Friday, October 30, 2009

PartyGaming Makes EGR Awards Operator of the Year shortlist

PartyGaming won a place on the back of a slew of deals including its acquisition of Cashcade in July and tie-ups with Cirsa, Spain’s market leading casino operator, UK TV broadcaster Five and direct marketing company DM; plus a surge of 630,000 new players last year. Earlier this year PartyGaming also became the only major operator to have settled with the US authorities, and was second only to Bwin in the 2009 Power 50 leading operators.

The winner of the award will be announced at the EGR Awards gala dinner, which takes place at London’s Old Billingsgate market on 30 November, the first night of EGR Live, eGaming Review's free-to-attend conference and exhibition at the same venue.

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Flashback

Paramount Pictures Seek Dismissal of John Singleton's Fraud Case


Paramount Pictures enjoyed a fantastic 2011, both in Australia, as well as in the United States and other markets.

However, now they seek to rid themselves of an unwelcome legal challenge.

Paramount is looking to dis a $20 million lawsuit brought by American film director John Singleton for allegedly reneging on a promise to back two films as part of a 2005 deal to acquire the breakout hit “Hustle and Flow.”

In response to Singleton’s lawsuit in October, the studio filed a demurrer in November 2011 that aims to demonstrate that even if the facts as laid out in the plaintiff’s complaint are true and correct, it won’t support the allegation that any fraud was committed, according to entertainment news giant The Hollywood Reporter.

“Hustle and Flow” was a hit at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Singleton claims that he passed on a higher advance offered by another studio to accept Paramount’s $9 million offer because the studio promised to “put” two additional features as long as their budgets didn’t exceed $3.5 million each and his producing fee wasn’t higher than 7.5 percent.

The director says that Paramount Pictures reneged on that deal by concocting new conditions on the “puts.” In his lawsuit, Singleton said he needed to make sure he was not taken advantage of and that his rights were protected.

In response, Paramount points to alleged flaws in the lawsuit prepared by Singleton’s attorney, Marty Singer:

“Plaintiffs’ fraud claim fails because it is not supported by a single fact — much less one with the required level of specificity for fraud claims — showing that Paramount or MTV harbored an intention not to perform the put provision at the time of the HAF Agreement’s formation.”

Paramount advised that Singleton can’t simply rely upon the alleged contractual non-performance to show the studio intended to deceive him, and as such, Paramount requests that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismiss the fraud claim.

Similarly, Paramount also wants to dismiss a rescission claim because it partly relies upon the same fraud theory and partly because its contract with Singleton’s company, Crunk Pictures, limits remedies for a breach of contract to monetary damages. (In the lawsuit, Singleton wants money from the exploitation of Hustle and Flow plus a reversion of rights in the picture.)

Paramount Pictures is also seeking to dismiss a claim for unjust enrichment because Paramount says there is no cause of action for this claim in California.

If a judge accepts these arguments, that would leave the dispute turning on a question of how to interpret the main contract between the parties.

From the media reports thus far and public comments about the dispute, it appears that Paramount is prepared to argue that Singleton never produced and delivered two pictures by a Jan. 22, 2010 deadline.

But Singleton suggests that development work on those films was already underway and that there wasn’t any express contractual obligations that the work be completed by that date. According to the original complaint:

“When plaintiffs attempted to exercise their right to ‘put’ the two pictures to Paramount, Paramount for the first time informed Plaintiffs that…the Put Pictures had to be fully completed films rather than films in production, and that the Put Pictures had to be scripted full-length theatrical or direct-to-video motion pictures.”

Absent the fraud claim, the lawsuit becomes a “What came first — the chicken or the egg” controversy. Did Singleton have to complete the two films to get Paramount’s distribution guarantee? Or did Paramount have to guarantee distribution to get Singleton to complete the two films?

Either way, the outcome is unlikely to have any real impact of Paramount Pictures success in Australia.


Paramount Pictures Enjoyed Banner 2011...

