They know what happens to Joe Pesci at the end, right? (Photo: Wikipedia)

Things are not going so hot for Zynga. The company bought Draw Something, and people promptly stopped playing it. Employees are complaining on Quora, and high-level execs are decamping to greener pastures. The stock is, pardon our crassness, in the crapper. Things are so bad over there, it must be enough to make Zuckerberg and Mason feel downright blissful.

Something must be done, and it looks like that something will be the time-honored money-maker of high plains drifters and mob bosses alike: gambling.

Mark Pincus first announced the company's intentions back in July, saying the company's first real cash-money offerings would come online in 2013 (regulatory situation permitting). Now, AllThingsD reports, the company has hired a COO in charge of new markets--who comes from a UK-based online betting company, no less. Maytal Ginzburg was previously SVP of regulated markets at 888 Holdings, which operates the online betting portal 888.com.

Who needs casinos on Coney Island when you can fritter away your rent money right from your laptop?