DAVIE, Fla., Nov. 9, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Midas Entertainment, Inc. (Pink Sheets:MDAS) announced that it has taken over $21 million in bets, processed more than $1.77 million in transactions and generated in excess of $370,000 in revenue during its initial two full months of operations. To date, the company has acquired over 8,400 players playing through the Company's web portal licensees. October trended higher over September and the addition of new portals is expected to accelerate that trend over the next several months.
"We are frankly amazed by the early numbers we are generating as a company," remarked Midas President George Gutierrez. "The online poker market has grown over 700% this past year and continues to expand month-over-month. The incredible popularity of live high-stake poker tournaments, televised poker tournaments, and the excitement of honing one's poker skills appear to be major attractions to fueling this growth. Moreover, the demographics for online poker appear to encompass a more mainstream population than that for online sports and casino wagering, providing a much larger pool of players from which to generate revenue."
The Industry
A Bear Stearns report for the industry pegged annual revenue at $4.2 billion for 2003, while Christiansen Capital Advisors predicts a slightly rosier picture pointing to an estimated $4.5 billion in revenue for calendar year 2002, saying 2005 revenue could exceed $10 billion. Recent estimates from PokerPulse.com note that over $140 million is wagered at online poker sites during any given 24-hour period.
The Company
Midas' wholly owned subsidiary, Creative Millenium Ventures, provides gaming software to online poker sites including CityPoker.com, KingMidasPoker.com, DesertPoker.com and SharkPoker.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding Midas' business strategies and future plans of operations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. The company's risks and uncertainties include: intense price competition, economic, political and regulatory uncertainties, the need to raise additional capital for growth and expansion and its reliance on the Internet as a means for promoting the software it sublicenses. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of the date hereof and Midas disclaims any obligation to provide public updates, revisions or amendments to any forward-looking statements made herein to reflect changes in Midas' expectations or future events. The representations of net handle and gross net win in this press release are presented as measures of performance for the company that are different from those presented in the income statement in accordance with Regulation G promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and are not to be considered as revenue or a GAAP related financial disclosure criteria.