Tuesday, September 28, 2010

UPDATE 2-Online gaming company GVC positive on H2 trading - Casino

* Q3 average net gaming revenue up 17 pct
* H1 pretax profit 1.5 mln euros vs 8.2 mln euros last yr
* Shares rise 6 pct
(Recasts; adds analyst comments, details)
By Aditi Samajpati
BANGALORE, Sept 28 (Reuters) - European online-gaming firm
GVC Holdings (GVC.L) said trading improved at the end of the
summer holidays in the third quarter and it expected the trend
to continue through the next two months.
Total average net gaming revenue for July 1 to Sept. 26 was
up 17 percent at 151.1 million euros, said the company, which
operates three business segments -- casino, poker and sports
betting.
"We are expecting a much stronger fourth quarter in
particular, as generally gaming companies do better in the
winters because people stay in as opposed to go out and do
other things," analyst Robert Sanders at Arbuthnot Securities
said.
GVC shares, which have lost more than half of their value
over the past one year, rose 6 percent to 103.5 pence at 1152
GMT on Tuesday on the London Stock Exchange.
The firm said it expected Betboo, its South American online
sports and gaming business that it bought last year, to be
profitable within 18 months.
GVC's January-June pretax profit fell to 1.5 million euros
($2.0 million) from 8.2 million euros a year ago, with Betboo
posting a pretax loss of 1.5 million euros.
Net gaming revenue rose 8 percent to 28.1 million euros.
The Isle of Man-based company, which competes with Sportech
(ROD.L) and Sportingbet (SBT.L), declared an interim dividend
of 10 euro cents a share.
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Christina Hendricks joins Superman cartoon - Arts

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - James Denton, Christina Hendricks and Anthony LaPaglia are lending their pipes to "All-Star Superman," the animated adaptation of one of the most acclaimed comics of the past decade.
The story begins with the Man of Steel (Denton) oversaturated by radiation during a rescue mission near the sun, accelerating the degeneration of his cells. Knowing that he has a limited time before he dies, Superman sets out on a journey that sees him revealing his secret to Lois Lane (Hendricks), giving Lex Luthor (LaPaglia) an epiphany on humanity and ensuring the safety of Earth for when he is gone.
Also in the cast are Ed Asner as Perry White and Frances Conroy as Ma Kent along with Linda Cardellini, Arnold Vosloo and Matthew Gray Gubler.
The Warner Bros. film is due to be released in the spring.
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French comedy Little White Lies a little too long - Comedy

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - That time-honored configuration known as the vacation house, a trusty venue for dramatic revelations, hidden secrets and all around less-than-exemplary behavior, finds itself fully booked in "Little White Lies" ("Les petits mouchoirs").
Thanks to a sparkling ensemble headed by Francois Cluzet and Marion Cotillard, the familiar backdrop still provides ample opportunity for audience pleasing in Guillaume Canet's nicely observed dramatic comedy.
The problem is, the film, which has its world premiere at Toronto, ultimately loses much of its effervescence as it goes on -- and on -- eventually passing the two-and-a-half-hour mark. With its popular cast, that won't be a cause for concern when the picture opens in France next month, but the 154-minute length will likely be an issue for North American consumption. A tighter edit could help matters.
There are deliberate echoes of "The Big Chill," and by extension, "The Return of the Secaucus Seven" in Canet's screenplay, which has a group of mainly thirtysomethings again gathering at a lovely summer beach house, even though one of their group (Jean Dujardin) remains back in intensive care after a very serious motorcycle accident.
Not that they're going to be enjoying themselves, anyway. Their somewhat older host, Max (Cluzet) is more uptight than even usual after his good friend and chiropractor, Vincent (Benoit Magimel) informs him that he's fallen deeply in love with the successful businessman, even though both are happily married with children.
But the others have their own problems, including the pining Antoine (Laurent Lafitte) who drives the group crazy trying to decipher an ex-girlfriend's cryptic text messages; and Marie (Cotillard) an ethnologist by occupation and a commitment-phobe by reputation. Their ailing friend's absence will eventually weigh heavily on their collective conscience, but first they're going to have to confront their own respective drama.
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