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Both of Atlantic City’s two new rebranded and reopened casinos are now online.

Ocean Online Casino, the online arm of the new Ocean Resort Casino Atlantic City, kicked off a five-day soft launch Tuesday, June 10.

The newest New Jersey online casino opened online for eight hours on July 10, from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. local time. The rest of the limited soft launch opening schedule is as follows:

• Wednesday, July 11: 12 p.m to 8 p.m (8 hours)
• Thursday, July 12: 12 p.m. to 2 a.m. (14 hours)
• Friday, July 13: 12 p.m. to 12 p.m. (24 hours)
• Saturday, July 14: 12 p.m. to 12 p.m. (24 hours)

Ocean Resort Casino Atlantic City

Ocean Resort Casino Atlantic City is the former $2.4 billion Revel Casino Hotel that opened in 2012, filed for bankruptcy, and closed a little over two years later.

The property was bought out of bankruptcy for just $82 million in 2015 and eventually sold to Colorado developer Bruce Deifik in January 2018 for $229 million. Deifik re-branded the property Ocean Resort Casino and reopened it less than six months after buying it, on June 28 of this year.

In a January press release announcing its year-end financial results, International internet gaming software supplier GAN announced it had signed a multi-year agreement with Ocean Resort Casino. The agreement ensured the soon-to-open casino would become GAN’s second real-money regulated gaming client in New Jersey. GAN is already the software supplier for Betfair NJ.

Together, the plan was to launch a real-money internet casino gaming and internet sports betting site integrated with the Ocean Resort Casino on-property rewards program.

Ocean Online Casino

It appears now, the pair has taken a huge step towards that. Although, an Ocean Online Casino spokesperson said the soft launch does not represent the “full offering” and there is still “a lot more content to come.”

The Ocean Online Casino soft launch features a “scaled down” version of what the online gambling site will eventually become. There are close to 50 slots available, many of which are exclusive to the site. Plus, six versions of video poker, and table games, including Blackjack and Roulette.

Atlantic city’s other new re-branded and reopened casino, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, soft-launched its own online gambling site concurrently with its June 28 opening.

The Ocean Online Casino site has plans to launch a number of promotions over its first three weeks in operation. During the soft launch, Ocean Online Casino promotions include:

• $125 Welcome Week Bonus, including $25 in free pPlay
• $10,000 First Deposit Bonus, a 100 percent deposit match bonus on a player’s first 10 deposits
• Refer a Forever Friend, a refer-a-friend bonus that pays $10 once the friend makes a deposit plus monthly residuals
• Suite Sounds of The Ocean, a monthly leaderboard promotion offering the winners of the slot and table games leaderboard a six-night stay at Ocean Resort Casino Suites or $1,000 in site credit

Ocean Online Casino player loyalty program

Ocean Online Casino is also promising to allow Ocean Premier Points earned through its player loyalty program to be redeemed online for cash or free play at Ocean Resort Casino. Redeemable benefits at Ocean Resort Casino include:

• Preferred access
• Free parking
• Suite upgrades
• Comps

Deposit options on the site available during the soft launch include:

• Visa
• Visa Electron
• MasterCard
• Maestro
• eCheck
• 7-11 Pay Near Me
• Bank wire
• Cash at the Ocean Resort Casino Atlantic City cage

The post Ocean Resort Wades Into NJ Online Casino Waters With iGaming Soft Launch appeared first on Play USA.

The 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event has been a rousing success. That begs the question: how have live tournaments like the WSOP largely avoided the declining numbers seen in the online and live cash game segments of the poker industry?

The 2018 WSOP is part of a three-year trend

Thanks to a nine percent year-over-year increase, the 2018 WSOP Main Event is the largest field since 2006, and the second largest field in the tournament’s 49-year history.

It also marks the third consecutive year The WSOP Main Event has seen a significant increase in attendance.

The recent growth (4.9 percent in 2016, 7.2 percent in 2017, and 9 percent in 2018) flies in the face of the narrative that poker is in a period of decline, or, if you listen to some social media pundits, dying.

The numbers for the Main Event are a good sign. And a deeper dive into WSOP attendance paints an even rosier picture for the future… provided online poker continues to make headway in the US and across the globe.

Where are the new players coming from?

At first blush, US attendance looks quite strong, as US players are responsible for nearly three-quarters of the WSOP Main Event field over the past four years.

Further, the number of US players grew by 20.5 percent from 2015 to 2018. That’s an increase of 980 players.

That said, the growth rate of US players is lagging behind the growth rate of overall attendance, which clocks in at 22.6 percent over the same period.

