GPWA Times Magazine Also Inside, Vin Narayanan Takes Us Bodog Makeover

LETTER FROM 12 Straighten Up and Fly Right Jeremy Enke presents poker affiliates with five ways THE DIRECTOR to navigate successfully through today’s economic turbulence. t’s September. Back to school, back Ito work – and for affiliates it’s time to hit the road for another round RakeTheRake – of conferences and shows. We’re 14 The Full Story on Rakeback especially excited about where we’ll be Karim Wilkins explains how you can please some this month – Hungary for the Budapest players all of the time and all players some of the time, Affiliate Conference followed by but you can’t please all of them all of the time. Denmark for EiG 2009 in Copenhagen. Hope to see you at one or both of these major events. Online Poker in the USA – Strong, This issue of the GPWA Times 16 Steady and Here to Stay! magazine, the tenth, features a cover Ever since the UIGEA was passed, Gary Trask writes, story about all things Calvin – Calvin online gaming has seen a lot of volatility – but the one Ayre, that is, and his new role with constant has always been online poker. Bodog. Rebecca Liggero met with Calvin in Antigua, where he revealed GPWA his plans for the reincarnation of the The VIP Experience – Bodog brand. Then she interviewed 18 Nightlife in Vegas Executive Director: three of the major players who will Vin Narayanan and Rebecca Liggero hit some of Sin Michael Corfman make it happen: Keith McDonnell, City’s biggest WSOP summer bashes and come to the Marketing Director: Bodog Europe and Bodog Canada; same conclusion as so many have before: You haven’t Andrea Mullaney Alwyn Morris, Mohawk Gaming Group, Bodog’s U.S.-facing brand licensee; and partied until you’ve partied in Las Vegas. Program Manager: Ian Dunning, Haydock Entertainment, Steven Corfman Bodog’s Asia-facing licensee. Buried Program Coordinator: somewhere in the midst of all this Cover Story: Calvin Ayre – Back in Nancy Troy interviewing, Rebecca also makes an 30 Bodog Land earthshaking personal announcement Account Manager: After a wild post-UIGEA journey, Calvin’s back, and this (you’ll have to look for it yourselves, Eric Almquist time around it’s all about branding. After interviewing because right now I find it too difficult Ayre himself, Rebecca Liggero talks with three key to speak of). people who at this very moment are implementing the GPWA Times Magazine Also inside, Vin Narayanan takes us Bodog makeover. Managing Editor: into the over-the-top world of nightlife Vin Narayanan on the Strip. Jeremy Enke offers poker Senior Editor: affiliates useful tips on growing their Go Global – The Markets Are Soft businesses in the current economy. Gary Trask 54 SEO guru Gary Beal shows us how Gary Beal unravels the mysteries of Google Geographical Associate Editor: Google Geographical Targeting can Targeting, and demonstrates how affiliates can use it to Dan Igo enhance your presence in today’s compete with corporatist-funded SEO and CPC. Copy Chief: hypercompetitive marketplace. Gary Bill Riley Trask takes a look at why online poker is so big in the U.S. Karim Wilkins Designer: Affiliate Guard Dog’s gives us the back story on rakeback. Payments Calendar George Choi And Andrew Mueller weighs in with 68 five good reasons to use Affiliate Guard Ever wonder if other affiliates are being paid when you’re not? Andrew Mueller shows how using this new client- Advertising Dog’s payments calendar (reason five: “Because it is fun”). server tool lets you track the payments being made by To advertise in the the programs you promote. GPWA Times, please As always, our affiliate and affiliate e-mail: [email protected] manager interviews provide sage advice, off-the-wall humor and pretty good gossip. And for the latest cartoon Subscriptions contest, industry developments and GPWA news don’t miss our DEPARTMENTS To subscribe to the Departments sections. GPWA Times, simply register at gpwa.org Before I sign off, I’d like to propose a 6 Webmaster News and provide your toast: Here’s to an awesome autumn 8 By the Numbers mailing address. for all of us – and good luck to you, Rebecca, wherever you are! It’s FREE! 10 Cartoon Caption Contest Sincerely, 28 Event Calendar 48 GPWA Sponsors ISSN 1941-9872 Michael A. Corfman 50 GPWA Seal of Approval Program GPWA Executive Director 58 Affiliate Interview Series 72 Affiliate Manager Interviews GPWATIMES :: Table of Contents 80 APCW’s Wall of Shame WEBMASTER NEWS “Internet gambling in the Russian gambling market takes a hit United States should be controlled by a strict federal crackdown on gam- of Siberia and the Azov Sea in Web site. “We lost. But we licensing and regulatory A