WPTE Releases Second-Quarter Results -- World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE) has released second-quarter results, which, against figures from Q2 2006, show a 30 percent drop in revenue to $7.7 million. The decline in revenue contributed to a net loss for the quarter of $3.3 million, or $0.16 per share, the company said. WPTE also reported losses in U.S. television fee revenues (down 41 percent to $4.3 million) and online gaming revenues (down 62 percent to $300,000). The company said that lower player-activity levels and its migration from the WagerWorks platform to CryptoLogic's had negatively impacted I-gaming revenue. WPTE chief executive Steve Lipscomb said that the company would continue to build its brand internationally, and, to that end, highlighted television distribution deals in Austria and the Netherlands, which fall under its PartyGaming sponsorship agreement.
Red Lounge Adds Craps -- Cantor Gaming-operated Red Lounge Casino has added craps to its casino games offering.
Another Launch for Gnuf -- Gnuf will launch its online casino, gnuf.com, on Microgaming software. In June, the company inked a similar deal with Microgaming to launch its Scandinavia-facing online casino.
Mark Your Calendars -- I-gaming site Mahjong Time has inked an agreement with the European Mahjong Association to host the first-ever online Open European Mahjong Championship, scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 8. "By hosting this exciting event and with others in the pipeline, Mahjong Time continues to break new ground and backs up its credentials as the most advanced, innovative, competitive and reputable mahjong site on the Internet," said Mahjong Time chief executive William Sutjiadi.
Potter's a Bust -- The Guardian reports that the ambiguous ending to the final installment of the Harry Potter series has forced bookie William Hill to pay out on thousands of pounds to bettors who placed money on either Potter dying, killing himself or being killed by his antagonist, Lord Voldemort. "Since the book came out, it's been subject to quite a few interpretations," William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams told the paper. "So we paid out on all the bets." Adams said that the firm had paid out an estimated £62,000 to Potter punters to cover all scenarios.
Stock Watch -- In afternoon trading on the LSE, Sportingbet is up 2.25p to 53.75, William Hill is up 13p to 620 and PartyGaming is up 0.75p to 29.25.