It impresses me that someone genuinely believes there will be online gaming in a future near enough to make business sense to spend $250 million in cash upfront with future payments.

http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2012/ja...aming-com/?hpb

I ran across this over at Business insider, how do you think this will change the look and feel of online poker?

Slot machine company International Game Technology is buying Double Down Interactive, a Facebook app developer that makes a virtual casino game, for $500 million paid over three years, The Wall Street Journal Reports.

That's one heck of a price tag for an app company that only has around 4.7 million monthly active users, according to AppData. But its main app is a virtual casino that plays slots, blackjack and poker.

We wrote recently that should Zynga enter online gambling with its 200-million-plus users, it would represent at least a billion-dollar opportunity. Some recent changes in laws could open the door for online gambling games on platforms like Facebook, which represents a golden opportunity for the now-public social gaming company.

If gambling companies are already starting to buy up Facebook app companies, that means time is already running out for Zynga to apply the same first-mover advantage it used to become the dominant app developer on Facebook.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-gam...#ixzz1jMsCt7yv

I don't really like the idea of Zynga poker for real money. It seems like it could end up being the best place to make money, which would suck because I don't want people I play against knowing my real name, or sites like SharkScope to keep a running tally of my name and lifetime profit.

Or some app like "Your friend lost $500 playing Zynga poker yesterday! Are you a better bluffer than your friend? Now you can show your friends how much you have won or lost playing Zynga poker!"

that all sounds amazing for bringing tons of mindless fish in to compete against their facebook friends, i don't see how it would really be a bad thing.

You're assuming those friends will want to play with you instead of each other when you've made $10k and they've lost $500.

When railroads were invented people said the speed would kill you.

people always are afraid of new stuff and creative thinking to see the true potential.

99% of our dna is the same of a simple,dumb animal :-)

What impresses me is that the people at IGT are very savvy gaming business people; it strikes me they must think (know) there is an internet gaming future to pay $250 million in upfront cash for such a business. They could be mistaken but it is most likely they are not.

IGT is a slot manufacturer, casino supplier and owns Entraction Holding AB which offers a suite of real-money online gaming including the Entraction Poker Network. Double Down Interactive is creator of a facebook free casino gaming app, including slots, blackjack, roulette and video poker with one million daily players. This is a peak into the future of real money online poker and casino gaming in the US for sure.

I'm happy online wagering on stocks is legal in the US - I bought a chunk of IGT stock about a week ago. Woohoo!

If Facebook and their pet Zynga want real money poker online it will happen for the simple reason they can afford to buy 3 times over every politician that they need to make it legal. It's all about influence and that means MONEY something they have in abundance. The idea that your ID is some how hidden now because you use a non deplume such as zippyflounder is a joke, if somebody wants to know who txh1134 is on pokerstars they will find out easy enough. If we want real money play in the USA again, the Facebook connection is likely our best shot.

Sites know it's in their interest to not rub losses in people's faces, don't worry about that too much.

40% of our genome is genetically identical to that of a banana. and yeah some folks used to believe that if you were to travel at speeds over 60 mph your lungs wouldn't be able to capture air and your insides would collapse. progress!

Found this snippet in their Investor Relations 2011 Annual Report. Here is the direct link: http://thomson.mobular.net/thomson/7/3261/4561/

I don't think you can copy and paste the report so I took a screen shot. IGT is an impressive company to say the least.



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buy low sell high i guess

Didn't Wynn make a deal with Poker Stars? How are they now making a deal with Zynga?