Soulja Boy's '$400 Million' Deal With Online Poker Group More Smoke and Mirrors?
- Individual tied to online poker site once subject of deceptive business practice lawsuits filed by FTC
- ”$400 million” is actually in the form of stocks and revenue sharing, not cold hard cash
- “He really kind of jumped the gun” by using the $400 million figure,” company spokesperson said of the rapper’s announced deal
- Another “big name” celebrity slated to come on board
Last week, Gambling911.com brought you the story of a new celebrity-endorsed online poker Tribal venture out of Oklahoma backed by the likes of Justin Bieber, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and that state’s Governor’s daughter, Christina Fallon.
They have joined forces with Florida-based Universal Entertainment Group to retain 51 percent of the revenue from Pokertribe.com and in conjunction with a new website currently in beta testing, CelebrityWorld.com.
"I see this software to being the key for securing the future for many generations," said Chairman Bobby Walkup of the Iowa Tribe where the site will be hosted. "It is a market that is untouched."
But the individual behind Universal Entertainment Group is one Fred Khalilian, who once co-owned a nightclub with socialite Paris Hilton that provided endless fodder for gossip site TMZ.com. He also has a bit of a checkered past, operating two companies that were the subject of lawsuits from Federal Trade Commission for deceptive business practices.
Forbes Shawn Setaro digs deep into the real story behind rapper Soulja Boy's announcement of a “$400 million” dollar endorsement deal with the online poker venture.
That “$400 million” is not in cash but rather in the form of stocks (which may or may not be worth a whole lot) and revenue sharing. Good luck with that!
“He really kind of jumped the gun” by using the $400 million figure,” company spokesperson Matthew Bird told Forbes. “The deal is capped at $400 million, and it’s based on a forward-thinking valuation of the company. He’s young, he’s 25 years old. He got really excited, and he tweeted something he probably shouldn’t have tweeted. He was getting a lot of pressure from within the entertainment community, so he wanted to put a statement out. Obviously, the company’s market cap is at $51.8 million. There’s no way they could cut a $400 million deal. Endorsement deals are calculated on a lot of different factors. This is not a fully cash transaction.”
Bird revealed that another “mega-celebrity” will hop on board with WPFH and CelebrityWorld.com in a few days.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