So, while US growth is above 20 percent over the past four years, rest-of-world growth clocks in at 29 percent.

All of that bodes well for the WSOP next year, and beyond.

The US market is still untapped

Pennsylvania online poker should be up and running before next year’s WSOP, possibly joining the existing interstate online poker network of Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey.

As more states come online, the number of direct buy-in US satellites will continue to grow, bringing hundreds more players to Las Vegas for the WSOP Main Event.

Estimates put the number of online qualifiers for the Main Event from WSOP.com Nevada (not including qualifiers from New Jersey) at around 100 in each of the last two years, and an estimated 60 players in 2016.

Expect even more online satellite participants in the 2019 WSOP ME.

International growth will also continue

At the same time, there’s room for even more growth internationally.

New markets in Asia and South America are opening, and WSOP participation is booming from countries that were previously non-factors.

What’s the actual ceiling for WSOP Main Event attendance?

It’s hard to know where the ceiling for the WSOP Main Event is.

Had UIGEA not happened, the 2007 World Series of Poker would have had an over/under line of 10,000 players.

If online poker returns to the US in earnest, there’s no reason to believe attendance for the WSOP Main Event can’t break five-figures.

Non-US player participation will continue to rise as more and more markets open up and mature, and online poker would cause a significant spike in US attendance.

There’s also the female factor. A third of online poker players are female, but female participation in the 2018 WSOP ME was in line with previous years: 3.8 percent.

If poker ever solves its female problem, attendance numbers will skyrocket.

Poker isn’t dying, it’s changing

It’s easy to understand why the narrative that poker is dying (at least traditional poker) has gained traction.

Poker rooms and tables have been steadily disappearing across the United States, particularly in the poker capital of the world, Las Vegas.

Further, despite new markets opening, and the dawn of the era of liquidity sharing, online poker preferences are shifting. Players are choosing the newer, faster, more-gamble-y games like lottery style Sit & Go tournaments over traditional poker games.

Yet live tournament poker seems to be thriving. And not just at the WSOP.

Don’t be fooled by the declining buy-ins and smaller turnouts at some tournaments. That’s largely a product of increased competition and not an indication of the popularity of live tournament poker.

In fact, it would appear that live tournament poker is either:

• Independent of other forms of poker, and therefore unaffected by the current shift; or
• Lagging several years behind the live cash game and online trends.

The former seems more likely than the latter. The poker world may have to come to grips live tournament poker is a different animal that draws from a wider player pool than cash games and online poker.

The post The Recent Surge In WSOP Main Event Attendance Is Coming From All Over The Globe appeared first on .

The 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event was supposed to play down to 27 players remaining on Tuesday, July 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, they did one better, getting down to the 2018 WSOP Main Event final 26.

Each of the remaining players is now guaranteed at least $282,630 in prize money. However, each also has his eye firmly on the $8.8 million that awaits the winner. Or, at the very least, the $1 million guaranteed to anyone who makes the final nine.

Plans are to play down to the final table on Wednesday, July 11.

In the meantime, it would be nice to know a little something about these 26 poker players. After all, nine of them will soon become 2018 WSOP Main Event final table participants. Plus, one will undoubtedly etch is name in history by capturing the 2018 WSOP Main Event title.

To that end, here are US Poker‘s 26 (or more) facts about the 2018 WSOP Main Event’s final 26:

The chip leaders

Aram Zobian is from the smallest state in the US: Rhode Island. Zobian has a little over $100,000 in career tournament earnings, almost half of which came when he finished runner-up in the $1,650 MegaStack Challenge Championship event at Foxwoods Resort Casino just prior to this year’s WSOP.

Artem Metalidi is the last Ukranian player left in the Main Event from the 19 who entered. He’s also a six-max stud with more than $2 million in live tournament earnings, including a fourth-place finish in the 2017 WSOP $10,000 No Limit Hold’em – 6 Handed Championship for $204,128. Plus, a runner-up finish in the 2012 WSOP $3,000 No Limit Hold’em – Six Handed event for $350,806.

Antoine Labat is from the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. Although he’s been cashing in major European poker events since 2009, his biggest career score prior to this one is a runner up finish in the €2,000 Evian Poker Open Main Event in Rhone-Alps back in 2010. It was worth a little over $50,000.

Michael Dyer is from Houston, Texas. He led the final 109 players at the end of the 2018 WSOP Main Event’s fifth day. Prior to this event, Dyer’s claim to poker fame was an eighth-place finish in the 2009 WSOP $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em event for $65,905.

