ONLINE CASINO OWNER VICTIM OF HEART ATTACK

4 July 2008

Unconfirmed reports that Warren Cloud died off the coast of Spain


Unconfirmed reports from several sources early Sunday morning are that online gambling casino owner Warren Cloud (34) may have died on a boat off Ibiza, in Spain.

One of RTG's biggest online casino licensees, he is reported to have succumbed to a heart attack whilst out on a boat late Saturday evening.

The South African online gambling entrepreneur used several aliases and was also known as "Don Fortune," "Richard Brooks" or "Oliver Curran" to many. He eventually became the biggest and most successful of the Real Time Gaming-powered casino operators with venues like Crystal Palace, High Rollers Lounge, Vegas Riches, Golden Nile Casino, Royal Circus Casino, Vegas Frontier Casino and many other brands.

Starting out in Johannesburg, South Africa over nine years ago with an online casino powered by Korean software, Cloud was not initially successful and left many players unpaid when he relocated elsewhere, first to Australia and then London. However, his new businesses flourished - albeit with a questionable reputation - after he started using RTG software and based his operations in Costa Rica.

That success was so pronounced that he at one stage contemplated launching an IPO on the London AIM market worth GBP 120 million. This did not materialise, however, and there were rumours that Cloud had instead secured investment finances from a wealthy European businessman.

Often at the centre of controversial decisions to the detriment of individual players, leading to widely publicised disputes, Cloud had in recent times taken a lower profile, leading to speculation that he may have retired despite his relatively young age. He leaves a widow and one child.

Update: Cloud's death has been confirmed by RealTime Gaming.

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