- The ability to download the Hero Poker client has been removed for its web site.
- Hero CEO David Jung has publicly commented that he will be releasing an announcement concerning the future of Hero Poker as soon as he receives “final conformation.”
- Hero’s departure from Merge is the latest in a recent string of skins to close or leave the network.
Update: Soon after publication of this story, Hero announced the closure of its room.
The future of Merge Network skin Hero Poker remains in limbo Thursday after changes to its website and forum statements by its CEO seem to confirm its pending departure from Merge.
The ability to download the Hero Poker client has been removed for its web site, but whether Hero Poker will close or migrate to a new network remains in doubt.
Hero Poker CEO David Jung broke a couple weeks of silence with a brief message on 2+2.
“I know there is a lot of speculation out there, I’m not on any gag order of sorts, but I’m just waiting on some final confirmation to some details, but I will be posting as soon as I get such confirmations,” posted Jung.
“Just know that my priority is our players first and the lack of communication on my part, is more towards ensuring and confirming details that do benefit the players first,” he added.
Whether closing the room or moving it to another network, player balances seem secure. One difference between the two possible paths for Hero Poker concerns VIP points earned by its players to date.
Previous closures of skins on Merge have meant that the value of VIP points were lost even though cash balances were honored. However, as was the case with Black Chip Poker, VIP points were retained by players when the site transitioned them over to Winning Poker Network.
Hero Poker was one of three Merge skins to pull out of the network’s Poker Maximus III online series earlier this month, leaving its future indeterminate.
The other two Merge skins who didn’t participate, Black Chip Poker and RPM Poker, took diverging paths. Black Chip Poker moved its customer base to the rival Winning Poker Network, while RPM closed its virtual doors.
Hero’s fate remains part of a larger streamlining of the Merge Network, which has seen the Australia-based platform shed several of its stronger skins in an effort to exert greater financial and contractual control over its own operations and player base. A half dozen or so skins have departed the network or been absorbed into Merge’s primary brands, including Carbon Poker, over the past few months.