On Thursday, Caesars Interactive Entertainment Inc. was approved for an online poker license in Nevada per Howard Stutz of the Las Vegas Review. Caesars will launch the site as a World Series of Poker brand alongside their partner 888 Holdings. The site will not launch until 888 Holdings is approved for a license, as well.
In a previous interview with PokerNews, Ty Stewart, the executive director of the WSOP, was asked what the legalization of online poker would mean for the company. His response:
“I think that we could absolutely revolutionize the category. Obviously, I feel we’ll be successful because we’ve got smart and genuine people like [Caesars Interactive Entertainment CEO] Mitch Garber, who led the No. 1 poker site in the world [PartyPoker], and we have great brands.
"Of the big casino gaming companies, we have more customers in our database, more consumer traffic through our floors, more properties in more territories than anywhere else. Obviously, one would hope we could offer an exciting product and regularly host games with significant liquidity — potentially the softest games with the highest ROI for players. I think consumer confidence has always been the No. 1 barrier to entry for online customers, and Caesars has buildings all over the world. People will know where to find us. And we’re never going to turn our back on customers.”
Today, Seth Palansky, the vice president of corporate communications for Caesars, added: “We want to thank the Commission for all their efforts throughout this process. There’s no doubt they do a thorough review and will ensure that Nevada is the best regulated market for online poker. We look forward to the opportunity to serve Nevadans when we complete the necessary steps to do so.”
During the meeting, Nevada Gaming Commission Chairman Pete Bernhard admitted that he had signed up to play for free on the Caesars Playtika site. Bernhard also admitted that he has played slot games on Slotomania, citing that he wants to further understand how social gaming works.
Caesars is the 17th company to receive a license for pay-to-play online poker in Nevada. Caesars and 888 Holdings currently operate real money gaming in the United Kingdom, France, and Italy.
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