This week, Weekly Famitsu asked its readers about their gaming habits and brought back some interesting results.

For consoles owned, the responses were pretty much par for the course. The Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii dominate the market with nearly 50 percent of responders owning one or the other (2070 viable reader responses). A Question on the most commonly used console brought in somewhat similar results, although the total number of users for smart phones, PCs, and other consoles was the dominant winner (1854 viable reader responses).

When asked what console they were looking to purchase, most people answered with the Nintendo 3DS, showing that Nintendo still reigns strong in the gaming market (954 viable reader responses). However, when the question about what console people are looking to purchase is broken down into the three major reasons for purchase, (a specific game, because a friend owns one, or because the content is appealing) an interesting trend appears. Across the board, most people make their console choices for specific games. But with Sony and Microsoft, the percentage of content specific people is universally greater than those who are influenced by their friends, whereas with Nintendo, the outside influence of friends appears to be stronger. Depending on how one looks at the data, this means that either Nintendo consoles are weaker on content, or they incorporate more social interactions and influences (or both).

Another notable result involved network usage. When asked about network use of their consoles, surprisingly, less than 40 percent of responders said they used the network capabilities of their consoles (1534 viable reader responses). Of these people, less than 10 percent use any pay content like DLC. (This means, for every 100 users, only 4 spend any money for downloadable content.) Obviously downloadable content and add-ons are a relatively young market and these figures arent very useful as indicators for its future, but they do paint a startling picture of its present.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio, Mar 22, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Today, SteelSeries,
the leading global manufacturer of competitive gaming peripherals
announced that this weekend during the Major League Gaming (MLG) Winter
Championship in Columbus, Ohio, attendees and professional players will
have an opportunity to provide feedback about the mouse, mousepad and
keyboard designs for the upcoming SteelSeries and MLG co-branded
products.

“We introduced the SteelSeries Design by Gamers campaign in 2011 by
asking our large Facebook community which mouse design they preferred;
and as a direct result of this feedback, we released the black and
orange SteelSeries Kana Mouse. We are taking that concept to the next
level together with Major League Gaming,” said SteelSeries CMO, Kim Rom.
“MLG Winter Championship attendees will be asked what features,
functionality and designs they prefer. What better way to understand
exactly what the MLG gamers, audience and fans want out of their
peripherals than by asking them first hand?”

Throughout the weekend, attendees can answer a series of questions about
features, designs and functionalities from kiosks inside of the
SteelSeries booth. Participants in the survey can win various
SteelSeries items throughout the weekend.

In addition, the SteelSeries MLG Edition QcK+ mousepads will be
available exclusively at the MLG Pro Shop at the event for $19.99.
Additional information about the Winter Championships can also be
accessed at
http://pro.majorleaguegaming.com/competitions/30 .

ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING:

Founded in 2002, Major
League Gaming (MLG) (
www.majorleaguegaming.com )
is the dominant media property exclusively targeting tens of millions of
consumers worldwide who have a passion for playing video games as a
competitive social activity. The company gives aspiring gamers around
the world an opportunity to compete, improve their skills, and socialize
through a thriving competitive community with more than 750,000 matches
each month online and LIVE in-person Pro Circuit tournaments in cities
nationwide. MLG broadcasts all Pro Circuit play via LIVE streaming
online to hundreds of thousands of fans from more than 170 countries.

ABOUT STEELSERIES:

SteelSeries is a leading manufacturer of gaming peripherals, including
headsets, keyboards, mice, software and gaming surfaces. For the past
decade, SteelSeries has been on the forefront of competitive gaming gear
thanks to continued innovation and product development in cooperation
with leading professional gaming teams. SteelSeries also supports the
growth of competitive gaming tournaments and electronic sports leagues
through professional team sponsorships, partnerships, and community
support all over the world. For more information, please visit
http://steelseries.com .

