Crystal Palace Casinos' IPO

The Dude

The artist formally known as Casinomeister
Joined
Jun 30, 1998
Location
Bierland
THE Crystal Gaming Group, which runs online casinos in South Africa and the US, is lining up to float on AIM.

The Isle of Man-based group is believed to have appointed Seymour Pierce to advise on the listing, which is expected to put a value of 140m on the firm.

Crystal claims to be the third-largest online casino on the basis of the number of visits to its sites, which include Crystalpalacecasino.com.

Warren Cloud, the 32-year-old South African founder of the business, and his family will retain a 45% stake in the company.

More here:
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Seems to me the way to get on in online gambling is to take liberties.

Whether that be starting up with rigged software (handa/iglobalmedia/partypoker/, popup or spyware hellraisers (888) or just plain ridiculous/Warren cloud/Don Fortune et al.

Mildly worrisome yet unsurprising.
 
I won't repeat what my initial thoughts were, but in actual fact this may turn out to be a good thing. Investor and market pressures leave little room for error. It could be just what the group, and the industry, needs to get on track.
 
I think there was a misprint - 140m should have been $140m - but this should be clarified sometime soon.

simmo! said:
...but in actual fact this may turn out to be a good thing. Investor and market pressures leave little room for error. It could be just what the group, and the industry, needs to get on track.
Exactly. When one puts himself in the public eye to be scrutinized, that's usually what happens. I think every casino group should be placed in this sort of spotlight.
 
Casinomeister said:
THE Crystal Gaming Group, which runs online casinos in South Africa and the US, is lining up to float on AIM.

The Isle of Man-based group is believed to have appointed Seymour Pierce to advise on the listing, which is expected to put a value of £140m on the firm.

Crystal claims to be the third-largest online casino on the basis of the number of visits to its sites, which include Crystalpalacecasino.com.

Warren Cloud, the 32-year-old South African founder of the business, and his family will retain a 45% stake in the company.

More here:
You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

lol. What next? Windows casino to float?

Btw, something slightly odd: the following page Old URL where you said the following:

Hi Winstond,

One question: why? Why deposit money into a casino operation that habitually confiscates winnings and deposits?

Perhaps you didn't know...but this is the standing operating procedure at the Warren Cloud casinos. It's well documented in this forum and others. Casinomeister's newsletter, webcast, and Evil Section.

You can probably forget about your winnings. But if you had made your deposit via Neteller you may be in luck. I'm in the process of contacting Neteller to see if there are options when casinos refuse to refund deposits. I have one woman who has been waiting since October. Pretty pathetic isn't it?

...

I also informed Warren Cloud of this and this is his response:

Delivered-To: [email protected]
From: "Admin" <[email protected]>
To: "Bryan Bailey" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Re: pitch a bitch
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 23:15:57 +1100
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158


Bryan

Listen nicely my friend

Who the fuck you think neteller care about you who dont process a cent or me that processes 1 mill plus

Think about that you fucking retard before you mail a threatening email
again

NOW FUCK OFF and show paul this email as well

Why are you emailing me deal with RTG you prick

When I meet you in person we will see if you are as cocky

Also good luck in court you will need all the money you an get

Pretty nice stuff for the owner of a soon to be publicly quoted company.

The man is quite plainly not fit to run a quoted company, and this kind of information should not covered up.

So what's up with that?
 
Curiouser and curiouser.

What happened to this page (WARREN CLOUD CASINOS - The list and The Big Trick)?

Old URL

Or this one from https://www.casinomeister.com/static/newsletter/2005/5may2005.html

WHAT'S UP WITH CRYSTAL PALACE? PT. III
Well, I think probation time is about over:

....

If you have been banned from one of these casinos do not sign up at another because you won't get paid. Until the Crystal Palace gets with the program, they'll be listed in Casinomeister's Not Recommended Section.

Um nope. Not there. No sign.
 
Casinomeister said:
Crystal claims to be the third-largest online casino on the basis of the number of visits to its sites, which include Crystalpalacecasino.com.

Let's hope that list of sites is in their prospectus, because they sure don't like to tell their players.

Here's the way they work (
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)

Step 1: player claims bonus at casino A
Step 2: player cashes out (big mistake)
Step 3: player is banned from casino A (but isn't actually told this, just has their account locked)
Step 4: player is emailed offers like 120% bonus up to $9,600 from apparently unrelated casino B
Step 5: player deposits and wins
Step 6: player has winnings confiscated because he was banned from casino A.

Alternative Step 5: player deposits and loses

Either way it's win-win for Crystal palace

That site list in full

Crystal Palace
High Rollers Lounge
Vegas Riches
Americas Online
American Grand Casino
Golden Nile Casino
Lucky Coin Casino
Lucky Pyramid Casino
Royal Circus Casino
Vegas Frontier Casino

Interestingly from looking at Alexa, it seems that Vegas Frontier gets *a lot* of traffic.

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In fact seems to be more traffic than River Belle or Gaming Club.

Any idea where they get their visitors?
 
If Warren Cloud does successfully float his casino group, this will be good for the existing and future player base there. However I for one wouldn't want to buy any shares as he is not known for good customer service and they are likely to freefall if the Crytal Palace Group continue operating in the way they have done over the past few years.

I still find the valuation of $140 million laughable and vastly overpriced as well.
 
thelawnet said:
...The man is quite plainly not fit to run a quoted company, and this kind of information should not covered up.

So what's up with that?
There is nothing being covered up. Warren and I have had our moments, and most of these moments were 2+ years old. The Crystal Palace group of casinos went from rogue to non-recommendable to probation to non-recommendable to off probation in the course of a few years. The non-recommended page was removed as I went out the door to visit the states for three weeks, and this is after Warren corrected the terms and conditions that he was getting hammered on. He corrected this - I removed the page. Fair is fair.

