GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 25 - June 2013

Q: Let’s talk about the nature of the business deal here, because there really are two components to it. There’s a B2B side and there’s a B2C side. So what is the B2C side, at least starting off? And then what is the B2B side? PRACUKOWSKI: The goals for the B2C to begin with are play-for-fun casino games, monetization and a social component. I’m not quite sure if there’s a new name or an acronym for that. So it was PFF, social and monetization. A successful convergence of those three requirements is what we see. COLEBUT: A full suite of games, not just poker. PRACUKOWSKI: Offering a full suite of games and not just poker is important because as we’ve seen around the world, slot games – and then table games – seem to more popular. Poker happens to be third, although we realize that we need to have poker. Q: And does bingo fit into the mix some- where here? PRACUKOSWKI: Bingo definitely fits into the mix. In 1986, we opened with bingo. We still offer bingo today. And we feel that, with our patron demographics, we’ll be very successful with bingo. The one thing that makes bingo a little tricky – as you know, it requires a liquidity pool, just as poker does. Q: What are the early monetization possibilities for this partnership in Connecticut? SMURFIT: The opportunities, if you want to segment them, are for Foxwoods to launch a virtual currency with mon- etization as part of the play-for-free website offering – you know, desktop and mobile – and look at not just the United States, but a worldwide offering. So it doesn’t need to be intrastate and it doesn’t need to be just the United States. It can be worldwide. That’s all to be de- termined, but in principle, that’s possi- ble – and then be ready to go with a full suite of products and with an Internet gaming system technology which can, the moment Connecticut chooses to regulate it, be automatically upgraded to real-money gaming. There are other opportunities actually available inside the casino, to deliver new and innovative product experiences pow- ered by the Internet gaming system tech- nology, which is sitting in the basement of Frank and Joe and Tim’s and everybody’s casino. The technology allows people to explore certain new, innovative forms of real-money gaming. COLEBUT: For real money, because we’re in their land. SMURFIT: For real money, while they are within the confines of the property. And whether that starts with one game COVER STORY The anatomy of a deal