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Closing Rodney Dangerfield's Online Casino Was Mutual Decision, Marketing Firm Says

Earlier this week, RGTonline reported that Rodney Dangerfield's Internet Casino and Sportsbook had closed because the famous comedian ("I don't get no respect") wanted more money than the operators of the site were offering him.

The site, formerly at www.rodneysplace.com, went online in August 1998. It was licensed by Antigua and owned by a subsidiary of Starnet Communications International. The site used the gaming software and e-cash services of other Starnet subsidiaries.

Marketing was handled by Wiremix, which was spun off from Starnet earlier this year.

Patrick Smyth, chief executive of Wiremix, could not be reached in time for our earlier story. But today he said that the decision to shutter the casino was not made by Dangerfield unilaterally, and it was not based on the comedian's share of the revenue.

"We mutually decided that the venture was not working, and mutually closed the casino," Smyth said. "Rodney did not want a greater share of the revenue, as incorrectly reported by RGTonline."

As we did report, residents of the U.S. and Canada were not permitted to play for real money on the Dangerfield site. Because of the questionable legal status of online gaming in these two countries, Starnet does not knowingly accept wagers from them.

That turned out to be the problem, Smyth said. Dangerfield is very popular in North America, but internationally his appeal is not as strong.

"Although the traffic to the casino was respectable," Smyth said, "the casino was not deriving much revenue due to the North American block."

Through research, Wiremix has learned that "pure sports celebrities" work best in terms of international appeal. For example, Smyth said, a Larry Holmes-themed site has generated good traffic from areas outside the U.S., such as Mexico and Thailand.

The company is still high on celebrity-themed virtual casinos and sports books, and has others in the pipeline. But it's also turned down some proposals, Smyth said, based on the issue of international appeal of the celebrity.

Smyth said his company has more than 50 gaming clients, including the 43 licensees of Starnet. Wiremix also represents a dozen non-gaming, e-commerce sites.

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