GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 2 - October 2007

18 GPWA TIMES | GPWA affiliate interview series INTERVIEWWITH Kat | katsmeownvista Current Hometown: San Diego, CA Age: 42 Favorite food: SPICY! I love anything spicy! One book everyone must read: The Bible (even if you are not religious or spiritual, an incredible book!) Site: gambleontheboardwalk.com A chat with the Kat . . . She’d enjoy being a bird! H owdid you learn about the online gaming industry? Well, I was a gambler at land-based casinos for about 5-6 years before I discovered online gambling. I downloaded my first casino and went to town…LOL. Then, AFTER THE FACT, I decided that I needed to learn more about what casino I was downloading and I began to do research. I discovered online forums, found other people who shared my interest and a marriage was born, so- to-speak. It is also where I met some of my closest friends and the other two G.O.T.B. partners. What about the industry interests you? There is so much about the industry that is yet unknown to me. I would love to get behind the scenes and see a casino operation. The ethics of the industry is of interest to me and, along with so many others, I am of course interested in seeing how this whole gambling ban will eventually play out. When and why did you decide to become an affiliate? One of my first affiliations, when I was working for another site owner, was with Brightshare. It is kind of a funny story. The site I was working for didn’t really have too many big sponsors, so when I took on Brightshare, I went about pursuing them for sponsorship of our board because I had been a player there and really enjoyed a lot of things about the group. Now at this time, they really were not sponsors of any sites like mine. I was told by the site owner I worked for, “Good luck; they will never sponsor.” LOL! Well, I love a challenge so I went about pestering Lloyd, and I mean pestering! LOL! He told me NO, several times, but I didn’t give up. Eventually he gave in. I wonder if he remembers that? You work with partners on your site. Who are they? What prompted the de- cision to enter this business together? I actually have two partners, Lee and Bee. I met Lee first – again, through another gambling forum. We immediately hit it off and eventually, as a team, were offered a position working for another site. We learned a lot about the business there and felt like there was something we could offer different and better and so we set about birthing Gamble On The Boardwalk. I liken us to Beauty and the Brains…LOL! The site wouldn’t be what it is without both parts. Lee handles most all the technical stuff – PR, SEO, Link Exchange, Key Words, and so much more. I focus more on the Sales and Advertising end of it. I am the one who mostly works with the affiliate managers and develops and designs our promotions/ contests. Bee was added later, first as an administrator and then recently as a partner. Bee had a background in Poker, which neither Lee nor I had the least familiarity with. Since bringing her on, the board’s traffic has probably doubled. How do you divide up the responsi- bilities? Like GPWA, we are additionally a forum. So unlike stand-alone portals we also have a member base to service. We have a couple of remarkable staff members, Lisa and TJ, both of whom have different responsibilities in the forum. We all interact and address member issues. I guess it all works smoothly because we all have our different areas of expertise and then when it comes specifically to interacting with the members, we all participate. What experiences from your full-time position, and other jobs you’ve held, help you in your work as an affiliate? I have a background in Advertising as CONTINUED ON PAGE 49 >>