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View from the Editor: Which came first? The luck or the skill? – January 2007  

http://www.sportandtechnology.com/images/nl45viewfromed1.jpghttp://www.sportandtechnology.com/images/nl45viewfromed.jpgReaders, S&T went off to South Africa to get hitched over the festive season and what can only be described as an ‘M&A frenzy’ broke out back in the UK behind our sun-singed backs! (Or ‘M&M frenzy’ as S&T’s mother would probably say, being a fan of the chocolaty yet crispy snack). 365 Media, the owner of many leading sports internet brands such as football365, sportal and sportinglife.com got bought by BSkyB in what can only be described as a canny £96m ($189m) move, and then Octagon-CSI was snapped up by IMG-owned TWI in a savvy new year buy-out. [IMG’s new year resolutions this year after all were (allegedly): 1. Lose weight; 2. Give up smoking; 3. Buy rival company.]
Not only did that little lot take place while S&T was away but Bromley Common Football Club started winning soccer matches and Exeter City began its usual play-off teasing bad and yet sometimes brilliant run, thus ensuring that we miss out by the mandatory one point or so in April. Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor even lost his World Championship darts crown to Raymond van Barneveld (who on a repeated episode of legendary UK arrows programme Bullseye that we watched last night appeared as simply Raymond Barneveld. Hmm, where did the van come from we wonder?)
Anyway, back to the M&A mayhem. S&T decided to actually ask someone’s opinion about it in a fit of journalistic meltdown. “There’s going to be a lot more consolidation in the industry,” promised a representative of one of the companies mentioned above, “and this is just the start.” Oooh goodie!
Consolidation of course is just another term for shake-out if attention is turned to the online poker industry, and following the news that Derek Kelly has unfortunately been found guilty of naughty 1968 UK Gaming Act shenanigans in relation to the non-licensed private members’ poker outfit, the Gutshot Club in London, the bricks and mortar part of the industry is now also experiencing a wake-up call. According to the ruling, poker is a game of luck, not skill; a discussion that no doubt followed the lines of ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ (Answers on a postcard please, that one has been bugging us since childhood and makes our head hurt).

Truffle farms in Hungary

http://www.sportandtechnology.com/images/nl45viewfromed2.jpgIs it just a coincidence therefore that the latest poker dollar millionaire (see this month’s news) is a PhD candidate in mathematics? And what about ‘Dan C’ from Surrey who only recently declared to the UK press that he is “off abroad to live the life of a country gentleman" thanks to his online gaming prowess? Apparently ‘34-year old’ Dan has earned over £30,000 ($59,000) (gasp) playing online skill games in little over one year and feels this is a suitable sum to up sticks for and skedaddle off to Eastern Europe. "Friends told me that I was wasting my time and that I would only lose money gambling online,” continued Dan. “They just didn't get it. I kept telling them these were games of skill, not gambling."
Kevin Dale, CEO at gaming website GameAccount, confirms that the skill angle makes this type of gaming rewarding. "Playing others at a game like Backgammon is a completely different proposition than putting your hard-earned cash on a roulette table or in a slot machine. You have far more control over your destiny. We've got hundreds of successful players from all over the world whose tournament winnings run into hundreds of thousands of pounds."
And Dan? S&T readers will no doubt be delighted to know that he's recently bought 200 acres of agricultural land in Hungary for his own ‘truffle farm and hunting lodge’ which he intends to ‘build up’ with his wife. "With broadband internet over there too, I'll probably buy my first tractor from my online winnings!" Steady on old chap!