In the U.S they totally dominated the box office and knocked off the former global leader Warner Brothers. Paramount's studio has enjoyed more success distributing films via expiring partnerships with Marvel Entertainment / Marvel Studios and Stephen Spielberg's DreamWorks Animation than it has had creating its own in-house franchises.

Let's see... there was “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “Paranormal Activity 3,” and these contributed heavily to Paramount's bottom line.

In 2011, Paramount has fielded nine films that have crossed the $100 million barrier in U.S ticket sales, including 2010’s “True Grit,” which snatched the majority of its $250 million worldwide gross in this calendar year.

With $1.73 billion at the U.S box office thus far and two tentpoles in for the end of the year, "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" and Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin," Paramount ended Warner Brothers' three-year reign at the U.S box office.

And with $2.84 billion in international revenue and $4.6 billion in global receipts to date, Paramount Pictures ended Warner's international and worldwide leading streaks.

"Going into the summer, we certainly felt like we had a number of big tentpole movies, and on balance, they all delivered,” said Don Harris, Paramount's president of domestic (U.S) theatrical distribution. “They all opened at high numbers."

But get this. There's an imminent departure of partners Marvel and DreamWorks Animation, the team behind such recent winners as “Thor,” "Captain America: The First Avenger," “Kung Fu Panda 2” and "Puss in Boots."

Combined, those films comprised four of Paramount's top five grossing movies this year.

Paramount gets distribution fees from DreamWorks Animation and Marvel, but it doesn’t own the rights to the superhero and family films.

Paramount's deal to distribute Marvel films has ended, and its deal with DreamWorks Animation expires in 2012. Though Paramount received an 8 percent distribution fee for its efforts with the two studios, the departure of Marvel and DreamWorks Animation will take a big chunk out of the studio’s market share.

Emboldened by the average success of “Rango” ($245 million), Paramount recently launched its own animation division with an eye toward owning the family films it distributes outright. It expects to release its first film through via the new arm in 2014.

The DreamWorks deal was relatively low-risk and good money.

Paramount appears to believe hat after a number of years of serving as a distribution house for other companies, it has developed enough of its own intellectual property to move forward without the comic book based company and the animation studio.

It's hoping that Pixar whiz Brad Bird (“The Incredibles”) can reinvigorate its “Mission: Impossible” franchise after 2006’s disappointing third installment, and it already successfully rebooted the wilting “Star Trek” franchise. A sequel to its hit 2009 "Trek" film is due out in two years.

"Transformers” - "Dark of the Moon" grossed $1.1 billion worldwide and was more positively embraced than its predecessor.

Paramount Pictures has enjoyed a burst of lower budget successes, adding to their whale size film portfolio.

Created for a cost of a modest $13 million, the studio’s Justin Bieber concert film “Never Say Never,” took in nearly $100 million worldwide. Likewise, “Paranormal Activity 3” continued the ultra-low budget series’ knack for healthy profit margins. Produced for a tiny $5 million, the haunted house film clocked up $201.9 million worldwide.

Almost everything Paramount Pictures touched turned to gold. The big write-off would be "Hugo", with a budget of $170 million and grossing just $33 million globally. Let it be noted that Paramount only distributed the film and this means that the dip falls on the head of producer Graham King.

The remake of '80s dance film “Footloose” failed to bring in audiences. The $24 million film snatched a $62 million worldwide gross, which is well below par for Paramount.

What's in Paramount's future? Paramount appears unlikely to duplicate its record breaking success in 2012 at the box office. The studio expects big things for its zombie flick "World War Z" with Brad Pitt and “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” but appears that's not comic book films in the works to excel this years numbers.

Take note that in the 2012 more of the films that Paramount Pictures releases are owned by them. This means that the studio will be able to keep more of the profits for themselves, but that appears to be a higher risk strategy than the one they employed this year.

Paramount will survive, no doubt, but it may be more of a stock market - roller-coaster type ride than the relatively smooth sailing they enjoyed over the past 12 months.

See you at the movies.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

PartyCasino Gold Mega Jackpot now over $4.5 Million! - 28th October 2009

The PartyCasino.com Gold Mega Jackpot has exceeded $4.5 million!

