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Still waiting for our balance of £4m which HMRC was ordered to return back in early Dec 2016. Incidentally they were also ordered to pay costs, perhaps this is what's holding up proceedings? That could boost the final settlement to over £100m leaving us with c £40m in credit if we decide to eradicate our debt which costs us c £6m a year in charges. That (being debt free) would make us unique among listed gaming/leisure companies most of which trade on debt financing. I think Penrose will throw every bit of good news into the results statement...... (new contract wins/ Bump 50:50 making money/expansion in the East/ Fantasy football acquisition? / venues throwing off cash and pools re-organisation improving the bottom line. Almost a beauty parade if you will? There's no doubt in my mind were readying ourselves for sale and a price of 150 is not out of the question given our 3 divisions produce similar revenues from different sources (all in profit) and are solidly based in the bigest market in the world. I think we can rule out a UK listed acquirer, they have enough problems of their own which leaves us with Fred or 365 who I don't think have the management or will to run Spo. Most likely a US based Co will be the best way forward and will pay a higher multiple unlike the cheapskate UK firms.
CB have you checked your local WHS?
Morning CB. No the pools are being marketed but in a half hearted way imo of course. For instance is there any Tv or Radio? Are there any promotions in the National or regional press? The 'in store' promo is weak at Streatham WHS. No display advertising outside the store and poorly situated stand not near the cash tills. So unless you buy your lotto at WHS you won't be aware of the pools being on sale as these are next to each other by the exit. Of course if you buy your lotto at WHS you may be tempted to have a go for a quid at the pools. However it's not the current lotto players were interested in, it's the lapsed lotto players who should be our main target and if they don't know the pools are available at WHS they are hardly likely to play.
This week i shall try a mix of lucky pics and skill picks (so as not to join the 'stoopids') say a fiver of each while my other punts continue to subsidise the pools. Not long till F/Y statement (3/3 last). We should be free of any further investment in the pools this year as on-going promotions will see an uptake in player nos and av stakes placed------You may remember the sp had dropped to 51.5 on results day and closed March at 66 so anyone buying and still holding has done very well.
A recent survey showed that the lottery is mostly played by the lowest paid of us.....jeez i could have told them that! According to some 'think tank' 67% of skilled mmanual workers play the lotto once a month, it's called the 'chav tax'. The ratio drops to 47% of white collar workers and almost extinct among the most affluent...jeez I could have told them that!-------they go on to say an affection for the lotto is sometime seen as an indicator of stupidity as the chance of winning is so low.....jeez i cudda.. Wonder whether any of this applies to pools punters?....heh heh heh!!
Yesterday no change at WHS. I'm not sure who they are trying to attract? If you buy your lotto tickets elsewhere you won't bother with WHS and therefore will miss the pools stand which at Streatham is not situated near the tills so no impulse buy is likely! Even if your buying a paper or sweets you won't see the pools/lotto stand. Siting the stand by the till is all important for impulse/new players hacked off by the lottery and would like to try something else!-----other than scratch cards which are placed....you guessed it next to the till! I bet the majority don't even know you can play the pools at WHS! I hope Streatham is not representative of other towns but i fear it might well be.
:(
No change I'm afraid. Try again tomorrow.
I'll go up to WHS every morning this week and have a lucky dip... also check with the sales girl if there's been any interest?
Popped into WHS the sales girl said only 2 players so far this week inc self! No promo material outside so whaddya expect!?
Sat/Sun staff don't work M-F so unable to test the interest. Will try again on Sat.
Totally agree :)
Didn't make it. I will be up there on Mon to see if i can find out how the weekend went.
From what I hear & talking to friends radio is coming back big time. I believe LBC a London talk station have just announced record listening figs as did Talk Sport. Now i listen to both stations, daytime & late night and not once have I heard an add for the...." Pools being available at.your local WHS"-------perhaps you cannot advertise on the radio but if not why are we not doing so? A 20-30 sec ad wouldn't cost that much? Another point are WHS store Managers being insentified to push for sales of the Pools? The Streatham branch is a big store with a PO upstairs so has considerable daily footfall--------I shan't be ringing IR at HO as I'm sure they would say they are promoting the pools in other areas and the budget is limited. I think a bit more RAZZMATAZZ is needed!