Alexander Lynskey is the lone Aussie left in the 2018 WSOP Main Event. Lynskey boasted close to $1.8 million in career tournament earnings coming into this year’s Main Event, including a career-best $426,663 score booked finishing runner-up in the 2017 WSOP Marathon event last summer. He’s also twice made the final table of the Aussie Millions Main Event.

The rest of the top ten

Yueqi Zhu is a Chinese-American poker player who had an amazing 71 career WSOP cashes before winning his first WSOP bracelet in the Mixed $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Big O event this year. Zhu’s 2018 WSOP Main Event run will mark his 77th WSOP cash.

Kao Saechao is a Portland, Oregon player who also ran relatively deep in the 2016 WSOP Main Event, finishing 353rd for $28,356. Saechao does have almost $600,000 in career live tournament earnings. However, he booked his largest career score just before the 2018 WSOP Main Event, finishing runner-up for $78,440 in the 2018 Goliath Phamous Poker Series $600 Ultimate GOLIATH Stack event at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas on June 11.

Martijn Gerrits is the final Dutch player in the Main Event after 30 players from the Netherlands entered. Gerrits marked a career-best $73,179 score finishing third in the $10,000 WSOP Heads Up Championship event earlier this summer.

Nicolas Manion from Muskegon, Michigan mostly played mid-stakes poker tournaments like Mid-States Poker Tour events prior to this year’s WSOP Main Event. Manion also has a couple of small Chicago-area cashes on his poker resume.

Eric Froehlich is more than just a professional poker player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with two WSOP bracelet wins. Froehlich is a professional Magic: The Gathering player and member of the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame.

Read: Eric Froehlich’s New Lifestyle, Mindset Are Boosting His WSOP Main Event Run

The tech guy and a serial final table bubble boy

Paulo Goncalves is the last Brazilian player standing from whopping 97 that entered the 2018 WSOP Main Event. Goncalves has a pair of cashes on his poker resume, both from the Brazilian Series of Poker, including a win back in 2016 that paid about as much as it costs to get in the WSOP Main Event.

Tony Miles is another Jacksonville, Florida player. It appears he won his buy in for the 2018 WSOP Main Event finishing 10th in the 2018 Grand Poker Series $570 No Limit Hold’em event for $10,724 at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Downtown Las Vegas on June 28.

John Cynn from Indianapolis, Indiana practically bubbled the 2016 WSOP Main Event final table when he finished 11th for $650,000 that year. He also practically bubbled the final table of the 2017 WPT L.A. Poker Classic, finishing 10th for $80,280. Guess what Cynn is hoping not to do in his latest WSOP Main Event run.

Alexander Haro is a consumer technology developer from Claremont, California. He co-founded the Life360 venture-backed family locator, messaging tool and communication mobile app, helping him make Forbes’ 2015 30 Under 30 Consumer Technology list. He also plays a little poker, having won a $2,500 Deep Stack Extravaganza IV event at The Venetian in Las Vegas for $142,503 back in 2012.

Hari Bercovici is the only Israeli player left in the 2018 WSOP Main Event from the 53 who entered. Bercovici appears to have been a regular figure at the annual WSOP since 2014 when he cashed in a number of Rio Daily Deepstacks side events. He also most notably finished 34th in the 2016 WSOP Main Event for $216,211.

Two Main Event finalists and a current high roller

Frederik Jensen asked the TV crew to start calling him Frederik Brink on Day 6. The Danish player has close $4 million in live tournament earnings playing under the name Jensen, including a runner-up finish in the 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event, and a third-place finish in the EPT Season 12 Barcelona Main Event in 2015.

Sylvain Loosli is a French pro who finished fourth in the 2013 WSOP Main Event for close to $2.8 million. He’s also got more than $6.6 million in career earnings total, and counting.

Ryan Phan is a poker player from Omaha, Nebraska with close to half a million dollars in career earnings. Up until now, his career-best score was the $47,988 he earned finishing 11th on a $5,000 Deepstack Extravaganza III event at The Venetian in Las Vegas last summer.

Joe Cada is easily the most recognizable player left in the 2018 WSOP Main Event. Mostly because he won the 2009 WSOP Main Event. But also because he’s won two other bracelets since, including the $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout event this year.

Ivan Luca is an Argentinian pro who regularly plays high roller events around the world. Luca had over $5.7 million in live tournament earnings coming into the 2018 WSOP Main Event and he’s also the proud owner of a WSOP bracelet.

The PLO guy and a ring for every finger

Konstantin Beylin is a St. Louis, Missouri Pot Limit Omaha specialist who just booked his career-best cash, finishing 17th the 2018 WSOP $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller for $46,190 last month. He also made 24th in the 2017 WSOP $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller for $42,393 and 32nd in the 2016 WSOP $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship for $21,456.

