Lock Poker is in the process of acquiring the assets of the Cake Poker Network in order to launch their own online gaming network.
According to a press release sent to pokerfuse, the network will be rebranded to Revolution Gaming. The change is expected to take place on June 1, with existing Lock players transitioned to the new platform on May 31.
The existing roster of Lock PROs—including Melanie Weisner, Eric Lynch, and recent signings Leo Margets and {n:annette-signs-with-lock:Annette Obrestad}—will become Pros of Revolution Gaming, to “offer their recommendations on all levels, truly bringing the player into the boardroom.”
Lock Poker is currently a skin on the Merge Gaming Network, but previously it was itself a Cake Poker skin, leaving for Merge in May 2010.
“Merge was a great stepping stone for us but we have outgrown them. We really need to forge our own path to continued success,” states Jennifer Larson, Lock Poker CEO. “The only way to do this is to stay true to our of core philosophy: partnering with our players.”
The Cake Poker Network will continue much as before under the new name, with all skins invited to continue on the rebranded poker network. Lock will “continue to manage their own stand-alone cashier so withdrawals will be as fast and easy as they are now.” VIP rewards will “only increase,” and existing players will be moved over to a new “Revolution” system.
According to a press release from Cake Poker confirming the deal, it “allows Cake to focus efforts on its current European, South American and Asian business with another exciting announcement to soon follow.”
Two weeks ago, Lock’s much-touted LockOPs—a series of poker tournaments with guaranteed prize pools totaling $2m—{n:merge-cancels-lock-pokers-2m-guaranteed-tournament-series:was cancelled by the network} with little advanced notice.
We may soon see a return of Lock’s audacious tournament series: In a subtle nod to the dispute, the Lock press release highlights “implementing a richer tournament schedule” as one of the principal goals of the switch.
Although not specified in the press release, Most skins on both Cake Poker and Merge Gaming Network—including Lock Poker—accept players from most states in the United States, so presumably skins on Revolution Gaming will do the same.
Along with Bodog, Merge and Cake make up the largest networks that still cater for US players.
In March 2011, Cake Poker struck a deal with poker portal PokerListings.com, a “strategic partnership” with the aim of driving at least 2000 new depositing players to the network, according to a PokerListings press report. Other reports suggest that the portal purchased 50% of the network.
The status of the deal is unclear, however the partnership did not seem to resolve liquidity issues of the network. It failed to capitalize on the departure of the “big three” US facing sites following Black Friday, and has seen a significant decline in cash game traffic in the last six months.
The shift in traffic from one network to the other will be of interest to industry observers. Lock Poker is certainly one of the most prominent Merge skins, with high-profile pros and poker room manager, presence in communities, exclusive promotions and its own cashier.
But Lock too has had a rocky time in the last year. Last August, it attracted significant negative publicity when another Lock Pro, Jose “Girah” Macedo, admitted to chip dumping and account sharing. It later had issues with its Maltese regulator and suffered scrutiny due to reports of bots.
