January 24, 2001 For more information: Frank Scatoni 619-807-1887 frank@ventureliterary.com "No Kill Date" Venture Literary sells World rights for The Poker MBA to Crown On January 19, 2001, Frank Scatoni, representing Venture Literary partner Greg Dinkin, sold the World Rights to The Poker MBA: Winning in Business No Matter What Cards You’re Dealt to Pete Fornatale at Crown In May of 2000, Greg Dinkin, Frank Scatoni, and Pete Fornatale met in New York City to discuss an arrangement for Fornatale to edit The Finance Doctor. Dinkin, a.k.a. Dr. Dink, and Scatoni co-authored the book and wanted another experienced set of eyes to look at the manuscript. Scatoni recommended Fornatale, since the two had already worked together at Simon & Schuster and had co-written two books: Say Anything and Who Can It Be Now? When the conversation turned to other projects, Dinkin pitched Fornatale on an idea he had been working on for three years: The Poker MBA: Winning in Business No Matter What Cards You’re Dealt. Fornatale’s response was enthusiastic. "I’ve been dying to do a book that parallels business and poker," he said. "The parallels are incredible." Six months later, The Finance Doctor hit the shelves and Dinkin and Scatoni founded Venture Literary. After Dinkin added Jeffrey Gitomer as a co-author, Crown anted up a favorable contract for world rights to the book, which examines the winning qualities and strategies of poker champions and shows how these qualities and skills translate into the world of business. The book’s release date is April 2002, to coincide with The World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. In its first three months of business, Venture Literary has established relationships with more than thirty writers. It is currently working with editors in all genres of publishing, with an emphasis on business, sports, self-help/how-to, and general and narrative non-fiction, as well as mainstream and commercial fiction. For more information about Venture Literary, please go to www.ventureliterary.com For more information on Crown, visit: www.randomhouse.com/crown/business/