SOURCE: SteelSeries

PR for SteelSeries
Tori Pugliese, 203-605-4028
tori@steelseries.com
or
PR for Major League Gaming
Katie Goldberg, 917-338-2391
kgoldberg@mlgpro.com

Copyright Business Wire 2012

Financial Glossary

Words used in this article:

Are video games art?

The Smithsonian American Art Museum says yes with its newest exhibit, The Art of Video Games. The exhibit is curated by Chris Melissinos of Past Pixels, a group charged with the preservation of video game history. Over the past year, Melissinos — aided by a board of advisors that includes Double Fines Tim Schafer, text adventure veteran Steve Meretzky, and Penny Arcade team Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik — designed an exhibit that encourages visitors to make what Melissinos calls a deeply personal decision of whether video games are art. The exhibit offers five eras of video games with both playable demos and self-playing videos, showcasing everything from the Atari 2600 to the PlayStation 3, from the traditional platforming of Super Mario Bros. to the more experimental play of Flower.

The exhibit opened on March 16 with GameFest, a weekend-long celebration of the evolution of video games. Most of the opening day was devoted to a pair of panels examining the past and future of video games. Providing the historical perspective were luminaries Keith Robinson of Intellivision; Don Daglow of AOLs Neverwinter Nights; Rand Miller, co-creator of Myst; and Mike Mika of Other Ocean Interactive. Together, they reminisced about when technology stopped being just a military and educational tool and became an instrument with which to create art. Anything seemed possible, if only the technology could keep up with their imaginations. Daglow remembered thinking, If we had more than 16 colors, we could challenge Michelangelo. But those same deficiencies are also what inspired early programmers, said Daglow: Limitations contribute to game design; theyre our first handholds on the rock face of a new platform.

The Art Of Video Games chronicles the history of game development.
Perhaps thats why the industry continuously migrates to platforms that reintroduce old restrictions — from desktop computing to Web-based games to mobile apps. Each environment invokes the days when Robinson created Intellivision games with only 12K of memory at his disposal. Being creative with limited resources leads to mastery of a platform, which the current trend toward longer hardware cycles may encourage.

Among the general waxing were some genuinely surprising nuggets of historical value. One audience member asked Robinson if early games lacked save states because of technological or creative limitations. Robinson said neither — it was more financial. But after the video game crash of 1983, gaming moved from consoles to computers, where such features were standard and became expected after Nintendo revived the console industry.

Daglow had a similar tale of failure leading to the advancement of gaming, though his was more personal. Early in his career while working for Electronic Arts, Daglow was eager to recruit promising talent to the company. To that end, he tried persuading Richard Garriott to abandon Ultima, telling him that it would never go anywhere. Much to historys relief, Garriott ignored this advice.

Plenty of classic gaming artifacts were on display at the Smithsonian.

The second panel was less nostalgic and more contentious as they debated the role and artistry of video games. Engaged in this disagreement were Paul Barnett of BioWare-Mythic; Mark DeLoura, VP of technology at THQ; Ken Levine, project director for BioShock; and Kellee Santiago, co-founder of thatgamecompany. For Santiago, whose company has published such experiential titles as flOw, Flower, and Journey, developers have a responsibility to ensure their games are high art that offer something meaningful to the player. But had she walked into the Smithsonian exhibit, she wouldve been greeted with a placard identifying three voices involved in the video game experience: the designer, the game itself, and the player. With so many voices, its impossible to fully control the gameplay experience. This was the side Levine took, noting, Ideas arent trans fats. I dont want my art in control; I want it out of control. Its nobodys business how I want to express myself.

The tension between these two ideologies of what constitutes a game is reflected even in the definition of what it means to be a gamer. With the rise of social and mobile gaming and digital distribution, Games are everywhere now — but for hardcore gamers, theyre the wrong games, said Barnett, who grew up with games designed to crush your soul. The proliferation and accessibility of games has increased the age of the average gamer to 37 years old. Though Barnett believes future designers will be inspired by the games they grew up with, its apparent that each generation will be reinterpreting these influences for new audiences and platforms.

