People round-up 23/02/12
A round up of industry moves from the last week (17 February to 23 February 2012).
Zynga’s advertising director leaves
Manny Anekal leaves after two years to join start-up.
Zynga’s global director of brand advertising Manny Anekal has left the social gaming company to become COO of rewards start-up Kiip.
Anekal joined Zynga in April 2010 after almost three years at Electronic Arts, where he progressed from senior in-game advertising manager to global director of advertising operations. At Zynga he oversaw deals to allow companies to offer branded products in games such as Farmville, helping boost the company’s core revenue stream of in-game purchases.
As global brand director, he helped Zynga achieve advertising revenues of $74.5m in its full-year figures for 2011 “ a 226% year-on-year increase.
Wynn buys out former vice-chairman
Wynn Resorts Limited has forcibly bought out the 20% stakeholding of former vice-chairman Kazuo Okada at a discount amid allegations of impropriety.
Steve Wynn, chief executive of the casino group has, along with his fellow board members, deemed Okada and his company Universal Entertainment Corporation, “unsuitable” after a year-long internal investigation.
The enquiry, conducted by Wynn’s ‘compliance committee’ with the assistance of former FBI chief Louis Freeh, alleges that Japanese national Okada is guilty of violating US anti-corruption legislation following payments of US$110,000 to foreign gambling regulators.
Betfair signs former World Champion
Former World Series of Poker champion Peter Eastgate has been named the latest member of Team Betfair Poker.
The 2008 Main Event winner (pictured), who has returned to the game after a hiatus of several months, is joined on Betfair’s stable of sponsored pros by fellow Danish national Stefan Raffay, an online specialist who also won the Danish Poker Championships in 2006.
Other players already sponsored by Betfair include 2007 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event runner-up John Tabatabai and former Full Tilt pro Hans Martin Vogl.
Lock Poker has signed poker pros Jason Lee and Tim West to its LockPRO ELITE team. Lee has amassed a total of $3m in online tournament winnings and $400,000 from live events, while West has won $3m online, and $1.6m from live tournaments.