Nevada Poker Week in Review: UP Improves, WSOP Traffic Moves

Written By Jennifer Newell on July 21, 2014
The WSOP Main Event is down to the November Nine, UP is making moves, and WSOP.com is trying to continue with record numbers.

Poker had a significant week in Nevada.

The World Series of Poker concluded with the November Nine playdown. Meanwhile, Ultimate Poker secured another deal, and WSOP.com is figuring out how to keep players engaged as many of them leave the state.

A lot of Nevada’s online poker news is centered around waiting to see the outcome.

The Gaming Control Board has recently approved a shared player pool between 888 and WSOP, but 888 has not yet announced a launch date for its website. The potential benefits from the eagerly anticipated materialization of the liquidity partnership between Nevada and New Jersey are still uncertain as no firm date has been set. In the meantime, the 888 / WSOP deal needs to get the green light from the Nevada Gaming Commission, expected to happen within the next week.

Another uncertain aspect in the Nevada online poker scene is the industry’s trajectory post-WSOP. The recent surge in revenue will be reflected in the June revenue figures, which are still to be announced. With the live WSOP events concluded, poker websites such as WSOP.com and Ultimate Poker must strategize to maintain their momentum after the departure of many players.

Ultimate Gaming has recently made some upgrades and formed a partnership with another Las Vegas casino, showing promise. However, it will be a significant challenge to win customers over from WSOP, a company that has built a solid reputation during the live summer series.

As the saying goes, time will tell.

Ultimate Poker Partners with El Cortez

Ultimate Poker’s most recent news involves a deal with one of Las Vegas’ oldest casinos, El Cortez. This legendary downtown casino, though small, boasts a loyal fan base and is now affiliated with the online poker site.

El Cortez has initiated the marketing of Ultimate Poker to its customers, and online poker players have the option of using the casino for physical deposits and withdrawals. This arrangement is akin to the recent agreement announced between Ultimate Poker and Peppermill Casinos in Northern Nevada.

The expansion of UP’s marketing capabilities can only be beneficial for the floundering company. However, it is still uncertain whether Peppermill and El Cortez can truly contribute sufficient players and revenue to make a significant impact.

Recently in Nevada, Ultimate Poker has seen a significant decrease in business to WSOP, particularly during the live series since May. Furthermore, Ultimate Poker is still grappling with issues related to online payment processing through credit cards.

The site has initiated several promotions in July, including the “Big 10” tournament series which lasts for eight days and has a low entry fee. Players have the opportunity to compete with a $10 fee for guarantees of $1K or $2K in Hold’em or Omaha. Additionally, there are $2 satellites available for these tournaments.

WSOP Tries to Keep Winning Ways

WSOP.com is winding down from an incredibly busy summer. The site witnessed its highest-ever traffic during the World Series of Poker held in Las Vegas, outperforming all other regulated online poker sites in the US, including the longstanding market leader, PartyPoker in New Jersey.

However, numerous players are currently departing from Las Vegas, and it is highly probable that traffic will experience a decline.

The WSOP aims to leverage the ESPN television broadcasts of the summer tournaments that have already begun airing. The “Watch the Show, Play for Dough” initiative seeks to link Nevada viewers of the WSOP on television with various online tournaments. The first three Tuesdays of ESPN broadcasts are assured to cover three tournaments with $2,500 prize pools each.

The upcoming weeks of traffic will reveal the exact decrease in traffic and determine if they can sustain their supremacy over Ultimate Poker in Nevada.

WSOP Sets November Nine

The Main Event of the live World Series of Poker finally concluded earlier this week in Las Vegas. The tournament reached its November Nine on the late evening of July 14. These players are currently on a break until November, when they will compete for the $10 million first place prize.

From the outset, WSOP.com declared they would not sponsor players, which is a pity because two players in the November Nine would be ideal candidates. William Tonking, a frequent player on WSOP.com from New Jersey, and Dan Sindelar, a professional poker player residing in Las Vegas, stand out.

Despite this, the November Nine’s character lineup is fairly intriguing, encompassing a variety of players, from amateurs to experienced professionals. Although all are under the age of 32, they embody a wide array of players from the poker scene and originate from six different countries.

The main highlight of the event so far is Mark Newhouse, who managed to make the November Nine for two consecutive years. This is a significant achievement given the size of the fields in 2013 and 2014. Despite finishing ninth the previous year, Newhouse pledged to improve his performance this year. He possesses a considerably larger stack of chips, providing him a better chance to fulfil his promise.

The concluding chip counts for the Main Event, along with the representation of countries, promises an exhilarating November Nine for game enthusiasts.

  • Jorryt van Hoof from the Netherlands has 38,375,000.
  • Felix Stephensen (Norway) 32,775,000
  • Mark Newhouse (USA) 26,000,000
  • Andoni Larrabe (Spain) 22,550,000
  • Dan Sindelar (USA) 21,200,000
  • William Pappaconstantinou (USA) 17,500,000
  • William Tonking (USA) 15,050,000
  • Martin Jacobson (Sweden) 14,900,000
  • Bruno Politano (Brazil) 12,125,000

Even that last table is being held up for several months. The uncertainty in Nevada’s poker scene might be becoming excessive.

Jennifer Newell Avatar
Written by

Jennifer Newell

View all posts by Jennifer Newell