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18 November 2011
DoJ agrees to $80m Full Tilt Poker deal
09 November 2011
Austrian player Manfred Spahn wins the DeepStack Open Vienna 2011!
For its second edition at the Montesino in Vienna, the DSO broke last year’s attendance record with a total of 507 players from all over Europe taking part in the Main Event. Over the four days of tournament between the 3rd and the 6th of November, the Austrian capital became home to a large number of German, Austrian, Hungarian, French, Swiss, Italian, Romanian and Polish poker players all striving to win the 5th leg of the DSO 2011. The field of players also included pros such as Croatian Dragan Galic and international Tournament Director Thomas Kremser.
With a starting stack of 50,000 chips and a €550 buy-in, players waited eagerly until 8pm Saturday night to finally witness 76 of them finishing in the money.
The tournament finally came to an end just after 1am on Monday morning after a final one hour head’s up.
Thanks to the special promotions that reward their players, three DSO VIP players who finished just before the money (77th, 85th and 95th) still took €680 home. Six more DSO VIP players also won laptops, iPad and Bose headsets. All the details about the DSO VIP promotions are available online.
On Sunday, German player Karsten Philipp and Serbian player Zoran Mariukovil won the €300 and €200 side events. All players were also able to enjoy a large number of cash game tables starting from €1/€1.
The next and last stage of the DeepStack Open 2011 will be held in Marrakech from the 16th -18th December at the Casino de Marrakech.
Final results of the DSO Vienna 2011, Main event, €550 buy-in:
- Manfred Spahn, Austria – €51,840
- Thomas Panek, Austria –€32,520
- Michael Leng, Germany – €21,300
- Siegfried Rath, Austria – €14,800
- Istvan Csabai, Austria - €10,760
- Peter Szinek, Slovakia - €8,180
- Jakub Gluszkiewicz, Poland – €6,820
- Marc Cahenzli, Swiss– €5,660
- Lars Brandenburg, Germany – €4,820
03 November 2011
Optimal's NETBANX chosen as exclusive payments partner for Dealfind
12 October 2011
DSO Malta – Nicolai Kostakis wins it for Denmark
Everyone got to enjoy the comfort of a nice Casino, thanks to the Portomaso Casino staff and directors, a warm welcome from the Maltese People and the Local poker community, but also the nice scenary, the nightlife in Paceville, helped by just a few trays of vodka-Redbull shooters (be careful fellow poker players, drinking is bad, especially before a poker tournament).
After a successful Day 1A with over 160 players, Day 1B saw even more players decided to have a go at taking home an appetizing €33,000. With a prizepool of over €170,000, a total of 54 players would go back home with a minimum of €900, including three DSO VIP players who finished just before the bubble and still took home €900.
To become a DSO VIP player, all the players had to do was to play online during one and a half month before the tournament and accumulate 1000 FPPs. Thanks to this promotion, 6 players took home either an Ipad 2, a Dell laptop, or a Bose headset.
Day 2 saw 120 players coming back, adding an other 70 players after day 1B. Chip leaders with over 400,000 chips were Yanira Delgado Garcia and Thomas Calfelis. After only a few minutes, players started to put all their chips in, and a few levels later, just before the diner break, it was bubble time. After an all in confrontation 4h 5h against 8s Ts on a board Jh
8s 4c 3h, we had our bubble man.
The day kept going, with many nationalities still represented, and among them, French, Germans, Danish, English, Italians… 17 of them would come back in day 3.
Within one level in the semi finals, 5 players went out. Soon enough, the final table was decided, and we had our 9 finalists.
Seat 1: Steven Van Zadelhoff – 1,500,000 (Holland)
Seat 2: Nicolai Kostakis – 900,000 (Denmark)
Seat 3: Mathieu Paquet – 3,200,000 (Canada)
Seat 4: Ville Sissonen – 1,750,000 (Finland)
Seat 5: Benoit Le Gal – 2,350,000 (France)
Seat 6: Cristian Manuel Stan – 2,400,000 (Romania)
Seat 7: Daniel Dankelmann – 4,500,000 (Germany)
Seat 8: Thomas Calfelis – 1,500,000 (Switzerland)
Seat 9: Nadège Thomas – 950,000 (France)
After 8 hours in this Final Table, it’s finally Danish Player Nicolai Kostakis who takes home a beautiful €33,000 and a DSO Malta Champion Title, for this first edition on the Rock. Runner up French man Benoit Le Gal will have €21,000 to spend in upcoming tournaments.
