The latest addition to the USA-friendly Cake Poker Network is Poker King, managed by SunGame. The latter company is an Asian-facing internet gambling outfit that “provides a variety of online gaming experiences such as online live dealer, sports book, keno, slots, finance bets, and more of the hottest games,” according to a press release sent by the Cake Poker Network last week.
According to the poker traffic site PokerScout.com, the Cake Poker Network is the 18th largest worldwide in terms of ring game activity with a seven-day running average of 970 cash game players. Its traffic is slightly higher than that found on Everest Poker and the family of sites includes DoylesRoom, Intertops, Only Poker, Power Poker, and Phil Laak’s Unabomber Poker. Cake Poker serves as its flagship site and, according to PokerScout.com, the Cake Poker Network is headquartered in Curacao.
Last year, SunGame released a movie about poker appropriately dubbed “Poker King.” A company spokesperson commented in the same press release, “We are very excited and proud to launch our new poker product and we are very thankful for the incredible support of the Cake Network. It is so gratifying to work with Cake as they support our Asian currencies and Asian languages as well as our views on marketing.” The live poker circuit in Asia includes the Asian Poker Tour (APT) and PokerStars-backed Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT).
“Poker King” debuted in August 2009 in Macau during the city’s APT stop. Chan Hing-Kai and Janet Chun directed the movie, which stars Ching Wan Lau and Louis Koo, among others.
Cake Marketing Director Andrew Turner welcomed Poker King into the fold: “We are excited to welcome SunGame and their players to the Cake Network. SunGame is a great partner for us as they expand the geographic reach of the Cake Network with their aggressiveness to bring the real poker experience to Asia.”
The Cake Poker Network recently made a splash by signing Victory Poker, which launched on the Everleaf Network. Victory Poker, which is fronted by Antonio Esfandiari, also features pros like Andrew “good2cu” Robl, former Playboy Playmate of the Year Sara Underwood, and James “Andy McLEOD” Obst. In terms of cash game traffic, the Cake Poker Network is the fourth busiest worldwide that accepts USA players.
In other news from the Cake Poker Network, users can now view their account information in their home currency. This includes account balance, buy-ins, bet amounts, and pot sizes, making for a well-rounded experience in a player’s native money. A screen shot provided by Cake showcased the software in action with Chinese currency, complete with Chinese language spoken in the chat box and Chinese commands printed on the betting buttons.
Arguably the most famous poker player to come out of Asia is 10-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Johnny Chan, who hails from China. Chan won the Main Event in 1987 and 1988 before nearly three-peating in 1989. That year, he lost to then-24 year-old Phil Hellmuth heads-up. Chan’s last piece of hardware came five years ago in a $2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em tournament for $303,000. Other players with Chinese roots include former World Poker Tour Championship winner David Chiu and high-stakes cash game pro Chau Giang.