Laurence Toney leaves Zynga


10/09/2012 :  ZYNGA'S POKER GENERAL MANAGER DEPARTS
 
Social gaming giant's Laurence "Lo" Toney was a strong proponent of real money gambling
 
Online social gaming giant Zynga Inc's general manager responsible for its poker offering, Laurence Toney, has joined the exodus of senior executives who have left the struggling company this year as share prices dropped 70 percent, reports the Reuters news agency.
 
Toney's departure was picked up on his LinkedIn profile on Monday and confirmed by the publication AllThingsD, and comes as the company has been talking up real-money gambling as a growth opportunity worth billions of dollars in annual revenue.
 
Zynga CEO Mark Pincus is on record as saying that the company will launch real money gambling outside the United States early in 2013.
 
Earlier senior departures from Zynga have included creative chief Mike Verdu, marketing manager Jeff Karp, COO John Schappert and general manager Alan Patmore.