Now the "tricks" thread that you referred to was removed due to a couple members getting way out of line. Out of all the casinos - rogued and recommendable alike - complaints against the Crystal Palace group seems to be always directed against specific people. If you have a problem with a person, fine - contact him/her directly and deal with it. Don't bring it to my forum.

Incidentally, the issue that had Caruso so riled up about in the "tricks" thread I resolved by convincing Montana to reverse their decision. Now why wasn't this ever brought up?? :what:

No one said a thing...

General comment to everyone:
I'm not here to support or condone vendettas that some players have against certain operators. That is not my function - I don't jump on bandwagons. I also expect forum members to refrain from attacking individuals, and to respect one another as well. This forum is for the entire casino industry, player, operator, software provider, etc.; it is not a playground for bonus whores to beat up casinos when they don't get paid..
 
Casinomeister said:
There is nothing being covered up. Warren and I have had our moments, and most of these moments were 2+ years old. The Crystal Palace group of casinos went from rogue to non-recommendable to probation to non-recommendable to off probation in the course of a few years. The non-recommended page was removed as I went out the door to visit the states for three weeks, and this is after Warren corrected the terms and conditions that he was getting hammered on. He corrected this - I removed the page. Fair is fair.

Now the "tricks" thread that you referred to was removed due to a couple members getting way out of line.

That explains why that thread is not viewable, but not this one: Old URL where he told you to 'fuck off'

I really can't understand why you would go out of your way to hide that, and evidently quite recently as well, as the page is still in google. It happened, it's a matter of historical record, and I really think that potential investors in Crystal Palace, when searching for 'Warren Cloud' should be able to see the way that he has behaved.

Sure if the casino has cleaned its act up, and is now no longer 'not recommended', it's fairly reasonable to remove the rogue page, but what happened is what happened, and it's really strange to go back into history and start hiding stuff.

Out of all the casinos - rogued and recommendable alike - complaints against the Crystal Palace group seems to be always directed against specific people. If you have a problem with a person, fine - contact him/her directly and deal with it. Don't bring it to my forum.

Incidentally, the issue that had Caruso so riled up about in the "tricks" thread I resolved by convincing Montana to reverse their decision. Now why wasn't this ever brought up?? :what:

No one said a thing...

Well I have personally never played at any of his casinos. If I had seen something saying 'Crystal Palace has cleaned its act up', then I might have done. But as it is all I see is the mountain of history, and nothing to contradict it.

I don't think it is quite realistic that the isse you would resolved would be brought up spontaneously - 'man robs bank' is newsworthy, 'man doesn't rob bank' is not.

When Crystal Palace exited the evil list, it would be normal for them to get a listing under 'past issues'. Virtual Casino, Black Widow, etc., are all there, with a brief precis of what they did.

Crystal Palace didn't get this.

Therefore as far as people are aware, they are still rogue, since there is nothing to say otherwise. In July you said with regard to their evil listing 'The 404 you're getting is from moving files around when I reloaded the site.'.

So the way you were saying it, the page was simply missing, not that they were no longer evil.

And finally regarding whether they are still evil or not, Vegas Frontier says:

Any player exhibiting "bonus hunting" behavior will have their account terminated, bonuses seized and winnings void. Bonus hunting behavior is defined by the management on a case by case basis

'We will seize your winnings on a case-by-case basis'

That doesn't look very much like they have cleaned things up to me, and that is the problem.

Promotional offers are not available to any players who have been locked out of any of our sister casinos including (but not restricted to): High Rollers Lounge, Cleopatras-Casino, American Grand, Golden Nile, Lucky Coin, Vegas Frontier, Vegas Frontier and Vegas Frontier. In addition, Vegas Frontier contributes to and makes use of a shared industry database of promotion abusers. Individuals known from this database to only make use of promotional offers without ever risking their own funds will not be eligible for this promotional offer.

That's better, but stil not really satisfactory. They have listed some of their casinos, but where is Crystal Palace itself?

And also 'but not restricted to' is a bullshit term.

How often does he open a new casino? It can't be that often.

List all the casinos there, it can't be hard.

The door is still open to say either 'you cashed out to quickly, you abused, we take your winnings', or 'you claimed the bonus at Crystal Palace as well, you are therefore an abuser under our terms, we take your winnings'.

These terms don't to me smell like a new shiny, happy, helpful casino. I could be proven wrong, but all the evidence of past behaviour (such as the 'fuck you' page, above), doesn't really convince me otherwise. Given these things, it doesn't suggest to me that it really is a safe place to play.

But I would welcome the feedback of others, and perhaps a few player reports would be beneficial.
 
I'm currently out the harness and have little time to respond to particular commets. I'll have plenty to say when I get back in the harness.

Four quick comments:

1) Vendetta????? What is "vendetta" about posting 200% pure factual information? Nothing I have ever said about Cloud's deposit-eliciting techniques is incorrect, including what I posted at Casinomeister. I challenge ANYONE to find ONE comment I have made which is "inaccurate".

2) The suggestion that this is a "good move" is totally off the wall and the theory that it should apply to all rogues to "clean them up" is absolutely bananas. Following this to its logical conclusion, we should float all rogue casinos to "spotlight" them???

Gimme a break, purleeeeease.

3) It's interesting that the Cloud article that Thelawnet found had number one Google rank for "Warren Cloud" searches since its inception until about two weeks ago. Then, it vanished from Google. Now, we discover Cloud is floating his shit and could well benefit from covering up all bad comment. Coinidence? Or is there a way to get information like that pulled out of the Google archives?

4) Thelawnet: good work, although I've only had time to skim-read everything.
 
Webzcas said:
If Warren Cloud does successfully float his casino group, this will be good for the existing and future player base there. However I for one wouldn't want to buy any shares as he is not known for good customer service and they are likely to freefall if the Crytal Palace Group continue operating in the way they have done over the past few years.

I still find the valuation of $140 million laughable and vastly overpriced as well.


