``If there`s any money to be made with this group, it`s in the Costa Rican parent of these ``licensees``. There probably isn`t an interesting amount of money to be made in J2EE-based gaming that hasn`t already been written. But there`s probably a huge amount of money to be made running the online gaming sites the way that 777 does.``

After some reflection on the companies involved, I still feel the same way. The apparent common demoninator here is SVNP, ``777 Sports Entertainment``, aka ``Oasis Information Systems``.

While SVNP has no legacy at all of making money for stockholders, I`m willing to take on faith that 777betz.com and its brethren are in fact making some money down in Costa. While this whole ``left hand pays right hand`` circus of licensees and bogus press releases containing exactly nothing isn`t anything close to an enticement for the serious investor, you can`t fault these people for not trying to hook a few stoopit Americans while they play the game that they play. They have particular disdain for American investors, and why shouldn`t they? Look what they`ve gotten away with so far.

Total up the ``rake`` for Chimera, Pegasus, and all the other legacy trail in this saga, and you`ve got a decent living, especially in Costa.

BUt that`s not why I`m posting. I believe from what I`ve seen so far of the various gaming sites involved, that there is money to be made here, not just in the operation of these sites, but in the further sale and licensing of the ``gaming platform``, as they put it. They probably ARE in a position to play against a larger competitor (eg., Cryptologic).

The fact that they continue to play cloak-and-dagger games in an offshore setting simply proves to me that these aren`t the principals capable of executing this plan to optimal fruition. There are principals capable of carrying out a profitable venture for the benefit of stockholders. But the cast of characters here are simply wrong for the part.

It`s something of a shame simply because the appearance and execution of the 777betz.com site is actually first-rate. Really... it`s a world class gaming portal, at least as it appears to the player; I don`t know what it looks like to the operator.

I encourage each of you with an interest in this whole sorry story to go check out the actual sites involved. I think you`ll find that there`s really something here. It`s not voodoo or vapor. Someone at some point did manage to create a viable product. See for yourselves. Then decide which horse (if any) you feel most comfortable backing in the race to capitalize on these efforts.

And remember -> The key here isn`t what got done yesterday; the real prize is in the development of mobile gaming content/delivery. This is the revenue stream you want to tap into. Simply choose who you think can get the job done, then provide some backing, and see if they can make some serious money with it - and you too.