FEATURE MOBILE
HITTING THE TWEET SPOT
ast month Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement, bringing to an end more than 26 years at the helm and paving the way for Betfair to settle its longest-running market. But as TSG awaits a payout on its tip of Steve McClaren to succeed Fergie (it seemed like a good idea at the time - ed.) Paddy Power got to the crux of the issue by erecting a banner bearing a muchrepeated Twitter joke. The joke read: “First Thatcher dies, now Fergie retires. Somewhere there is a scouser with a lamp and one wish left.” Within 24 hours the mischievous imps at Paddy Power had stolen, sorry, turned the
[IN BRIEF ]
Missing the Mark
Betfair’s recent success in a judicial review brought by William Hill will have been cause for celebration in Hammersmith, but for those with fewer ties to the companies concerned the news might not have had the same impact. That is until they read a tweet from former Betfair employee and occasional eGR contributor Mark Davies, saying “Regular observers may remember I promised to run naked down High Holborn if Betfair lost the case”. It should be noted Paddy Power opted not to include that particular tweet on a banner.
L
joke into a 30ft billboard ad offering 25/1 on a Liverpool Premier League win. Hats off to them for being so quick off the mark, but it does raise the question of what’s next? A mildly amusing banner is one thing, but where do we draw the line? Might we see corporate accounts of egaming operators bemoaning their #firstworldproblems? Heads of product retweeting parody accounts of fictional characters? Jon Pigeon signed as a new brand ambassador for an online betting site? Or even executives posting that same old joke about Steve Jobs, Johnny Cash and Bob Hope? For all our sakes, let’s hope not.
I don't like to brag but...
Phil Ivey, the former Full Tilt Poker pro, lazily nicknamed “the Tiger Woods of poker", is suing Crockfords Casino for several million in withheld gambling winnings, but luckily – just like Tiger – Phil isn’t the type to make it all about himself. A statement issued around the case read: "Phil is considered...the best poker player alive. Although he is modest about his skill...” Next month, Ricky Gervais claims he “doesn’t like to talk about” his religious views.
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