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Poker Industry PRO: Partypoker Earmarks Over $3 Million in Leaderboard Prizes for December’s Millions Online

 

Partypoker has revealed details of its new weekly tournament leaderboard promotion, as the operator starts in earnest to ramp up for its audacious Millions Online tournament that will guarantee $20 million, the largest prize in online poker history.

Every week from now until the end of November, the operator has committed to giving away over $60,000 in tournament tickets, with the top finishers in the leaderboard winning direct entry into the tournament, valued at $5300.

Read the full article on pokerfuse →

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PokerStars Announces $10 Million High Rollers Series

PokerStars has announced it will be running a High Rollers tournament series from March 18th to 26th. The series will be guaranteed for $10 million and will have more events packed into it than last year´s equivalent series, including a selection of tournaments starting at the more affordable (!) buy-in of $530.

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888 Online Casino Tells PA Showing More Skins Is Better

Online gambling is coming to Pennsylvania but how many sites there will be is a question whose answer is creating quite a stir.

This past week, global online gambling operator 888 sent a letter to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). In it, the company asked that each of the state’s casinos be allowed to use their online license to run multiple “skins“. In other words, multiple domains that cater to different types of gamblers. New Jersey already has a multiple-skins iGaming industry. The business model is extremely profitable.

Not all Pennsylvania casinos are convinced a multi-skin approach will benefit the state though. Both Parx and Penn National have sent letters to the PGCB asking for one site per casino. Those requests prompted 888 to strike back with a letter of their own.

888’s argument: Global names bring greater trust, more gamblers

888 Holdings PLC CEO Itai Freiberger penned the letter to the PGCB. He laid out a methodical argument after spending the opening paragraph establishing the company’s credibility as a global leader and a strong proponent of user-friendly online gambling platforms.

Freiberger emphasized the importance of regulating online gambling so users can enter a site with the confidence that they’re getting a legitimate, safe experience.

Freiberger then moved into the hear of the issue: skins. 888 previously partnered with Mount Airy Casino Resort. As such, the company wants to provide Mount Airy the benefit of the 888 brand power. More from the letter:

“Allowing our partner to use not only its own brand but ours as well, would allow our partner to benefit from our international brand-recognition and marketing efforts, and will also inform players that they will be enjoying a world-class and popular offering.”

Freiberger argues that allowing casinos to offer online gambling on multiple sites creates nuanced opportunities to reach certain types of gamblers.

“Experience from other jurisdictions shows that a multi-brand approach stimulates healthy competition between brands and ultimately increases overall market size, resulting in larger gaming duty income for licensing jurisdictions.”

One of the final points he made is that more sites means more revenue. In other words, an increase in the “internet gaming market.”

Parx says jobs, sites should stay in Pennsylvania

While 888’s argument is pretty convincing, Parx’s petition was equally compelling. The casino relied on the wording of the state’s gambling regulations. The company pointed out the law says any sites launched under an online gaming license should feature branding that is “predominantly the same as the brand” as the license holder.

Parx also argues that the “legislative intent” of the state’s lawmakers was to create iGaming regulations that kept the major online players in Pennsylvania. Parx believes that the state’s online gambling operators should be based in PA. Additionally, the equipment used for and key employees running the operation should predominantly be located in Pennsylvania too.

Both sides make salient points. The PGCB has some tumultuous days ahead as they work with lawmakers to figure out how many skins will be allowed per casino.

The post 888 Online Casino Tells PA Showing More Skins Is Better appeared first on Play Pennsylvania.

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Resorts World Hopes New Poker Room Brings New Customers To The Catskills

Resorts World Catskills opened its doors a month ago. That is not going to stop it from celebrating another grand opening though.

On March 5, the New York commercial casino opened its live poker room. The room features 19 tables and 171 seats.

Resorts World poker room features many modern amenities

In addition to the tables, Resorts World Catskills hopes to lure players with a long list of amenities.

Some of the amenities available to players include:

  • An in-room cashier
  • Food and beverage service to the table
  • USB charging stations at each seat
  • 13 55″ TVs spread throughout the room

The room offers Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud (upon request). No word yet if there will be any daily tournaments. Right now, the plan appears to be only cash games.

The minimum buy-in for the room is $30. The maximum varies depending on what game a player sits in.

President and CEO of Resorts World Catskills Ryan Eller has high hopes for the new room, per a Resorts World press release:

“We are committed to providing our guests with the region’s most extensive, exciting luxury experiences and our new poker room is best in its class and a perfect example of this commitment. We are confident that this poker room, paired with our property’s vast array of other offerings and amenities, will solidify Resorts World Catskills as the region’s premier casino resort destination.”

Resorts World will have to compete with Rivers Schenectady, Turning Stone

If the Catskills casino wants to compete as a poker destination, it will need to provide the same customer experience as Turning Stone and Rivers Schenectady. These two properties are the current leaders in poker. Turning Stone is the nostalgic stomping ground of some of the biggest successes in the game. Just the other day, reigning WSOP Main Event champion Scott Blumstein Tweeted fondly about his days at the property:

Turning Stone’s big advantage is the 18 and up age limit. Back in the day, online players would cut their teeth at the tribal casino, as they were too young to play in commercial venues.

However, in the past year, Rivers Schenectady quickly established itself as a major poker contender. The property went big early, with a big-guarantee Memorial Day event. Since then, the casino also leveraged another arm of its parent company, Rush Street, by hosting the TV show Poker Night in America.

Slow start for Catskills casino

Hopefully, the poker room will generate more interest in the new casino. Granted, the property opened a month early with not every detail of the property finished and operational.

Nonetheless, the early revenue numbers are not exactly impressive, per NY Upstate. Compared to Rivers and del Lago, Resorts World had the smallest take for opening two weeks with $8.7 million, compared to $10.3 million and $9.3 million, respectively.

Moreover, in February, the casino lagged behind other properties in a direct revenue comparison:

  • Resorts World Catkills: $5.3 million
  • Rivers: $6.5 million 
  • Del Lago: $6.8 million

The hope is once everything is up and running, Resorts World revenue will continue to climb. However, looking at how the other commercial casinos fared in 2017, that hope may be a longshot.

The post Resorts World Hopes New Poker Room Brings New Customers To The Catskills appeared first on Play NY.