In breaking news from Las Vegas, Wynn Resorts, the owners and operators of the famed hotel on the Las Vegas Strip of the same name, has reached a partnership with PokerStars to provide online poker to the U.S. market. Once the industry is fully legalized and regulated in the United States, the two companies will team up to service the country. Let the jockeying begin!
The site will be called PokerStarsWynn.com. In a press release distributed on Thursday by Wynn Resorts, company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Wynn commented, “After much study, we are convinced that the lack of regulation of internet gaming within the U.S. must change. We must recognize that this activity is occurring and that law enforcement does not have the tools to stop it. As a company that has safely conducted gaming in the U.S. for more than 40 years, we believe that the same can be done for poker on the internet.”
The news comes just a few days after Caesars Entertainment, which owns and operates the annual World Series of Poker at the Rio in Las Vegas, announced that it will partner with 888 to expand its brand in the U.K. market. It seems that land-based casinos and online poker companies are positioning themselves to enter the U.S. market once internet poker is fully regulated.
Mark Scheinberg, Chairman and Founder of PokerStars, noted in the same press release, “We have long supported the enactment of local regulatory regimes that protect consumers and provide valuable tax revenues and jobs. PokerStars is closely regulated in many European countries and it has been endorsing the adoption of the same approach in the United States for years, with this alliance representing a critical step in that direction.”
When we’ll be writing about the latest tournament results and promotions from PokerStarsWynn.com remains to be seen. In Nevada, discussion of AB 258, which would create the nation’s first intrastate online poker market, took place yesterday in the Assembly Committee on Judiciary. Committee Chairman William Horne brought the bill to life, although no further plans for the measure have been announced. PokerStars is reportedly the major force behind AB 258.
On Capitol Hill, Congressmen Barney Frank (D-MA) and John Campbell (R-CA) introduced HR 1174, which would create a nationwide internet gambling framework. The bill was officially introduced on March 17th and referred to committee. It closely resembles Frank’s HR 2267, which sailed through the House Financial Services Committee last July.
In an April 2009 article that appeared in the New York Times, Wynn came out against legalized internet gambling. The casino mogul told the newspaper, “Even though it would be a benefit to our company, we are strongly opposed.”
Wynn has been one of several casino owners adversely affected by the recent downturn in the U.S. economy, perhaps helping to reverse his stance on the issue. The news magazine “60 Minutes” reported that between 2008 and 2011, Wynn’s personal wealth dropped from $3.9 billion to $1.9 billion, or 50%.
Wynn Resorts is partnering with the largest site in our industry. PokerStars is on the verge or dealing its 60 billionth hand and has over 40 million members around the world. To date, it has hosted over 300 million tournaments and operates country-specific internet poker sites in Italy and France.
Like the rest of the market, Wynn’s stock, which is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol “WYNN,” was up in early trading this morning. It had risen $2.04, or 1.64%, to $126.28 at the time of writing. To put that number in perspective, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up just 0.36% on the day.