The following games can be played to qualify for the Gold Mega Jackpot:

Cash Cruise, Fantastic Four, Fire Drake, Golden Oasis, Mega Fortune Wheel, Spider-Man, Super Fortune Wheel, Super Joker, Super Mystic, Super Star, Sweet Hawaii, The Godfather, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Gone With The Wind.

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Monday, October 26, 2009

Industry Awaits First Ever Online Slot Tournament Millionaire as Grand Slam of Slots Final Begins

Thursday 22nd October 2009 -- ISLE OF MAN – Microgaming is pleased to announce that the hugely anticipated grand finale of the Grand Slam of Slots online tournament, powered by Microgaming begins today. The tournament will run for nine days, ending on 2nd November, at which point the first online slots tournament millionaire will be announced.

Microgaming made history earlier this year, when the Mega Moolah Progessive Jackpot powered by Microgaming created the largest ever online slot millionaire with a staggering win of €6.37m; which was paid in a single payout. It is set to make history again with the Grand Slam of Slots online tournament. The prize pool for the tournament is an impressive €1.3 million, with €1 million going to the winner and €50,000 to second place. The remaining 480 players will pocket between €100 and €25,000, offering players a strong chance of cashing out with significantly more than the price of the final buy-in.

Mike Hebden, Casino Channel Lead, Microgaming said: “Microgaming has always been at the forefront of gaming innovation and we are delighted to be the power behind the biggest ever online slot tournament in history which will create the first online tournament slot millionaire.”

The Grand Slam of Slots will be played on the ever popular Lara Croft Tomb Raider game. Players will get 9000 starting credits and one hour in which to accrue the most winnings, with unlimited re-buys allowed at €20 each.

Tomb Raider, Lara Croft, the Tomb Raider logo, Eidos and the Eidos logo are trademarks of Eidos Interactive Ltd. All rights reserved.

For further information or screenshots of the games please contact:
Duncan Skehens / Lizzi Malley / Lyndsay Haywood
Lansons Communications
020 7490 8828
DuncanS@lansons.com / LizziM@lansons.com / LyndsayH@lansons.com

About Microgaming
Since the company developed the first true online Casino software over a decade ago, it has led the industry in providing innovative, reliable gaming solutions. Thanks to an unrivalled R&D programme, that averages 60 games per year and a unique ‘partnership’ approach to working with operators; Microgaming software powers over 160 market-leading online gaming sites.

The company’s front and back-end software supports multi-player, multi-language games - over 400 of them, all uniquely branded and provides platforms for land-based and wireless gaming. Microgaming powers the world’s largest Progressive Jackpot Network and has paid out over €250million. In May 2009 it created the biggest ever online jackpot winner with a single payment win of €6.37m.

As a founding member of eCOGRA, Microgaming is at the forefront of an initiative focused on setting the highest standards in the gaming industry, and leads in the areas of fair gaming, responsible operator conduct and player protection. Microgaming has been awarded eCOGRA’s Certified Software Seal following a rigorous onsite assessment to ensure that the development, implementation and maintenance of the software is representative of industry best practice standards Microgaming licensees are therefore eligible to apply for the eCOGRA Safe & Fair Seal.

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Saturday, October 24, 2009

A One Man Slot War! PartyCasino Adds Rambo And Live Dealer

PartyCasino Adds ‘Rambo’ To Movie Roster and Launches Live Dealer

PartyCasino.com is pleased to announce the arrival of a new ‘Rambo’ themed slot game at the world’s largest online casino. ‘Rambo’ is the latest movie themed slot to launch on PartyCasino.com and joins a collection of games that reads like a list of Hollywood’s greatest movies. PartyCasino.com pays out over $10 million EVERY DAY to players and continues to expand rapidly.

‘Rambo’ is a 20 line, 5 reel online slot machine based on the iconic film series that provides a high octane gaming experience. The game features heavy artillery, helicopters and jungle rescue sequences you would expect from the world famous motion picture. The minimum stake is one cent and a player can bet on a maximum of 20 lines.

