Reverse Takeover? -- Australian media outlets are speculating that UNiTAB may be making a u-turn from the so-called merger of equals (proposed in March) with Tattersall's. UNiTAB Chief Executive Dick McIlwain said on Wednesday that the company had considered the option of making a takeover bid for Tattersall's before the merger proposal was agreed upon in March. "We're quite happy with the merger agreement," he said. "There's a few more twists and turns in this thing - you don't know where it's going to go. So, while it's something that we considered rather than are considering, it may be something that comes back into review as time goes by." Meanwhile, Victoria-based Tabcorp could be preparing another bid for UNiTAB. (Its offer to acquire the company for A$1.9 billion was rejected last week.)
Chariot Needs Charity -- Chariot, organizer of languishing online charity lottery Monday, is reportedly trying to milk additional funding out of its 70 charity partners to pay for marketing. Last week the company raised an extra £2.59 million through an urgent call for investment at a discounted share price and radically altered its business plan that included the departure of Chairman Tim Holley and Managing Director Craig Freeman. Holley's replacement, Peter Jones, said he is confident the charities would provide support. "We are meeting next week to strike revised agreements," Jones said. "One or two have been critical, but we hope peer pressure will push them through." However, one charity, Shelter, denied charities were being asked for money. "Charities won't be using existing funds to put into Chariot," Shelter Director Alan Gosschalk said.
PPA: Poker Players Activism -- Online poker player community PocketFives and the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) have teamed up to try and thwart the efforts of the U.S. Congress to ban online gambling by sponsoring a "Write Your Congressmen Day." People were encouraged today to log on to the PocketFives site to e-mail their congressmen and voice their disapproval of the online gambling prohibition legislation. The PPA provided both the e-mail system and media outreach for the event.
One Hot Bachelor -- Bodog.com founder and CEO Calvin Ayre has received the distinct honor of being named one of People Magazine's "Hottest Bachelors." Ayre was named to People's "Money Doesn't Make the Man . . . but it sure doesn't hurt" category along with investor Ron Burkle and PayPal founder David O. Sacks. In total, 41 of the world's hottest bachelors appear in the issue on newsstands today.
Sponsoring -- Online poker site Full Tilt Poker will be sponsoring middleweight Winky Wright in his fight for the title against Jermain Taylor at the World Championship Boxing Middleweight Showdown this weekend. Wright and his team will be outfitted in Full Tilt Poker-branded gear during the televised weigh-in today, at the press conference on Friday, and during the main event. The fight will be aired on HBO Sports.