Punters Gamble On Online Poker Boom

Excited punters - on hearing that Lord Steinberg is to become non-executive chairman of Tradal which is behind leading online gambling site Empire Poker - chased shares of Stanley Leisure 8¾p higher to 548p. Tradal is currently planning a £550m flotation on the London Stock Exchange.

They were willing to take big bets on super-rich Steinberg also acquiring a sizeable shareholding in the Cyprus-based Tradal and sooner, rather than later, selling his remaining 11.4% stake in Stanley Leisure, worth £64m.

Should Malaysian gambling giant Genting decide to buy it, this would take its shareholding to 31.5% a level which would automatically trigger a full takeover bid. Of course, Genting could instead buy it and immediately broker a £1bn merger deal with London Clubs International , 1p off at 121p, in which it also holds a 22.1% stake.

Founder and chairman Steinberg hit the jackpot in November when he trousered £36m by selling 8m Stanley Leisure shares, or 10.2% to Genting. The two also announced a joint venture deal to build large-scale casinos in the UK - one of the first being a casino at Leeds United's Elland Road stadium.

Stanley Leisure's recent sale of 624 betting shops to William Hill , 1p dearer at 510½p, for £500m will enable Stanley to focus on its casino businesses. Meanwhile, Stanley plans to return £300m to shareholders.

Tradal is the latest of a number of poker sites to look at a flotation. Party Gaming, which operates the world's largest online business, Party Poker, appointed investment banks Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Investec to advise on its options, including an Initial Public Offering.

Just look what happened to Sportingbet after it forked out £169m for Paradise Poker in October. Its shares soared from around 100p to touch 349p in March and closed 3p better at 270p yesterday. Third-quarter figures on 2 June will not disappoint.