Missing stadia

Clive Mason/Getty Images
Clive Mason/Getty Images
As a fan of both tractors and truffles (but not hunting lodges), S&T can only wish Dan the best of luck. Oh sorry. There’s no luck involved…….silly us.
Unfortunately serendipity didn’t favour the lovely Michael Cunnah who resigned his post as chief executive of the new Wembley Stadium over the festive period. Unfortunately, rubbing a luck rabbit’s foot and stock-piling four-leafed clovers (allegedly) couldn’t help overcome the year-long delay. The new stadium, which will apparently be open in time for the 2007 FA Cup Final (honestly, or should that be, allegedly), has inked a deal with the National Football League in the US to host an NFL game in the UK’s autumn. In return, the US gets David Beckham. It seems a fair enough swap to S&T, although we feel that there should be some recompense for Posh Spice as well. Perhaps we could have an MLB match or two? Oh go on. We’ll take cash for the children though. Only joking. Vouchers will do. Allegedly.
While S&T was staggering around Cape Town in a champagne-induced miasma over the festive season, we couldn’t help but notice the lack of a suitable venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in that particular town. In echoes of the Wembley fiasco, Cape Town is yet to decide whether to bulldoze an existing venue that’s too small and rebuild it, or build a completely new one. With excitement about the competition already at a high in that beautiful city, it would be shame if a venue wasn’t forthcoming. South Africa is expecting nearly half a million foreign tourists during the World Cup in 2010, the first time the tournament is to be been staged in Africa, and boy, is there going to be a party!

All aboard HMS Belfast

Nick Laham/Getty Images
Nick Laham/Getty Images
In a complete non sequitur (which is a speciality of this column), regular S&T readers (and stalkers) will know that S&T doesn’t do water and gets sick even emptying the bath tub. It was therefore with trepidation that S&T agreed to take part in a press conference aboard HMS Belfast earlier this week. For those of you unfamiliar with the vessel (and particularly S&T’s mother who wished us a nice trip to Northern Ireland), the ship is moored permanently on the banks of the River Thames in London. Despite promises of stability, the inclement weather that day meant there was somewhat of a swell in the river and S&T felt a bit wobbly crossing the gangplank…. but that could have been the dodgy take-away meal the previous evening.
The press conference in question was to announce some very fine new media rights deals that boxing website SecondsOut.com has recently signed up. The portfolio of rights includes the IBF Heavyweight World Title fight on 10 March between Wladimir Klitschko and Ray Austin from Mannheim, Germany. The rights were contracted with the SportFive agency and the shows will mainly be available on subscription basis at $10 per month with occasional Pay Per View events, discounted to subscribers. The live action will be complimented by the established, weekly news programme, documentaries and interviews and a massive and growing archive of boxing action.
Robert Waterman, managing director of SecondsOut.com, believes the contracts mark a major advance for SecondsOut and for the development of internet-delivered live sport. He said: “Through these deals, SecondsOut.com is playing an important role in giving boxing back to the fans and, in doing so, building our position as the number one destination for fans. With an editorial service, delivered by the some of the biggest names in boxing journalism, including news features and archive, SecondsOut is becoming all a boxing fan needs.”
Whilst S&T’s experience of pugilism extends only to having a beer with Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton one evening at a darts event in Blackpool, even we could see that SecondsOut.com is offering a lot to hook the proper fans and also to build up a good base of new blood (if you’ll excuse the pun). The proof of course however will be in the pudding, in this case, a large helping of banoffee-pie flavoured subscriptions, or cheese-board-themed if you have more of a savoury palate.
http://www.sportandtechnology.com/images/nl45Westminster.jpgOn that gastronomic note, S&T would like to wish you Adeos until next month! We have a knees up at the Houses of Parliament to hot foot along to courtesy of Derek Wyatt MP and PA Sport who are hosting and sponsoring the first Sport and Technology Executive Club networking event of 2007. There’s certainly lots to talk about and better still, it’s on dry land! (Albeit snowy dry land. Is that an oxymoron?)

Rachael Church-Sanders
Editor

Do you know much about boxing or truffle farms in Hungary? If you have any comments or feedback on this article or any of the features in S&T, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please e-mail your comments to editor@sportandtechnology.com. Or watch television instead. S&T has been watching the controversial Celebrity Big Brother in the UK. Notwithstanding the issues surrounding cultural clashes, S&T has been disturbed by the reality of our childhood idol, Dirk ‘Templeton aka The Faceman Peck’ Benedict from The A-Team now being an elderly gent. S&T feels officially old!

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Page from ArkSports' Sport and Technology (www.sportandtechnology.com) on 2008-11-23 : View from the Editor: Which came first? The luck or the skill? - January 2007 : http://www.sportandtechnology.com/features/0449.html