The next stop of the DeepStack Open will be in Austria, at the Montesino Casino, where last year over 500 players fought for the title. So stay in touch until the first weekend of November!
17 August 2011
Optimal Payments announces largest visible upgrade to NETELLER service in 10 years
Tuesday, 16 August 2011 – Optimal Payments Plc (LSE: OPAY), the leading alternative payments business, announces details of the latest releases of its NETELLER eWallet service. The NETELLER service allows consumers in over 180 countries to safely and easily transact online using either direct merchant payments or the integrated NETELLER Net+ MasterCard®. The new releases deliver more active users of the system and a greater global reach for the service.
This major NETELLER service upgrade is designed to increase active member conversions by nearly 50% and will be delivered via a number of software updates over the summer. The most significant updates have already been released including a redesigned public website, revised sign-up including Facebook passporting, and most importantly an all-new user experience for the NETELLER service itself.
Inside the NETELLER service, the most up-to-date thinking has been used to design new workflows that drive higher task completion by members, such as funding, card applications, bank registration and account limit increases. A number of new languages have been added to improve the user experience and conversion rates for foreign speaking customers. Additionally and as required from time to time we have implemented new security features including enhanced fraud prevention tools to ensure the continued protection of our clients.
Other enhancements which have already been delivered are the integration and embedding of leading back-office applications such as Adobe Test&Target, ThreatMetrix fraud management and Income Access affiliate management to improve both insight and operational performance.
A number of further releases over the summer will increase the global reach of the service and streamline the deposit process to improve conversion rates and improve the likelihood of funding the NETELLER account successfully. The releases also include the delivery of an upgraded deposit section (with over 40 new local deposit options), support for 5 new currencies and the opening up of a number of new serviced countries.
Danny Chazonoff, Optimal Payments’ Chief Operating Officer, commented: “This major upgrade to NETELLER demonstrates our continuing commitment to both innovation and our consumer eWallet business. With our stunning new user-interface and local in-country options, I believe we now provide the best customer experience on the market. It is great news for our customers”.
30 June 2011
PokerStars Official Statement, June 29 2011
PokerStars also remains in full compliance with our licenses in other jurisdictions where we are regulated, including France, Italy and Estonia.
As provided under our licensing, PokerStars has always maintained the integrity and security of our players' funds, by keeping all such funds in segregated bank accounts, always available for immediate withdrawal.
Since the actions of US Department of Justice in April, we have returned more than $120 million to US players and continue to act upon requests as they are received. Players outside the US have not been affected and all cash-outs have been processed without delays. Further, PokerStars entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice which expressly confirmed the company's ability to operate outside the US.
We will continue to operate as a responsible corporate citizen and are committed to serving the needs of our customers in complete compliance with our regulatory requirements.
23 May 2011
Announcement of Canaccord Genuity as Nomad and Broker
Monday 23 May 2011 - Optimal Payments Plc (LSE: OPAY), the leading alternative payments business, announces that it has appointed Canaccord Genuity Ltd. as its Nominated Adviser and Broker with immediate effect. |
About Optimal Payments PlcTrusted by businesses and consumers in over 180 countries to move and manage billions of dollars each year, Optimal Payments Plc is the leading payments company offering a true alternative to banks and card schemes. Merchants use the NETBANX® processing service to simplify how they accept and settle card, direct-from-bank, and cash payments; and the NETELLER® payment account to increase margins, capture new customers and increase their lifetime value. Being independent has allowed the company to support tens-of-thousands of retailers and merchants in many geographies and across multiple industries.Optimal Payments Plc is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM, with a ticker symbol of OPAY. Subsidiary company NETELLER (UK) Ltd is authorised and regulated as an e-money issuer by the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA). For more information about Optimal Payments visit www.optimalpaymentsplc.com |
19 April 2011
Optimal Payments Plc Audited Results for the year ended 31 December 2010
Optimal Payments Plc Audited Results for the year ended 31 December 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday, 31 March 2011 – Optimal Payments Plc (LSE: OPAY) ("Optimal", the "Group" or the "Company"), the leading alternative payments business, presents its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2010. Operational Highlights
Financial Highlights
Financial summary (audited)