Hideo Kojima was one of many celebrated game developers and designers who showed up to celebrate GameFest.
Gaming is a unique medium whose founders are still a part of the industry, as exemplified throughout the weekend with speeches and appearances by Nolan Bushnell, Hideo Kojima, and David Crane. Its a young medium, but a promising one. I dont know where gaming is going to be tomorrow, said Barnett; but for the time being, as Melissinos closed, this is a medium whose time has come.

Ken Gagne covers Macs, retrocomputing, social media and electronic entertainment. Follow Ken on Twitter at @IDGagne, read his Computerworld blog or subscribe to his news and features RSS feed.

Gaming ignites the competitive drive

Who knew that dealing with an angry entity could be so calming?

I’ll tell you who: the developers at Rovio who created the Angry Birds mobile game. I admit that I whip out my iPhone and give it to my 7-year-old to keep him entertained (read: quiet) in a restaurant.

Before anyone calls the Department of Family and Children’s Services on me, there’s a growing body of research that shows games can help, not hurt, mental capacity.

For example, researchers with the Michigan State University’s Children and Technology Project recently released a report that showed increased creativity among the 12-year-olds they studied who were avid gamers.

According to the study, “regardless of gender or race, greater videogame playing was associated with greater creativity” in the 491 children who participated.

In another recent study — this one of adults — at the cognitive neuroscience research lab at the University of California, San Francisco, researchers found that videogame playing can actually enhance a person’s ability to pay attention and resist distraction.

In yet another recent study, researchers found that social network games such as Mafia Wars and Farmville can make it easier to enhance relationships by giving people something else in common.

(This study also was conducted at Michigan State University, which makes me think there’s plenty of game-playing during those long winter months.)

And then there is anecdotal research (OK, my life) that indicates games such as Words With Friends just makes life better all around. (My husband, who is often awakened by the light from my phone shining in his face, would disagree.) Without Words With Friends, though, I would not be able to use “qis,” “vodouns” and “ohia” in a sentence.

It isn’t just games that have the capacity to distract. In fact, I had trouble writing this column because “The Voice” (in itself a competition) was on television.

The truth is that it is easy to resist distraction when you are doing something fun. Games are fun. Games tap into our competitive drive.

And if you can play “privates” for 185 points on one of your best friends, then so much the better. (Incidentally, that did not enhance our relationship.)

The key to getting anything done is finding the fun in whatever you have to do. It’s that thought process that is driving the movement toward incorporating games in teaching.

Igniting the competitive drive of gaming in the learning process is a win-win situation: It is fun and useful.

Gaming just may be the way the new generation will get a leg up on the competition.

At least that is what I tell myself when my son yells, “I reached Level 12!”

Beth Concepción, PhD, is a writing professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

This Feb. 21, 2012 photo shows the Midnight Star Gaming Emporium, owned by actor Kevin Costner, in Deadwood, SD Deadwood was a dying community with no preservation budget before gambling was re-legalized in 1989. Since then, the citys gambling revenues have steadily climbed. Now the town is confronting another challenge: How to keep its rough-and-tumble aesthetics while still offering the comfort, convenience and profitability of a 21st century gambling spot that draws 2 million tourists each year.
Photo: Amber Hunt
/ AP

A rumor circulating about the launch of a fast-paced poker game called Dash Poker on the Merge Gaming Network is apparently untrue, according to a report.

A story at Gambling911.com reports that Merge is not launching its own version of a game like PokerStars Zoom poker, in which players can quickly fold and move on to new hands at cash game tables, despite reports earlier on Thursday to the contrary.

The story got life with a thread on the poker forum twoplustwo.com (which you can see here), which alleged that Merge had sent an email to some of its affiliates. The email reportedly read:

The Merge Gaming Network is rapidly expanding and keeping up with current trends in Online Poker. With Merge being the fastest growing network in the industry, it is adamant we remain on top of new technologies available to the players. Merge is proud to announce that that development phase of DASH POKER is now complete and we are currently seeking beta testers for our product. Please reply to this e-mail or contact xxxxx at xxxxxxx if you wish to participate in the beta phase. We hope to be up and running on all our skins by May 1st, 2012.

