EXHIBIT 3
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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POKER.COM INC. ACQUIRES SKILL POKER, PLANS TO OPERATE U.S. BASED
ONLINE CARD ROOM.
VANCOUVER, CANADA, February 14, 2003 - Poker.com Inc. (OTCBB: PKER) announced
today that pursuant to a news release dated January 16, 2003, the Company has,
through its wholly owned subsidiary, acquired a provisional patent application
and all the assets in relation to a skill based system of online poker which
includes the games of Skill Poker and Skill BlackJack from Blue Diamond
International Capital Inc. of Switzerland.
In consideration for the acquired assets, the Company paid Blue Diamond
US$50,000 and issued 3,000,000 shares in its common stock. In addition, Blue
Diamond will receive the greater of US$3,500 per month or 4% of the gross
revenue received by the Company from operating games using the technology of the
provisional patent. In the event that the technology is further licensed by the
Company to a third party, Blue Diamond will also receive 20% of any initial
license fee and 4% of the gross revenue of any such licensee.
The provisional patent application filed with the United States Patent and
Trademark Office covers a system of determining the skill level in a tournament
setting for many different card games including all forms of poker. Poker.com
Inc. has acquired ownership of all materials in relation to the games of Skill
Poker and Skill Blackjack, in addition to the domain names SkillPoker.com,
SkillBlackjack.com, SkillOmaha.com, SkillHoldem.com and SkillStud.com.
The acquisition was subject to an opinion provided by Professor I. Nelson Rose,
a Professor of Law with tenure at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, California
regarding the general legality of the Skill Poker system. Professor Rose
received a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University in 1979 and is recognized
as a leading authority on gambling and the law advising clients such as the
United States Government, state gaming commissions, the Federal Government of
Canada, commercial gaming operators and has acted as an expert witness in a
number of gaming related trials. The Company is pleased to announce that the
opinion provided by Professor Rose was satisfactory with respect to the general
legality of the Skill Poker system.
Poker.com plans to use the Skill Poker concept enabling the operation of its own
skill based online poker card rooms marketing directly to players in the United
States, Canada and worldwide. Once developed, Poker.com Inc.'s poker card room
will be the only legal online system of gaming with all operations including the
game servers located on North American soil. The Company has formed Skill
Poker.com Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary registered in the State of Washington
for the purpose of developing and operating the Skill Poker concept.
With respect to the dispute involving the domain, www.poker.com, the Company
announces that a recent ruling by ICANN (The Internet Corporation For Assigned
Names And Numbers) dated February 13, 2002 refused to acknowledge that
Communication Services Inc., (the current registrant of the domain), were using
the URL illegally and have suggested that action was more appropriate to be
commenced against ALA Corp (the previous registrant of the domain). The Company
is continuing to pursue all legal avenues through which its rights to the use of
www.poker.com may be reclaimed.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Mr. Mark Glusing
President
THIS PRESS RELEASE MAY CONTAIN CERTAIN FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND
STATEMENTS CONCERNING THE COMPANY'S OPERATIONS, PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL
CONDITION, INCLUDING, IN PARTICULAR; THE ABILITY OF THE COMPANY TO DEVELOP THE
SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY IN CONNECTION WITH THE PATENT; COMPETITION FROM OTHER GAMING
COMPANIES TO DEVELOP AND MARKET SKILL BASED GAMING IN NORTH AMERICA; THE ABILITY
OF THE COMPANY TO SUCCESSFULLY MARKET ONLINE GAMING SITES THAT ARE FOR SKILL
BASED GAMING. THESE STATEMENTS ARE BASED UPON A NUMBER OF UNCERTAINTIES AND
CONTINGENCIES, MANY OF WHICH ARE BEYOND THE CONTROL OF THE COMPANY. ACTUAL
RESULTS MAY DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED BY SUCH
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT INTENDED TO BE AND IS NOT AN
ADVERTISEMENT FOR ANY SECURITIES OF THE COMPANY.
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For further information please contact:
Poker.com Inc.
Investor Relations
210 - 1166 Alberni Street
Vancouver, B.C.
Canada, V6E 3Z3
Tel: (604) 689-5998
Fax: (604) 689-8988
Email: Info@pokercorporation.com
URL: www.pokercorporation.com