I'm just back from three weeks away in Alaska, North West Canada, Washington and Oregon, but to clarify on the press material on the Crystal Gaming IPO, here's some detail.

There was subsequently a currency correction which applied only to the latest pre-tax annual profits, which are audited at US$20.4 million:

CLOUD ONLINE OPERATIONS TO FLOAT ON LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE

Company valued by analysts at GBP 140 million

Well known online casino owner Warren Cloud and his RTG-powered Crystal Gaming group hit the headlines this week with a reported intention to list on the London AIM exchange with a value of GBP 140 million.

Cloud's group is the latest major online gambling group to seek a public listing in London, following the example of companies like Party Gaming and 888.com.

Crystal Gaming is, according to the report based on the Isle of Man and is believed to have appointed the respected investment company Seymour Pierce to advise on the listing, expected to put a value of GBP 140 million on the firm.

Crystal claims to be the third-largest online casino on the basis of the number of visits to its sites, which include Crystalpalacecasino.com. Warren Cloud, the 32-year-old South African founder of the business, and his family will retain a 45 percent stake in the company.

Seymour Pierce is confident that the groups track record - in the 12 months to June 2005 the group made a pre-tax profit of US $20.4 million - and the fact that the management are not selling shares will attract investors.

The expected GBP 47 million raised from the float will be used by Crystal to develop an online poker business.
 
The expected GBP 47 million raised from the float will be used by Crystal to develop an online poker business.
:lolup:
45 million for poker and 2 million for Casinomeister so Warren can shut the place down and get rid of us. :D :D
 
Publically traded companies do shady stuff all the time, so I'm not holding my breath on a cleanup here.

Look at Angelciti's press releases and self-dealing, for example. Or Enron, or Tycho, or Doyle Brunson's pump of WPTE.

Who needs $45 million to start up a poker site? What a scam.
 
The "fuck you" thread is still here, it's in a private area and it'll stay there. Why? Because there were a string of postings that focused on name calling. I chose to move it. And it's an old thread relatively speaking. Warren and I got over this (there were other colorful emails as well). But we looked finally at this as between me and him, and like I said we got over it.

To Caruso: Vendetta? That was a general comment to everyone. But if the shoe fits wear it. You know me. I will try my damndest to try and help someone when they are getting screwed over, like I did with funkbomber. You were so riled up over Funkbomber's complaint that you lost yourself in a series of vitriolic and vicious postings which I should have banned you over. If you had maintained self discipline, that thread would still be there for google to google the hell out of. The same goes for the f-you thread, but others were spewing their hate in that one.

Getting back to earth, are we making this IPO out like he is getting knighted by the queen? C'mon let's be real. Like Mary said, public traded companies can be just as sleazy as non-public ones. What the hell?
 
Casinomeister said:
The "fuck you" thread is still here, it's in a private area and it'll stay there. Why? Because there were a string of postings that focused on name calling. I chose to move it. And it's an old thread relatively speaking. Warren and I got over this (there were other colorful emails as well). But we looked finally at this as between me and him, and like I said we got over it.

Well that's good to know.

Evidently I wasn't the first one to notice this:

Link Removed (invalid URL)

and

Outdated URL (Invalid)

says there was a complaint about namecalling. I presume this was from Warren himself?

To Caruso: Vendetta? That was a general comment to everyone. But if the shoe fits wear it. You know me. I will try my damndest to try and help someone when they are getting screwed over, like I did with funkbomber. You were so riled up over Funkbomber's complaint that you lost yourself in a series of vitriolic and vicious postings which I should have banned you over. If you had maintained self discipline, that thread would still be there for google to google the hell out of. The same goes for the f-you thread, but others were spewing their hate in that one.

It doesn't seem to bad to me.

Judge for yourself:

Outdated URL (Invalid)
Outdated URL (Invalid)
Outdated URL (Invalid)

Getting back to earth, are we making this IPO out like he is getting knighted by the queen? C'mon let's be real. Like Mary said, public traded companies can be just as sleazy as non-public ones. What the hell?

Indeed not. But there doesn't seem to be a good reason to wipe out evidence of their sleaziness. People should know what kind of man he is.

The rogue page contained such delights as:

Hi,
You successfully processed my faxback forms on
29th.April.
You asked for my login ID on 3rd.June which I
immediately provided - (user name)
If my withdrawal of $402.50 is not received within 48
hours, I will recommend the blacklisting of your
casino to the Online Players Association, of which I
am an active member.

Sincerely
a player

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Mr X" <[email protected]>
Subject: Fuck you and the OPA
Date: Sat, 15 Jun 2002 18:55:08 +0200

Send us another letter like this and we will have your balls idiot

If nothing else, it's hilarious stuff, and it makes good reading for that alone.....
 
sorry to but into this private war of words here, i know nothing of the crystal palace group so i will not attack them or their reputation despite what i have heard about them in the past on this board and others. however for my tuppence worth on the subject i would like to say that i know for a fact any reputable gaming company in the UK would immediatly dismiss anyone sending the "f-off" email and such a person would never find work in this country again within this industry if such a fact was disclosed.

in my belief if such a person is unfit to work for a gaming company they are certainly unfit to be owning and running one.

it is such things as this which gives one a reasonable objection to anyone applying for a gaming license under the UK gambling bill (is it an act yet ?) , however this case highlights the reasons why certain people choose to operate out of the isle of man, which to contrary belief is not part of the UK and as such not subject to our laws and is the reason for their motivation for operating out said such teritorries in the first place, especially when the intention is to operate from these places done so in the first place to give the false impression that players will benefit from the high standards that are normally employed in the UK gaming industry.
 
mary said:
Was it ever settled whether or not Oliver Curran really existed?
OC is merely a name given to whoever is managing the casino. It's a fake name like Ronald McDonald. Most casinos employ this policy. Reason? To protect the manager's identity if a screwy player goes postal, and it offers continuity for appearance sake. Some managers come and go - casinos like to appear to have the same person employed over time.
 
