GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 25 - June 2013

Q: You’re running out of dance partners. SMURFIT: I think that was almost a compliment. COLEBUT: Yeah, almost a compliment, but in the end, I’ll tell you, Vin, we struck gold. We’ve found somebody who can re- ally do what a large operator like us is go- ing to need on the technology side, with the convergence of the offline and the on- line, which is all our casino executives re- ally care about. They want to know that they can drive more people to the casino. We think that with GameAccount we’ll be able to do that. We’re going to have a novel approach for play for free. And we think that we’ll be able to offer other potential operators who are looking for a total solution at a competitive price. PRACUKOWSKI: One of the things that made GameAccount very attractive for us is they own their own technology; they own their own platform. It’s a completely open platform; it allows poker networks to integrate into it, as well as casino games and slot games. That was one of our main goals. There are very few providers out there that have that experience integrating the casino management systems. We knew GameAccount did. And we knew they would be very successful integrating into our casino management system, which we feel is very important in the online gaming space. It is important for free play, and it will definitely be important for real-money gaming. Q: GameAccount wasn’t among the companies you were originally eyeing. But I’ve been hearing rumors that you were destined to work together. What’s the story behind that? COLEBUT: Sportingbet was going to reach out to GameAccount for a platform for us, for the technology to supply us here in the States, so – which we never knew about, but … PRACUKOWSKI: The folks at Sportingbet felt pretty bad about the deal falling apart. So they told us there’s a company we’re working with called GameAccount Network. They said they were upstand- ing individuals – honest and agile. They said they were like SportingBet in how they operate their business. A great company with no probity concerns. Sportingbet offered to forward our name to them. We ended up having a conver- sation with them, and we quickly deter- mined they would be a great fit for us. And hindsight being 20/20, we feel like we are actually a better fit with them than Sportingbet. SMURFIT: Well, we can confirm, for the record, that it is our technology that we will be providing and displaying for Foxwoods and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. And we won’t be relying on any third party, but reportedly – alleg- edly, possibly – that was the case, back in the day… COLEBUT: And we like the idea very much of having the technology on res- ervation. We think it’ll make a lot of sense in explaining to regulators if we have to go that way. You’ve got to re- member, Vin, we operate an Indian gaming establishment, so it’s a little different than commercial casinos. GameAccount’s Si Knock, FDC’s Frank Pracukowski, GameAccount’s Dermot Smurfit, FDC’s Joseph Colebut, FDC’s Tim Walker and MPTN’s Al Baldoz at the Mandarin Oriental in San Francisco. 27 The anatomy of a deal