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A series of presentations for investors kicks off in about a fortnight, with the aim of securing a listing by the end of this month. But two people the shareholders will not get to meet are the business’s co-founders Ruth Parasol and her husband Russ DeLeon.

Parasol has attracted much interest, not least because of her history of working in the adult entertainment industry.

Explaining why she and DeLeon are not speaking publicly is a subject that gets Segal rather exercised: “If I was sitting in your chair, I could understand the interest. Ruth’s background is not something that’s been hidden away. But the fact that she has been in the adult industry does not mean she has done anything wrong.”

Then why won’t one of the most successful female entrepreneurs of the past decade talk to the press? Segal lets fly: “We want you to be writing about the company. I am bloody running the company. This is one of the most remarkable success stories. I would like people to focus on the business, its strengths and the opportunities.”

One of those undoubted strengths is that Party Gaming has come from nowhere to market leader in a few years. The question is whether it can stay there. If the Americans decide to legalise and regulate internet gaming — as some companies such as Britain’s Sportingbet predict — the market will open up to all comers, not least the big Las Vegas casino operators.

Segal is somewhat dismissive of the idea: “Even if we had proper regulation everywhere, the skills and core competencies in running an online gaming business are very different from operating a land-based business.

“Of course they would be a threat. We have had plenty of new entrants come into the market and we remain a very clear market leader. If (the US legalises online gaming) it is more likely that some big names will want to joint-venture with us rather than do something in their own right.”

He said that no talks had been held with any Las Vegas operator about such a plan.

For the time being at least, there is little prospect of the Las Vegas giants muscling into this territory as long as the debate rages over the legality of online poker. Sports betting is banned in America; the situation surrounding poker and other casino games is far from clear. Segal insists that what Party Gaming does “is not illegal” but admits that there is “uncertainty”.

What investors will make of this remains to be seen, but some blue-chip names have a great exposure to the sector and clearly view the risk as one worth taking. Fidelity, for example, is the biggest shareholder in Sportingbet, which takes sports bets from American customers.

For the immediate future, Segal is far more concerned with domestic matters than meeting investors’ concerns. He already knows the first thing he will buy with his new-found fortune. “My wife has told me I have to take her and the kids out for a meal at Pizza Express because they have hardly seen me the past six months.”