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Technology Stocks : NTN Communications, worth 185 million? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JAMES F. CLASPILL III who wrote (1926)	2/3/1998 10:57:00 PM
From: dwight vickers	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2985

Well if that's the best news they can come up with they're in worse trouble than I thought. A new PR firm and another bean counter. Doubt that more overhead is going to help the bottom line with the salaries they pay. They should concentrate on sales and controlling churn. Congratulations on already knowing the new hire. Dwight

To: JAMES F. CLASPILL III who wrote (1926)	2/4/1998 2:16:00 PM
From: Rich Genik	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2985

Jim, This is from yesterday: " PAUL TOLME Associated Press Writer PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Guy Snowden's career at GTECH Corp., an upstart Rhode Island company that became the world's leading lottery manager under his guidance, ended in a familiar way: with a flare of controversy. Snowden, 52, stepped down as GTECH's chairman Tuesday in a bid to prevent the company from suffering any fallout after he was found to have libeled British billionaire Richard Branson, who accused Snowden of trying to bribe him. Snowden denied Branson's version of events. The sensational lawsuit and Snowden's departure from GTECH clouds a success story that has all the makings of an American Dream. A college dropout, Snowden worked as an engineer with IBM before entering the lottery business, which was in its infancy. Together with a partner, Snowden saw an opportunity for big profits as states began to expand their lotteries in the drive for easy revenues. He co-founded the company in 1980 in West Greenwich, R.I., where GTECH employs more than 1,000 workers out of its worldwide workforce of 5,000. He has built a lottery empire that stretches over 28 states, the District of Columbia and 49 countries, and last year earned record revenues of more than $904 million. ''We gave him his first contract ... It's amazing how he expanded that company,'' said Raymond Grimes, spokesman for the Rhode Island Lottery. Morris Gaebe, chancellor of Johnson & Wales University in Providence and a close friend of Snowden's, said the former GTECH chairman's image as unscrupulous never matched the man he knew. ''I think you'd still have to call me 100 percent a supporter and believer,'' said Gaebe, who often plays golf with Snowden in Florida, where both own homes. They once hunted together on an estate in Cornwall, England, and the two became friends after Snowden called and offered to donate to the school. ''I don't think he'd want me to say how much, but it was a substantial gift,'' Gaebe said. For the first 15 years of its existence, everything GTECH touched turned to money as it helped states spit out lottery tickets and ring in revenues. But since the mid-1990s, GTECH has had its business practices questioned by a federal judge and several states, and settled a lawsuit by disgruntled shareholders. No indictments have ever been returned against Snowden or the company. The head of GTECH's main rival, Atlanta-based Automated Wagering International, said in a 1996 interview that the company is suffering from years of arrogance. ''I think GTECH's practices have left a bad taste in the mouth of a lot of people in the United States and outside the United States,'' President Mark Cushing said in 1996. A GTECH lobbyist was convicted in 1993 of bribing a state senator and a former national sales manager was convicted in 1996 of taking kickbacks from lobbyists. In January 1995, a federal judge in Kentucky threw out fraud charges against a former GTECH national sales manager but expressed dismay at GTECH's business practices. Several years ago, GTECH paid $1.25 million to settle a lawsuit in which shareholders claimed that misleading statements by GTECH officials about the company's financial future caused the company's stock to lose more than one-third of its value in May 1994. GTECH denied the allegations. Snowden has steadfastly defended his company. ''This probably has been the most investigated company in the world,'' Snowden said in a Wall Street Journal article. ''I take great comfort that our track record on a factual basis is absolutely clean.'' The company's main business is designing and overseeing the machines that dispense tickets to lottery players and let them know if they've won. It also was the pioneer in electronic benefits transfer systems that scan magnetic cards issued to people receiving government benefits such as food stamps." So, I guess we know Snowden's Secret now :-) Cheers, Rich