Casinomeister said:
OC is merely a name given to whoever is managing the casino. It's a fake name like Ronald McDonald. Most casinos employ this policy. Reason? To protect the manager's identity if a screwy player goes postal, and it offers continuity for appearance sake. Some managers come and go - casinos like to appear to have the same person employed over time.


When I was at Ladbrokes and we launched Ladbrokes Casino back in October 2000 - We used to apply the same name to all outgoing standard Customer Services Mails and Mailshots. This has been pretty standard practice in the industry as a whole. However Ladbrokes changed this policy a couple of years ago and the actual names of the agents who responded were used to provide a more personal touch.

Of course if any queries needed to go up the line ie. to a supervisor or manager then of course all correspondence would have been signed off by the actual person responding.
 
Last edited:
This is a general online practice followed by many online businesses. In the Real Estate industry this has happened quite frequently as well, and in the Ecommerce it is a general practice. The Piggs Group are not doing it though, but maybe it is a good idea if they do. It makes allot of sense...

With regards to the CP IPO. I believe it is the best thing that can possibly happen to them and for the players. I am happy that this is happening. Listing changes things... standards are higher and you start reporting to other people. So regardless, this is a good thing. Although so many different opinions are always understandable and especially create some war of words there is one thing I always put my trust in. That is Bryan! I have been on his wrong and good side and believe me he doesn't give a damn about what anybody says least of all some casino owner. Bryan has a mean streak and allot of nuts combined with a very mature nature. That is exactly what I see here.

What amazes me though is the fact that someone can have the brainstorm to actually write an article about Casinomeister being gaged. What an easier way of getting some personal vendeta going and publishing a blog taking on the most recognised and respected person in the industry and suggest that he has been gagged by a casino owner, whilst supposedly being the casino watchdog. Mmmmmm

Sorry but I think get of your high horse thelawnet. You are as far as I am concerned out of line. Bryan has helped more people than you can dream of helping. He has earned my respect and I know if he takes a dicision it is based on a mature level This blog smells like rotten fish...
 
As a general observation I am in agreement with most of what scrollock and chatmaster say above. Crystal Gaming is clearly not going to go away or fail, and therefore a public listing puts them under the whip and the public eye far more intensively and practically than the present arrangement does and should therefore constitute some improvement.

The article on gagging the 'Meister should perhaps be viewed as an editorial opinion in my view - I would think that the source is probably not very influential in an industry sense, and it was not accompanied by any comment from Bryan to substantiate its claims.

Also, Bryan is the owner of this site and is the guy on the spot when the nasty stuff occasionally hits the fan. As far as I am concerned that gives him the right to influence the manner in which things are done and opinions expressed here, and he exercises that in my experience in a pretty laidback style. He's the guy taking the flak if trouble starts - you don't often see anonymous posters coming forward to identify themselves in support when things go wrong.

Having frequently visited the IOM and with e-commerce business associates and friends in the financial and investment sector on the Isle of Man I would have to take issue with scrollock on his comments about the island, however.

Their financial services supervisory is strict and professional from what I can see and hear, and I believe the intentions are good when it comes to online gambling, although they got off on the wrong foot with overly draconian and bureaucratic procedures - a situation they have since recognised and addressed but which cost them dearly.

Although the Tynwald (which I am told is one of the oldest parliaments in Europe btw) gives the island its laws and has self-governing status, it has a Lieutenant Governor appointed by the UK and is heavily and amicably influenced by that country's government, with a number of joint treaties.

The reasons why so many companies find it attractive as a European operating base in diverse industries are in my opinion because it has a quality international banking, business and technical infrastructure; a well educated and English speaking pool for local staff recruitment; good geographical proximity to major European markets; accessible authorities and perhaps most of all a very business and personal friendly tax regime.

I had not heard that Crystal Gaming had been registered on the island but it does look as if in pursuing a credible listing, the company is seeking to move away from its Costa Rican past and is presumably preparing to submit itself to what is likely to be stringent UK licensing conditions in the not too distant future. That's another safeguard for the player imo, because the Brits will be doing this well and in a professional manner.
 
Excellent posts. I would also like to comment on one more thing. One of the links Lawnet has referred to is actually to my own site, whereby I covered in my forum the article on Gamblog. As I stated in the thread I checked with Bryan whether Gamblog had indeed got their facts correct - which they hadn't.

Now I have to agree with Chatmaster and Jetset that Bryan's site is one of the most authoriative player watchdog sites on the net when it comes to our industry and the way it operates. It really would not be in his interest to cover up anything. Bryan calls it as he sees it and he has helped many many people here.

Also I am inclined to agree that if Palace does float, this has to be good for their existing and future client base. There is nothing more powerful than shareholders of a company to ensure your business practices are kept in check. What does amaze me though, is not only in my view the over priced initial valuation being mooted around, but also the fact that the operation is indeed in a position whereby it can float.
 
Chatmaster said:
What amazes me though is the fact that someone can have the brainstorm to actually write an article about Casinomeister being gaged. What an easier way of getting some personal vendeta going and publishing a blog taking on the most recognised and respected person in the industry and suggest that he has been gagged by a casino owner, whilst supposedly being the casino watchdog. Mmmmmm

Anyone who even tries to gag the Meister will fail in the end, 1 way or the other, 1 fine day or sooner. That is the essence of the blog post.

Bryan has the public backing of that Blog writer (me) . That blog writer does not sig link here for traffic. That blog writer asks Bryan for permission for any content ever taken and has prior permission to report news from the news section with the approriate link to the source.

That blog owner does not however, have to run every opinion, based upon info gleaned from here, by the Meister for approval. Bryan won't want to hear it most of the time.

