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IN BUSINESS GAMING BRITISH ODDSMAKER GETS OK TO OPERATE 159 BOOKS IN NEVADA By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer I t was hard to tell whether it was Ralph Topping's witty personality, his brogue or the quality of his team's presentation that won over members of the Nevada Gaming Commission. Whatever it was, it resulted in unani- mous votes on four TOPPING measures that led to the licensing of Great Britain's premier book- making operation to acquire three Nevada companies that oper- ate more than half of the state's race and sports books. Topping, CEO of William Hill Plc, said his company would operate 159 loca- tions statewide, including 83 wagering kiosks. bookmaking company to be licensed in Nevada. The company acquired Ameri- William Hill announced in 2011 the ac- quisition of the three companies for $55 can Wagering Inc., operator of the Le- roy's Horse and Sports Place franchise; million. Brandywine Bookmaking LLC, which has the Lucky's sports book brand; and Sierra Development Co., which operates as Cal Neva Satellite Race and Sports in Northern Nevada. The newly formed William Hill U.S. will have American Wagering's Vic Sal- erno as its chairman, Brandywine Book- William Hill will operate 55 percent of the state's race and sports books, but only generate about 11 percent of the state's book revenue. Race and sports books, while popular with a loyal clien- tele of sports bettors, generate less than 5 percent of the state's gross gaming rev- enue and usually partner with resorts to FEELING LUCKY: The Lucky's brand, which includes a walk-up betting window in the Riviera, is among those being taken over by British bookmaker William Hill Plc. run a casino's sports wagering. William Hill becomes the first British making's Joe Asher as CEO and Club Cal Neva's Jeff Siri as chief operating officer. Nevada is the only state in the country with legal wagering on sporting events. Topping said William Hill would in- vest about $3 million in technology at its properties and offer so-called "in-play" wagering on sporting events. Sometimes referred to as "in-running" wagering at books operated by rival Cantor Gaming, it allows gamblers to place bets on games in progress with odds constantly chang- ing as the outcome unfolds. STEVE MARCUS Hill's operations running by the start of the National Football League season, but "we're not going to cry in our onion soup if we don't get there," he said in an inter- view after the two-hour hearing. "We not going to make false promises, but it's a nice target to have," he said. Being licensed in Nevada "was a tough party to get into," Topping said, but it was eased by regulators' business-friendly at- titude. "I started filling out the application form on the day of the royal wedding (between Prince William and Kate Mid- dleton) and didn't finish it until well af- ter it was over," he said. "I never saw the wedding at all. I guess that's why we have DVDs." The only tension during the hearing oc- curred when regulators questioned the William Hill team about Playtech Ltd., a casino software company that has devel- oped online games for the company. Playtech was founded in 1999 by Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi, who still controls up to 45 percent of the company. Sagi, who has been romantically linked to supermodel Bar Rafaeli, has been ques- tioned by gaming regulators in Gibraltar about his financial dealings and wheth- er his company had illegally accepted wagers from American customers. He spent nine months in jail in 1996 on brib- Topping said he hopes to have William ery and fraud charges. ONLINE POKER PLAY IN STATE COULD BE LEGAL BY END OF THE YEAR sites, but would contract with casino LICENSE, FROM PAGE 1 early 2013. He said the company also is negotiating with other prospective customers. Robert Melendres, executive vice determined president of emerging businesses for IGT, said his company also is on track to provide its system to customers, but wouldn't disclose the names of prospective clients. IGT has touted its 13 years of experience as a licensee in Europe where it is licensed in Alderney, a British Crown dependency on an island in the English Channel. The state's online gaming regulations require that licensees prove that their systems are capable of identifying players by location and that players are of legal age. Companies also are required to safeguard against money laundering, problem gambling player collusion. gaming system providers, meaning they Thursday's approval of the licenses is another milestone in efforts to allow 8 likely wouldn't establish their own poker million in 2011. Regulators investigated | 2 JULY 2012 | and interpreted the decisions that they allow online play within the borders of a state where gambling is legal. Most online gaming advocates hope federal lawmakers will pass legislation making interstate poker play legal and to establish consistent standards nationwide. A notable exception is Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson, who is unconvinced that online systems would be players. able Both Bally and IGT consider themselves to be business-to-business interactive to detect underage money IGT's Melendres said his company's long history of operating in Nevada's regulatory environment and fielding robust responsible gaming and anti- laundering strategies should ease concerns about how the company it acquired used to operate. IGT purchased Stockholm, Sweden- based Entraction Holding for $115 that including online gambling, which state leaders believe will boost the casino industry and bring new technology Nevada. The jobs Justice Department Internet Nevada, across state lines is illegal, but several states, to has gambling have companies and provide systems would be branded for their properties. Several other companies have their own applications for licenses on file and regulators are expected to consider them in the months ahead. that Fertitta Earlier this week, Station Casinos' Interactive it would begin offering a free-play poker game on its Facebook page on Friday with plans of turning it into a real-money game when the company is licensed. announced that the technology and quickly Entraction for illegally accepting wagers from U.S. customers, but Melendres said IGT bought its company policies to not accept wagers from any questionable source. Bally also went the acquisition route for its online poker product. company It acquired Chiligaming, a French founded in 2006, and in February Bally began work to place the system at the Golden Nugget as a free- play website. With Thursday's licensing and further testing planned, the site eventually would be converted to a real-money site. Haddrill said the system includes software to detect a player's location with built-in safeguards to assure that a legal player has logged on. The system also monitors play and would shut a game down if it detects aberrations in play that would suggest player collusion. for adopted 20120702_VI01_F.indd 8 6/28/12 1:55:55 PM