(2) EBITDA shown before other items including share option expense, foreign exchange gain/loss, loss on investment, impairment loss, restructuring costs, loss on disposal of assets, acquisition costs and acquisition costs impairment. (3) Profit/(loss) before other items is EBITDA after deducting share option expense, foreign exchange/loss and depreciation and amortisation. Commenting on today's results announcement, Mark Mayhew, President & CEO, said:"2010 proved to be a year of extremes for the company; positive progress has been made in realising our medium term business strategy and achieving materially improved earnings. However revenues were in line with 2009 and below the Board's expectations for the year.Our NETBANX processing business delivered a strong performance with volumes processed up by 165%, revenues up by 15%. The need to materially diversify our business was shown by the softness in our second half gaming derived stored value revenues as the impact of changed regulatory environments in France and certain Asian markets was felt. The creation of Optimal Payments Plc marks a watershed in the Company's recent history: the platform of people, processes and proven proprietary technology that has been 'injected' into the enlarged entity provides greater diversity within the business and the scale to succeed in the fast growing globally accessible e-commerce market. The Company successfully delivered much of the planned Business Transformation programme: member management is handled now solely from the Calgary infrastructure. Headcount was reduced to 309 but many of the process and product related changes scheduled for adoption in H2 have been deferred into 2011 by the late, but successful, deployment of Newteller in Q3. The Newteller programme has largely defined the Company's positioning in the stored value market. Its inherently complex nature contributed to a delay in launching the new platform and increases in cost. However, we are proud to have a wholly new generation stored value platform at the heart of our business and the clear loss of competitive position in the last two years will be corrected as a result of its availability. This is the focus for the newly installed leadership in the stored value division. Current trading and outlook Revenue in the first two months of 2011 has been in line with management's expectations and the Board continues to be optimistic about the outlook for the Group. With good progress made in 2010 and the opportunities from a successful integration programme, product and process enhancements delivered from a fully functioning Newteller and a strengthened leadership team, the Board is confident about the Group's prospects going forward." For more information:This page is a summary of the full annual results press release. See the details below for the full information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
About Optimal Payments PlcTrusted by businesses and consumers in over 180 countries to move and manage billions of dollars each year, Optimal Payments Plc is the leading payments company offering a true alternative to banks and card schemes. Merchants use the NETBANX® processing service to simplify how they accept and settle card, direct-from-bank, and cash payments; and the NETELLER® payment account to increase margins, capture new customers and increase their lifetime value. Being independent has allowed the company to support tens-of-thousands of retailers and merchants in many geographies and across multiple industries.Optimal Payments Plc is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM, with a ticker symbol of OPAY. Subsidiary company NETELLER (UK) Ltd is authorised and regulated as an e-money issuer by the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA). For more information about Optimal Payments visit www.optimalpaymentsplc.com or subscribe at www.optimalpaymentsplc.com/feeds/. Media and Investor Contacts Optimal Payments' media relations team can be contacted through the Media Relations Contact page. Relations with the investor and analyst community are managed by Citigate Dewe Rogerson who can be contacted through the Investor Relations Contact page. |
07 March 2011
Optimal Payments: Their New Name
In January 2011, NEOVIA Financial® Plc announced the acquisition of Optimal Payments™. As part of the corporate identity strategy, they sought and received approval from our shareholders to change the name of the Company to Optimal Payments Plc. As part of this strategy, they also changed their ticker symbol on AIM from NEO.L to OPAY.L.
Why the change?
With the acquisition of Optimal Payments, they think to have created an international player in card and alternative payments. The combination of their online consumer payment account business, NETELLER®, their existing NETBANX® payment processing business and the Optimal merchant account and card processing business, has brought together an unparalleled comprehensive offering for their customers.
A company brand is an important asset that opens doors and markets. As they looked at their combined assets, they decided that the name Optimal Payments better reflects both the nature of what we do and serves as a positive statement of ambition. Critically, it is also well recognized and respected in the significant North American market, which it has serviced since 1997. And most importantly it says right what we do on the tin – optimal payments.
What about the NETBANX® and NETELLER names?
Their NETELLER®, NETBANX® and Net+® service brands will remain as will their signature green colour.