Ming Xi is a Chinese player. His previous claim to poker fame was a final table finish in the 2016 WPT National China event in Sanya. Xi made eighth in that one for ¥207,260, or around $30,000.

Jeff Trudeau is a four-time WSOP Circuit ring winner with more than $875,000 in career tournament earnings. The Orlando, Florida player has earned an average of more than $160,000 a year playing poker since 2014. However, he’s been on a hot streak of late. Trudeau had a banner year in 2017 with $394,176 in earnings. Plus, he has matched his annual earnings average already this year, prior to the start of the 2018 WSOP Main Event.

Short stack heroes with high hopes and decent results

Rean Nirath is from Jacksonville, Florida. Nirath had career live tournament earnings of more than $170,000 coming into the 2018 WSOP Main Event. Before now, his biggest career score came when the Card Player Poker Tour visited his hometown in 2015.  He finished runner up in the Main Event for $82,826.

Bart Lybaert is a Belgian poker pro with more than $2 million in career tournament earnings. Lybaert finished third in the 2018 WSOP The Marathon event for $290,315 this summer. He also narrowly missed a WSOP bracelet win, finishing second in the 2016 WSOP $1,000 Top Up Turbo event. However, Lybaert’s biggest career score came after the 2017 WSOP. That’s when he finished third in the €1,100 PokerStars National Championship event at PokerStars Championship Barcelona for around $430,000.

Barry Hutter is a WSOP Bracelet winner from Bradenton, Florida with over $4.3 million in career tournament earnings. Hutter actually booked his best ever live cash in the 2018 WSOP $3,000 No Limit Hold’em event on June 26. He finished runner-up for $323,019.

Keep your browsers locked to USPoker through the end of the WSOP Main Event for more player profiles, interviews, and features straight from the floor of the Rio!

The post 26 (Or More) Facts About The Final 26 Players In The 2018 WSOP Main Event appeared first on .

The World Series of Poker Main Event spotlight can bring players to their knees deep on Day 6. A cloud of millions becomes a burden next to the cameras and television crew documenting the journey. Clayton Fletcher’s stage in New York City is where he thrives and he’s added a new show in Las Vegas, NV to his repertoire.

Hey, no pressure

The stand-up comedian is not sweating in the face of money that would change anyone’s life; he’s shining.

During an all-in for his tournament life, Fletcher quipped back and forth with his table during his time in the tank.

Rifat Palevic told Fletcher “You put a lot of pressure on me,” and Fletcher didn’t miss a beat when he responded, “My psychiatrist says the same thing.”

“I just kind of rely on my theater and performing arts background,” Fletcher said on keeping the Main Event jitters away. “I’ve been in a lot of high-pressure situations in my life and I think they’ve prepared me for this. Having been almost here before kind of prepared me for the experience. I believe that if I play well, I have a chance to win the whole thing. I know that people here are better players than I am so that takes away a lot of pressure, too.”

Fletcher says he is used to being in relative situations that come with stress. Talent scouts from The Tonight Show being in the crowd during a set and auditioning for leading roles give Fletcher mental strain. Those items impact his professional career. Poker is for fun, despite the windfall he stands less than five tables from attaining.

“I’ve been in a lot of high-pressure situations in my life and I think they’ve prepared me for this,” Fletcher explained. “Having been almost here before kind of prepared me for the experience. I believe that if I play well, I have a chance to win the whole thing. I know that people here are better players than I am so that takes away a lot of pressure, too.”

Second chances don’t come often

2018 marks the second time this decade Fletcher’s been given a chance to make good on a deep Main Event run. After finishing in 96th place in 2015, Fletcher is thrilled to have the opportunity to fight for the best prize in the game once again.

“It’s really awesome. I made the top 100 and that was really fun. I never really thought I’d be back three years later to do it again and it’s been great.”

The standard reasoning of “running good” is not what Fletcher credits for his run thus far. The active personality he contains has organically manifested at social tables. By sheer luck of the draw, Fletcher claims to have been surrounded by talkative players who fit into what makes him comfortable.

“That’s my style. I don’t like those really quiet, serious tables.”

“It’s not really a strategy, I’m not putting anyone on tilt or whatever,” Fletcher said of the table talk. “I’m just having fun. For me, I can make my decision while having a conversation and I’m extroverted so I’d rather have it out loud.”

