Velvet Gems

About Velvet Gems

Calvinayre.com Editor-in-Chief, Bill Beatty – the Michael Kinsley of the gambling world. Bill just possesses that same rare gift of creating great writers. You won’t meet a more genuine guy that Bill, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities to learn so much about the casino business, writing and how I see the world.

Lead reporter Rebecca Liggero Fontana for taking me under her wing. You won’t meet a more generous soul than Becky. She shares this unbridled passion for the casino and tech space, that is just contagious and I’m glad I got to experience that unabashed joy for the gambling industry.

I want to thank Derek Tonin, my editor who I would speak with every day I worked at Calvinayre.com. I’m grateful for the opportunity I have had to work with Derek. He’s an editor who doesn’t shy away from the blunt criticism and its inspiring being on the other end of the call. He’s a guy you would want in the foxhole right next to you, someone who isn’t afraid to give the blunt truth and also celebrate the wins with you.

What is Velvet Gems?

“Joining OpenBet gives us the opportunity to build on that foundation as part of one of the world’s leading sportsbook businesses. For our customers, it brings the additional scale, capabilities and product portfolio of OpenBet, while maintaining the specialist knowledge and continuity they value today.”

Last year, OpenBet completed its management buyout in a $450 million deal that saw CEO Jordan Levin and other senior executives take control over the platform business from Endeavor. 

“As this new chapter begins, OpenBet is better positioned than ever to drive market expansion and product innovation while defining the future of betting and gaming entertainment,” Levin said at the time.

What is Velvet Gems?

Today we pass on the torch to our event organizing and media production friends who have more recently developed outstanding news coverage and video teams dedicated to the gaming space, hopefully who I’ll be seeing at CoinGeek Conferences in the future.

Reflecting on my fateful words at EiG back in 2013, it was the entrepreneurial energy, the innovation and the excitement surrounding Bitcoin that originally drew me to it. Back then, the obsession about Bitcoin was not related to price, it was about the disruptive technology and this is what meant something to me. While a great deal has changed in Bitcoin between 2013 and now, the energy, innovation and excitement are all still there and I am looking forward to the next chapter of my career with Calvin Ayre and the Ayre Media team.

For those who wish to reach out, my contact info remains the same and my door is always open. I welcome you to come with me on this journey and I sincerely hope to see you at the next CoinGeek Conference, the ultimate meeting spot for those as excited as I am about BitcoinSV technology.