Youbet.com Co-Founder Issues Special Letter to Shareholders.Business Editors NOTE TO MEDIA: Multimedia assets available LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2002 Youbet.com(R), Inc. (Nasdaq:UBET), the leading online live event and wagering wa·ger n. 1. a. An agreement under which each bettor pledges a certain amount to the other depending on the outcome of an unsettled matter. b. A matter bet on; a gamble. 2. company, today announced that it has issued a Special Letter to Shareholders to update existing Youbet.com investors on the current status of the Company, the progress since change of management in March and the positive outlook for the future. Text from the letter is as follows: Dear Shareholder, As you may already know, I returned to Youbet.com on March 22nd 2002. For those who don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. me, I co-founded Youbet.com in 1987, took it public in 1995 and remained with the Company through its rise in valuation exceeding $500 million in 1999. Through the efforts of a highly skilled, loyal and dedicated staff, we have made enormous progress over the last five months. We have become a much more efficient operation, substantially increased wagering volume, cut operating costs operating costs npl → gastos mpl operacionales and dramatically reduced our cash burn as reflected in the charts below. In addition, guided by feedback from our customers, we have added significant value to our racing product through upgrades and enhancements. http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.091202/bb3 EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) A metric used to show a company's profitability, but not its cash flow. EBITDA became popular in the 1980s to show the potential profitability of leveraged buyouts, but has become loss 60% lower than 2001 and 30% below the prior quarter Larry Lucas, who has been involved with the company for over 5 years, stepped up to the Chairman role in April. He has taken a very active role in building the Company and has been making a significant contribution to our success. We have also assembled a world class and active Board of Directors and have brought in new top-tier management, resulting in a Youbet that has never operated better nor been in a better strategic position. With the Company stabilized and nearing profitability, I feel the timing is right to move Chuck Champion into the Chief Executive position. Chuck joined the Company in April 2002 as 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. and has proven to be a highly competent manager and leader. He has learned the industry, knows and is respected by the key players, and is ready to take responsibility for all the deliverables at Youbet.com. Having had the opportunity to work closely with Chuck, I am also highly impressed with his integrity and passion. I know he will prove to be an effective, strong, and successful Chief Executive and will build value for all of us shareholders. For the record, I am not leaving the management of the Company. To the contrary, I will now be able to focus more on strategic planning Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. , business development, and Wall Street relations. I will continue as an active member of the Executive Committee and obviously the Board of Directors. Let me share some highlights of the Company's performance since March 22, 2002: Co-founder David Marshall David Marshall may refer to:
Charles F. Champion joins the company. Chuck has an extensive executive background in newspaper publishing and was president and publisher of the Internet publication Access Magazine before coming to Youbet.com. From 1995 through 1999 Chuck served as Senior Vice President of Circulation and Marketing for Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc., a Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder (IPA: /ˈrɪdɚ/) was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Company, which includes the Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia Inquirer Morning newspaper, long one of the most influential dailies in the eastern U.S. Founded in 1847 as the Pennsylvania Inquirer, it took its present name c. 1860. It was a strong supporter of the Union in the American Civil War. and Daily News. From October 1990 to June 1995 Chuck held various executive positions including Executive Vice-President of Sun-Times Company in Chicago and served as the President of the Chicago Sun-Times This article is about the Chicago newspaper. For the Canadian newspaper, see Owen Sound Sun Times. The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago. Charity Trust. Throughout his career, Chuck has proven to be extremely adept at increasing circulation/subscribers and decreasing expense. Online withdrawals added to ExpressCash. ExpressCash is our two way electronic check processing feature, which alleviates the reliance on credit cards and is now the method of choice for over 50% of our customer deposits. Launched new homepage and product changes. Company experiences record sign-ups. Increased tracks. Youbet averages 350 total races per day. A milestone bet. Company processes its 25 millionth bet and over $300 million in handle. Leverage third party marketing muscle through deals with: -- Churchill Downs Inc. -- Maryland Jockey Club -- Winnercomm / ESPN -- California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) Gary W. Sproule appointed CFO See Chief Financial Officer. . The new management team has been rounded out with the appointment of Sproule, who most recently served as chief financial officer of Disney Interactive, a unit of The Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co. In that position, he held responsibilities including strategic planning, controllership, operations, administration and information technology. Prior to that, Gary enjoyed 25 years with UNOCAL UNOCAL Union Oil of California (corporate name) where he last held the position of Chief Operating Officer for the 76 Products Marketing Division. Partnership dramatically increases wagering at Mountaineer. The response to Monday Madness is overwhelmingly positive as customers flock to the site weekly to participate in the tournament. Mountaineer handle processed through Youbet increased by 94% the first week and continues to grow during weeks without a scheduled tournament, proving customers can have an appetite to try and become loyal to new tracks. Credit card transaction fees implemented. The company implements credit card transaction fees saving an estimated $225,000 per year. World class board assembled with the appointment of Larry Lucas, Gary Adelson, Guy Chipparoni, Governor James Edgar and Brad Rosenberg as outside Directors. Larry Lucas, a seasoned executive with an extensive and diverse background in the fields of gaming, public safety, political affairs Political Affairs has several meanings:
Noun, pl welfare services provided by local authorities or a state agency for people with particular social needs social services npl → servicios mpl sociales steps up to serve as Chairman of the Board. Before founding the private cable and telephony company Interactive Cable Systems, Gary Adelson enjoyed a career as a Hollywood producer and is currently the Managing Partner of EastWest VentureGroup. Guy Chipparoni is President of KemperLesnik Public Affairs Those public information, command information, and community relations activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense. Also called PA. See also command information; community relations; public information. and specializes in community, government and media relations issues, management and grassroots outreach. Former Illinois Governor James Edgar brings both a wealth of experience from his 30-year career in government and a strong interest in 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 . Brad Rosenberg is Co-founder and Principal of North Atlantic Partners, LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , a private investment firm focused on providing expansion capital to growth-oriented companies and he concentrates on the gaming, manufacturing and retail service industries. Monthly handle record increased to over $16.7 million. In August 2002 we processed the highest handle ever since we began taking bets in 1997. Our monthly handle record was set in May 2002 and since then, our customers continue to prove their loyalty and preference for our technology and content by pushing that record over the top in June, July and again in August. In addition to all of the above, Youbet recently completed an intensive evaluation of the company conducted by the Monitor Group. Their impressive team of analysts spent six weeks working with our top management delving into customer data and ways to increase our revenue stream. As a result, we have a better understanding of our customers, how better to serve them, and how to increase our bottom line. The U.S. market for horse race betting is over $17.2 billion, which gives us room to grow domestically. The overseas market -- at about $100 billion -- represents a significant opportunity for Youbet.com as we begin to develop and deploy our international strategy. With a best-in-class PC platform for wagering and for transmitting live event coverage, Youbet.com is the natural choice for governments, racetrack operators and other entities that want to expand wagering online. Simply put, if you want to play in the Internet gaming space internationally, we're the ones The follow-up of ABC's Still the One slogan from 1977 was We're the One (In a Million). It was also the premiere slogan for the United Kingdom's Sky Television (now British Sky Broadcasting) in 1989. you'll want to do business with. What does all this mean to you, our shareowners? Quite simply, it adds up to a great opportunity to participate in the booming online betting business in the U.S. and in the early stages of a potentially vast overseas expansion. Youbet.com has seen rising sales, record handle, strong subscriber growth and operational improvements. We've gone through a period of stabilizing stabilizing, v to hold a limb motionless in order to ground its energy; a standard isometric resistance technique, it releases tension and lengthens muscle fibers. , refocusing Noun 1. refocusing - focusing again focalisation, focalization, focusing - the act of bringing into focus and improving operations. Our company is "back on track" and "bursting out of the gate." The Company is continuing to pursue financing opportunities to raise additional working capital. However, in view of improvements in our cash management and substantial decreases in our EBITDA losses -- from -$521,318 in March to -$193,000 in June -- we are in a position to be more selective as to the amounts and terms of any financing. As the results show, the company is doing well in a healthy, growing market for online wagering. However, our shares are trading in a stock market that, by any measure, is the most difficult in nearly 30 years. As the market begins to rebound, I believe that growth companies such as ours will participate in the recovery. For those of you who missed our second quarter earnings conference call, a replay is available on the company site at http://www.youbet.com/aboutyoubet/. Of course you are all invited to our third quarter conference call, which is tentatively set for the week of November 11 - 15, 2002. As usual, details will be announced via press release. If you have not visited the "About Youbet" section of our web site recently, you should take a peak. You'll find an extensive archive of company press releases, management and director biographies, a list of FAQs, as well as links to our SEC filings. We look forward to hosting the Annual Meeting in early December at our Woodland Hills facility. Until then, we encourage you to join our email list for future earnings and press releases so we can keep you informed with the latest news on your stock. If you are not already on the list, please call Investor Relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. at Youbet.com at 818-668-2100, or email us at InvestorRelations@youbet.com. On behalf of the management team, the Board of Directors and our new CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , we are proud of the enormous progress we have made and are committed to keeping Youbet on its current growth track and maintaining our market leadership. Yours truly, David Marshall Co-founder and Executive Committee Member Youbet.com Inc. Forward-Looking Statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. This document, as issued by Youbet.com, may contain forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. Expressions of future goals and similar expressions reflecting something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the timely development and market acceptance of products and technologies, successful integration of acquisitions, the ability to secure additional sources of financing, the ability to reduce operating expense Operating Expense The essential things that a company must purchase in order to maintain business. Notes: For example, the payment of employees wages are an operating expense. Also known as OPEX. , and other factors described in the Company's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The actual results that the Company achieves may differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. The Company undertakes no obligations to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release. Note: You Bet is a registered trademark of Youbet.com, Inc. All other brands and products referenced herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Note: A PowerPoint slideshow of two graphs is available at URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. : http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.091202/bb3 |
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