WSOP.com will open its virtual real-money doors on Thursday September 19, becoming the second operator in the Nevada market, Caesars Interactive Entertainment revealed at a press conference Monday.
“This is a historic moment for our company,” said Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) chief executive officer Mitch Garber. “A state-of-the-art poker offering from one of the most established and regulated operators in the United States, is finally here. We have taken the 43-year-old World Series of Poker brand and combined it with the Caesars Entertainment portfolio of assets to provide consumers with what we believe will be an unrivaled poker offering to satisfy today’s technologically savvy consumer. We will bridge land-based and online gaming in ways that have never been seen before.”
On launch, WSOP.com will be in the Field Trial stage of development, a period where CIE and the Nevada regulatory authorities will monitor all facets of the operation.
Nevada regulators will have final authority to approve the technology and move WSOP.com out of Field Trial. While there is no set timetable for the Field Trial phase and WSOP.com, the company said it expects it’s offering to be consistent during and after this phase.
“This opens up a whole new category for the WSOP brand, enabling us to connect with consumers year-round and reach them where they are most today – on digital devices,” said WSOP.com’s General Manager of Online Poker Geoffrey Stewart. “We have high standards, we know our players do as well, and we believe everyone will be impressed with WSOP.com once they get the chance to play and experience its exceptional benefits and rewards.”
WSOP.com real-money online poker will be the exclusive destination for online players in Nevada to win seats into the land-based World Series of Poker and its PC and MAC clients will offer:
– Cash games, Sit & Go’s, Satellites and Multi-table Tournaments
– Buy-ins for cash games that start from 1¢-2¢ and tournaments from $1.10
– Daily $100 and $25 freerolls for players of all levels
– Limit and No-Limit Hold’em with full table and short-handed games, plus the popular Omaha variant will be offered, including Omaha Hi-Lo, as well as Seven Card Stud
– Deposit methods including ACH (e-Checks), Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards and withdrawal methods including ACH and paper checks
A comprehensive multi-faceted marketing blitz will support the launch of WSOP.com utilising online, offline and cross-marketing channels. Initiatives will include strategically positioned television spots, branded room keys and poker rooms in Caesars Nevada-owned properties and sponsorships, among others.
Caesars Entertainment’s loyalty programme Total Rewards, which according to the company comprises over 44 million programme members, will be leveraged initially to direct mail and database market.
WSOP.com will eventually launch its own loyalty programme titled Action Club which will reward online poker players with WSOP loyalty points for each hand or tournament they play. Action Club Rewards currency can be redeemed for cash to buy into online ring games or tournaments or converted into Total Rewards credits to use for discounted room nights, dining credit, show tickets, merchandise or WSOP tournament buy-ins across all Caesars-owned properties.
A series of launch promotions will include $700 in Welcome Week Freerolls for new registrants, $1,000 and $2,500 nightly guaranteed tournaments, and a special Sunday tournament each week beginning September 29 which guarantees $15,000 in payouts.
The site’s “tent pole launch promotion” will be the WSOP.com Online Championships, a series of nine tournaments with $500,000 in added money.
Tying in to the WSOP land-based series, the WSOP.com Online Championships will see nine different winners get the opportunity to participate in the first-ever “Online Nine” which will coincide with WSOP’s Main Event finale, the November Nine, at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on November 4-5, 2013.
“As a long-standing World Series of Poker employee it is gratifying to see this day upon us,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “Our players have played an important part in the success of the World Series of Poker the past decade, and we will work very hard to cultivate a strong poker community and positively represent the game of poker in the online world as we have in the land-based environment.”