The opinion that Warren Cloud has tried to gag the Meister but will ultimately fail, proven by the mere presence of said blog posts in google and more importantly, on blog search facilities like technorati, is sound and stands until proven otherwise.

Or if Bryan says Joey, move that post from the blog eh, it is factually too far off the mark to stand, or indeed if he just wants it gone. It will begone.

# I also have less than no pull in the industry. I just add heat by volume, where I deem it necissary.
 
Chatmaster said:
What amazes me though is the fact that someone can have the brainstorm to actually write an article about Casinomeister being gaged. What an easier way of getting some personal vendeta going and publishing a blog taking on the most recognised and respected person in the industry and suggest that he has been gagged by a casino owner, whilst supposedly being the casino watchdog. Mmmmmm

Sorry but I think get of your high horse thelawnet. You are as far as I am concerned out of line. Bryan has helped more people than you can dream of helping. He has earned my respect and I know if he takes a dicision it is based on a mature level This blog smells like rotten fish...

Er well the blog has actually got nothing to do with me, I just searched google for 'warren cloud casinomeister', and found that somebody had noticed that certain Crystal Palace threads were no longer up and reached their own conclusion. I also linked to the second site, which reported and then contradicted the first. Neither are mine, but in the absence of anything on the site to say 'Crystal Palace have fixed their issues', or a listing on the 'past issues' section, and given the history of the man being just about as abusive to Bryan as is possible, saying that Casinomeister members were not welcome at his casinos, etc., it's easy to see why people might not assume that Bryan and Warren had kissed and made up.
 
jetset said:
Having frequently visited the IOM and with e-commerce business associates and friends in the financial and investment sector on the Isle of Man I would have to take issue with scrollock on his comments about the island, however.

Their financial services supervisory is strict and professional from what I can see and hear, and I believe the intentions are good when it comes to online gambling, although they got off on the wrong foot with overly draconian and bureaucratic procedures - a situation they have since recognised and addressed but which cost them dearly.

Although the Tynwald (which I am told is one of the oldest parliaments in Europe btw) gives the island its laws and has self-governing status, it has a Lieutenant Governor appointed by the UK and is heavily and amicably influenced by that country's government, with a number of joint treaties.

The reasons why so many companies find it attractive as a European operating base in diverse industries are in my opinion because it has a quality international banking, business and technical infrastructure; a well educated and English speaking pool for local staff recruitment; good geographical proximity to major European markets; accessible authorities and perhaps most of all a very business and personal friendly tax regime.

I had not heard that Crystal Gaming had been registered on the island but it does look as if in pursuing a credible listing, the company is seeking to move away from its Costa Rican past and is presumably preparing to submit itself to what is likely to be stringent UK licensing conditions in the not too distant future. That's another safeguard for the player imo, because the Brits will be doing this well and in a professional manner.

I would take any news about Crystal Palace moving to the Isle of Man with about a tonne of salt.

The Isle of Man is just about the most regulated place for a casino to be, and along with Gibraltar, a casino being registered in one of these British territories is just about as solid a guarantee as you can get that the casino is legit.

Crystal Palace still looks to me like a dump, and certainly in no way in the class of Gibraltar/Isle of Man outfits such as Paddy Power, Belle Rock or Ladbrokes.

Just take a look at the site:

Crystal Palace Casino is a SafeBet certified online casino which means our online casino games are independently tested by a well-respected, non-profit gaming organization. Safebet membership for online casinos requires sufficient resources to operate at the highest standards and fair play.

Safebet???

And with still terms like (paraphrased) 'We will confiscate your winnings if we determine you have abused our bonus. Abuse is something defined by us at the time, so we can basically confiscate your winnings for any reason'

They might have a shell company on the Isle of Man for PR purposes, much in the same way as Vegas Frontier (and a lot of other RTGs) is currently registered from a 'Start your own Company' company with a mailing address in Dorking, but is really still the same shadowy offshore RTG casino.

But I can't see any sign that they could or would want to comply to the standards of the Isle of Man.
 
What we are all doing here is speculating, really because outside of the media reportage based on the listing advisers' comments and the company press release little else is known about the listing at this stage.

The intention to invest in the online poker sector should not be a surprise, given the phenomenal growth in that area of the industry - the Party Gaming pessimism recently notwithstanding.

Merely registering a company for business on the Isle of Man does not imply that it has an Isle of Man license, of course.

Whether that has been done merely for "PR purposes" or with the intention to take it a seriously credible step further by applying for an Isle of Man interactive gambling license as a prelude to a London listing remains to be seen as this IPO progresses. That could be another player safeguard - but perhaps the intention is to go directly for a UK license where the process and regulations will probably be stricter, but have more cred. in both player and business perspective terms.

Whatever is thought of Cloud personally, on the face of these reports he appears to be running a prosperous business as RTG's biggest operator with $20.4 million a year in profits. The obvious response to that is that it has been at the expense of screwed players, but running a successful business requires more than that.

This is going to be an interesting listing campaign to watch.
 
jetset said:
What we are all doing here is speculating, really because outside of the media reportage based on the listing advisers' comments and the company press release little else is known about the listing at this stage.

The intention to invest in the online poker sector should not be a surprise, given the phenomenal growth in that area of the industry - the Party Gaming pessimism recently notwithstanding.

Merely registering a company for business on the Isle of Man does not imply that it has an Isle of Man license, of course.

Whether that has been done merely for "PR purposes" or with the intention to take it a seriously credible step further by applying for an Isle of Man interactive gambling license as a prelude to a London listing remains to be seen as this IPO progresses. That could be another player safeguard - but perhaps the intention is to go directly for a UK license where the process and regulations will probably be stricter, but have more cred. in both player and business perspective terms.

Whatever is thought of Cloud personally, on the face of these reports he appears to be running a prosperous business as RTG's biggest operator with $20.4 million a year in profits. The obvious response to that is that it has been at the expense of screwed players, but running a successful business requires more than that.

