DTD Closing???
It seriously amazes me at the speed a rumour spreads in poker circles, and how people feel they are qualified at giving reasons and advice to a situation they know not a great deal about. A local rag paper mis-reported that Dusk till Dawn will be closing in 2 weeks, a link to that article appeared on a poker website, which snowballed to a few forums …… advice from everyone flooded in, as to what DTD should do to keep open (do people seriously think that an astute businessman has not thought about every way he can keep this recreational business afloat), and to reasons why DTD has “failed”
Shall we start with the facts rather than speculation.
Yes there was a huge overlay of £71,000+ but as Rob Yong stated in a radio interview, he has lost more than that in one hand of poker.
DTD was never a “business”, it was Rob’s dream of having a great cardroom on his front doorstep. Rob had always stated that he never expected to make money from DTD in fact a calculated loss was expected to start with, hopefully at a later date it would break even.
DTD has not failed, it got to break even in the second year of opening, and Rob was happy with that.
At the time of planning, the expected costs were completely different to the actual costs, as the Government changed the boundaries AFTER DTD opened, these include;
Having to pay VAT on set up costs, as each table would now be classified per square foot as “gaming” rather than differentiate between “Hard Gaming” and “Soft Gaming”
Although DTD have a casino Licence and FULLY legal (the only Fully legal and compliant “cardroom only “in the country) DTD is unique as it does not offer house games. Therefore is penalised more greatly in having to pay triple the rates ( as per casino licence) even though it is not operating as a casino?!?
An old tax was revised to include participation fees in the last budget, by suits with no clue as to the consequences, to squeeze a miniscule amount of money for the government in proportion. As DTD only operates on participation fees, this now means an additional 15 – 50 % loss as it is taken on REVENUE not profits.
With all this in mind, and the fight DTD had to actually get open, by going down the only LEGAL route, you can see why Rob Yong feels he is now banging his head against a brick wall. Of course there are “loopholes” and “ways around” most charges, but this is a recreational business for Rob, just like his Football club, Eastwood Town. He is and wishes to remain a solid, trustworthy businessman, and his other businesses can never be tarnished with underhandedness, therefore “loopholes” and “ways around” are simply not an option.
Rumours and speculation are simply not assisting Dusk till Dawn in any way, especially when Journalists and websites are just out for an exclusive story, to boost their google rankings etc.
It is down to poker players now to get behind Rob and DTD and support the club, DTD have their monthly flagship event this weekend, which btw has the highest attendance for a £300 event, anywhere in Europe.
The £300 has a guarantee of £80,000 and the £150 has a guarantee of £20,000. Get ones ass down there, see what a great club this is, and support Rob whilst he is down in the dumps!!
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One Response to “DTD Closing???”
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Dear DTD Employees and Members
Following on from some recent speculation, rumour and misquotes, I would like to make it absolutely crystal clear that there is no chance of us closing in the near future, or trading unlicensed to avoid paying higher taxes.
In reality, closing the doors would probably never happen, as a number of companies have registered an interest to acquire us, should we ever feel that the “struggle” gets too much!
When we chose to take the legal route by applying for a full casino license, we budgeted for all of the additional costs of operating legally, such as licensing fees, extra security measures and the employment of a dedicated compliance officer. Unfortunately, because we chose this path, we have recently become “caught in the crossfire” between the authorities and the casino industry. Consequently, we now face major tax increases in the form of;
VAT – this is now based on our total gaming area, so our 46 poker tables are treated exactly the same as having 46 roulette tables – now that is a super casino! Therefore, VAT is not reclaimable on almost all of our running costs, including any capital expenditure spent on the building.
Business Rates – these have literally gone through the roof and we are now paying the same rates as a 22,000sqft fully equipped casino. It has been indicated that this re-evaluation was prompted by another casino objecting to the level of rates that we were previously paying.
Gaming Duty – the appropriately nicknamed “Poker Tax” is now payable on all tournament registration fees and cash game charges, unlike a full casino, poker is 90% of our income and this new tax is applied to all of our poker revenues – whether we make a profit or not.
Despite these setbacks, it will still be “business as usual” at DTD; however, Nick and I will be considering the options as we move ahead. We also intend to consult our members and employees for their views at a future date. Thankfully we are in a good financial position, whereby there is no pressure to make any hasty decisions, but the reality is that we must address these significantly increased costs. Furthermore, we must also factor in the probability of more tax increases in the future, as the authorities continue to target the UK casino sector.
Cheers, Rob
PS. Last week’s DTD Grand Slam overlays will have no effect on our future plans – at least the cash goes directly back into the poker community! I am certain that we will be more successful in the future. This was our first attempt and many venues would be pleased with a 194 field for a £1000k buy-in, especially taking into account the WSOP changed their dates and the market leading £1000 GUKPT took place just a week earlier.
Wed, 3rd June 2009