Casino City Acquires Gambling Portal Webmasters Association
NEWTON, Massachusetts – Casino City, the world's largestprovider of casino and gaming information, today announced its acquisitionof the Gambling Portal Webmasters Association (http://www.gpwa.org), thelargest webmaster forum of its kind on the Internet.
In announcing the move, Casino City CEO Michael Corfman described theGPWA as an important resource for online gaming portal site owners thatwill continue to thrive and grow under Casino City's leadership. "I lookforward to working together with the GPWA membership, and with mycolleagues at Casino City, to create an association that is vibrant andthat has the relationships and resources necessary to make a difference,"Corfman said. Casino City has been involved with the GPWA for four years,and Corfman himself has been a member for two years.
The GPWA was founded in May 2001 by Cynthia Carley, who wanted tocreate an organization that would strengthen relationships betweenaffiliate program managers and portal webmasters. In May 2004, Carley soldthe GPWA to husband and wife team John and Marlene Derosset, under whoseleadership the organization's membership increased by 50 percent (now over3,300 members) and the sponsor base doubled in size.
Carley, who is still an active GPWA member, gave a ringing endorsementto Corfman's acquisition, stating that his "ethics and values are sound,and his business expertise and acumen far surpass mine. I will be there tohelp in any way I can."
John Derosset, who along with his wife will also remain active in theGPWA, expressed his confidence that the organization will continue to growand thrive: "Casino City has the resources and man/woman power to take GPWAto great heights. Under Michael's leadership, GPWA will move forward andbecome stronger than ever." Marlene Derosset added, "John and I have a lotof faith in Michael and will be there to support him in any way we can."
Casino City has already taken over the hosting and maintenance of theGPWA website, and earlier today rolled out an upgrade to the site withsignificant enhancements to its usability. New features include intuitivesite navigation, more informative section introductions, and a greaterfocus on the extensive forums available on the site. GPWA's 70+ public andprivate forums feature nearly 24,000 threads and over 170,000 posts withinvaluable news, information, and advice for seasoned, rookie, and aspiringwebmasters.
Corfman, who is now the GPWA's Executive Director, plans to concentrateon enhancing the organization's role in increasing transparency in thegaming industry as a whole. "I think of the gaming industry as a publicgarden," he said. "If we want people to visit so we can be successful, wehave to get rid of the weeds. I believe communities like the GPWA cansupport the good industry players and expose the bad industry players ifthey have the right infrastructure in place. We will direct our energy,passion, and resources to build tools that will be of the greatest benefitto the GPWA community."
Casino City is a publisher of directories and almanacs for the gamingindustry including Casino City's iGaming Business Directory and theoperator of a network of websites including http://www.CasinoCity.com andhttp://www.CasinoCityPress.com.
2006-07-20