This is going to be an interesting listing campaign to watch.


Indeed it will.

140m is a reasonable chunk of change. Certainly there has been a fair degree of interest in larger flotations - Ultimate bet for around 200m has had a fair bit of coverage.

As this progresses I think there will be interest.

A lot of people have been interested in gambling stocks, as it's a new concept, something that people can understand, and people see the potential for growth.

So as this one moves forward, a lot of people will investigate buying shares, because let's face it gambling stocks are sexy.

That's why I think it's important that the historical record is there. 18 months, two years ago is all we are talking about for these activities. That is not a long time. Two years is extremely recent when you are talking about the soon-to-be head of a public company. With reports on multiple sites that they are 'rogue' or 'evil'. One place I saw marked them as rogue only in April, apparently due to 'rudeness' of their customer service.

With all this baggage, and very recent history of bad behaviour, who would want to jump into that? Maye all publicity is good publicity, but if you are a financial journalist or a potential investor, what on earth are you going to think about this?

https://www.casinomeister.com/static/images/screenshots/wol.html

WarrenCloud said:
Jetset sucks Bryan Baileys Balls and sodomises Max

CasinoMeister said:
Here is an example of Warren Cloud's tact and public image. It is widely known that his handle at Winneronline's forum is "Cashhunter". He obviously is a heavy drinker, and probably doesn't even remember making this post. I've made this screenshot as a reminder for him when he wakes up from his hangover.

Warren Cloud is the operator of Real Time Gaming's Crystal Palace Group.

And this is the man who will be leading this company into an IPO? Ouch.


And finally, re the Isle of Man, they seem extremely shadowy. What is it with casinos and transparency? That press release indicates that they are 'Isle-of-man based'.... Since when? They very well may be, but there website is registered to Doleplex Trading in Cyprus.

They say:

This casino is owned and operated by Dolepex Trading Ltd., 4th Floor, 5 Costis Palamas Street, Nicosia 1305, Cyprus.

So no mention of the Isle of Man at all, ever, before this press release. Not really signs to me of a company turning over a new leaf (with Safebet on their site ha) and going straight.... No transparency whatsoever.
 
Just jumping in here real fast. I'll answer more questions come Monday (I've got a lot of shit to do this weekend), but I see that I've broken my own rules with the screenshot of the posting at WOL.

...It is widely known that his handle at Winneronline's forum is "Cashhunter". blah blah blah.

Well, it's rumored to be a handle used by Oliver Curran, Cloud and others. You can check out WOL and see for yourself:
You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.


As for drinking too much. Well, who knows. This is only speculation and was intended as a joke. :D :drink:
 
Casinomeister said:
Just jumping in here real fast. I'll answer more questions come Monday (I've got a lot of shit to do this weekend), but I see that I've broken my own rules with the screenshot of the posting at WOL.



Well, it's rumored to be a handle used by Oliver Curran, Cloud and others. You can check out WOL and see for yourself:
You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.


As for drinking too much. Well, who knows. This is only speculation and was intended as a joke. :D :drink:

I see you have corrected it now. Just curious that you refer to the alias being used by Warren Cloud OR his manager Oliver Curran.

I thought it was concluded that the two are very likely to be one and the same.
 
thelawnet said:
...I thought it was concluded that the two are very likely to be one and the same.
Who concluded? Some anonymous posters on a message board? After discussing this with a number of sources, and reviewing my own emails, I'm pretty sure it's two separate people.
 
Casinomeister said:
Who concluded? Some anonymous posters on a message board? After discussing this with a number of sources, and reviewing my own emails, I'm pretty sure it's two separate people.

Well I actually got that idea from one of your old newsletters.

Firstly:

https://www.casinomeister.com/static/news/nov2003.html
Bailey had another bone to pick with Cloud, however and that was the appallingly arrogant and abusive attitude of one Oliver Curran. There are conflicting views over whether Curran is just an uncontrollable Cloud employee, or another one of Cloud's several aliases but the fact is that players have been complaining about both his attitude toward clients and his unfair decisions, and he has made some pretty silly message board postings that have not enhanced his reputation or that of the casino group he purports to manage with Cloud.

Bailey has reversed the casino ID process to resolve this Cloud/Curran identity conundrum once and for all, and has asked Cloud to furnish authentic ID documents in respect of both himself and Curran. These will not be made public, but the 'Meister's verdict on this schizophrenic issue will be accepted by most! That's of course if the IDs are forthcoming.

and then

https://www.casinomeister.com/static/newsletter/2003/4december2003.html
CRYSTAL PALACE GROUP
Ongoing saga: I've been waiting all week for photographic proof (via ID documents) that Warren Cloud and Oliver Curran are separate persons. After discussing this with a number of well connected people, I've come to the half-assed conclusion that Oliver Curran is a made up fake name for whomever is managing the casino. This is why there is no ID coming from this person. So if you see a posting from "Oliver Curran", it's probably just some guy sitting there snickering to himself that he's known by another name. You don't know who he is. It's not a well made up name either, is it? It's not like Chad, or Jay, or something distinguished like Winston. It's Oliver. When I think of Oliver, I think of that little poor kid that Dickens wrote about, begging for another bowl of mush. Or some big dude, like Oliver Hardy. Or I think of an Olive stuffed with a red pimento. Whatever the case may be, Warren Cloud still owes me answers on a few complaints at Crystal Palace.

Incidentally, there's another Crystal Palace thread I couldn't access: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/install/index.php?upgrade/.

Not sure why?

Edit: I found it in Google's cache, cached in February this year (orginal post was July 2004). Just seems to refer to a takeover by Crystal Palace of some other RTGs. Seems pretty inoffensive stuff.
 
Last edited:
there is more on the float here

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Warren Cloud, the South African founder of Crystal Gaming, has a mixed reputation within the online gambling industry.

I wouldnt want anything to do with him, one online casino operator who did not wish to be named told eGaming Review.