But, according to the the Gambling911 report by Chris Costigan, the email was a hoax:

The CEO of Merge Gaming advised Gambling911.com Thursday evening that they were not in the process of introducing such a platform.
“It is simply not true,” the company CEO advised us.

While Merge Gaming’s CEO admitted that “Dash Poker” did have a nice ring to it, he was baffled by where this information had come from.
It’s not damaging (to our company), just untrue!” he said.

The news came at a time when fast-paced poker games are being rolled out on more than one website. PokerStars is currently beta testing real-money play of its Zoom product, while a similar game called Fast Poker will be launched soon on several European-based poker sites.

Get your daily dose of poker news with the PTP Hit and Run.

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MINNETONKA, Minn., March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
Table Trac, Inc. (otcqb:TBTC), a developer and provider of casino information and management systems that automate and monitor the operations of casinos announced that it has signed an exclusive international dealer agreement with CountR, a worldwide market leader in developing cash handling and cash management systems for the casino gaming industry.

This International Dealer Agreement positions Table Trac, Inc. as the sole and exclusive dealer of several innovative products from CountR, including the automated CAION and CashIO cash handling and coinless gaming redemption kiosks. The agreement also provides Table Trac with distribution rights for CountR’s latest innovative technology, the TiTa®, a micro ticket redemption and issuing device that can be used at table games; along with RODI, a new and scalable advertising and information platform that provides digital signage through a centrally-managed administrative system.

“I am delighted by the opportunities this unique partnership affords both parties,” said Chris Bennett, Vice President of CountR Americas. “CountR’s reliable, stable and innovative product line can only benefit from an association with Table Trac who brings an established network of sales and service team members to make this a great product offering for casino operators within their distribution area.”

This agreement grants Table Trac the sole and exclusive dealer rights in twelve U.S. jurisdictions, including Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming; as well as in 16 countries in Central and South America.

“We believe that the CountR products are well-suited to the Americas,” said Glenn Goulet, Table Trac Chief Executive Officer. “The innovation and small footprint they have developed for the cash management and coinless gaming devices is state-of-the-art.”

He added, “CountR’s ticket redemption device, the TiTa®, designed for the table games market, is especially appealing as it provides operators with a reliable and secure way to increase revenues while reducing costs. This new TiTa® system allows table games to accept and issue gaming tickets, all the while providing increased accountability and profitability. It is truly one of the most innovative technologies for table game operators seen in years.”

Table Trac and CountR will be showcasing their latest portfolio of products at the upcoming National Indian Gaming Association Trade Show and Conference in San Diego, April 1-4, 2012. For more information or to schedule a demonstration contact Jeff Connor, Table Trac’s Director of Sales and Marketing at 512-771-7774 or jeff.connor@casinotrac.com.

About Table Trac, Inc.

Founded in 1995, Table Trac, Inc. designs, develops and sells casino information and management systems. The company has systems installed in North, South, and Central America, as well as the Caribbean. More information is available at
http://www.tabletrac.com/ .

About CountR

CountR is a worldwide operating company with its headquarters in the EuroParc, outside Berlin, Germany. CountR specializes in developing technologies for the automated cash handling and coinless gaming markets. CountR products are deployed across five continents and supported locally by professional partners. More information is available at
http://www.countr.de/ .

Forward Looking Statements

Statements made in this press release, including statements regarding events and financial trends that may affect our future operating results, financial position and cash flows, may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These certain statements are based on our assumptions and estimates and are subject to risks and uncertainties. You can identify these forward-looking statements by words like “strategy,” “expects,” “plans,” “believes,” “will,” “estimates,” “intends,” “projects,” “goals,” “targets” and other words of similar meaning. You can also identify them by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. For these statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For further information on factors that could impact Table Trac and statements contained in this press release, reference should be made to Table Trac’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and annual reports on Form 10-K. You can access such filings at
http://www.sec.gov .

