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Enron Mail |
The IT Investor
It's been awhile since we did something on gaming. Two years ago we were bullish on Starnet (SNMM. OTCBB) and Cryptologic Inc (CRYPT.Nasdaq). We regret bailing on CRYPT since it rose $3.89 Tuesday to $26.41 per share after spending several months in the doldrums at lows ranging to $7. You should take a look at the chart, which was squashed flat last September. The stock began a steep rise in the latter part of May to the $18 range, and really spiked up in the first part of June. That's when the Nevada Legislature passed a bill to pave the way for U.S. casinos to offer on-line gambling. The closely watched bill passed by a 17-4 vote in the Nevada Senate earlier this week, the last day the legislature was in session, and the legislature only sits for 120 days every two years so Monday's vote was seen as critical by supporters of on-line gaming. The bill needs to be approved within 10 days by Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn before becoming law. So, we're betting the stock will pull back in the next few days, and rise again if and when Guinn puts his John Hancock on the bill. Will he do so? No one knows for sure. Even if he doesn't, we're betting on certain volatility in CryptoLogic stock as the news for gamers (and companies which supply the software, such as CryptoLogic) swings from good to bad to good again. CryptoLogic of Toronto, Canada was one of the earliest gaming success stories dating back to December 1998,which is when we first wrote about them. They are now a leading software supplier to the Internet gaming and e-commerce industries. With a new chairman (Dennis Wing), the company looks well positioned for its next growth phase. Wing, a well known financier and the president of US investment bank Fahnestock Canada Inc., has been a director since 1999 and sits on the boards of a handful of other Canadian public companies including WaveRider Communications Inc. and Itemus Inc. CryptoLogic's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under symbol the CRY and on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol CRYP. There are currently 13.1 million common shares outstanding (15.7 million shares fully diluted). Careful out there. --- You are currently subscribed to itinvestor as: alewis@ect.enron.com To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-itinvestor-354608F@utarget.sparklist.com
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