...

Tim Rosenberg, from Gambling.com, said.

But they have done a lot to clean their act up, and there have been no complaints I am aware of in the past twelve months, he added.

...

Crystal is expected to appoint a high profile chairman next week.

So Warren won't be chairman?
 
Hauling out two year old opinions can be informative but not necessarily constructive, I'm afraid - things happen and can change over time, and what we thought then is not necessarily proof of what we might believe to be the case now in a dynamic industry.

Several posters on this board have good contacts and try to keep up to speed with who's doing what to whom, but I have yet to meet anyone who can conclusively prove that Curran is a distinct personality from Cloud, or for that matter is one and the same person as Cloud. That's one of the drawbacks of the Internet, unfortunately. It would be interesting to know. For certain. It doesn't excuse the conduct attributed to either of them in the past, but it is one of the industrys intriguing conundrums despite that and could be a behavioural indicator.

This comment from a Crystal Gaming source in the EGR piece probably holds some basic truth, ""What investors are looking for is a management team that understands the online gaming business and can generate profits for shareholders." On the basis of the presumably audited figures issued so far that's a positive for Crystal Gaming.

But taking that in isolation would not be a good way to make an assessment imo - reputation in this business is hugely important - at the business and industry level and at the player community level. So in a run-up to an IPO campaign there could also be a move to clean house, too - as Tim Rosenberg at Gambling.com says "But they have done a lot to clean their act up, and there have been no complaints I am aware of in the past twelve months.

That has been my general experience, too and considering the probably hundreds of thousands of transactions that routinely take place at successful online casinos every day it is something to ponder.

Seymour Pierce are seasoned advisers, and I think we may just be seeing the start of this campaign, which will undoubtedly include briefings to investment banks and brokers and more publicity. I look forward especially to the identity of the chairman, as it would seem that Cloud will continue to run the group.

We should also note that Crystal Gaming seems to be the company set up to go after the IPO, so there is not necessarily any conflict with domiciles elsewhere of companies in which Crystal Gaming has or will have an interest - like Doloplex or the casinos themselves.

This is not unusual in international business providing that links are declared where required. How the strategic structure of the entire group fleshes out is going to be interesting as this will have to take into account tax and licensing considerations, too.
 
It's normally an assessment that looks at all the operating factors of the company and its potential - the management, in-house expertise, assets and revenues, liabilities and of course profits. It has to be pegged at something that is credible to the market, independent analysts and the business media as well as potential investors, and it is usually worked out in consultation with outsiders like the investment advisers hired to guide the IPO.
 
thelawnet said:
Well I actually got that idea from one of your old newsletters.

Firstly:

https://www.casinomeister.com/static/news/nov2003.html


and then

https://www.casinomeister.com/static/newsletter/2003/4december2003.html


Incidentally, there's another Crystal Palace thread I couldn't access: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/install/index.php?upgrade/.

Not sure why?

Edit: I found it in Google's cache, cached in February this year (orginal post was July 2004). Just seems to refer to a takeover by Crystal Palace of some other RTGs. Seems pretty inoffensive stuff.
C'mon, you're going back two years. Since then, Warren and I started up a dialogue (that has had its rocky moments), and he told me the deal about Curran [the manager(s)] and himself. I think I have explained this a number of times.

The other forum link that was moved? Sorry but with statements like this:

Just kill that guy...
He still owes me 450$...


and several other similar transgressions made me feel that these threatening and potentially libelous statements were putting this website at risk. I do not condone these sorts of postings, and members who make these sorts of ridiculous and irresponsible statements are the ones to blame for having these moved from the public sections. I will not have all the work I have done for this industry jeapordized or put at risk buy some anonymous posters. I'm sure you would agree with this.
 
Casinomeister said:
C'mon, you're going back two years. Since then, Warren and I started up a dialogue (that has had its rocky moments), and he told me the deal about Curran [the manager(s)] and himself. I think I have explained this a number of times.

Ok, I guess the multitude of anonymous forum posters reinforced the idea that they were one and the same :-). Ideas breed quickly on the internet.

The other forum link that was moved? Sorry but with statements like this:

Just kill that guy...
He still owes me 450$...


and several other similar transgressions made me feel that these threatening and potentially libelous statements were putting this website at risk. I do not condone these sorts of postings, and members who make these sorts of ridiculous and irresponsible statements are the ones to blame for having these moved from the public sections. I will not have all the work I have done for this industry jeapordized or put at risk buy some anonymous posters. I'm sure you would agree with this.

I do, and wouldn't have thought anything of it had the statements had been nuked at the time. As it is they were up on the public internet until recently (about a year) you presumably didn't think they were problematic at the time. I guess something caused you to revisit them, as they were not exactly prominent on your site.
 
thelawnet said:
...I do, and wouldn't have thought anything of it had the statements had been nuked at the time. As it is they were up on the public internet until recently (about a year) you presumably didn't think they were problematic at the time. I guess something caused you to revisit them, as they were not exactly prominent on your site.
It's a question of being able to nail things right when they happen. This is an active board, and sometimes I have to rely on alert members to draw my attention to something that may be offensive. So I am not flawless when it comes to administrating the Casinomeister SOP. I should have nuked that post instead of issuing a stern warning. I didn't. Maybe I'll revisit the thread - remove the offending posts and move it back into public view.
 
Casinomeister said:
Maybe I'll revisit the thread - remove the offending posts and move it back into public view.
Far too much to comment on in one sitting, but since you comment here on a matter in the back of my mind today:

This is heavy stuff going on right now with this proposed float. Information that could be "acceptably" covered up back then is now RELEVANT information. The "F*** y**, Bryan, I make more in a week than you make in a year" I have no idea why that went, or where it went to. But, the threads which you claim contain comment sufficiently over the top to require shifting to the private area I HIGHLY recommend retrieving. All the complaint threads, plus my "deposit trick" thread - it's still as relevant then as now. However you want them cleaned up, clean them up - hell, I'll happily edit every single one of my posts with something along the lines of "I apologise to Cloud for any personally offensive remarks I made in the heat of the moment. I retract them all, and will let the facts speak for themselves" - or something like that.

