Names and Faces --Betfair.com is assigning Kevin Dale to the role of marketing director. Josh Apiaf is joining the company as marketing and promotions manager. Betfair said two more marketing positions, MIS manager and digital marketing manager, will be filled in the upcoming few weeks. ... Youbet.com today appointed Charles F. Champion as its CEO. David Marshall, the company's co-founder and current CEO, said he has worked closely with Champion, who joined Youbet.com in April as president and COO. Marshall will remain on the executive committee and board of directors, where he will focus on Wall Street relations, planning and business development.
On the Responsible Gambling Front -- Problem-Gambling.com will hold a symposium for professionals who deal with compulsive gamblers. The symposium will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 25, 2003, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver.
Games -- PartyPoker.com announced today it has named the first 29 semi-finalists in the "PartyPoker.com Million II" tournament. More than 700 people participated in the first semi-final round, which took place from Aug. 1-5. The finalists in the tournament will win spots on a Caribbean cruise and a chance to receive part of the $1.5 million prize pool.
Oddity -- In an odd twist of fate, yesterday the numbers drawn in the New York Lottery were 9-1-1. Lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Hapeman said that even though the numbers were drawn on the one-year anniversary of Sept. 11, the drawing was completely random. "The numbers were picked in the standard random fashion using all the same protocols," she said. "It's just the way the numbers came up."