International Thunderbird Gaming Corporation: An Operations Update.VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 13, 1998-- International Thunde(TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). :INB INB Inbound INB Internal Network Bus INB Intranodal Buffer INB Install Busy INB Input Buffer Control Block .) (VSE See DOS/VSE. VSE - Virtual Storage Extended :INB.) International Thunderbird thunderbird In North American Indian mythology, a powerful spirit in the form of a bird that watered the earth and made vegetation grow. Lightning was believed to flash from its eyes or beak, and the beating of its wings was thought to represent rolling thunder. Gaming Corporation is pleased to provide an update on its projects and operations. During the past 12 months, the Company has been aggressively executing its business plan of diversifying its operations. In this endeavor, the Company had been pursuing business opportunities in Guatemala, Panama, Aruba, Brazil and China. The Company is pleased to announce that it has successfully commenced operations in the new markets of Aruba, Guatemala and Panama to complement its existing operations in California and South Carolina South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW). Facts and Figures Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. . The Company has made a decision to channel its financial and other resources into fully developing these new and existing markets. Consequently, the Company will refrain for the time being from entering any other new markets in Central and South America South America, fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. until the existing markets have matured. In this regard, the Company will write off the costs previously incurred of approximately US$900,000 which were incurred in pursuing the gaming markets in Brazil. Acquisition of Casino in Aruba On November 12, 1997, the Company acquired Oceanside Casino N.V., operators of the Aruba Palm Beach Hotel's casino on the island of Aruba - one of the premiere tourist destinations in the Caribbean. This 5000 square foot casino, housing 175 slot machines and ten gaming tables, shares its prime Palm Beach location with the neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. Hyatt, Radisson, Wyndham and Marriot resorts. The Company has a ten-year lease agreement with Silvermoon Hotel and Casino N.V., the owner of the Aruba Palm Beach Hotel, to house and operate the casino. Although the Company is renovating this casino to give it an exciting and inviting new Caribbean theme (Casino Meringue), the casino continues to operate and generate revenues to the Company. Upon completion of the renovations in March 1998, the Company expects to generate revenues of US$2.6 million in 1998 resulting in US$750,000 in net income before income taxes. Acquisition of Casino Licenses in Panama On January 29, 1998, under a successful public bid, the Panamanian subsidiary of the Company acquired the Group "A" package of casino licenses from the Government of the Republic of Panama for a total price of US$3.55 million. Group "A" consisted of four complete casino licenses permitting gaming tables and Type A slot machines along with other forms of gambling devices. Three of these licenses represent existing casinos operating in the El Panama, National and Washington Hotels located in Panama. The fourth license is a floating license permitting the Company to operate a new casino in the City of Panama, the location of which has yet to be selected by the Company. To enable itself to mount the successful bid of US$3.55 million, the Company borrowed US$1.775 million from a syndicate of arms-length Panamanian investors. The Panamanian investors, subject to the approval of the Panamanian Gaming Commission, have the right to convert their loan into an equity interest in the Panamanian subsidiary of the Company. At current levels of investment and upon regulatory approval, the Panamanian investors would receive a 50 percent equity interest in the subsidiary in Panama. For accounting purposes, the Company will report the full revenues of the casinos in its financial statements and identify the percentage allocated to the Panamanian investors as a minority interest. The Panamanian investors will be responsible for 50 percent ongoing capital costs to be incurred. The Company expects to take control of the casinos in Panama by May 1, 1998. Upon completion of the renovations of the three existing casinos and commencement of operations of the fourth casino permitted under the "floating" license, the Company expects the gross revenues from operations in Panama to be approximately US$10 million, and a net income before income taxes of US$2.5 million on annualized annualized Of or relating to a variable that has been mathematically converted to a yearly rate. Inflation and interest rates are generally annualized since it is on this basis that these two variables are ordinarily stated and compared. basis. Lottery Terminal Operations The reception, processing, and staging of passengers; thereceipt, transit, storage, and marshalling of cargo; the loadingand unloading of modes of transport conveyances; and themanifesting and forwarding of cargo and passengers todestination. See also operation; terminal. in Guatemala On February 5, 1998, the Company commenced operating 180 lottery terminals in the first-class Camino Real Hotel The "Camino Real Hotel" established in 1912, this landmark in the heart of El Paso has brought together the elegance that characterizes the Camino Real name and all the warmth and tradition of Southern hospitality. located in the popular tourist district of Guatemala City Guatemala City City (pop., 1994: city, 823,301; 1999 est.: metro area, 3,119,000), capital of Guatemala. The largest city in Central America, it lies in the central highlands at an elevation of about 4,900 ft (1,490 m). . The Fundacion Pediatrica Guatemaltec ("FPG FPG Fasting plasma glucose, see there ", the Pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. Foundation of Guatemala) holds a license issued by the Guatemala government to operate lottery games and has contracted with ILAC ILAC International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation ILAC International Laboratory Accreditation Conference ILAC Institute for Latin American Concern ILAC In-Line Amplifier Card ILAC International Association of Lactation Consultants , a subsidiary and agent of Public Gaming Research Institute Inc. (PGR PGR Project Gotham Racing (game) PGR Procuraduría General de la República (Mexico) PGR Patriot Guard Riders (national motorcycle group based in Centennial, CO) ), to oversee video lottery terminal A Video Lottery Terminal or VLT is a gaming machine that allows gamblers to bet on the outcome of a video game. A VLT is similar to a slot machine, except that it is connected to a centralized computer system that determines the outcome of each wager using a random (VLT VLT Valletta (postal locality, Malta) VLT Very Large Telescope VLT Video Lottery Terminal VLT Vermont Land Trust VLT Visible Light Transmittance VLT Variable List Table VLT Very Long-Term ) concessions in Guatemala. PGR and ILAC, entered into