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Electronic poker table maker PokerTek seeking IPO
Published: 2005-08-04
 WASHINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - PokerTek Inc., a maker of automated poker tables used in casinos and card clubs, said on Thursday that it plans to sell 2 million shares for between $10 and $12 per share in an initial public offering.
In a preliminary offering document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it granted the underwriter, Feltl and Company, to buy another 300,000 shares in the event of heavy investor demand.
The company said the fact that "Poker's popularity has surged in recent years" has spurred increased demand for its product, which eliminates the need for casinos and card clubs to hire human dealers.
Poker has become increasingly visible in the last few years, with matches regularly broadcast on television.
The Matthews, North Carolina-based company said it intends to list its stock on Nasdaq under the symbol "PTEK" (PTEK.O: Quote, Profile, Research).
It said proceeds from the offering would be used to complete the development of its electronic poker table, including the software that will allow more poker games to be played on its system, and pursue regulatory approvals. The remainder will be used for general purposes including manufacturing and marketing.
The company said it has a history of losses since launching in August 2003, and incurred a net loss of $925,837 in 2004.
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St Hilda's tries its hand at online poker
Published: 2005-08-05
 Donald MacLeod
Friday August 5, 2005
Oxbridge colleges used to live off the farms they owned - now they are not quite betting the farm, but they are getting more adventurous.
St Hilda's College, Oxford, has emerged as an investor in an online poker company that was floated on the London Stock Exchange in June. As shares in Party Gaming jumped from 116p to 147.5p on the first day, the university's last women-only college should have made a good return on its stake.
Not everyone approves, however. The National Union of Students is worried that online gambling will tempt poor students and points out that young women account for a third of online poker players.
The college said selection of shares is left to its asset managers and told the Times Higher Education Supplement today: "The college has a socially responsible investment policy that was agreed by the fellows of the college after discussion with student representatives."
Meanwhile, the vice-chancellor of Cambridge, Alison Richard, said last month that the university should be more enterprising in its investment policy along the lines of American universities. She is poised to launch an international fundraising drive to boost Cambridge's £3bn endowments and believes donors will want to know that the university is doing its best to sweat its investments.
Last year American colleges reported average returns of 18% on their investments, the highest since 1998. In contrast, real-term returns for Cambridge have averaged about 5% over the past 10 years.
But there is a downside to the American way, which can be summed up in one word: Enron.
This week the University of California celebrated a $2.4bn settlement with a Canadian bank as part of a complex series of lawsuits arising from the bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation.
The university lost $145m as a result of the Enron scandal, and is acting as lead plaintiff in the lawsuits because of its size, resources and stake in the outcome. As the health warnings on insurance ads say, the value of investments can go down as well as up.
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