Either way, ALL that information is important - the "f*** y**" article as much as any, as it clearly casts doubts on the character and trustworthiness of the individual seeking $45,000,000 of the public's money.

In the interests of all concerned, that information should be back where it belongs - and, assuming all offensive and non-factual comment is removed, I can see no reason why it shouldn't be.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm not paying too much attention to relevance here since it's early morning, and I have plenty of other things on my mind which take priority over scrutinizing every last bit of old and current threads about CP.

For the moment, I'm just cleaning up a few bits with soap because we do need to try and keep things simple and clean here - but the editing of those words does not in any way change the content.

As for moving threads about - Meister has his reasons for having moved these threads some time ago. I feel pretty confident in saying that he did not move these threads for any reason other than irrelevance, and not because he was asked or forced to do so.

In any case, I would like to remind members here to try and keep things civil here. At the first sign of unwelcome heat I will start giving away vacations again :)
 
Up to this point, I've been referring to the threads that were moved on the site, but it has been pointed out to me these are cached at google, thus I see no need in moving them again. I've already given you my explanations on their removal, and my decision stands firm. If you don't like the way this is, sorry.

And for those of you raggin' on me like there's some conspiracy, sorry to disappoint you - there ain't one. I've spent way too much time on this so far, most of the things that have been brought up are merely rehashing things I've already covered. Perhaps some of you should direct the energy you're putting into this into something more constructive.

I have a crapload of PABs to deal with. Please let me get busy with these. Thanks!
 
You said:

and I will not tolerate my website to become the platform for a few individuals to make inflammatory statements
I've just looked back through the thread in the main forum you locked, and can find nothing "inflammatory", other than a joking suggesting to short-sell if and when this opens. My own comments relate to the deposit trick and the recent ante-upped promos. This is factual. The comment made about the balance sheet in relation to to these promos is interesting and relevant. What was "inflammatory"?

This is FACTUAL INFORMATION. When Mike Shakleford had the Casino Bar lawyers on his ass, he said "Since I only am reporting truthfully what happened to me...I see no reason to feel accountable." Just because the factual information is unpleasant doesn't make it any less factual. It's not my fault it's unpleasant, or yours, or any of the posters here. And FACTUAL information is unimpeachable. In addition to that, it's IMPORTANT information. Heck, this is the first ever proposed RTG float - of eleven casinos, fully twenty five percent of the ENTIRE RTG stable as listed on the clients page. And there's a lot of money involved, almost 100 million dollars. And whether you like it or not, the moving force behind that twenty five percent of the entire RTG stable has had, and has, a questionable record, factually recorded. FACTUALLY.

It's my opinion that censoring this important information is wrong. As long as it's FACTUAL, there is no possible comeback on you, legal or otherwise. And this is not information known to the larger public. We know it, because we're involved. We have a duty to those who aren't to report FACTUAL information that could benefit them.

I'm perplexed that we seem to be in such apparent disagreement on this.
 
eek said:
Stress relieving musical interlude for those that need it.
lets boogie :cool:
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All that does is make me want to punch my computer screen. :D

caruso said:
...I've just looked back through the thread in the main forum you locked, and can find nothing "inflammatory", other than a joking suggesting to short-sell if and when this opens...

The due diligence and prospectus for the Public Offer by Seymour Pierce on one of the biggest and best known rogues in the business should make for some interesting reading.
++++++++++
This is an all-time joke. Due diligence? Corporate fitness? Or do they just look at the balance sheet, see a figure with twenty zeros after it and go ahead on that basis?

Would the UK A.I.M. have run with alcapone.com?

What is the legal situation regarding flotations of companies that use deception and duplicity to get their customers' wallets open?
++++++++++
The way to shaft Mr Cloud is to find an irregularity in the profit forecasts, such as describing as "exceptional items" the confiscated winnings of players as being a contribution to forecast profits.
++++++++++
Perhaps there is still a chance for this IPO to be killed off before the suits in the city get their fingers burned as well as players.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
The difference being that CON actually PAID, of course.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
this isn't about the Mount Everest of complaints we've seen over time and the obnoxious public stance of Cloud - all that's now got harder to provide evidence for after the removal of useful threads and articles.
++++++++++++++++++++++
I am now full throttled to do short sell Crystal Palace as instantly
as they are on the stock chart.


That's enough for me to lock the thread because it was going nowhere but to the caruso lair of the damned. I locked the thread, and stated exactly why. I don't need to do the same here.

I have also explained why threads and articles were moved, most of these are cached anyway so what the hell?

Factual information? I disagree. You can't compare M. Shackelford's casino findings with this. Casinobar's situation was mathematics. I hate to say this but much of what you are bringing up is based on hearsay and the discontent of a handful of players - mostly people who were banned from his casinos. The thing is, in most cases these players were paid their winnings. I remember you received yours, didn't you??

The only thing that is messed up is that there are still some banned players who still receive mailshots (like you did). In most cases these are sent to email addresses other than the one used by the banned account. The other messed up thing is the safebet logos. They've never been removed, but I'll see if I can't make that happen.

Here is a fact, and you may hate to hear this, but I rarely receive complaints nowadays for the Crystal Palace casinos. So what the hell am I supposed to do about that? I believe that owners and operators should be given the chance to right their wrongs, and I feel that is what has been happening here for the past couple of years. I believe in giving credit where credit is due; you seem not to be able to fathom this - thus the nemesis for the disagreement.

Finally, if you feel that you need to keeping ranting on about this, please go elsewhere. These postings are no longer welcome here. I am only asking you to respect this board and my website.
 

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