Poker News
Poker’s Black Friday: Winners and Losers
The events of Poker’s Black Friday have forever changed the landscape of the online poker industry. Nearly every room – some would argue every room – was impacted in one way or another by the actions taken by the US Department of Justice against Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and AP / UB.
Not everyone was impacted equally, however. Below are our top two winners and losers from what have become the least popular three words in the world for online poker fans: Poker Black Friday.
Winners
PokerStars. While it may seem odd to name Stars as a winner given that they were a target of the DOJ, their rapid handling of payout and ability to maintain top traffic status even without US players had to be extremely demoralizing to their competition.
Party Poker. While the room still sits behind PokerStars, one rival – Full Tilt – is in the rearview. Party also saw its decision to leave the US after the UIGEA validated, raising hope that Party Poker for US Players could be a reality sooner than later.
Losers
AP / UB. While you could argue that Full Tilt had more to lose, FTP at least looks to open their doors at some point. Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet are likely headed for a more permanent graveyard, although their software could end up somewhere – not that the fact would be advertised were it to be true.
Full Tilt Poker. They may rise from the ashes, but Full Tilt was both made and broken by the US market. Once a third-tier room, FTP rose to the number 2 spot on the backs of a strong US base, and saw their room quickly dissolve once the lack of US players revealed a massive financial shortfall at the company.
Black Friday. The poker world will likely not see an event of such magnitude again anytime soon, with a surprise move to quickly regulate in the US being the one potential caveat to that prediction. Until then, Black Friday will continue to be an undercurrent of every element of the world of online poker.
