At sf group the finance department supply detailed financial analysis as well as the normal "run of the mill" accounts which help the Directors control all areas of their business, and although DTD will be a much smaller business that sf group, the same principles will apply. Unfortunatley, yet another unbudgeted cost................
My lawyers are really starting to annoy me now, asking for information that has either previously been supplied or that they could get from other sources. We have scheduled a preliminery meeting with the Gaming Commission to run through the prcedures and policies of DTD, in particular, how we handle cash, as they are red hot on money laundering. I am really hoping that they give me a bit of latitude on this, as the less hard cash we have on the premises, the better. The "cashless" membership system Darren has been looking at, similar to the one that is used on cruise ships, has really got me buzzing.
We have the final presentation from the designer and contractor that did The Boardway Casino, tomorrow. They are coming to my house for the meeting, I like to see people in more relaxed surroundings, I find you can pick up a lot more about them.
Time is closing in on Nick to make a decision on the people he wants to work with to help him on the refurbishment, as I have to submit final floor plans to the Gaming Board and the owners of the building next week. We've really tried to hold off as long as possible to make the right decision as you only get once chance at a refurb of this size and its got to be top notch (at the right price). Now that Nick is on the "homestraight" with his apartments project he is starting to get his teeth into DTD and come up with new ideas and concepts.
I have signed and faxed a "subject to contract" agreement for the poker software for our online side today. We got a reasonable deal but they were not as negotiable as I had hoped. In all, we considered 7 companies, it was a real minefield, with plenty of "smallprint" to catch you out, which I guess you should expect of an unregulated highly profitable industry.
Development of our poker client will begin in April and Pete will be heading this up. I see this as way we may be able to subsidise some of the overspends on the club, but the % of gross rake you actually receive after banking charges, royalties and various charges is not substancial unless tou can afford to set yourself as a cage, such as VC or Bluesquare. In effect, being a skin, you are an "affiliate" with a slightly higher commission scheme and more hassle, but we need the software to run our satelittes for the club which I consider a key factor in generating large fields of players to increase prize pool sizes.
The enthusiam from my project team is growing, and we are already recieving applications for jobs at the club 6/7 months before it opens. I've just spent the last 7 hours updating the project plan and sorting out all my admin and feel a lot more organised. Been following Jen in Monte Carlo on BP, what a good performance in a top class field.
