Ultimate Poker takes first real-money US bet today
Station Casinos subsidiary and Fertitta Interactive brand becomes first operator to offer legal online poker in the US
Ultimate Poker, an interactive subsidiary of Las Vegas-based Station Casinos, will become the first operator to launch a legal online gambling site in the US when its site goes live later today.
Ultimate Poker CEO Tobin Prior (pictured with executive team – second from left) told eGaming Review on Monday this was a “very historic moment for poker players in America, for Nevada and for us”. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “After Black Friday it became clear that this space was going to be regulated we started looking at it very seriously and have taken a systematic approach.”
Since becoming one of the first operators to obtain a licence from Nevada’s Gaming Commission in October 2012, parent company Fertitta Interactive has undergone a lengthy technology approval process with the state’s independent labs. Following today’s launch, players from anywhere in the world will be able to register and deposit on the Ultimate Poker site, however they will only be able to play poker for real-money when present in Nevada.
In recent months Fertitta Interactive has signed a number of deals in preparation of its real-money launch. It signed up professional player Antonio Esfandiari as its brand ambassador, agreed a deal with CAMS for geolocation, player age verification and payment processing services, and signed an affiliate marketing deal with Income Access.
“It is the end of a lot of hard work and for people here it’s the beginning of a new era,” Prior said. “We like to think of it as the day that trust returns to online gambling in the US. Now you can visit a site and be fully certain that your money is safe and that you’re dealing with people you trust.”
Fertitta Interactive was co-founded by brothers Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta, who are 45% shareholders in Station Casinos, along with Nevada businessmen Tom Breitling (pictured – far right) and Tim Poster. It acquired California-based poker software provider CyberArts for an undisclosed sum in October 2011 and launched the Ultimate Gaming B2C brand in June 2012.
At the time a social, freeplay version of Ultimate Poker was launched on Facebook and leveraged links with the Fertitta-managed and Zuffa LLC owned Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Players on the real-money site will have the opportunity to play for “once in a lifetime” prizes including VIP tickets to UFC fights, the company said in a statement.
Co-founder and chairman Breitling said its ties with the UFC will see it able to tap into the “perfect demographic” to market its new poker product, citing the sport’s core demographic of 21-35 year old, sport-loving males, as a “unique competitive advantage” for Ultimate Gaming.
Real-money players will be able to deposit and withdraw from their Ultimate Poker account at any of Station Casinos’ 16 Nevada properties, while Mastercard, electronic cash transfer, wire and cheque payment options will also be available.
“It’s the beginning of a new industry and we are very proud to be first. There are lots of good things to come,” said Breitling.
(Photograph L-R: Joe Versaci, CMO; Tobin Prior, CEO; Chris Derossi, CTO; Tom Breitling, chairman)