Lee Davy shares his thoughts on the main talking points to arise from the annual World Series of Poker media conference call held this week.

You know the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is hiding around the corner when Ty and Jack get on the blower for the annual media conference call. The excitement becomes palpable. You start to sweat, even though it’s cold. The greatest poker festival in the world does that to you.

WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart, WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel, and WSOP.com Chief Bill Rini, were the hosts, and a sterling bunch of journalists, writers, and well wishers gathered together to hear what they had to say.

One of the biggest stories is a three-year partnership with the Global Poker Index (GPI). Alex Dreyfus and his team had a booth at the 2014 event, this year they will inch even closer to the heart of the WSOP after agreeing to power the GPI WSOP Player of the Year (POY).

Full Tilt has joined the Danish iGaming market after successfully securing a license to operate in the country from the Danish Gambling Authority.

Full Tilt has been successful in their attempt to secure the appropriate licensing to offer their product to the Danish market.

Fulltilt.dk will provide Danish iGaming enthusiasts access to their full suite of online poker & casino games. They join a tough environment with their sister company PokerStars, jostling for position with the likes of partypoker, Unibet and Betfair.

It’s the fourth license that Full Tilt has managed to bag, since the troubled outfit launched under new leadership back in 2012 (UK, Isle of Man & Malta are the other three). Full Tilt Managing Director, Dominic Mansour, is delighted with the news.

A cracking week of poker news to catch up on including live tournament victories for Adrian Mateos, Charlie Carrel and Jason Wheeler; World Series of Poker news galore, and much more.

The biggest news story of the week is the decision to change the structure for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine. Don’t break out the champagne just yet. They haven’t disbanded the idea. Instead, the final table will be broken down into three different stages, and not two as previously exercised.

The final nine will start playing on Nov 8. Play will then end when four-handed, before resuming on Nov 9. Play will then end when heads-up, before resuming on Nov 10. My initial thoughts are not positive. It disrupts flow. It’s akin to playing the two halves of a Champions League final on two separate days.

The news was released on the annual WSOP Media Conference. There were other highlights.

South Korean casino operator Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) has reported a 14.4% fall in Q1 profit as costs pushed down margins.

In the three months ending March 31, GKL says revenue rose 6.9% to KRW 149b (US $137m) but profit slipped to KRW 32.2b due to increased non-operating costs. GKL operates three foreigners-only casinos; two in Seoul and one in Busan. The Korean Casino Association says GKL’s share of the country’s casino market was 41.4% in Q1.

GKL’s cost of recruiting and retaining gamblers rose 22% but Daiwa Securities analysts say GKL’s ranks of VIP gamblers rose 34.1% in Q1. Mass market gambling visitors from China were up 45% year-on-year while Japanese mass market numbers were up 11%. Chinese gamblers accounted for 41% of total visits and 57% of table game turnover.

Only one (Kangwon Land) of South Korea’s 17 casinos allows local residents to gamble but that could change if the mayor of Busan has his way. Casino operator Las Vegas Sands has pledged to build a $4.5b resort casino in Busan but only if locals are allowed inside. Mayor Suh Byung Soo told the Straits Times he was trying to build support for the project and planned to submit a proposal to amend the law in June.

Irish betting operator Paddy Power says a strong performance by its Australian operations helped to offset the new year’s string of unfavorable sports results.

The Paddsters released an interim management statement on Thursday to coincide with their annual general meeting in Dublin. For the year through to May 11, total revenue is up 35% on a constant currency basis despite the rash of punter-friendly results that did such damage to Paddy’s rivals.

Excluding Australia, Paddy’s online revenue rose 31%. Sports betting handle was up 13% and betting revenue rose 41%, while eGgaming revenue was up 17%. Paddy’s Aussie offshoot Sportsbet reported betting handle up 42% and revenue up 44%, reflecting Paddy’s “substantial and targeted investment in product and brand.”

Paddy also provided an update on its Italian-facing division, which had undergone a strategic review after losing €15m in 2014. The Italian business reported revenue up 23% during the period but Paddy is implementing a number of substantial operational improvements, including boosting brand awareness and specific tweaks to the sportsbook and casino verticals. Paddy CEO Andy McCue expects losses will fall by “a few million” this year and next before “substantially eliminating losses and moving to profitability thereafter.”