Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> April 9, 2001
RICHARD LEVENSTEIN was named Vice President of ReadyFoods brokerage Ltd.
in 1991. Seeing the company's sales soar to over $50 million a year, the
family operated business decided to sell the company at its peak. Using
his talents in sales and marketing, Mr. Levenstein founded RSL Food
Brokers, becoming a front-runner in this industry in Canada. With RSL
thriving over the next few years, he began to explore and research the
Internet in an attempt to expand his business globally. He quickly found
a new passionate aspiration and begun focusing his research in the
Online Gaming field. In 1996, PlayStar Corp. was founded and a CEO was
required. Mr. Levenstein was found to not have the technical expertise
required according to the major shareholders, and in turn he decided to
become an investor himself and continued the pursuit of his passion with
the Online Gaming industry. He sold RSL Food Brokers in 1999, and
devoted his efforts to a Gaming business plan. In the interim, PlayStar
realized that a Gaming Expert was indeed what was required to achieve
their goals, and requested that he step up to the plate. As the company
was leaning towards the credit card processing industry, Mr. Levenstein
respectfully declined, as he was solely interested in the Online Gaming
industry. With a completed business plan, he opened Cyber Island
Consulting Ltd. In spring of 2000, PlayStar realized its mistakes and
approached Cyber Island Consulting, redirecting its focus back to Online
Gaming, taking on the business plan that Mr. Levenstein had developed
back in 1997. Mr. Levenstein begun the process of rebuilding PlayStar
from scratch, and in late December 2000, PlayStar launched its new
Shockwave casino ahead of schedule and under budget. In the first 60
days, PlayStar casino has taken over $10 million in wagering and
continues to grow. Profile
PlayStar?
Mr. Levenstein: PlayStar was established in 1996 as an online gaming
developer. The company was the second one