For More Information

Glenn Goulet, CEO
Table Trac, Inc.
Phone: (952) 548-8877

SOURCE Table Trac, Inc.

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

Netscribes (India) Pvt. Ltd. launches Online Gaming Market in China 2012 report covering a market with strong growth potential. The report is part of Netscribes’ Information Technology Industry Series reports.

Mumbai, India, March 23, 2012 –(PR.com)– Netscribes (India) Pvt. Ltd., a knowledge consulting solutions company, announces the launch of its report, Online Gaming Market in China 2012. The market is poised to grow with a staggering CAGR of 40% during 2009-2015.

The report begins with the market overview of online gaming market in China, providing details on the domestic online gaming industry size in terms of online gaming market value and its growth. It also mentions the size of the online gamer base and its growth over past few years. The share of online gaming market revenue earned from mobile network and internet has been included in this section which is followed by an illustration of the online gaming industry business model wherein it depicts the structure of the market, including the most popular business models adopted by the market players. Another detailed illustration about the types of online games is also included in the report. There are primarily five types of online games, including massively multiplayer online game, first-person shooter, racing/simulation game, adult/gambling game and puzzle/strategy game.

Factors driving the growth of online gaming market in China are also explained in detail. Increasing internet usage coupled with growth in broadband subscribers is providing impetus to the growth in online gaming market. China has the worlds largest internet user base, representing 23% of the global online population with a broadband penetration set to grow with a CAGR of at least 21%. Rising personal computer sales will lead to increasing demand for online gaming while growing revenues from in-game advertising will allow online game operators to diversify their revenue generation source. Growth in mobile internet users provides future growth prospects for the market as mobile internet users have been growing at a CAGR of robust 45%. Diversified product portfolio of domestic players leads to the availability of affordable online gaming.

The players operating in the market also face challenges which are impeding their development and growth. Fragmented regulatory framework and cumbersome market entry procedures have been identified as major challenges, restricting the entry of foreign players in the domestic online gaming industry. Demographic challenge is held responsible for slower market growth rate. School-age population is expected to represent only 17.7% of the total population of China by 2020. There has been several anti-game addiction program adopted by the government that considerably restricts minors from indulging into online gaming. Fear of online gaming fraught by cyber criminals is also a cause of concern for the consumers. Limited enforcement of intellectual property rights results in large no. of pirated online games in China. Human resource constraints act as a challenge for the online game developers. Low internet penetration level compared to other countries hinders market expansion of online gaming industry.

The report also mentions the governments key focus areas in the online gaming sector, for supporting the sustainable development of the overall online gaming industry.

Emerging trends in the online gaming market include growth in pre-paid gaming cards, focus on research and development, focus on online 3D games and overseas expansion. Players are investing in Ramp;D, introducing more and more online 3D games and also upgrading the existing 3D games, as a step towards further development of the current technological standards. Export of online games has grown at CAGR of 82%.

Mergers and acquisitions section highlights some of the major Mamp;A deals made recently in the Chinese online gaming market. This section covers information on the parties involved along with the deal size and transaction time it took for completing the deal.

The competition section outlays the competitive landscape of the online gaming industry in China briefing about the domestic and foreign players existing in the market. This section provides a three dimensional analysis of domestic key players revenues, profits and market capitalization. The key domestic players are ranked according to the total income and net profit. The report also features brief profiles of major domestic and foreign players in the market and a snapshot of their corporation, financial performance along with the key financial ratios, business highlights and their product portfolio providing an insight into the existing competitive scenario.

Some of the key statistics or factors impacting the online gaming market in China covered in the report includes domestic market size, revenue share, online gamer base, business model and types of online games, internet population and penetration, average time spent on online gaming per week, share of internet users playing online games, purchasing virtual currency and online games, broad band user base, average internet access speed for top five province, personal computer sales volume and personal computer online games market size, online advertising market size, mobile internet users and share of total mobile internet users accessing online games, country wise comparison of internet users and penetration, revenues earned from online exports and no. of Chinese online games sold to the international markets.

