Member Info for JohnLewis79

Yea I had a few losing spins there! Used to go to the Victoria up Edgware Rd, that's still going and one just off Piccadilly? Good days with Mecca as long as you stayed on the right side of Eric!! I used to help out on the Miss World security at the Britannia Hotel with other Managers, very briefly escorted Margy Wallace round London Clubs. She got involved with G.Best later on. Very friendly girl! Hoping for the best come next week but fear the worst tough one for the markets to call right so if you have cash may be able to exploit any mispricing? I've been so long in this stock (at sensible levels now) it's more a question of do I continue to hold a frankly very disappointing share in the hope of better days ahead when the evidence has been mixed so far, hanging on......hoping (it's what us pis do) rarely works! At least the picture will be a lot clearer next week for the undecided to act. I'm holding King- Seven what do I do.......?

Welcome back! I used to know of a Scott's lass who was a manager around my time, think her first name was Mandy or Maggie she was GM at Acton Savoy (Mecca). Surely not your wife? Well it's a small world! Oh yes been watching 32 Red (another missed opportunity) still stuck in SM now down to 10! Just no sense to these markets atm toppy that they are! Looks like we have the potential for a perfect storm come Nov 2-6 perfect for us that is if both go our way? If the Appeal Court rule agin us expect the usual over reaction even though it's not been priced in, in fact fallen back since the CG bid. How the iis will react will be interesting, Penrose must be on notice and this is his swansong imo! He needs a blinding result perhaps more so than us!? Not long now. Speak soon JL.

I should declare an interest here, I worked for both Rank & Mecca (pre Grand Met) so have a passing knowledge of the industry. I can tell you outside of the aforementioned the rest we considered a joke (Granada Bingo) et al.. I can also tell you that the amount we spent on keeping our ageing properties in tip top shape was horrendous added to all the other standing costs! In this day and age why would you want to add? Surely the decline in the Pools would give one a clue, ie the difficulty of attracting a younger generation? As the Pools go so goes Bingo and the Betting shops or should I say machine arcades? Case in point take Littlewoods(stores)/catalogues they have gone 100% on line dumped the catalogues and stores and profits are up over 80%!

See Coral off loaded it's bricks & motor Bingo estate to Caledonia Investments for a chunky £241m! Kept it's online Bingo operation!! No surprise there! The 130 clubs will undergo a face lift not that the ageing bingo cliental will be much bothered more that they want to attract the younger crowd to their halls! Good luck with that because in my experience modern youth have little interest in bingo unless they can play via mobile! Strange that Sads CEO intends to expand his betting shop estate at a time when most others are reducing believing that the tide has turned. If so certainly not where I live where most are deserted for the greater part of the day and seem to attract only the passing trade, few as they are. Clinging on to the past and let's face it betting shops in the main are well past there sell by date, is no recipe for increasing shop profits! If I was a Sads shareholder and thank the Lord I'm not I would be looking at GVC for starters or Power-Bet!

Batty quits to go to Man U, another sinking ship!

Capt B, do you mean "are you feeling lucky punk?"............Not really never felt luck had much to do with punting in general, though I know what you mean. Some people do seem to be extraordinarily lucky in whatever they do, unfortunately I'm not one of them! I'm a close.....but no cigar man! Everything I've read on the stb case leads me to think the overturning of the decision was plain silly and could not possibly make sense, well to self and many others! Will the current judge uphold the appeal? Gut feeling today is he will, tomorrow I'll think he'll rule against. I guess it goes back to do I feel lucky? Well do ya punk?

Been taken to task for talking rollox on this BB! Well that might well be but it's all about opinions and should be treated with a fair amount of caution! As I repeatedly say I would never give myself a tip let alone anyone else so feel free to rebut anything I say. We all want the same, win the vat case and get a 100 a share offer, er...maybe not the latter that's being a tad over optimistic!

Bid failing is in my opinion pretty much priced in, as always in the casino world of shares there will be an immediate over reaction should the bid come to nothing probably of the order c10p but this will only attract bottom feeders and the stock will revert back to its comfort zone of tracking sideways. What is much more important is the vat result! I don't think there will be much of a sell off here either should events go agin us as nothing has been priced in for winning but allowing for the inevitable end of the world scenario and what a catastrophe has befallen Spo, look for a 20 fall with a double quick bounce back! Thank goodness we have no shorters ready to pound the stock into the ground as all bets would be off!

Days to go, are you going long or short? A great 50/50 punt for the brave! Upside on 10k shares could be 25-30 or if your wrong, perhaps 8-10 as I cannot see this much below 50. In the old days you could go "naked" long or short, don't think you can now? My swingometer is hovering just in the 50+ so am not positive enough to commit more atm.

A bit of " nosey" buying by Artemis (65k) ahead of vat & put up day, now just 8 trading days away. No extension on vat but on CG who knows? Is this going to be a win double for Spo?

Time I guess but regretting not outing at c14 now well under water.....again!!

Sees trading updates from Sads (Thrs) & WH (Fri).

Seeing you here rugs!!! I'm not invested here keep humming and haaing on this one as it's probably too longterm for me and little investor interest atm. But good luck. When I sold out of NBPO the palm price was up in she high 800's + any sustainable recovery (like oil) should see the sp rise in due course but at what stage the palms are at I don't know (cropping/planting/production etc..)

On my swingometer the dial has consistently been in the red zone (0-50) at around 45 only recently has the dial slipped into the blue zone (51-100) at 55. I don't know why? Should I act on this and top up or stay on the sidelines? Better to be a linesman than a ref!!

Anyone reckon these extended talks will go the full extra weeks? If they need this long there must be a number of sticking points besides the bid value? No doubt the bod will have gold plated their contracts/pensions/options etc... first and foremost, would not want to lose out now would they?Pretty sure the shysters will come up with delaying tactics till after Nov 6. Even i could arrange that!

If I offered you £600 on a coin toss heads or tails would you take the bet? Probably not? Yet anyone buying 1000 Spo (£600) on the outcome of the vat case is doing exactly the same. Not strictly the same as in the former I would have your £600 in my pocket should you lose and the latter you keep £600 but lose out on any premium the stock might have gained should you have won? The reverse of course is obvious but would you bet £600 on the outcome for an uncertain premium of perhaps 20-40p (£600 to win £200?) i don't think so! It may look like a 50/50 but the upside is at best 4/6 ON should you make the play!

M, I take your point. Most of the stuff i waffle on about is born of frustration and speculation, albeit with years of jousting in the markets. If I have learnt anything about investing, patience is the key, perhaps the most important and cutting your losses, which I'm very bad at doing, is right up there! I've never worked out how much clinging on to Spo has cost me over the years, i call it "opportunity loss" but it would be a fair few quid. Patience has been the wrong strategy here but we live and hopefully learn? Talk at a quid? Let's hope so!

Anywhere will do.....just keep this baby running!!!

Not sure how much longer the shysters can prolong this farce? Whoever loses will no doubt find somewhere to take their appeal, possibly the ECJ or failing that the Abyssinian High Court in downtown Mogadishu?

Good analysis bags1pretty much rounds up the various options facing shareholders. Of course winning the vat case puts Spo in an unassailable position re CG and would be much the preferred option for us. As this is a 50/50 bet we cannot rely on this outcome. Of your other points should we lose out on vat and CG make an offer of c 62p I can't see the iis accepting that number even if sweetened with their paper! We are definitely in the box position I just hope the board act like they know it!