Execs at PartyGaming received some pretty hefty bonuses in the form of stock options worth $78 million, this despite the fact that the share price value lost around 76 percent over the past year.

PartyGaming CEO Mitch Garber’s pay package comes to 18.5 million pounds. The cost of wages for the chief financial officer came to nearly 6 million pounds in 2006, Haaretz reports.

The company explained its decision to reward its top brass, despite the poor showing of its stock, on the dropping value of their pay package because of the share price’s slide.

Garber’s pay package, for example, was once worth $40 million pounds.

Anurag Dikshit, cofounder of Party Gaming, sold out his remaining shares in the company back in January.  Those sold at 270p per share with a total of 38.8 million shares that had remained under his portfolio.

PartyGaming lost significant market share after it pulled out of the US market in late 2006, leaving PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker to become the titans in the US. 

In recent weeks, Party has been looking to recapture its number three position of top online poker rooms from the iPoker Network.  The two companies practically have the same real cash player numbers. 

Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com