Party Poker is up to Something

[daedalus]

....there's really something happening here....

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PartyGaming Could be Taken Private

Reports Suggest
Partygaming, the world's second largest online poker room, rose 1¾p to 29p on speculation that the slimmed down online poker firm will be taken private. PartyGaming was forced to leave the US market (more than 80 per cent of its market) late last year following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Mitch Garber, PartyGaming CEO, showed some confidence in the company this week by announcing he was stopping the planned sale of some of his shares in the company.



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They've finally found their 4-function calculators and discovered that they can make more $$ following the PokerStars-Private model vs. the Public Law-Abiding model.

[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[BluffTHIS!]

Don't believe everything or even most of what you read on that rag G911. They don't care how far away a "report" is from the truth in their rush to be the first to spread gossip, and in their quest to attract more customers to their affiliate and bonus programs for sports betting sites. The proper use of the majority of G911 "reports" is to print them and then use them in the john to wipe your ass.

[Overdrive]

Very interesting article. Gabling 911 always seems to have the best new breaking stories. They are a very reputable website and seem to be always right about what they are reporting.

[daedalus]

There's multiple sources. Looks like G911 picked it up after it emerged in the UK financial rags. Still just a hedge but I like hedges coming from market analysts.

[DeadMoneyDad]

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If they have easy deposit options they will deposit. Party worked for the average person somehow someway. You can't just dismiss their branding success. Stars would be #2 again in 2 weeks.

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As a publicly traded company if "they" have an easy deposit method, they would face tremendous new competition in the US.

As you state, PP has some value from their "branding" and may regain some market share upon their return. However the longer they wait the economic value diminishes. Additionally if they follow the "wait for clearly legal" corporate strategy they will face increased competition.

I never really cared for PP, but I have spoken to quite a few former PP lovers in the US. A good number have left the on-line market. Some seem quite pissed off at being "abandoned".

IMO the only people really looking forward to PP's return are serious grinders who hope the multitude of fish will return and they will not have to keep playing the tight rocks that currently populate on-line poker.

I play poker because I enjoy the mental challenge, to me it is not much different than reading Constitutional Law texts or "The Universe" series on the Discovery channel. I'm sure if I had an economic incentive my perspective would change. As such I think I can see the "fish's" perspective more clearly than those with other motives.

Just a donk's opinion,


D$D

[Legislurker]

More important is spreading out the rocks/sharks than the pool of "fish". All I need is a table with 6 or 7 worse players, and I can find that still. PP didnt have market share D$D. It WAS the market. On a practical end, if you want to call us sharks or whatnot, poker needs a CONSTANT infusion of cash to feed the rake. PP pumped untold millions into poker via promos and bonuses and just handouts. The other sites are advertizing without pumping in the $. Its hard to nail down, but Party just got the cash flowing, and poker's health followed. The market leader is very important to the market. Right now its Stars
and FT. Both are ham-fisted, and FT has no customer service to speak of. Thats going to have an impact sooner or later.

[KEW]

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More important is spreading out the rocks/sharks than the pool of "fish". All I need is a table with 6 or 7 worse players, and I can find that still. PP didnt have market share D$D. It WAS the market. On a practical end, if you want to call us sharks or whatnot, poker needs a CONSTANT infusion of cash to feed the rake. PP pumped untold millions into poker via promos and bonuses and just handouts. The other sites are advertizing without pumping in the $. Its hard to nail down, but Party just got the cash flowing, and poker's health followed. The market leader is very important to the market. Right now its Stars
and FT. Both are ham-fisted, and FT has no customer service to speak of. Thats going to have an impact sooner or later.

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This is all very important on what "Party" was..."Party" not only kept "new" players coming in but they kept the money flowing...Not only did Party give away tons of $$$$$ but other sites had to follow...This free monies kept the poker economy fresh and growing..Losing players lasted much longer and slightly losing player became break even or even winning player..This free money had the effect of keeping the small and mid stakes games well stocked with action..With Party gone a post UIGEA bonus money and cash promos are few and far between...

In short Party Poker was a marketing genius and there presence alone had a positive impact on the poker market..

[Dire]

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IMO the people that think PP might be what it once was are delusional. First of all both the poker community and the poker economy has changed quite a bit. To think that all the "fish" that used to populate PP have simply hibernated and are eagerly awaiting PP to line up to be cleaned after fattening up is a crack pipe dream.

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You can still log in to Party and look at the tables, or watch videos on any of the training sites and see people playing Party. The tables are still much softer than other main sites available to Americans. There wouldn't be any major need for hoards of hibernating fish to make the site desirable.

And it's hyperbole to say Party and its userbase are just slowly aging and fading. At the time of this post there's about 80 $200 tables running on Party, about 30 $400. There are actually significantly more $1000 games going on on Party than there are on Stars, and one more $2000 game than on Stars. Stars currently has 120k players online.

I have little doubt Party would be #1 in a matter of weeks and at most months if they did reopen to Americans. I'd certainly be there on day 1, and I'm a supernova on Stars.

[DeadMoneyDad]

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IMO the people that think PP might be what it once was are delusional. First of all both the poker community and the poker economy has changed quite a bit. To think that all the "fish" that used to populate PP have simply hibernated and are eagerly awaiting PP to line up to be cleaned after fattening up is a crack pipe dream.

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You can still log in to Party and look at the tables, or watch videos on any of the training sites and see people playing Party. The tables are still much softer than other main sites available to Americans. There wouldn't be any major need for hoards of hibernating fish to make the site desirable.

And it's hyperbole to say Party and its userbase are just slowly aging and fading. At the time of this post there's about 80 $200 tables running on Party, about 30 $400. There are actually significantly more $1000 games going on on Party than there are on Stars, and one more $2000 game than on Stars. Stars currently has 120k players online.

I have little doubt Party would be #1 in a matter of weeks and at most months if they did reopen to Americans. Their biggest challenge wouldn't be getting the players, but in simplifying depositing. I'd certainly be there on day 1, and I'm a supernova on Stars.

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If all the anicdotial evidence is true I stand corrected at least three times. Perhaps Party was the one site who cares about the larger "on-line poker community" and because of that is better positioned to recapture any lost US market share.

I was never a fan, but even I might give them a second look, or any site with ease of deposit and withdraw.



D$D

[Legislurker]

Im not sure if Party is what you want D$D. Its not the best software, the nicest lobby, or the best loyalty program. Its just the largest amalgamation of players. Some games/limits they had more than the ret of the net combined. PLHE, limit hilo, nosebleed NLHE. Its not the best mid range grinder site . Its not the most pleasant gameplay. I wasnt a fan of the SNG structure. But they are ruthless when it comes to acquiring players, and have the deepest pockets.