Key takeaway section summarizes the entire market in terms of opportunities, trends and challenges persisting in the online gaming market in China.

For more details on the content of each report and ordering information please contact:
Jitendra Punjabi
Tel: +91-33-4064-6215
Email: jitendra.punjabi@netscribes.com

Contact Information:
Netscribes India Pvt Ltd
Kalyan Banga
91 3340646215
Contact via Email
netscribes.com

Click here to read the full story: Increasing Internet Usage Boosts the Online Gaming Market in China, Finds Netscribes

Press Release Distributed by PR.com

CAMBRIDGE, MA, Mar 22, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
The gaming industry is a harsh environment in which to start and to
grow a business. It’s risky, hits-driven, and traditionally receives
minimal support from governments, banks, incubators, and most modern
institutions devoted to nurturing new companies. How then does one
survive and, ultimately, thrive?

On Thursday, April 5, 2012, the 4th Annual MIT Sloan Business and
Gaming (BiG) Conference will gather industry insiders, independent
developers, gaming enthusiasts, venture capitalists, attorneys,
academics, and students from across MIT and other top-tier colleges
for a day-long exploration into the business side of the gaming
industry.

MIT BiG is being held on the MIT Sloan campus in Cambridge, MA the
day before PAX East — one of the country’s largest events
celebrating gaming culture — which takes place in Boston, making it
convenient for participants to attend both conferences.

Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive, is slated
to take part in a Fireside Chat with Erik Schatzker, a Bloomberg
Television anchor and host of Inside Track.

Additional panelists and speakers will include:

Panel 1: Marketing and Branding in a Digital Age
Robert Ferrari,
President, Bare Tree Media
Christina Licursi, Associate, Wolf
Greenfield
Ryan Schneider, Marketing Director, Insomniac Games

Ichiro Lambe, President and Creative Director, Dejobaan Games

Panel 2: Corporate Finance and M&A in the Gaming Industry
Chris
Weaver, President, Media Technology Ltd.
Michael Dornbrook, Angel
Investor and Board Member, Common Angels
Jeffrey Steele, Attorney,
Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton
Tim Wright, General Partner, GrandBanks
Capital
Fareed Mosavat, Head of Studio, Zynga Boston

Panel 3: Managing Startups
Steve Charkoudian, Partner, Goodwin
Procter
Monty Sharma, Managing Director, MassDiGI
Chris Allen, CEO,
Brass Monkey
Aaron St. John, Founder, Hitpoint Studios
Jon Radoff,
Founder, Disruptor Beam

Panel 4: Project Management: Avoiding Burnout in Creative Staff

Greg Boyd, Associate, Davis & Gilbert
Tarrnie Williams, President,
Roadhouse Interactive
Roy Ben Ami, Senior Producer, Playdom
Craig
Alexander, V.P. Product Development, Turbine, Inc.
Paul Bellezza,
Associate Producer, Riot Games

MIT BiG and Foley Hoag LLP are sponsoring a Business Plan Competition
geared towards start-up companies in the video game, interactive
media and related industries. A single winning entry will be eligible
to receive up to $10,000 in free legal services from Foley Hoag
relating to their new venture. Business plans will be judged based on
business concept, innovation, feasibility and market analysis. For
more details, please visit:

http://www.mitbig.com/business-plan-competition

To register for MIT BiG or for more information, please visit

www.mitbig.com

Launched in 2009 by a group of MIT Sloan MBA students, MIT BiG has
featured such keynotes as Ken Levine, founding member of Irrational
Games, and Curt Schilling, the Boston Red Sox’s three-time World
Series champion and founder of 38 Studios, along with additional
speakers and panelists from EA, Playdom, Irrational Games, Turbine,
Harmonix, and Bethesda Softworks, among others. Panel discussions and
keynote addresses have covered a wide range of topics, including the
implications of microtransactions on sales, innovative approaches to
marketing, and how to build and launch a gaming startup.

