I-poker looks to WSOP and Caesars Entertainment

The start of poker’s biggest annual party is a week away. As the dozens of events that comprise the World Series of Poker unroll across the next six or seven weeks Caesars Entertainment will have its best chance yet to give Internet gaming a major boost.
The WSOP has been routinely drawing thousands of poker buffs from around the world to Las Vegas for years now. While Caesars can offer U.S. Internet action only within the boundaries of Nevada and New Jersey, there is not a better opportunity any time in the year to reach a large audience with a predisposition to gamble.
That’s what the World Series is all about – playing poker, and WSOP officials have been frank about their expectations that the Internet will boost entry numbers far beyond where they are now over a period of time.
People marketing the company’s various brands see the Internet as a great opportunity to lure business to the bricks and mortar casinos where there are myriad spending opportunities that have nothing to do with the casino floor.
Caesars had hoped to launch its wsop.com brand in Nevada during last year’s World Series but the delays associated with satisfying state regulators did not make that possible. Internet operators in Atlantic City casinos did not get the green light to begin opening accounts until last November.
How much higher can the number of active accounts jump as a result of the enthusiasm the World Series annually generates? New Jersey releases monthly numbers and the total there had surged to about 320,000 as of the end of April from 290,000 at the end of the previous month.
Internet action has been ramping up at a much slower-than-expected pace but Caesars has been holding online satellite tournaments for some of the WSOP’s biggest events and it will be interesting to see what Internet support can do for the live action at the Rio.
Caesars officials are looking toward a future that will see Internet activity playing a much bigger role than is possible now because of the reluctance of financial institutions to get involved in a big way before Congress takes the kind of action that will enable Internet gaming to become a kind of national happening.
The reluctance of banks to embrace a newly legal industry that exists in only three states – Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware – is why companies such as MGM and Wynn Resorts are hanging back for the moment. They do not see a significant business opportunity, not yet anyway.
A change of heart can be expected as federal action of some kind persuades banks to begin processing the financial transactions Internet activity creates.
It’s safe to say Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson has slowed the movement toward change with his willingness to throw money at the other side – people who are opposed to expanded Internet activity.
Adelson appears to have bought the services of former Oakland mayor and California legislator Willie Brown and has, for the moment, persuaded Florida’s governor to oppose Internet activity.
Boyd Gaming and Caesars are, for the moment, the most effective proponents of expanded Internet gaming. New Jersey allows a full range of casino games. Only poker is allowed in Nevada.
Of the six Atlantic City casinos offering Internet gaming, Boyd’s Borgata and Caesars are first and second, respectively, in terms of market share. Boyd accounted for “more than 55,000” of the 322,423 accounts opened by the six casinos with approval to offer Internet action as of the end of April.
There were 291,625 accounts as of the end of March, but the Division of Gaming Enforcement is not offering any information about how many unique individuals this involves.
How does Boyd feel about all this?
“We continue to successfully leverage online gaming as a way to expand our customer base and nearly 75 percent are players who have not visited Borgata in the last year. We are starting to convert these players into customers of our land-based business.” This statement came in a press release.
Caesars has not had much to say about the benefits of its Internet activity and Nevada does not offer numbers about individual casinos.
Might Nevada restrictions be loosened to allow games other than poker? Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett says it will take someone coming forward to ask for this change and as of a couple weeks ago it had not occurred.
Short Shots: Major casino companies continue to spend a lot of time in Japan and other parts of Asia hoping to lockup the kind of joint ventures that have done so much for Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and MGM. Caesars executives were in Japan last week working to build on the momentum created by their preliminary agreement for a Korean casino.
• The purchase of the Cosmopolitan by a subsidiary of her Blackstone Group for $1.7 billion has some gaming industry watchers wondering if Blackstone has a plan to return a Hilton marquee to the Las Vegas Strip.
Blackstone bought Hilton Worldwide for $26 billion in 2007 but returned the company to the public markets last December. It still owns the Hilton brand. Recent speculation has Blackstone using one or maybe both of the Cosmo towers – a total of 2,900 rooms for time shares. Maybe Blackstone’s financial engineers figure the Cosmo’s 8.7 acres between the Bellagio and CityCenter represents a once in a lifetime deal that can only appreciate as the Strip’s energy level continues increasing.
• The recertification of MGM Grand Resorts as a suitable half-owner of the Borgata in Atlantic City awaits a final report from the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement. As all the pieces fall into place, look for MGM to buy out its Borgata partner Boyd Gaming.
There are also those who believe MGM might want all of Boyd as it seeks to continue developing a domestic network that would benefit major resorts in Las Vegas and elsewhere.
• How extensive has the lobbying effort been in Florida as a variety of influences working either for or against gaming expansion struggle to make their points? “At least $3.4 million” has been distributed to Florida lawmakers since 2012. It costs a lot to make a point.