The feature of the game is triggered when a player hits three pictures of John Rambo. There your mission as Rambo is to shoot down base defences from your helicopter and rescue the POW’s. The enemy draws first blood not you but it is time to unleash the one man war to win big cash prizes. Within this feature the gameplay is boosted by chances to win extra multipliers and extra free spins.

Other film themed slots at PartyCasino.com include Mission:Impossible, The Terminator, The Godfather, Top Gun, Saturday Night Fever and Gone With The Wind. The Gold Mega Jackpot at PartyCasino.com currently stands at nearly $1.3 million! On February 24th 2009, ‘ScottishAOD’ won the $1,358,857.49 Gold Mega Jackpot on the Mega Fortune Wheel. This jackpot was particularly closely followed as it looked at one point that the PartyCasino.com record of $1,571,974 paid out to one player on the 8th October 2006 was under threat. His father, ‘Takemystack7’, also won a Gold Mega Jackpot but for $763,356.33 on the 24th May 2008! Between them they have won $2,122,213.82 off PartyCasino.com in exactly nine months to the day!

PartyCasino.com is also pleased to announce that the Live Dealer function on the site is up and running. Multi-currency baccarat, blackjack and roulette games are available following an agreement made with EvolutionGaming last year.

A PartyCasino.com spokesman said: “With Rambo it’s a case of give it a go, give it a go now and we’ll give you an experience you won’t believe! PartyCasino.com has already developed a portfolio of slots that reads like a collection of Hollywood greats and there is more to come. We’re also very happy to introduce live dealer – this provides a new online experience for those that prefer the experience of watching croupiers dealing cards or spinning roulette wheels.”

Rambo, First Blood and any depiction of Rambo are trademarks of StudioCanal. TM & © StudioCanal 2009. All Rights Reserved.

PartyGaming Plc is the world’s leading listed online gaming company. Founded in 1997, the Group is a constituent of the FTSE 250 share index and the FTSE4Good Index Series, which measures the performance of companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards. PartyGaming’s shares are listed on The London Stock Exchange under the ticker: PRTY.

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Thursday, October 22, 2009

Three sevens in a row followed by a real row after pokies payout - 23rd October 2009

PARIS: Two French friends have gone to court to settle a dispute over who should pocket almost €2 million ($3.5 million) in casino winnings - the woman who paid for the bet or the man who pushed the button on the poker machine.

On March 6, Marie-Helene Jarguel put €50 into the machine in the casino in Palavas-les-Flots, near Montpellier, south-western France. By her side was Francis Sune, 57, who had brought her luck in the past.

The aim was to win the casino's ''Megapot'' of €2.2 million by lining up three sevens. Mr Sune pressed the button 12 times without success, but on the next attempt the winning numbers appeared.

Screams of joy were followed by champagne all round and Miss Jarguel left the premises with the cheque. Casino rules state that machine bets must be taken by one person only.

But a week later, Mr Sune sued his ''friend'', insisting that at least half the gains were his by rights.

There is no judicial definition in France of what constitutes a ''winner'' in gambling.

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The world's biggest online casino jackpot is currently set to be won at PartyCasino.com

The PartyCasino Gold Mega Jackpot currently stands at over $4 million dollars!

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PartyCasino's parent company, PartyGaming, has been established for approximately a decade and is widely accepted as the world's most successful igaming company and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

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Thursday, October 08, 2009

PartyCasino - home of the world's most popular online slot games

PartyCasino.com the world's biggest and best online casino continues to add new and exciting game titles.

PartyCasino.com, part of the PartyGaming group, has something for everyone.

Some of the world's most popular casino classics like Cleopatra, Monopoly, Wheel Of Fortune and Cluedo are found at PartyCasino.com

In addition, Hollywood movie blockbuster titles such as Rambo, Top Gun, Mission: Impossible, The Terminator, Saturday Night Fever, Gone With The Wind, King Kong and the newly added Sinatra, Tarzan, High Noon, Resident Evil and The Naked Gun.

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Sunday, October 04, 2009

PartyCasino - the world's most popular online casino, and the hottest Hollywood slots

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