Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008

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WPTE faces NASDAQ delisting

By Sarah Polson

WPT Enterprises Inc., parent company of the World Poker Tour, suffered another blow to its business after receiving a NASDAQ Staff Determination Letter last week.

The letter, received on Aug. 14, notified the WPTE that it is not in compliance with the minimum stock listing price requirements of the NASDAQ. The company's stock has had a closing bid price for its common stock below $1 for 30 consecutive business days, which could lead to the company being delisted.

"This notification has no effect on the listing of the company's common stock at this time," said the WPTE in a press release.

WPTE has 180 calendar days to regain compliance. To come into compliance, WPTE will need its common stock to remain above $1 for a minimum of 10 consecutive days.

"The company will continue to execute its business plan to provide an opportunity to demonstrate value to the investment community and regain NASDAQ compliance," the WPTE said.

This news comes less than two weeks after the WPTE released a disappointing revenue report for the second quarter of the year. The company saw another drop in its revenue from $7.7 million in the second quarter of 2007 to $5.1 million in the same period this year.

According to the WPTE the losses were primarily a result of a drop in domestic television licensing fees, which resulted from lower per-episode license fees under the GSN agreement compared to the previous Travel Channel deal in 2007.

The company also saw hosting and sponsorship revenues dip in the second quarter to affect its overall numbers.

However, the company remains confident. Just before revealing its second-quarter results, the WPTE had announced its new deal with Fox Sports Network to broadcast the next season of the World Poker Tour.

The company has also been disappointed with its online poker segment of the business and WPT CEO Steve Lipscomb said they have begun to refocus more on the WPTE's growing sponsorship business instead.

Related Article: WPT rides out license fee drop, market woes

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