- New ARJEL Boss: Online Poker “Fad” is Over.
- Hundreds More Sites Blocked in Russian Online Gambling Crackdown.
- Gibraltar Fire Takes 75% Toll on partypoker Traffic.
We wrap up the week with a rundown of the most read news articles and features from the past seven days on pokerfuse. Never miss a story with our special feature every Saturday.
10. WPT Event to Compete with WSOP in Las Vegas
The partypoker co-branded $565 buy-in event promises $1 million in guaranteed prize money with $200,000 to the winner. The World Poker Tour (WPT) has announced a new event to be held at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, that will take place from July 1 to July 6, competing directly with events in the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
9. Rational Group Reveals Plan to Bring PokerStars Brand to California
A deal with three casinos and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians will oppose “bad actor” clauses in proposed California legislation. Last month’s rumors have proven to be true: PokerStars has entered an agreement with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and three card clubs to supply its online poker platform if and when online gaming regulation passes in California.
8. Full Tilt Traffic Turns Thanks to “Build Your Bonus” Promo
An 8% gain in cash game traffic again proves the value of Full Tilt’s cash bonus promotion. The Full Tilt Build Your Bonus (BYB) promotion has had the expected effect and immediately turned around the poker room’s cash game traffic decline.
7. Mercury Rising: A Look at PokerStars’ Brand New Table Theme
PokerStars 7 introduces a new default theme and a handful of innovations. PokerStars is in the final stretch of testing its new online poker client, dubbed PokerStars 7. It marks one of the biggest product releases from Rational Group in its ten-year history.
6. California Online Poker Stakeholders Air Concerns at Informational Hearing
The California State Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization held an informational hearing on Wednesday to discuss the merits of regulating online poker in the state.
5. High Stakes Online Poker Report: Patrik Antonius Dominates
Antonius had a “Happy Easter” at the high stakes tables. After a classic week of poker leading up to and over the Easter weekend, the Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo and 8-Game Mix tables contributed to the lion’s share of the action.
4. PokerTracker Coaxes Hold’em Manager Customers with 40% Switch Promo
One week discount of 40% seeks to poach HM2 users. Customers of Hold’em Manager are enticed to switch to PokerTracker, a competing tracking and HUD solution, with a 40% discount promo running for the next week.
3. Gibraltar Fire Takes 75% Toll on partypoker Traffic
Betvictor kept services going using a back-up generator, but other Gibraltar-based companies suffered traffic falls during the power outage. The fire at a Gibraltar power station Sunday had a major impact on holiday weekend poker traffic for operators based on the “Rock.”
2. Hundreds More Sites Blocked in Russian Online Gambling Crackdown
Blacklist in Russia expanded with the domains of big European operators. The official registry of domains blacklisted in Russia saw a substantial update earlier this month, with hundreds more online gambling domains added.
1. New ARJEL Boss: Online Poker “Fad” is Over
The economic crisis in France and the complexity of poker as a game are blamed for the poker market’s underperformance. In conversation with with French financial newspaper Les Échos, Charles Coppolani, the new President of French online gaming regulator ARJEL, took a different line than his predecessor in explaining the decline of online poker under the regulatory system introduced in 2010.
