WSOP.com gets off to slow start in Nevada
Caesars Interactive Entertainment brand goes head to head with Ultimate Poker for Nevada market share
Caesars Interactive Entertainment’s WSOP.com real-money poker site launched to much fanfare in Nevada yesterday, however failed to attract as many cash players as sole rival Ultimate Poker did on its first day.
The World Series of Poker-branded site, powered by 888’s software, arrived amid a high-profile marketing campaign on television, billboards and on room keys at its Nevada hotels.
Yet the site could not match the first day success of Ultimate Poker, the only other licensed real-money poker site in Nevada which launched in April.
According to tracking site PokerScout’s rankings the WSOP site attracted 113 cash players in Nevada at peak time, compared to Ultimate Poker’s 136 on its first day of launch. Ultimate Poker’s 24-hour peak now stands at 348 cash players.
CIE has attempted to steal a march on its competitors by launching a freeplay poker US offering back in May, allowing players to download the WSOP.com client and Nevada residents to register ahead of a real-money launch. The operator also said it signed-up 12,000 prospective players at the recent WSOP tournament in Las Vegas.
Speaking to eGaming Review, CIE’s general manager of online poker Geoff Stewart said the potential for the WSOP brand is “tremendous”.
“The World Series of Poker is one of our greatest assets and is a tremendous brand. People understand what the World Series stands for. It’s trusted and we are backed by Caesars Entertainment, which has a very large and positive footprint here in the US,” he said.
The battle for market share looks set to be restricted to just CIE and Ultimate Poker for the time being, however 888 is set to launch its own 888Poker brand in the near future.
The London-listed operator signed a deal with Las Vegas casino Treasure Island in March, which will see 888’s technology power its own site launched using the casino’s licence. 888 has since strengthened its marketing presence in the Silver State through a deal with Golden Gaming, which will see the land-based casino and tavern operator drive customers to 888Poker.com.