Binion's hoping for 'Net gain

[clevfan]

April 07, 2006

Binion's hoping for 'Net gain
Casino to begin Web poker broadcasts

By Liz Benston
Las Vegas Sun


In an attempt to reclaim its pre-eminence in the world of poker, Binion's will soon become the first casino in Nevada to broadcast poker tournaments on the Internet.

The Webcasts will give everyday players a chance of winning their way in front of the cameras, while also marketing Binion's around the world.

"You've got so many young people playing poker, and they all want to be on TV," said Jim Delorto, Binion's director of poker operations. "This is going to be a big draw."

Binion's is a historic downtown property that gave birth to the modern poker tournament and was long home to the world's largest tournament, the World Series of Poker, before its rights were purchased by Harrah's Entertainment and the event was spirited away to the Rio.

Internet broadcasts already are drawing a crowd at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, which is believed to be the world's first casino to broadcast live games.

Binion's Webcast is expected to start broadcasting in the next week or two at binions.com. It will be the latest venture from Las Vegas-based iStreamPlanet, which also produces the Bicycle Casino's Webcasts.

The Webcasts are just the tip of the iceberg, said iStreamPlanet President Mio Babic, who said he expects more Las Vegas poker rooms to quickly capitalize on the marketing opportunity.

"If you have 100,000 people watching every month, the cost to acquire those customers is pretty low," Babic said.

Binion's has spent more than $80,000 to install seven cameras in and over a single poker table as well as create a production booth with commentators, camera operators and other technicians.

Every player who makes the final table at any of Binion's four daily poker tournaments will get a seat at the table with the cameras, their game broadcast for free to millions of potential viewers around the world. Players can buy in to the daily tournaments for as little as $60. First-place winners can get a free entry into a bigger prize pool tournament held the first Sunday of every month. Former world champion Tom McEvoy and former women's world champion Suzie Isaacs have signed on to offer play-by-play. Binion's expects to interview the winner of each tournament, offering each person a few minutes of fame.

"We'll have a phone available so people can call and say, 'Hey Dad, I'm going to be on the Internet in five minutes,' " Delorto said.

The Webcast will be delayed by five minutes to satisfy state regulators and deter cheats. Telephones, recording devices and other electronic equipment will be prohibited around the table.

"I think it will be cool to be on the Internet," said Phil McGinnis, a dealer at Binion's who plays about 30 hours of poker a week. "I think that a lot of people have access to computers and they're going to want to watch these tournaments in progress."

While televised tournaments are heavily edited, the uncut Internet version "gives players the opportunity to see how the game is really played," Eveliene Dullaart, Bicycle's casino administrator, said.

"You see people playing high-limit games making as many mistakes as the people playing low-limit. If you watch us you will improve your game. We have people who have been watching loyally for a long time, and now they're playing at higher limits and making more money."

Casinos have hesitated to move forward with televised tournaments for several reasons, including the lulls between exciting action.

Gary Thompson, director of sports and entertainment marketing for Harrah's Entertainment Inc., said Internet broadcasts are unlikely to catch on "unless they come up with a format that creates suspense and drama when there's not that much action going on with the hands."

But Dullaart said the broadcasts have been surprisingly entertaining, even after hours of play. Viewers often stay glued to their computers, e-mailing in questions during the broadcast and seeking playing tips.

"We have people from Holland and Sweden planning their vacations around a trip to the Bike," she said. "And we get a lot of people locally who say, 'That game's getting really juicy, I think I'm going to jump in my car and go down there.' "

Binion's fortunes have fallen since MTR Gaming Group took over the management of the property in March 2005. MTR bought the property from Becky Binion Behnen in 2004. Harrah's Entertainment, which bought the rights to the property's famed World Series of Poker tournament and the Horseshoe brand, agreed to manage the casino for at least a year.

MTR is no longer receiving the support of flat-fee payments from Harrah's, which ended when it exited the property.

In MTR's latest earnings report, released last week, Binion's posted a net loss of $702,000 last year compared with a profit of $934,000 in 2004.

Delorto said he couldn't discuss the performance of the entire property but said the casino's poker business is strong.

Locals are returning to play poker, while tourists - many of them drawn to the historic brand - continue to make trips to the property or are discovering Binion's for the first time, he said.

Binion's will be hosting its first major poker tournament since the departure of the World Series of Poker, called American Poker Player Championship, starting May 10.