TO ALL: Before another word is heard from the JessiDani's of the world, let me inform everyone of what led to his post. After thinking about some comments here recently about how BNGO needed to be re-discovered, noting the low volume of recent trading, and the lack of participation by former thread members, it occurred to me there might be many individuals who gave up on this company and had forgotten all about BNGO. Therefore, I decided to send the following message to a number of people who had not posted anything to this thread for several months. Following is the full text of this message:
"RE: American Bingo & Gaming (BNGO)
I am sending you this message because you are a former participant of the SI BNGO discussion thread. You may (or may not) remember my name as one of the more active contributors (which I still am, by the way). I don't know if you still follow BNGO. If so, you are probably aware of developments over the past few weeks and so you may want to ignore this message completely.
If you have not been following BNGO, this message is intended to alert you to what has happened recently and what may soon happen. I will be candid and say that I also hope to generate a little more interest in this once widely followed company. Given what has happened to BNGO since last November, one cannot find fault with anyone for giving up on this outfit. However, I truly believe we are about to witness a turnaround in this company, possibly a quite dramatic one.
If you would be so kind as to bear with me for a few minutes, I would like to present some facts from recent news releases:
4/14/98: Greg Wilson replaced as CEO. Many believed him responsible for recent mismanagement of company affairs. Two other Board members also resigned and were replaced by individuals with solid backgrounds in construction and property management. BNGO also wrote off a substantial amount of one-time expenses, many of them apparently attributable to poor decisions by Mr. Wilson. The result of these write-offs was an $0.08/share loss for 4th quarter, 1997.
4/23/98: New bingo hall acquired in Abilene, Texas.
5/5/98: Mr. Andre Hilliou hired as new CEO. Mr. Hilliou has over 28 years of gaming industry experience including time as CEO of a publicly-held gaming company.
5/15/98: BNGO announced a $1,000,000 stock buy-back plan.
5/15/98: BNGO announced 1st quarter, 1998 results showing a $0.05 per share profit (a $0.13/share turnaround from 4th quarter, 1997) confirming the one-time nature of the fourth quarter loss. Also announced over $800,000 in cost savings through payroll deductions and sub-letting of idle properties. BNGO still has over $11,000,000 in cash and virtually no debt.
5/18/98: Mr. Hilliou began full-time work as CEO of BNGO.
5/19/98: Conference call held at which Mr. Hilliou outlined his ideas on how to re-establish growth in shareholder value and re-open communication with investors. A tape replay of this conference call can be heard through Friday, May 22 by dialing 800-404-2809.
In addition, the South Carolina General Assembly and Gov. Beasley have abandoned the idea of banning video poker in the current legislative session since they did not come close to getting an industry-banning bill through the Senate.
There are also several upcoming events which should be very important. Among these are:
- Resolution of the South Carolina Supreme Court case attempting to declare video poker an "illegal lottery". It is widely believed this case will be decided in the industry's favor.
- End of the South Carolina legislative session on June 4. Many people knowledgeable about South Carolina politics feel there will be no action taken regarding further taxes or regulations on video poker.
- Annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas on June 5. It is expected that Mr. Hilliou will make further announcements regarding cost saving actions and development of a plan for rapid expansion of the company.
Obviously, Mr. Hilliou's efforts will take a little time to bear fruit and the South Carolina political and legal situation is not quite over yet. BUT, given the very low and stable price at which BNGO now trades ($3.625 close on 5/20), it seems to me the potential benefit greatly outweighs the risk. As always, make up your own mind about this situation.
I urge you to at least listen to Tuesday's conference call while it is still available. I think you may come away from it with a different feeling about this company and where it is headed - I sure did. Thank you for your time and attention.
TKA"
Please note, this message was not posted indiscriminately on other threads. I dislike hype as much as the next guy. My message was one of basic facts with some personal opinions. So far, I have received many responses, with the overwhelming majority appreciative of having recent developments brought to their attention so they can take a second look a this company. That is really all I am asking of people.
I can't really blame JessiDani or anyone else for being highly suspicious of this company or anybody (including myself) who thinks BNGO is a good deal right now. Many people have been badly burned by BNGO and are still upset - and rightfully so. I knew I was running the risk of responses such as JessiDani's before I sent these messages and I have welcome posting of opposite opinions about this company here. I would be good to back up accusations with fact, however. Well-supported contrary opinions make for good debate which is what these discussion threads are SUPPOSED to be all about.
BTW, I chose the Private Message avenue for this message specifically because it could be targeted at people who once were interested in BNGO (as evidenced by the fact they posted here at some point in time) and because this would avoid unwanted off-topic posts on other threads. I have no intention of pestering anybody with repeated private messages or indiscriminate posting of this message. If anyone is offended by my actions, you have my sincerest apologies. Rest assured you will not hear from me again.
TKA |