For further information, contact:
Paul Denning
Director of Media Relations
(617) 253-0576 office
Email Contact

Patricia Favreau
Assistant Director of Media Relations
617-253-3492
Email Contact

SOURCE: MIT Sloan School of Management

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=E001CB2477A27CDD

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=B6392BCB22907D96

Copyright 2012 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

NEW YORK, March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
Elray Resources Inc. (otc.bb:ELRA) announced today that it has entered into a binding Letter of Intent with Golden Match, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.

Elray and Golden Match will enter into an Acquisition Agreement in which Elray will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Golden Match.

Golden Match is an investment holding company. Its principal business activity is to hold a profit share agreement with a VIP Room Gaming Promoter, the terms of which they receive 80% of the profit stream from the Promoters. The Promoter currently participates in the promotion of many major luxury VIP gaming facilities in Macao, China, the largest gaming market in the world, which include the MGM, Venetian, Wynn, Galaxy and City of Dreams.

VIP gaming operations in Macao consist of VIP rooms that offer exclusively high-limit baccarat table games. Baccarat is the largest source of gaming revenue in Macao. Gaming Promoters in Macao have historically maintained the majority of VIP customer relationships. The Promoters secure VIP rooms through agreements in which they receive either a commission on turnover or a split of the casino net gaming win or loss on a pre-gaming tax basis.

The letter of intent includes:

Golden Match is a company that has negotiated a profit sharing agreement with Cali Promocao de Jogos Sociedade Unipessoal Lda. (CALI), a company duly incorporated under the laws of the Special Administrative Region of Macao, and promotes Casinos in Macao SAR pursuant to a license issued by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination of Bureau of the Government of Macao SAR Over the past 5 months, CALI has generated approximately US$ 17 million profit after tax.

The agreements that Cali currently has in place are with the MGM Grand Macao, the Venetian, Wynn, Galaxy and City of Dreams.

Mr. Lao Sio I will be appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors with Brian Goodman remaining as Chief Executive.

Following the completion of the Acquisition Agreement, Elray will initially raise working capital to fund growth.

On signature of the letter of intent, Mr. Lao Sio I commented, “I am excited by this development as it enables us to take advantage of exciting growth opportunities that are available for expansion that a privately held company is unable to do. Macao has become the leading gaming center world wide, new casinos are opening, existing ones are expanding with more and more people visiting Macao, we will now be able to pursue these opportunities.”

Brian Goodman, current CEO stated that, “Elray will now be well positioned to develop and grow as a gaming entity internationally. The Macao opportunity together with the US listing will enable the company to raise growth capital, acquire other promoters in Macao as well as in other jurisdictions and negotiate more favorable terms with casinos due to its heightened profile. All in all a good result for Elray stockholders.”

About Mr. Lao Sio I

Mr. Lao Sio I is a highly educated Chinese Citizen and a resident of Macao. After graduating with a number of Degrees from the Macao Polytechnic Institute Mr. Lao Sio I (39 years old) completed numerous post graduate courses including diplomas in English as well as a number of technology related courses.

Following a successful career in local government in Macao, Mr. Lao Sio I entered the gaming industry in 2003, initially as a Casino VIP host and in 2005 investing in a VIP room as a senior partner. Since that time Mr. Lao Sio I has developed the reputation of being one of the leading, influential and respected gaming promoters in the GCR (Greater China Region) having negotiated deals with the largest Casinos in Macao. As Chairman, Mr. Lao Sio I will be leading the future development and growth of Elray.

About Elray

Elray is an established Global Online Gaming entity, which owns and licenses Gaming Intellectual Property, Gaming Domains, Trademarks and Player Databases.

This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to financial results and plans for future development activities, and are thus prospective. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements are risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s business and finances in general, including the ability to continue and manage its growth, competition, global economic conditions and other factors discussed in detail in the Company’s periodic filings with the Security and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Contact: Brian Goodman, CEO Brian@elraygaming.com (917) 775 9689
www.elraygaming.com

SOURCE Elray Gaming

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved