CR83-p24&25-Poker:SJC-Casino Review 23/8/09 01:58 Page 1
internationalcasinoreview
Clubs and tribal casinos pushing together
California card clubs and tribal casinos, long bitter political
Poker
rivals, are working together in a behind-the-scenes drive to
legalise internet poker in the state. The effort to create an
online California Internet Poker Consortium is being led by
the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and by card clubs
including the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles County. They
MARKET ANALYSIS are currently courting other tribes and poker rooms to build
political momentum.
The shifting sands of
the world gaming
market has, over
recent months, led
to a stalling of
growth in the land-
based poker
industry. Andrew
Gellatly explains
how operators in
numerous markets
are looking to focus
on other areas in an
effort to offset falling
revenues.
Poker industry not immune
to market slowdown
tacticalmeasures come out of it profitably. The list of approved activities. According to Chris Parker, harder, even impossible. “In
INDUSTRY LANDSCAPE dealers at the EPT event were Many established casinos CEO of the Asia Poker Tour, the Thailand the monarchy and the
unpaid and relied on tips, had begun to transform their same virtuous cycle that has government are never going to
As both online and land-based without which the event would gaming floors into poker rooms fuelled the growth of US poker allow you to play poker, and I
poker businesses see growth have made a certain loss.” in a bid to keep their businesses - where televised poker tourna- can’t see we’re going to hold a
splutter in some of their For Ron Goudsmit, chair of ticking over, operating under ments with young celebrity poker tournament in mainland
primary markets, a once the European Casino Associa- licences issued by the sports players have driven viewers to China within the next five
buoyant poker industry is tion, signs of decline in regulators, but their hopes were play online and, in turn, qualify years,” Parker said.
refocusing its efforts on Denmark’s poker scene are cruelly dashed by the move. to play live tournaments - is Payment difficulties have
emerging regions, and rejuve- largely indications that the While no date has been unlikely to be replicated in any particularly hampered poker’s
nating the synergy between Danish market has reached mooted for the closure of Asian jurisdiction, even Macau. progress in Korea, Kim
on and offline play. maturity earlier than many poker rooms that are cur- “If you cannot get the regula- observed. “If your agents can’t
Scandinavia’s gambling others. “There are a number of rently in operation, one tors to regulate these events get the money in and out of the
markets have provided perhaps countries in Europe, like Italy, Moscow-based lawyer noted properly to allow poker events system for the players, the
the most reliable index of the that are just starting to intro- that the latest announcement to be held in their jurisdictions, system has no use,” he said.
growth of land-based poker duce poker and when you intro- would nevertheless serve as and then from there allow the Jeffrey Hass, president of the
events in recent years, but duce new poker products a lot an effective “cease and desist online companies to go out and well-known Asia Pacific Poker
Poker
earlier this year the host of the of people still tend to jump on notice” to anyone planning promote the game of poker, it Tour, said that recent and forth-
Danish European Poker Tour them,” he said. new poker ventures. will fail,” Parker said of poker’s coming Asian gambling expan-
Stats:
event in Copenhagen warned “If you look at countries that But while Europe’s casinos Asian prospects. sions mean poker’s momentum
casino industry colleagues that have had poker for a long time contend with managing what But changing the policy of is nevertheless building in the
WSOP
poker is no longer growing in - I’m talking about my own some analysts see as an television broadcasters across region. “I don’t believe it’s going
popularity in Scandinavia, and, country, Holland, for example - inevitable, if slow, decline, the region has required a to fail,” Hass declared.
perhaps not surprisingly in a then you see that poker is sta- operators in Asia are facing softly-softly approach, with “I think we are seeing so
recession struck world envi- bilising - the growth is no somewhat different obstacles free-to-enter charity tourna- many additional jurisdictions
WSOP Players ronment, is following the wider longer there and the hurt we in a market that has barely ments providing a stepping- rushing to get into the gaming
land-based casino sector in feel in gaming across the begun to boom. off point. According to Parker, market in Asia - we have Taiwan
2005 Main Event 5,619 players
experiencing falling revenues. Netherlands general is also With Texas Hold’em poker “one of the success stories has going online fairly soon and
2006 Main Event 8,700 players
Thomas Kellner, managing there in poker too.” only approved as a casino activ- been on Taiwan television Japan interested in going online,
director of Denmark’s largest Certainly, financially ity in Macau in February 2008, where they got celebrities to as well as Vietnam, Singapore
2007 Main Event 6358 players casino, the Casino Copen- stricken Vegas operators are and tournament poker not a play a free-roll tournament for and Macau. We’ve seen the
2008 Main Event 6,844 players
hagen, noted that “the growth doing what they can to lever- traditional Chinese game, the a charity, with a prize of half a impact of poker in the Philip-
of poker has now come to a age their poker assets online world’s largest gaming market million Taiwan dollars as a pines recently with almost forty
2009 Main Event 6,494 players
halt and we expect to see and in their casinos around the by turnover has begun its donation to the charity.” rooms actively offering their
decreases in the coming world. US gaming giant poker growth from a low base, However, Parker conceded products into a market that is
Top 10 Countries months. Whether the wave has Harrah’s recently confirmed but Macau has shown the that the game had no common continuing to grow.
in WSOP 2009
hit the beach or whether it will the appointment of former Par- potential of the game in the lobbying body like the Poker “As more venues begin to
(courtesy of worldseriesofpoker.com). go on I don’t know”. tyGaming CEO Mitch Garber region’s land-based casinos, Players Alliance in the US to compete with each other for
At their Casino Copenhagen as head of their online poker Mike Kim, director of the address more fundamental leg- the players, they are going to
Country Players event, the venue sold 2,500 division, charged with turning poker rooms at the Galaxy Star- islative roadblocks to the be concentrating on differenti-
1. USA 19,761
spectator tickets for the event, their World Poker Tour brand world casino in Macau, noted game’s success. Instead, Parker ation. They won’t be saying,
although Kellner conceded that into a comprehensive online that this year had witnessed the said the Asian poker industry ‘come and sit at a baccarat table
2. Canada 1,028
perhaps 1,500 of the tickets and offline business in Europe. biggest cash games in the was employing “multiple strate- for twelve days in a row’; they
3. United Kingdom 432 were sold to friends and rela- But one jurisdiction that game’s short history in the gies” with regards lobbying. will be saying, ‘come and sit at
4. Germany 248
tives of the players. now looks set to remain off the Chinese gambling enclave. “I’ve “In Singapore we are lob- a poker table’.”
But with a 75 per cent tax radar screen of operators both seen poker growing dramati- bying to get a tax basis on “Singapore is around the
5. France 198
levied on gaming revenues in online and offline is the Russian cally every day,” said Kim. which to hold a tournament, corner,” says Hass of the immi-
6. Netherlands 117
Denmark, even with strong Federation where, in July, a Still, issues regarding the tel- [whereas] in Korea we are nent openings of LVS’s Marina
7. Australia 87
spectator ticket sales any poker loophole that had allowed evising and promotion of lobbying to allow Korea Bay Sands and Genting’s
tournament will necessarily poker rooms to escape a feder- events in the region along with players to even play the game, Resorts World Sentosa in the
8. Italy 79
struggle to succeed. “There is a ally-imposed ban on gambling payment processing and adver- so each country has to tackle first quarters of 2010. “And we
9. Russia 75
limit on how much you can activities was closed by the tising concerns are neverthe- different areas.” hope to get 500-600 players at
make from a tournament,” Russian Ministry of Sports, less likely to make poker’s But in other territories an event in Macau within the
10. Sweden 74
Kellner said, “and it’s difficult to which excluded poker from its development a slow burn. Parker noted the task was much next five years.”
24 September 2009 • pokerreport
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