Breitling OK’d as 14.3 percent owner of Fertitta Interactive
A change in the ownership structure of Fertitta Interactive was approved Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Commission, allowing Station Casinos to control the eventual launch of an online poker operation.
Tom Breitling, who is chairman of Ultimate Gaming, was approved to own 14.3 percent of Fertitta Interactive while Station Casinos owns 57.3 percent of the operation. Minority partners own the remaining stakes.
Station Casinos is controlled by brothers Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta.
Breitling has been behind the development of Ultimate Gaming, which has branding and marketing ties to the Fertitta-owned Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The company has been approved to launch an online poker website in Nevada but is awaiting the technology to be approved by the Gaming Control Board.
“We are fully committed to Nevada,” Breitling told the commission, which was meeting in Carson City.
Fertitta Interactive owns and controls the technology for Ultimate Gaming. Fertitta Interactive acquired software developer CyberArts in October 2011.
Most of the questions Thursday came from Gaming Commission Chairman Pete Bernhard, who wanted assurances from company officials that Ultimate Gaming’s technology would prohibit underage gambling and money laundering activities and would prevent gamblers from logging onto the site from outside Nevada borders.
Ultimate Gaming CEO Tobin Prior said the system was going through testing and the company would answer any questions from the board’s technology experts .
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal
.com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
