In an e-mail sent to affiliates on Monday, it was revealed that players on PokerRoom and EuroPoker will soon become a part of bwin. The two sites were purchased by bwin in 2006 and currently make their homes on the Ongame Network. Other Ongame Network sites include Hollywood Poker, Poker Loco, and Strykke Poker.
The e-mail to affiliates read, “PokerRoom.com and EuroPoker.com players will soon become a part of the bwin platform. Every PokerRoom.com and EuroPoker.com customer will get the possibility to choose to transfer their account to bwin. This transition presents a unique opportunity to become a partner of bwin, our best-known and best-converting brand.” PokerRoom was formerly a dominant player in the U.S. market prior to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) at the end of 2006. Affiliates for PokerRoom and EuroPoker already work closely with bwin.
bwin is a publicly traded company and can be found on the Vienna Stock Exchange under the symbol “BWIN.” At the close of trading on Tuesday, it was up €1.07 to €18.47, marking a 6.15% jump on the day. Over the past 52 weeks, BWIN has wavered between €10.50 and €24.45. PokerRoom’s marquee monthly tournament is The Grand, which boasts a healthy $1,040 buy-in and a $750,000 guarantee. It’s one of the largest recurring tournaments offered by a network that does not accept U.S. customers. This weekend, PartyPoker, which is owned and operated by Party Gaming, will offer the first installment of its $1 million guaranteed “Monthly Million.” In the future, the tournament will be held the first Sunday of each month.
At the time of writing, the Ongame Network has 28,106 players online. Its close affiliation with and sponsorship of major sports teams has allowed bwin to offer a series of “Magic Moments of Poker,” including an opportunity to meet and greet members of the AC Milan club in March. Other upcoming Magic Moments include a meet and greet with the Real Madrid, opportunities to get up close and personal with MotoGP – Jerez, as well as trips to Poker Island in June and July. Features of the Ongame Network software include a Quick Seat option when players enter the tournament lobby as well as table filters and the ability to play on up to 12 tables at once.
bwin is also capitalizing on the popularity of bounty tournaments by offering the Big Bounty, a $100 buy-in tournament that will occur on February 15th. The following players will have a bounty on their heads when the event kicks off: Spanier75, hdezdelorenz, Steko83, Mezenga1981, MAE9690, Goldensbush, tommi73, Puggy82, joop1387, and maninblack79. Step tournaments are available in order to enter the Big Bounty at a lower price and start at an affordable $1.10.
This weekend marks the move of Doyle’s Room to the Cake Poker Network, a USA-friendly network. Doyle’s Room’s namesake, Doyle Brunson, is one of the most recognized figures in the poker industry and the owner of 10 World Series of Poker bracelets. The changeover is officially slated to occur on Saturday. The Cake Poker Network also includes PlayersOnly as well as its flagship site. No official date has been given for the movement of PokerRoom and EuroPoker players to bwin and there is also no official word about the fate of CasinoRoom, the sister site of PokerRoom which offers casino games. bwin operates a full online casino and sports book.
The Ongame Network features software that is compatible with Mac and Linux computers by virtue of a web-based application. Only a select handful of online poker rooms, including PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, have fully-downloadable versions for Mac players. Web-based interfaces typically use Java or Flash.
