Good afternoon, and welcome to the Allied Gaming & Entertainment Inc. First Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Tyler Drew, Addo Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, and welcome to the Allied Gaming & Entertainment 2023 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. Speaking on the call today are Allied Gaming & Entertainment's Chief Executive Officer, Yinghua Chen; and Chief Financial Officer, Roy Anderson. Before I turn the call over to management, please note that our prepared remarks may contain forward-looking statements. Words such as may, will, expect, intend, plan, believe, seek, could, estimate, judgment, targeting, should, anticipate, goal and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors discussed in the company's public filings, including the risk factors discussed in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. The company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In addition, certain of the financial information presented in this call represents non-GAAP financial measures. The company's earnings release, which was issued this afternoon and is available on the company's website, presents definitions of such non-GAAP financial measures, reconciliations to the appropriate GAAP measures and an explanation of why the company believes such non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors. With that, it is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Allied Gaming & Entertainment's CEO, Yinghua Chen. Yinghua?

Thank you, Tyler. Good afternoon to you all, and thank you for joining us today. I'm very excited to provide update on Allied's strong start to the year and our continued momentum into the second quarter and the remainder of 2023. As we spoke to you on our last quarterly conference call, Allied is now laser-focused on leveraging our renowned assets, products and services to provide the rapidly growing world of gamers with new and unique experiences as the entertainment landscape continue to evolve. We recognize it is crucial to provide consumers with captivating and stimulating experiences in various formats to compete with the increasing number of entertainment options available. We are uniquely positioned to capitalize on this ongoing shift and, in turn, help brands connect with consumers in most cost-effective ways. As evidence of this shift, Gallup reports that fully engaged consumers represent a 23% premium in share of wallet, profitability, revenue and relationship growth over the average customers. Our live events, both in-person and virtual, and the associated brand activations are carefully designed to achieve this engagement and leave lasting impressions for participants who often become our loyal customers. Speaking of events, let's now turn to our in-person events during the quarter, starting with our flagship venue, HyperX Arena, located at Luxor Hotel, Las Vegas. Demand remains strong, and we produced a total of 82 events, comprising 42 proprietary events and 40 third-party events, with the latter recording a 5.3% increase compared to the first quarter of 2022. Notable third-party events include HyperX CES Event, Nighthawk Picture Production, View Sonic Event, ReliaQuest, LVL UP and Astral Clash, just to name a few. Following another successful quarter, we were thrilled to announce the renewal of our exclusive naming rights agreement with HP/HyperX, along with the total naming peripherals upgrade.…

Thank you, Yinghua. Total first quarter revenues of $1.2 million were essentially flat from the fourth quarter of 2022 and down from $2.4 million for the first quarter of '22. The year-over-year decline is primarily attributable to the timing of our original content series, ELEVATED. Season 1, which consisted of 4 episodes, was launched and entirely recognized in the first quarter of 2022. Season 2 with 10 episodes will be distributed and recognized in full in the second quarter of 2023. This timing issue was partially offset by a 9.5% year-over-year increase in revenues from proprietary and third-party events held at the company's HyperX Arena Las Vegas and in our Allied Esports Truck operations. Total costs and expenses for the first quarter of 2023 were $3.8 million, a decrease of $2.3 million or 38% compared to the first quarter of 2022. Costs and expenses decreased in large part to the timing and accounting expense recognition of ELEVATED as well as a 26% reduction in our general and administrative expenses, principally cash, severance and stock-based compensation. Net loss for the first quarter of 2023 was $1.9 million compared to a net loss of $3.8 million in the prior year period. Our results for Q1 2023 included approximately $734,000 of interest income earned on short-term investments. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $2 million for the first quarter of 2023, a 20% reduction as compared with a loss of $2.5 million in Q1 2022. Our adjusted EBITDA includes adjustments for depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation and interest income. Now moving on to our balance sheet. As of March 31, 2023, our cash and short-term investments position totaled $84.4 million, including $5 million of restricted cash, compared to $86.8 million at December 31, 2022, which also included $5 million of restricted cash. As of March 31, 2023, the company's working capital position was $75.6 million, including the current portion of an operating lease liability of $1.3 million that was recorded in connection with the implementation of the new leasing standard, ASC 842, on December 31, 2022. Also during the quarter and under our stock repurchase program, we acquired 1,105,604 shares of our common stock in open-market transactions at an average selling price of $1.26 for a total repurchase cost of $1.43 million, excluding broker fees. This brings us to a total of $2.02 million in repurchases since the commencement of the plan. Moving forward, the manner, timing and amount of any purchases will continue to be based on an evaluation of market conditions, stock price, and other factors. Overall, it was a solid quarter at Allied, and we are trending well so far in Q2 as we begin recognizing revenue from Season 2 of ELEVATED and continue moving forward on our strategic plan. I will now turn the call back over to Yinghua for closing remarks.

Thank you, Roy. These are exciting times at AGAE as we build out our ecosystem for the gaming community and expand our partnership with world-class companies who understand the market's potential. It is becoming clear to brands that we are an established name in the gaming community and offer an inroad to this crucial and growing multibillion-dollar marketplace. Looking ahead, we will remain focused on expanding our capabilities and providing gamers with engaging touch points across the entire gaming ecosystem. Thank you for joining us today as well as your continued support. We look forward to speaking with you again to discuss our second quarter results in August.

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation, and you may now disconnect.