GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 25 - June 2013

ficult to be one. Affiliates or performance marketing specifically is a major acquisi- tion channel across most sectors now, and I don’t see why online gaming will be any different once regulated. Before joining the gaming industry, you worked for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. What did you do for them? How did you discover the gaming in- dustry? Were you always interested in it, or did you just discover it “by ac- cident”? And why did you ultimately make the jump into online gaming? I was running their magazine, Professional Engineering , so as you can imagine it was a very, very different sector. Back then the best thing that could happen was a sales trip to Birmingham in the U.K. and once in a blue moon to Detroit! I kind of fell into iGaming and really didn’t know much about it at the time. I applied for a job at iGaming Business ’s parent company, Sport Business, and we got talk- ing about their gaming products and the deal was closed once they told me my first week on the job would be in Vegas! Please describe that trip (if you can still remember it!!) for us. What did you do? Where did you stay? Who did you meet? What did you learn? It was AMAZING!!!! I was attending CAC and G2E and my magazines didn’t turn up so basically I had a lot of fun for a week! Believe it or not the first person I met in the industry was Michael Corfman as I rocked up at CAC with my one magazine not know- ing anyone and he had a big article in the mag so I thought he must be a big deal. . . . I wasn’t wrong!! The other thing I remem- ber was the fact there were free t-shirts and caps, not a big deal these days with all the free giveaways, but when you were from a sector like engineering I just couldn’t be- lieve how amazing it was, and then to top that off, there were parties with free drinks. . . . I was officially in heaven, and nine years later I am still so grateful to be in such a fantastic, fast-moving and exciting sector. Oh, and I learned to play poker badly, which also hasn’t changed. If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be? Probably like everyone else I wish UIGEA hadn’t hap- pened. To be fair this was a catalyst for our affiliate events but many friends were adversely affected by this and it killed off a big part of our sector that we will never see again. How long do you give yourself for an- swering e-mail? What e-mail tips can you offer? I am anal about this and spend my life on e-mail 24/7, so usually I will answer you almost immediately. If I don’t, e-mail me again as I probably didn’t get your message. As for tips, the only odd thing I do is e-mail messages to myself on delayed delivery for a time when I need to deal with that particular message or job. It sounds odd but I hate having e-mail in my inbox so I prioritize it and organize it constantly. In addition more recently I have turned the alert off on my desktop, which has made a massive difference to my productivity. How do you manage your “to-do” lists? Do you use any special software to help you out? Again lists are part of my anal personality. I have lists for literally ev- erything. I don’t use any software, just Excel, but have color-coded columns for priorities, and then even color shades within those color codes, and on top of that separate sheets for different people who work for me, with their own color codes within there. Let’s just say it’s a very colorful Excel! What do you know about the online gaming industry now that you wish you’d known when you first started? That putting on a free poker tournament in a business exhibition in Barcelona is il- legal under Catalan law…. Lesson learned! If someone from out of town were to vis- it you, where is the one place you would have to take them? I live in London so the options are endless, but right now I re- ally like the London Aquarium. It really is amazing and now that I am a dad it is even better as they have multiple “Nemos.” What is the last book you read? Did you enjoy it? And did you read it on an e- reader? Or do you need to have a copy of the physical book in your hand? The Sum of All Fears , by Tom Clancy. I have become obsessed with the Jack Ryan series so I am working my way through them. As to how I’m doing this, they’re audio books, and I listen to them as I cycle to work so it makes the journey a lot more fun! What is your favorite movie? Dumb and Dumber !!! What are three things that no one knows about you? 1. I used to have my nipple pierced. 2. I once jumped over a hedge and landed on the spikes within it, which came very close to stopping me having children! 3. I used to have long blonde hair and would pretend I could surf to pull girls . . . I would even give them surfing lessons! Alex Pratt enjoys a moment with industry veteran Christine M. (bonustreak) 37 “I kind of fell into it” – An interview with Alex Pratt