Merger Mania

[GaF]

The new laws in the US seem to have triggered a real rash of consolidation in the gaming sector..... Most widely publicised has been 888 and Party probably joining forces. (with rumours of Sporting Bet joining the merged company too). 888 have confirmed that they are in merger talks with a number of companies, one of which they have said is Ladbrokes..... MGM Mirage are also said to be hovering ready to pounce on these firms.... Ultimatebet and Absolute are alleged to be announcing a merger on Monday..... Harrahs has had a $15 bn buyout offer - if this goes through, then the WSOP franchise may be sold to Steve Wynn who is looking to move it to Macau (China)...... Looks like there could be lots of change coming up .......

[jeffster]

Re: Merger Mania GAF, I think this can only be good for us, the players... Due to the new law, and because of it, the loss of players in the US, the gaming companies will be out to increase / maintain their share of the market, and will be probably offer all manner of bells, whistles, incentives and bonuses to get our business... Also, consolidation may not be a bad thing, as it will push the financially stable bigger players to the fore, which should hopefully avoid a repeat of the recent Goalpoker fiasco, thereby giving us players protection from getting shafted, like Burnley Joe and Fenners did by GP...

[GaF]

Re: Merger Mania To be honest, the vast majority of what I play is value added MTT's - that relies on too many Poker companies, with too much money chasing too few customers ..... so I prefer as much competition as possible...... The more consolidation there is, the less competitions there will be between the companies.......