Churchill Downs, the Louisville, Kentucky based racing operator, has taken important steps to move into the online gaming sphere ahead of imminent changes to the US legislation governing poker and gambling. The Nasdaq listed racing operator announced that it has acquired the Atlanta based Bluff Media which runs, among other things, the popular printed Bluff Magazine and its online arm, BluffMagazine.com.
Bluff Media deals mainly in poker content, both printed and online, and also runs the websites, BluffPoker.com and Bluff.com. Bluff’s PokerDB.com is a site with tracks online poker players, ranking them based on performance and tournament winnings.
One of the reasons that Churchill Downs considered and then went through with the acquisition of Bluff Media is the fact that the group does not deal (for the moment) in real money online poker. Churchill Downs said in a statement that it would build on Bluff Media’s existing business model and its poker content.
At the moment, no details of the acquisition deal have been published. However, a statement issued by Churchill Downs said: “This acquisition potentially provides (Churchill Downs) 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.”
The sale of Bluff Media includes all the company’s assets in their entirety. It was also decided that the current leadership positions will be maintained by Bluff executives, including co-presidents, Eric Morris and Eddy Kleid.
Bluff Magazine began as a bimonthly publication back in 2004 and has enjoyed immense success and popularity since then. The group has partnered in the past with the World Series of Poker and has challenged big poker publications in the business such as CardPlayer.com.
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