A chance for a standing ovation

Fletcher is the first to admit that he’s far from the best player left in the field but he uses the outlook of being a recreational player to his advantage. The pay jumps of five-figures soon to be six are not of a concern. He observes players at his table looking at the tournament clock for the next payout. Those details do not concern him.

“For some of my opponents, the pressure is mounting in a way that isn’t for me. For me, I’m trying to play my best in each hand and don’t care that much about where I place. My job is to play my best. The poker gods have the rest in their corner.”

On dinner break of Day 6, Fletcher has a career-best score of at least $189,165 locked up. There is a mile to go until the $1 million final table bubble and Fletcher is preparing himself now for when that moment comes.

Now on the feature table, expect to see Fletcher’s loose vibe on display contrast to the stress wearing on the face of those still in.

There are many hoodies still in the Main Event but only one leather jacket.

“I am playing for first place, I don’t really care about climbing the money ladder as much as some of my opponents do, perhaps because I have another source of income. I’m thinking about accumulating a big stack so I can be a favorite to win at the final table.”

The post Comedian Clayton Fletcher Plays His Best Set On Poker’s Biggest Stage appeared first on .

Chip leader during Day 5 of the World Series of Poker Main Event is a label Eric Froehlich can add to his list of accomplishments. Two bracelets and $2.3 million in live earnings dot Froehlich’s poker resume, but a cash in the biggest tournament in the world was missing until this year. Since he started coming to the World Series in 2005, Froehlich says he’s never managed to win the correct all-in to build a stack.

The tides are turning in 2018. Entering Day 6, with only 109 players remaining from the original field of 7,874, Froehlich sits north of five million in chips — well above the average stack of 3.6 million going into Tuesday.

Froehlich takes nothing for granted when it comes to the Main Event. An understanding of the mistimed luck and the length of the tournament keep Froehlich from starting talk of the final table.

Variance finally swinging his way

“Obviously the Main Event is the biggest and best tournament,” Froehlich told USPoker on Monday. “That said, it’s still just a tournament and there’s a lot of variance. I’ve played this event a lot of times and the fact of the matter is that I’ve never put all the money in, gotten called, and won. That involves me getting it in very far ahead in a lot of those instances.”

Per Froehlich, he lost “several flips” over the years and lost his final all-in 12 of 14 times when he put his chips in ahead of an opponent. Only one all-in popped up for Froehlich so far in this year’s tournament and it wound up being a chop for both players holding pocket kings.

The reference to not being all-in has been on the mind of Froehlich. “In that way, I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to pick up a lot of chips without having to put my life at risk,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve run very well. I think that as you play this event more and more times, you get better at playing these types of events.”

A new mindset

On the contrary to putting in a lot of time in tournaments, Froehlich’s life is back in the direction of where he started his gaming career. The Magic: The Gathering Hall of Famer works full time in the game and spends his year traveling for major events and creating content for channelfireball.com.

Time away from poker leads Froehlich to be in control of his mentals more than in prior years. This summer, Froehlich’s only other WSOP event was the $10,000 Limit Hold’em.

“There’s something to the fact that I haven’t done the entire grind this summer and that I’m very fresh coming into this Main Event,” Froehlich told USPoker.com. “That is definitely a helpful thing. I do watch different poker things on TV and I do study the game but I don’t get to play very much.”

Thirty-eight cashes in the WSOP and summers spent in the Rio are replaced by a stable home life for the 34-year-old. A year of marriage brings a calm to Froehlich’s head that did not exist in years prior. The shift in positivity Froehlich credits for the balance required to run through the Main Event marathon.

On Day 5, Froehlich was stable at his TV table that included fellow big stack Barry Hutter. He didn’t let any emotion slip whether he won or lost a pot. One hand won’t make the difference in the seven-day tournament and Froehlich is aware of the bigger picture outside of poker than ever before.

“Having that stability and positive things to come home to is a plus. I’m not someone that believes that if you believe good things will happen to you, they will. I think that’s kind of nonsense. But, if you’re not distracted by the negatives in the world, it makes easier to focus on what’s happening and make the best decisions.”

Two full days remain for Froehlich to lock up a seat at the final table and at least $1 million. Froehlich estimates he’s played at least 50 hours of poker to make this stage of the tournament and the composure utilized to stay level will be required even more as the stakes rise.

“At no point have I had less than 30 big blinds and there was no point to ever panic. That hasn’t always been my mindset in the past. It’s easy to make something happen instead of letting it come to you. Just having that emotional stability to sit there and wait and do the right things and not get into your head is something that I’ve failed at in the past.”

The post Eric Froehlich’s New Lifestyle, Mindset Are Boosting His WSOP Main Event Run appeared first on .