More good news and the stock is at 56 cents(sheesh!)....
NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CANADIAN CORPORATE NEWS
FOR: INTERNATIONAL THUNDERBIRD GAMING CORPORATION
VSE SYMBOL: INB
DECEMBER 14, 1998
Thunderbird Announces Opening of Fiesta Casino-David and
Provides Update on Financial Information on its Panama
Operations
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA--International Thunderbird Gaming
Corporation (TSE and VSE - INB) is pleased to announce the opening
of Thunderbird's Fiesta Casino within the Hotel Nacional in David,
Republic of Panama. The Hotel Nacional site is the fourth casino
that Thunderbird is operating in the Republic of Panama. By way
of background, David is located in the southwest corner of Panama
within the Chiriqui Province near Costa Rica. David is the main
urban center in Chiriqui and the third largest city in Panama with
a population of approximately 370,200. The Fiesta Casino in David
is the only complete casino in the region and opened on Sunday,
December 13, 1998 with 130 machines and 11 table games. With the
opening of David, the total number of gaming machines in the four
Fiesta Casinos located within the Republic of Panama is 476 and
the total table games reached 40.
In follow-up to the Company's November 21, 1998 press release, the
Company is pleased to announce that the Fiesta Casinos' 30 day
revenue for the month ending November 1998 period was
USD$1,973,526 for three of its four Fiesta Casinos. The financial
data covers the revenue for the period beginning November 1, 1998
through November 30, 1998 when the El Panama Casino, Soloy Casino,
and Colon Casino operated for the entire 30-day period. Again,
this revenue has exceeded the Company's expectations.
The Company continues to aggressively pursue new gaming
opportunities in Guatemala, Salvador and Venezuela.
Calsino, the company's signage and design subsidiary, completed
the renovations of all four Fiesta casinos in Panama. In
addition, Calsino continued to apply its innovative design and
manufacturing capabilities to complete the signage and design
renovations for the Coeur D'Alene Tribe's casino in Idaho and for
the Isleta Tribe's casino in New Mexico. These two projects
accounted for over a $1million in revenue.
Calsino is also pleased to announce that its commercial signage
sales have increased significantly for national "multiple
location" accounts. Commercial sales in the beginning of 1998
were virtually nonexistent. These sales for the month of November
exceeded $155,000. It is expected that commercial sales will
average between $100,000 and $150,000 per month for the next
several months as Calsino continues to secure national accounts.
Calsino looks forward to expanding its design services and signage
products in California and nationally, as well as in the Latin
America gaming markets.
The Company previously commented on the passage of Proposition 5
in California. As expected, various opposition factions
challenged the implementation of Proposition 5 by filing an action
in the Supreme Court of California. The Supreme Court granted a
stay on the implementation of Proposition 5 pending consideration
of arguments on constitutionality grounds. The Supreme Court's
decision is not expected until the spring of 1999. In the
meantime, the Company believes that tribal gaming will remain in a
status quo position. The Company continues to remain confident
that Governor-elect Davis will negotiate a fair compact with the
Tribes irrespective of the constitutionality of Proposition 5.
The Company's future in California depends upon completion of
compacts by the various Tribes. The Company is confident that it
will collect the SCI receivable upon completion of the compacting
process. Future gaming opportunities in California will depend
entirely upon the terms of the compacts and licensing policy
contained therein. Management will continue to monitor the
process and remains flexible on any future gaming opportunity in
California.
International Thunderbird Gaming Corporation is an owner and
manager of international gaming facilities. Additional
information about the Company is available on its World Wide Web
site at www.intltbird.com. |
