Daily Nambling Notes - July 26, 2002

Makin' Deals -- World Gaming released a shareholder update today in which it confirmed that it has had talks with one of its competitors about merging the two companies. IGN heard a rumor that the competitor is IQ-Ludorum. A spokesman for World Gaming said he couldn't comment on the potential merger. World Gaming also said today that David Craven has accepted the job of president and CEO and that Jim MacKay, who held the position from July 5-19, is no longer associated with the company. Mike Aymong resigned as president, CEO and interim chairman of the board of directors on July 5.

Legal Stuff -- Three Chinese people were sentenced to life in prison recently for gambling more than HK$110 million in government money. Wei Huai, Pan Jierong and Su Zhicheng used state funds to cover gambling losses in Hong Kong and Macau between 1995 and 1999.

UK Tidbit -- Paddy Power said this week that it plans to open more betting shops in Britain. The Irish bookmaker has 129 shops in all, and as of now only two of them are in Britain. The company said it hopes to open 50 betting shops in the United Kingdom. Business for Paddy Power's U.K. telephone and Internet betting has grown in the last year.