of the Central Washington University, set out to host a rather amusing evening featuring table-top favorites such as Blackjack and Texas Hold’em. The focus of the meeting was clearly casino games, with the entire pow-wow hosted under the name of “Casino Classic”. Known for its strong sports leadership initiatives, the CWU engaged in something slightly different this time.

The event attracted a number of volunteers and the CLCE collaborated with Ellensburg Adult Activity Center to ensure that everything organization-wise would be up to the adequate standard. The partners were kind enough to provide transportation and lunch to volunteers and participants who dabbled in various casino games to their hearts’ content.

The event turned out to be a success, demonstrating the merits of CLCE’s strong social & volunteer program, which relies on volunteers to undertake and carry out important social causes. The current slogan of the CWI’s Center for Leadership is “ordinary people making an extraordinary difference”.

Boosting and Developing Leadership

The project is intended to boost and develop leadership flair and help students muster up the courage to assume responsibilities that can have potential life-changing implications. Ultimately, the CWU strives to introduce positive social change, relying on several key tenets, which the organization holds in the highest esteem. CWU believes that leadership potential exists in every individual and the purpose of the CLCE is to bring it out in every participant.

By relying on bringing people from different cultures and backgrounds together, the CLCE helps foster innovative ideas and allows all participants to reach creative solutions that are recognized and rewarded. CLCE and CWU establish a “shared leadership style”, which drives productive results worth display.

Casino Classic concluded on October 26, 2018, introducing volunteers and participants to a series of stimulating and challenging games that entailed a good level of skill and a fair bit of chance. Though the choice of casino games may appear strange to the casual observer, CWU believes that diversity is key and that all stimulating activities should be embraced and pursued.

The problems inherent to gambling activities are not to be snubbed and CWU has demonstrated that there are merits to games that are generally shunned based on bias. Blackjack and Texas Hold’em are two skill-based titles allowing individuals to challenge themselves intellectually and keep their minds sharp.

It has been an unusual choice of activity, but Casino Classic’s evening has proven a success and no less.

George Hansen

Taking a liking to the occasional bout of slots, George used to moonlight as a roulette dealer, giving him a unique perspective into the casino world. From there he continued his journalist education and has been with us ever since a star-aligned graduation brought him and our team together.

Kansans Debates the Legalization of Sports Betting

Posted on by George Hansen

Kansas may well become the next state to legalize sports betting in the United States. Legal hurdles need to be cleared, of course, and this has already begun, with Kansas lawmakers convening from December 4 through December 6 to discuss a potential bill.

Kansans Talks Sports Betting

Kansas lawmakers will discuss from December 4 through December 6 whether a sports betting bill should make it to the House of Representatives and be voted as part of the 2019 legislative sessions. Talks about the state adopting its own legalized industry have been ongoing, with most observers expecting the talks to take place early next year. Kansans, though, has sped things along.

The Special Committee on Federal and State Affairs has invited a number of regulators, legal experts and all third-parties that have business or show interest in the segment. The committee’s primary objective is to evaluate the consequences of stripping the federal ban known as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).

The meeting seems to be taking place in the spirit of objectivity, with Dodge City Bud Estes, the state senator, ensuring that it’s his highest priority to ensure that everyone involved gets a clear read of the situation and makes a decision based on the facts.

If the bill is given the go-ahead, it will be drafted and submitted to the House of Representatives ahead of the upcoming session due on January 14, 2019. Many noteworthy individuals have appeared to share their opinions and back them with facts, including National Conference of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) president and Ohio senator William Colley.

Kansas is not exactly new to the idea of gambling, with 9 state venues already catering to gambling enthusiasts. The state also has active horse & dog racing competitions as well as pari-mutuel wagering on both activities, allowed only on the premises of specifically earmarked venues.

Additional support came from Laura Kelly who has thrown her support behind the pro-legalization campaign, although she has not been active during the hearing.

Kansas’ Pre-emptive Legalization Attempts

Kannsas did try to legalize part of its gambling activities and give them a broader reach just weeks before PASPA was finally struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).

A bill called HB2792 was submitted by Rep. Jan Kessinger to the Committee on Federal and State Affairs, but it didn’t garner the necessary support, petering out in the end. Should the bill have been successful, it would have allowed sports betting to take place in full on the territory of Kansas and possibly have made the state the first one to adapt to the newly-struck ban.

Nevertheless, the fact that Kansas is actively looking to legalize the activity is reassuring, as 20 states are expected to fail to enact any measures until 2030 in the very least.

A decision will be reached in less than two days and for the time being, sports betting seems very likely to be set in motion in Kansas. Even if a delay occurs, the state is likely to catch up next year.

George Hansen

Taking a liking to the occasional bout of slots, George used to moonlight as a roulette dealer, giving him a unique perspective into the casino world. From there he continued his journalist education and has been with us ever since a star-aligned graduation brought him and our team together.