| Can you please tell us the history
leading to Virtual Vegas’s tremendous success? |
| |
| Virtual
Vegas started out as a CD-ROM company. We made a line
of successful CD games (starting back in 1994), and sold
them through major retail channels here in the States,
like Compusa Software, etc. There was a German translation
of two of our discs, which may still be available in Germany.
|
| |
| |
| What is your background before VV? |
| |
| Before VV, I was the founder of a CD-ROM
and web developer called Electromedia Productions. Before
that, I had just graduated university, so I spent a good
few years goofing off; climbing mountains in the Himalayas.
|
| |
| |
| How big is VV today? |
| |
| We have 10 full-time people and a number
of part-time people. That is plenty big enough for us.
In third quarter '98, we averaged about 265,500 unique
visitors per month, and generated over 150,000 clicks
alone to online casino sites. Our goal is to top 1 million
unique visitors per month by next summer. We're on target
for that. |
| |
| |
| Which factors do you think are most
crucial to succeed in this business? |
| |
| I think, more than ever, that a strong
brand name and consumer goodwill is going to be a key
differentiating factor. And of course, lots and lots of
marketing. |
| |
| |
| How do you turn a profit? |
| |
| Good question. It actually took us
almost 2 years to turn a profit in this business, since
we couldn't take bets on our site (being in the US). We
only profit from advertising. It took us a while to reach
the critical mass and to prove to our sponsors that our
site was a great deal. Our primary revenue is from advertising
and from booking www reservations
to Las Vegas on our site. |
| |
| |
| Do you think that online gambling
with real money wagering will eventually be legal in the
US? |
| |
 |
"I absolutely believe
it will be legalized and regulated."
|
I absolutely believe it will be
legalized and regulated. However, I see a few years more
of this "gray area" where it will be highly fought about.
Eventually the US will come around. In our opinion, the
longer there is this gray area, the better it is for the
existing players in the business, who are mostly
smaller, entrepreneurial companies like CasinoWire and
Virtual Vegas. Once it is legal everywhere, then Yahoo,
America Online, and Microsoft will be very tough competitors
indeed. Not to mention Mirage Resorts, Harrah's, and those
guys. |
| |
| |
| If online gambling is not legalized,
what do you think that the future holds for the online
gambling industry? |
| |
| Even without gambling legal in the
US, it is clearly going to be legal in places throughout
the world. There is a big world out there, with lots of
people who love to place wagers. |
| |
| |
| Last but not least, what do you
wish for most at this very minute? |
| |
|
Those things are better left unsaid in a public forum
:)
| Favorite Band/Artist? |
Peter Gabriel (old stuff) |
| Drink? |
Chianti Place |
| Place? |
San Francisco |
| Movie? |
Kentucky fried movie |
| What do you drive? |
Truck |
|
| |
|
|
