Reply from Stuart to my questions (reprinted therein):
Hi Todd;
Thanks for your interest in PSCKE. I will address your concerns below:
1. I am concerned about the symbol change, and the lack of shareholder
notification about it. I read that it was the SEC mandated this because of
tardy financials. Is this true? Can you please tell me which "financials"
these are, and if Playstar qualifies for a 30 or 60 day grace period to
remedy the problem? If in a grace period, will Playstar in fact make THAT
deadline for filing? What is the status of these financials?
ANSWER
I have just taken over as CEO. With the Easter weekend, I thought it would
give me some to catch up on developments. Believe me, I was just as
surprised as you to find that the symbol was changed to reflect our new
non-filing status. It is not a major issue and my highest priority is to
change this. If you go to stockdetective.com you will get
a good overview of why the company was caught unawares during this
transition phase.
2. Can you briefly track the history of upper management for me? It seems
there was one CEO, then another, etc., all without proper press releases or
spin control. Has the company changed focus? What were the circumstances
leading to the change in management? Did previous management leave of their
own choosing? Has there been any blemishes the previous management might
have been responsible for? Why were you, in fact, chosen to head this
company? Is your background different from previous management's? Or am I
misunderstanding this entirely?
ANSWER
Upper management (as in board of directors) has not changed for some time.
I am simply an addition to this board. What has changed is the software
development team. Why? Some time ago, a decision was made to diversify the
company's activities. As you may be aware, PSCKE entered into a number
agreements whereby it now has access to powerful credit card processing
technology. This technology has the potential to represent a significant
revenue and profit stream. While it is legal, we will continue to expand
Antigua Casino & Sportsbook. I am the new CEO because I have experience in
both the credit card processing and gaming industries.
3. Will the acceptance of your new position be announced in a press release
soon? Timeframe/date?
ANSWER
A new press release is anticipated after the Easter Weekend. I anticipate
it will be the first of many.
4. How successful has Playstar's licensing program been to date? Number of
licensees? Rate of growth?
ANSWER
I think the concept of "Quick Connect" is brilliant. After some research, I
have discovered a few problems that need to be addressed. These problems
have prevented the full implementation of the program but we have a few test
sites. I have been assured by the new software team that we should be in a
position to implement this program within a few weeks. I am revisiting the
business plan so will be in a position to answer the second part of your
question within a few days.
5. Does Playstar plan to announce earnings soon? What fiscal calendar is
being employed?
ANSWER
I will address all your accounting issues by the end of next week.
6. Are any earnings to be reported to be fully audited? By whom? Is it
correct to assume Playstar is fully reporting currently? (Is all
information on the Investors webpage still correct?)
ANSWER
Only the annual filing will be audited. Quarterly filings will be
unaudited. PlayStar did not file resulting in a symbol change. This will
be corrected. Information on the Web page is correct.
7. This from the last PR of 1/27/99:
"Moreover," said Tucker, "it is clear that Cyberstation brings a second
generation of casino gaming back office software and systems management that
will allow PlayStar to have the most well rounded casino gaming site on the
Net. I am very anxious to explore the many licensing opportunities that
currently exist in the on-line gaming market.....Joseph Alves of
Cyberstation St. Kitts said "I am excited about the prospect of re-focusing
the Company's primary thrust into the area of Internet global transaction
processing"..."Management has adopted a strategy that will create several
marketing teams to deal with different industry segments"
How many industry segment marketing teams are there, and how many people
are assigned to each?
ANSWER
There are two teams - (1) NetEngine to address offshore credit card
processing and (2) Antigua Casino & Sportsbook. Initially these companies
will be managed by one team and as certain milestones are reached, so new
teams will be spawned. To facilitate expansion, we will be entering into
joint venture programs and partnerships with entities that have both
influence and resources to assist our expansion efforts. This strategy is
to ensure we minimize fixed overheads and leverage our returns off partner
resources.
How are resources allocated in regards to the different market segments?
Is Ecommerce solutions given more weight than gaming, or vice versa? If you
were to describe Playstar, would you say that it is "an internet gaming
company with an ecommerce backend subsidiary", or "an internet ecommerce
solution provider who also has an online gaming interest on the side."? Or
is it something else completely? I am trying to get a handle on the
business model and the amount of effort that will go into each direction
management has publicly identified.
ANSWER
The beauty of e-commerce is that we obtain a fee on all transactions
processed for clients. In this way, we leverage off clients' marketing
budgets and consequent marketing activities. On the other hand, online
gambling is far more profitable. Unlike online gaming, E-commerce is not
shrouded with controversy. Since I am responsible for the ongoing survival
and success of the company, a diversified approach will give us the best of
both worlds. As a result, I plan on allocating equal resources to both
entities.
Sorry for the lengthy interrogation, but the information out there is pretty
scarce as far as I can tell, and I really do think that Playstar has
potential. It is just very difficult sometimes to place investments in
OTC-BB stocks when information remains sketchy. In that respect, are there
plans/timeframe for moving to Nasdaq Small Cap or national board at any time
in the near future? I assume that will be growth driven, but am wondering
if you see Playstar's growth curve as one that would allow listing within
1999 yet?
ANSWER
My objective is to increase the share price to ensure warrants are
exercised. In this way, we can fill our war chest and be prepared to move
on to the Nasdaq Small Cap market. To that end, your assistance is valuable
in increasing our corporate profile - tell your friends we exist. On my
part, I intend to launch an aggressive investment relation program to
increase our profile. I have issued instructions to commence a weekly
"Investors' Newsletter" to let interested investors like you know of
developments, and to answer investor questions. We have to be careful here
because this could compromise our competitive edge. I am also exploring the
legal issues because we do not want to violate any SEC regulations.
Well, Stuart, that's all for now. Some of these questions are easy, some
probably a real pain, but any information you can furnish me with would be
greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time and Best of Luck with your new
position.
My pleasure Todd and thank you for your input. I will be sure keep an eye
on Raging Bull. Please feel free to drop me an e-mail at any time. Best
Regards,
Stuart Brazier |