Will pop into WHS tomorrow and ask around if there is any interest? Too early for sure and I very much doubt the girls on the till will push for sales. The £1 a pick is good, undercutting the stupid lottery but the promotion is very poor or rather poor from what i have seen----- For instance the Metro a give away daily in London had 12 pages full of Sads betting offers and not one mention of the Pools. I rarely watch itv so cannot comment on whether we are advertising through them or if we have run any ads in the dailies? Liverpool might be a hot bed for the Pools but i doubt London is. All seems a bit half hearted to me....hell it's not as if we're short of cash is it?
Operating in Streatham. No promo material in window. Pools stand situated next to Health lotto stand by main exit...miss on the way in..might catch it on way out...not ideal. Had a £5 lucky pick first of day.
Nothing on Spo or WHS co Web sites!! Guess we're the only two who know about it.
So how does one check the nos of points? On line i rarely do relying on Spo to inform me. Are the results/points printed in the Sunday papers? You didn't mention price. I'm up WHS this morning as I think the dozy sales girl didn't know what she was on about. If your playing in Fleet no earthly reason for Streatham to be any different.
I played it to check it out JohnLewis79 ! There is no separate machine, you hand your card to the sales assistant and they run it through the till. There is a promotional stand /desk where you pick up your card and fill it in. The fixtures for this week and next week are displayed on the desk, along with promotional material .... how long before the staff forget to change the fixtures list over? Don't know. In terms of where it is positioned I guess it will vary by store but in Fleet it is at the door, next to the lottery stand. There is also a poster in the window advertising it.
Well have to think they know what there doing...introing 3 games at the till but agree with you it could prove confusing to start with and if you want one thing above all it is for "ease of play". Have you seen the set up in the store? Is the machine adjacent to the main till with easy to read promo material? Cannot see this being of interest to the xbox generation so probably aimingfor the 30+ football punter and mid to late lapsed 60year old player. Did you check the price? I guess £1-2 a line? Although I'm playing on line with another friend i'm sure I will have a few picks when i visit WHS.
I agree, but nice to see them expanding the pool. Of course the more people who play the bigger the pool becomes, the bigger the prizes become, the more people it attracts .... Definitely been a "stealth" launch though!! The other positive is that even seeing it will remind people the pools still exists. Some people may play once or twice in the shop then decide to play online going forwards - that would still be a result if it increases popularity generally. I do think positioning next to the lottery is an inspired move for impulse buys, but there is a danger people think it's too complicated compared to the lottery - might have been best to just start with the lucky pick version for impulse buys and introduce the others later?
£5M+ through 2018 and beyond?...If your gonna do it right (TV/the press/locals/internet/radio/give aways etc..... you betcha! Not sure how many new players Spo are hoping to attract from the walk-in punter as I don't know how many outlets are planned and what the time scale for the promotion is?--------but come 2018 anything less than 50k regulars @£1-2 a week would be disappointing imo. We shouldbe aiming at £5m a year (fully rolled out) so boosting our other revenue streams.
....and why no rns?....oh yea it ain't price sensitive as we can see. You strike a deal with a Co that has a zillion outlets and it ain't worth telling anybody about?---------whose running this Co FFS!!!?
Good to see one has choices....but could prove confusing to the newcomer especially if you have a dumbo on the till with a queue for the rags! Anything is better than nothing....i hope . This won't take off in the short term. It will need serious money to promote...at least £5M through to 2018 and beyond. Having gone down this route the need to face up to poor initial sales will be paramount.
There are 3 different ways to enter : SKILL PICK - the traditional choose your fixtures from a list displayed on the stand, enter your 10 numbers on a card LUCKY PICK - they give you a random selection (like lucky dip) probably the best seller for impulse buys? MY PICK - a plastic card (credit card sized) which you write your 10 favourite numbers on and keep. Present the same card to the till each week to keep entering the same numbers (regardless of the actual fixture list)