Churchill Downs Incorporated Acquires Assets of Bluff Media
PocketFives has independently confirmed that Churchill Downs Incorporated, the parent company of the famed Kentucky racetrack, has acquired the assets of Atlanta-based Bluff Media. The financial terms of the acquisition were not revealed, although Churchill Downs Incorporated is a publicly traded company and so the details of the sale may ultimately be released.
At 4:30pm ET on Friday, Bluff Media owner Eric Morris posted on Facebook, “Bluff Media has been acquired by Churchill Downs. So excited to be part of the Churchill family.”
The acquisition includes the following assets of Bluff Media: the longstanding Bluff Magazine; ThePokerDBonline tournament database; “a variety of leading blogs, forums, news and editorial content, and tournament and player rankings designed to serve the in-depth content interests of poker enthusiasts throughout the United States;” and Bluff’s web presence in the form of Bluff.com and BluffMagazine.com.
According to a press release found on TheStreet, Churchill Downs Incorporated, a publicly traded company, “believes this acquisition potentially provides it with new business avenues to pursue in the event there is a liberalization of state or Federal laws with respect to internet poker in the United States.”
You’ll recall that the company’s home state of Kentucky has attempted to seize the domain names of over 100 internet gaming sites, including PokerStars.com and FullTiltPoker.com. That legal action has not yet been resolved. Read the latest on the Kentucky internet gambling case.
Morris, Bluff Media Co-President Eddy Kleid, and Vice President of Online Operations Jeff Markley will all stay on with Churchill Downs in their current roles. Bluff Magazine Editor in Chief Lance Bradley told PocketFives that he too would remain with the company.
Churchill Downs Incorporated is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under the symbol “CHDN” and closed Friday’s trading at $55.87, down $0.44 (0.78%) on the day. The stock is near the top of its 52-week max of $60.00.
If you’re not familiar with Churchill Downs Incorporated, in addition to its well-known track in Kentucky, the company also operates racing facilities in Florida, Louisiana, Illinois, and Mississippi. It’s also the parent company of TwinSpires.com, which is licensed in Oregon and accepts online wagers on horse racing. The Kentucky Derby is held on the first Saturday in May each year in Louisville and is the poster child of the horse racing industry in the United States.
Bluff Magazine is published monthly and can be found across the United States. Its issues over the past few months have featured the likes of Brad Garrett, Daniel Negreanu, Michael Mizrachi, and Tom Dwan on the cover. Bluff is in the process of gathering media votes for its annual Power 20, which last March featured Howard Lederer as its top dog.
Friday’s press release emphasized that Bluff “has never engaged in real money gaming.”
Churchill Downs’ home state of Kentucky released a study last month saying that the Commonwealth could pull in nearly $2 billion per year if it legalized land-based casinos. The prospective casino sites would be Kentucky Downs (about 45 minutes north of Nashville, Tennessee), Churchill Downs in Louisville, Turfway Park in Florence, and Lexington, the latter of which is the home of the University of Kentucky. Churchill Downs stands to bring in about a quarter of a billion dollars in revenue in its first year.
PocketFives reached out to Bradley, who told us that an article summarizing the transaction would appear by about 6:00pm ET on Friday on Bluff’s website and declined to comment otherwise.
