Monthly Archives: April 2015

Several big resort companies want to cut ties with NV Energy

Several Las Vegas resort companies and a prominent tech business are seeking approval to obtain their electricity outside of NV Energy, a move that poses questions about the potential impact on the utility’s remaining customers. Leading the effort are data storage trailblazer Switch, as well as Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts International and Las Vegas Sands Corp. If successful, at least 15 resorts on the Strip and a data center in suburban Las Vegas would no longer be reliant on NV Energy for power.

$100K Oregon Lottery bonus check goes to 7-Eleven store that sold winning ticket

Oregon Lottery officials will present a Beaverton retailer next Tuesday with a $100,000 bonus check for selling the winning $12.6 million Megabucks ticket from March 14. The oversized ceremonial check will be delivered at noon on April 14 to the 7-Eleven at 4715 S.W. Murray Blvd. Cason checked his ticket on St. Patrick’s Day while on a date with his wife and found they had matched all six numbers, according to lottery officials.

E-sports and Vulcan, the Next Fantasy Wave

By Joe Favorito @JoeFav @TheDailyPayoff

A few weeks ago E-Sports veteran turned commentator Rod “Slasher” Bresleau was asked at a New York Sports Venture event what the next wave of fantasy sports will be.

The answer might have surprised a few audience members.

“Why not e-sports fantasy,” he said “These guys are engaging, have millions of followers, produce great content and are highly highly competitive. It is a natural fit just like any sport or series of athletes would be for the fantasy world,” he offered.

Then came the laughs.

Bresleau, one of the e-sports’ loudest voices, was dead serious though, and this past week some serious money came along to back up his prophesy.

Vulcun, a tournament site for fantasy e-sports, announced it raised $12 million in venture capital from Sequoia Capital and other investors, a sure sign that the watching of e-sports is getting as big as the playing of games like “World of Warcraft.”

The premise for Vulcun and its $1 Million prize pool is the same as any traditional fantasy sports platform, A fan assembles a team of his favorite e-sports players from games like WOW or League of Legends and puts real dollars against them during live competition.

Founder Ali Moiz told Venture Beat that the investment amazingly came along after running the game platform for 11 weeks, enough time to prove concept, gain followers and most importantly, snag big dollars.

“We had no idea that in just 11 weeks we’d be receiving such an investment. I am deeply humbled and grateful to the community for making this possible and for making Vulcun the No. 1 place where they choose to play fantasy e-sports games,” he said.

The story also said that about 858,000 teams have been created, with 6.7 million player picks. Vulcun has paid out $760,000 in prizes, and its top winners include Baldr, who won $32,000; yjingtong, who won $27,000; and RealAZMan, who won $18,000, according to Moiz.

Sequoia partner and Vulcun board member Omar Hamoui, added in a published statement, “We really believe in the long-term potential of e-sports and fantasy leagues. Vulcun allows fans to really participate in the thrill of competitive gaming at the highest levels, without the need to go pro. Vulcun founders Ali and Murti have a strong background in running a successful e-sports team and passionately believe in what they do.”

The issues with pay e-sports fantasy are much different than what is going on with the professional leagues in the United States, where ESPN and MLB recently invested in Draft Kings and a host of companies like the NBA and Comcast have anted up for Fan Duel.

Bresleau pointed out that each game in e-sports is like its own sport, so gaining knowledge enough to put dollars down on players needs a hyper local and affluent audience. He also pointed out that game fixing is becoming a bigger issue as e-sports grows professionally, with as many as 18 players being banned in the past six months for taking money to throw games in a highly unregulated marketplace.

Still the audience, at least 120 million online viewers in North America alone, is growing and companies are noticing, making e-sports pay fantasy an intriguing option for investors looking for a new “in” in what is becoming a fast moving and potentially profitable pay fantasy business down the road.

Football and baseball take note, the millennials may have a pay fantasy option of their own.

ESL negotiating with Twitch for new exclusive league

ESL negotiating with Twitch for new exclusive league

The ESL [the eSports league] is negotiating a deal with Twitch, Vulcun, and top Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams to establish a new CS:GO league independent of Valve. What’s particularly interesting (and potentially alarming) about the plan is that according to the Daily Dot, the new league would be exclusive, meaning that teams playing under its auspices would not be allowed to play anywhere else. The ESL, however, says it’s not seeking to prevent teams attending tournaments put on by other organizations.

The plan is being backed by Vulcun, which earlier this week announced that it had raised $12 million in new financing through investors including Sequoia Capital, Universal Music Group, Mark Pincus of Zynga, and other “angel investors.” Sources say the total value of the package offered by ESL and Vulcun runs around $18 million, a “hefty chunk of which” will be paid to teams in exchange for the exclusivity agreement. The deal will also reportedly see exclusive online broadcasting rights granted to Twitch.

The exclusivity angle was challenged by Managing Director of Pro Gaming Ulrich Schuzle, however, who tweeted a link to an ESL post on Reddit shortly after reports of the negotiations came out. “There is only one thing to say about this: ESL is not interested in locking out any tournament organizers from running CS:GO events, nor teams from attending them,” it states.

Full credit to PC Gamer – seen here http://www.pcgamer.com/esl-negotiating-with-twitch-for-new-exclusive-csgo-league/

March winners in state Lottery listed

Brian Dimmick, of Coal Township, won one of the top prizes of the $300,000 Buried Treasure instant game in March, according to records released by the Pennsylvania Lottery and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. The other top winner for March in instant tickets was Therese Garvey, of Danville, winning $10,000 in the $20 $1 Million Payout game.