bling in Russia that the South. fought until the last card was framework to protect has been in the works for laid down on the table.” underage and otherwise nearly three years finally The news got worse weeks vulnerable individuals, to became a reality in July. later when Russian officials The popularity of poker has announced that an error was erupted in Russia over the ensure the games are fair, to Prime Minister Vladi- made in 2007 when poker last 10 years. Last year, Rus- address the concerns of law mir Putin proposed was added to the list of official sian professional Ivan Demi- enforcement, and to enforce the legislation when he sports in Russia. As a result all dov became the first player any limitations on the activity was president back in poker clubs in in history to 2006, citing he want- Russia were reach the final established by the states and Indian tribes.” ed to wipe out what closed and table in the Main he termed an “im- the Poker- Event of both moral industry.” The Stars-spon- the World Series — A passage from a bill introduced by Barney new law bans gam- sored Euro- of Poker and the Frank (D-Mass.) and Peter King (R-N.Y.) bling on the pean Poker World Series of Internet and Tour, which Poker Europe. in gambling was sched- And this past halls as well uled to hold summer in Las as at airports, its first event in Moscow this Vegas, Vitaly Lunkin took the supermarkets summer, was forced to change WSOP by storm when he won QUOTABLESand any other sites. All gam- its venue. the special $40,000 Hold’em bling activity is now confined Event and had two other Top- to four remote areas -- the “We are in mourning,” said 5 finishes in gold bracelet Primore region in Russia’s Dmitry Lesoni, the head of events, including the pres- far east, the Baltic region of the Russian Sport Poker Fed- tigious $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Kaliningrad, the Altai region eration on the federation’s World Championship. Bing steps into search engine battle against Google he search engine wars Google is still well ahead of As the Google and Bing T are heating up. In June, Bing, and the eventual Ya- press ahead with their Microsoft launched Bing in hoo!-Bing partnership. But search engine plans, tools an effort to revive its mori- it isn’t standing still. In Au- to help webmasters keep up bund search engine busi- gust, Google released “Caf- with the changes are crop- ness. And in July, Micro- feine,” a test version of its ping up. At bing-vs-google. soft and Yahoo! reached a new search engine for Web com, webmasters can type 10-year agreement in which developers. in a search term and com- Yahoo! will use Bing as its pare results search engine. The caffein- from Bing and “WPT Slovakia ated version Google in side- The moves thrust Bing, which of Google is by-side panes. is a unique and opened to generally good re- designed to And compare- exciting addition to views, into the role of Google “push the google.com does the World Poker challenger in the search en- envelope on a similar thing Tour’s expanding gine business. In July, Bing size, index- with caffeinated increased its U.S. marketplace ing speed, and decaffein- international tournament offering.” share to 8.9 percent, a .5 per- accuracy, comprehensive- ated versions of Google. cent increase from the previ- ness and other dimensions,” ous month. Meanwhile Google according to an entry on the — Steve Lipscomb, WPT Founder and CEO. WPT Slovakia will be market share dipped .3 percent Google Webmaster Central the first WPT event in Central and to 64.7 percent and Yahoo! fell Blog. Eastern Europe. .3 percent to 19.3%. GPWATIMES :: WEBMASTER NEWS BetOnSports founder reaches plea deal etOnSports founder Gary Kaplan was arrested in March and agreed to testify against B Kaplan agreed to a plea of 2007 in the Dominican Kaplan in exchange for deal in July and will be sen- Republic and faced 20 receiving no more than 33 tenced to between 41 and 51 felony charges for allowing months in jail. months in prison and forfeit U.S. bettors to gamble at $43.65 million, according to a BetOnSports. As part of the BetOnSports agreed in statement released by Acting plea arrangement, Kaplan May of 2007 to provide “So it is my intention United States Attorney Mi- will plead guilty to charges witnesses and evidence this fall to bring up chael Reap. of conspiracy to violate the against Carruthers and in the committee bills RICO statute, conspiring to Kaplan. In return, then that I’m sponsoring. “Kaplan admitted in court violate the Wire Wager Act and U.S. Attorney Cathe- that beginning in the mid to violating the Wire Wager Act.

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