Blanca Games closes acquisition of Cereus Poker Network

Blanca Games, Inc. (Blanca), a gaming company founded and led by e-gaming entrepreneur Stuart Gordon, today announced that it has acquired the Cereus Poker Network (Cereus). The network launched in 2008 is one of the top 10 online poker networks in the industry. Cereus operates two sites, Ultimate Bet (UB.com) and Absolute Poker, and sponsors a several poker pros, including Team UB members Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Trishelle Cannatella, Eric Baldwin, and Brandon Cantu.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed, however, Blanca Games announced in a statement that the acquisition includes all Network operations, software, the Absolutepoker.com brand, and the Ub.com brand. Blanca received authorization from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) to complete the acquisition and operate the Cereus Poker Network.

"The acquisition of Cereus is a significant opportunity for us. Cereus is a major platform of well-managed assets. Over the past few years, it has created new brands, like ub.com, that are extremely well-positioned in the most desirable demographic in our market: players in the 20s and 30s age brackets. From our perspective, we have acquired a large, sophisticated online gaming operation with state-of-the art capabilities, ranging from compliance to business intelligence to online marketing to customer service. We see a tremendous growth opportunity in this deal and beyond, as Blanca seeks additional acquisitions in the market." commented Stuart Gordon, Chief Executive Officer of Blanca Games.

Stuart Gordon established Blanca Games, Inc. for the purposes, among others, of making acquisitions in the online gaming industry, including the purchase of the Cereus Poker Network. Mr. Gordon is the CEO of Blanca and is a pioneer in the online gaming industry. He is also the founder and operator of bingomania.com and Helix Gaming International, Ltd, which are licensed and regulated both in the jurisdictions of Kahnawake and Antigua.

"We are confident that the Cereus Network has found an excellent home in Blanca Games. Over the past several years, Cereus has developed into an outstanding platform, which is poised for significant growth. This transaction will benefit Cereus players and employees alike. We expect no changes in the playing experience on the Cereus sites, except for the improvements that will likely be the long-term result of this transaction. We intend to leverage the existing strengths of the Cereus Poker Network, particularly in the areas of security and customer service. Although we are impressed with many of the new security features on the Network today, security is and will remain our top priority. We're also pleased with the efficiency and the player-friendly approach of Cereus's customer service operation, but we will always be seeking to improve in this area." added Gordon.