YOUBET(.COM) IT'S IN VALLEY ONLINE GAMBLING WEB SITE CUTS COSTS.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer Youbet.com Inc., the struggling Internet gambling Web site, said Tuesday that it is relocating to Woodland Hills and slashing its work force by 29 percent. The immediate layoff of 34 workers at West Los Angeles-based Youbet.com will help conserve cash that can be used to expand its core horse racing horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with business, the company said. Youbet.com plans to combine its online horse racing product with its sports-related product into a single Web site. ``We have taken these necessary steps in our efforts to be conservative in our operating expenditures while maximizing our resources for greater efficiency,'' Robert Fell, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. As part of the restructuring, A.L. Frank, president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. since February, has left the company. Executive Vice President Ron Luniewski has been appointed chief operating officer and will assume Frank's responsibilities. The move into a 30,000-square-foot building at 5901 De Soto de So·to , Hernando or Fernando 1496?-1542. Spanish explorer who landed in Florida in 1539 with 600 men and set out to search for the fabled riches of the north. Ave. is expected to be completed during the 2001 first quarter. About 85 people will work there. Youbet.com provides its members the ability to watch and, in most states, wager on thoroughbred and harness horse races Flat races Argentina
Youbet.com's role in the wagering process is limited to transmitting information-related wagers WAGERS. A wager is a bet a contract by which two parties or more agree that a certain sum of money, or other thing, shall be paid or delivered to one of them, on the happening or not happening of an uncertain event. 2. The law does not prohibit all wagers. to a state-licensed wagering facility. But an analyst who tracks the company said the membership base is not growing fast enough. ``Their (spending) was a million-and-a-half more (dollars) a month than what they were earning. With the cash they have left on the balance sheet, it should give them two to three years to turn into profitability before they run out of money,'' said Robert Schroeder at Taglich Brothers, D'Amadeo, Wagner & Co. Inc. in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . One problem is that online wagering is not permitted in California, which represents about 20 percent of the company's market, Fell said. An attempt to legalize le·gal·ize tr.v. le·gal·ized, le·gal·iz·ing, le·gal·iz·es To make legal or lawful; authorize or sanction by law. le it will probably be made next year. During the third quarter, Youbet.com posted a loss of $4 million, or 20 cents per share Cents per share The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned. , on revenue of $1.4 million. This compares with a loss of $7.2 million, 38 cents, on revenue of $1.1 million in the 1999 third quarter. |
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