Ultimate Gaming closes its online poker room in Nevada

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Ultimate Gaming, owned by Las Vegas casino hotel Station Casinos LLC, became the beginning of the new era for the online poker industry when it became the first site to offer legal online poker in Nevada, back in 2013. However, the battle against a nation-wide poker network is making effect as the company, after shutting down all of the operations in New Jersey, has announced yesterday that Ultimate Poker, Nevada’s online business, will be closing very soon. The company cannot find the US market profitable and has renounced to two of the biggest markets in the country, Nevada and New Jersey’s. Not only Ultimate Poker’s but all other US operator business, is being limited by the anti-gambling groups and the US administration; these organizations are backed up by land-based casino moguls such as Sheldon Adelson and main politicians, who do not want to lose the gambling monopoly created for and by just a few individuals.

September saw Ultimate Gaming saying goodbye to New Jersey by ending the agreement with Trump Taj Mahal; now it is time for Nevada’s market. Delaware was never one of the main goals for the company to achieve. Real Gaming from South Point Casino and the World Series of Poker via Caesars Entertainment remain.

Ultimate Gaming’s Chairman, Tom Breitling, said: "As has been the case in other jurisdictions, online poker revenues in Nevada have fallen far short of original projections. Moreover, the state-by-state approach to online gaming has created an extremely cost-prohibitive and challenging operating environment. These factors have combined to make the path to profitability very difficult and uncertain. Consequently, we have decided to cease operations. We are grateful to the Nevada Gaming Commission and Gaming Control Board for allowing us to be the first company to operate online poker in Nevada and greatly appreciate their leadership and support as the first state to license and regulate online poker. We are working closely with the Gaming Control Board to ensure a smooth transition for our customers as we cease Nevada operations”. A.G. Burnett, Chairman of the Gaming Control Board, had also something to add about the lack of opportunities for the online poker industry in the US: “The interactive poker environment in the United States is not optimal for regulated operators. We respect the business decision that has been made. As we embarked on this path several years ago, we knew many pieces had to fall in place for the business to succeed”.