an agreement with the Company to supply and operate an initial 2,000 video lottery terminals on a revenue sharing revenue sharing Funding arrangement in which one government unit grants a portion of its tax income to another government unit. For example, provinces or states may share revenue with local governments, or national governments may share revenue with provinces or states. arrangement for five years. The opening of this facility was delayed from its scheduled opening in December 1997 due to a review of the premises and operations by the Guatemala government. Upon completion of the review, the Guatemala government allowed the facility to open subject to annual reviews. The Company intends to increase the number of VLT's at the Camino Real Hotel and two other locations to 600 over the next few months. Upon installing the 600 VLT's and reviewing the operating results thereof, the Company will formulate its new expansion plans in Guatemala. Based on the initial results from the 180 VLTs to date from the facility in Guatemala, the Company expects the net revenues from the 600 VLTs to be approximately US$1.8 million, providing a pre-tax profit of US$600,000. Brazil As previously reported, the Company had entered into two separate agreements regarding Brazil. Firstly, it had entered into a Representation and Marketing Agreement with C.H.R. Eazy Comercio e Imprtacao Ltda ("C.H.R.") to provide Bingo-Keno Video Lottery Terminals on a revenue sharing basis in Brazil. Secondly, the Company had entered into an agreement to purchase 50 percent of Burgcon do Brasil Participacoes Ltda ("Burgcon"), a Brazilian gaming company operating video gaming video gaming n. 1. Gambling by means of interactive games of chance played on a video screen. 2. The playing of video games. machines in Brazil. Due to the Company's limited financial and other resources and an uncertain regulatory environment relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc gaming in Brazil, the agreement with Burgcon has been terminated and the Company has written-off the associated costs of US$500,000 pertaining per·tain intr.v. per·tained, per·tain·ing, per·tains 1. To have reference; relate: evidence that pertains to the accident. 2. to this project. Further, the Company does not intend to pursue the business opportunities presented under the Representation and Marketing Agreement with C.H.R. and has written off the costs of approximately US$400,000 associated with this project. The Company will reassess the business opportunities in Brazil in the future when the conditions are more favorable. Projects in Asia As previously reported, the Company had entered into an agreement with Millennium III Enterprises Inc. ("Millennium") to actively pursue gaming opportunities in Asia. The Company's agreement with Millenium will be revisited in March. The Company intends to continue pursuing these opportunities on an informal basis. The development of this opportunity is a long-term project and management feels that pursuing it will not significantly take away financial or other resources which are being directed towards fully developing the Company's existing and new markets. Operations in California The Company continues to operate in excess of 1,800 VLT's on Native Indian Casinos in California. Based on historical results to date and the agreements in place with the Native Tribes, the Company expects the gross revenues from these VLT's to be approximately US$13.4 million, giving a pre-tax profit of approximately US$5.8 million. Negotiations between the Native Tribes and State of California to reach a compact are continuing. Upon successful negotiations, the company is optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op for its prospects of growth in this (important) market. ThunderWatch - VLT Control System The Company is in the final phase of testing the ThunderWatch System. ThunderWatch is a Windows NT (Windows New Technology) A 32-bit operating system from Microsoft for Intel x86 CPUs. NT is the core technology in Windows 2000 and Windows XP (see Windows). Available in separate client and server versions, it includes built-in networking and preemptive multitasking. based control and monitoring system designed to interact with all video gaming devices from a central source. The Company expects to market this system both in California and in other markets. Currently the system is successfully being used with the video lottery terminals in Guatemala. Acquisition of Casino Signage and Display Company Effective December 8, 1997, the Company acquired a 90 percent interest in Calsino Inc., an innovative casino sign and display company active in manufacturing, marketing and installing casino and gaming machine See video game console. signage and lighting systems. This California based signage division complements the Company's current line of value-added services and products. Calsino has been instrumental in the design and construction of the Company's facilities in Aruba and Guatemala and is being approached by other casinos in the Caribbean for design services or management contracts. Calsino has also successfully established relationships with National Accounts for provision of non-gaming related signage. Winstreak - Internet Casino Project The Company's joint venture with IGN IGN Ignored (Status) IGN Institut Geographique National IGN Ignition IGN Instituto Geografico Nacional (Spain) IGN Imagine Games Network IGN In-Game Name (gaming) Internet Global Network Inc. to develop a "virtual" Internet based casino continues to progress well. The virtual casino, located at www.winstreak.com, is expected to commence "live" wagering in March 1998. The official launch of WinStreak is expected to take place in April 1998. The Company will continue to monitor its investment in this project. In closing, we would like to thank the Company's shareholders for their continued support and assure them that all of our management and employees are dedicated to making International Thunderbird a premiere gaming company and operator of casinos. Additional information about the Company is available on its World Wide Web site at www.intltbird.com On behalf of the Board of Directors Hari B. Varshney Co-Chairman -0- Cautionary Notice: This release contains forward-looking statements reflecting the Company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events which could materially affect Company performance in the future. The Company cautions that these and similar statements involve risk and uncertainties and are qualified by important factors, including competitive pressures, unfavorable changes in regulatory structures, and general risks associated with business, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statement. Forward-looking statements are made in the context of information available as of the date stated. The Company undertakes no obligations to update or revise such statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated events as they occur. CONTACT: International Thunderbird Gaming Corporation Alan E. Schneider, 604/687-2255 or 1-800-914-8462 alans@intltbird.com website: www.intltbird.com |
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