- The Hippodrome launch is part of a new strategy from PokerStars to enter the brick and mortar space.
- In December it confirmed a similar deal with Casino Gran Madrid, also slated for an early 2013 launch.
- Earlier this month, it confirmed an agreement to purchase the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel in New Jersey.
PokerStars’ new poker room in the Hippodrome, London, will open its doors on March 4, the group announced Tuesday.
Cash games will be available around the clock in the refurbished poker deck where various tournaments will also be held during the year.
The London stop of the UK and Ireland Poker Tour will be the first major tournament hosted at PokerStars LIVE and will kick off April 12.
Players will be able to qualify for these events both online and in the poker lounge itself. PokerStars is already running online satellites for the “Winter Classic,” the Hippodrome’s first poker series which runs this weekend. PokerStars is helping in the running of the event, though it will not be held in the new poker lounge.
PokerStars made an equity investment in the Hippodrome in October. As part of the deal, PokerStars will also operate online poker under the Hippodrome brand. Microgaming will operate the online casino side.
“The poker room’s luxury interior design has been developed to take poker to a new level, catching the interest of all national and international players,” Hippodrome Chairman Simon Thomas, is quoted as saying.
He adds, “... our ambition is to create a fabulous environment in which to play poker, with great lighting, comfortable seating and the audiovisual support to the needs of the poker player.”
