ChiliGaming has inked a deal with Golden Nugget to form a free play site that’s expected to launch in the next three months. ChiliPoker’s Alex Dreyfus told eGamingReview (EGR) on Friday, “We are one of the companies who never took a bet in the U.S. and will now be positioning ourselves as a boutique B2B provider. We may not be the biggest, but we are more flexible than others in terms of both services and ideas.”ChiliPoker already operates a free play site in the United States and, according to Dreyfus and EGR, the Golden Nugget’s room “will not be branded as ChiliPoker, but rather a B2B deal using the Golden Nugget brand, and we’re looking to secure other casinos as well. We will refocus as more B2B than B2C as a company.”
Golden Nugget Chairman and owner Tilman Fertitta commented in a press release sent out on Friday that the company was looking forward to launching the site, which could happen right before the 2012 World Series of Poker in May: “[ChiliGaming was] experienced in online gaming in Europe and demonstrated incredible passion, talent, and knowledge, which our team found to far exceed their competitors. We believe that online gaming is inevitable in the United States and that the Golden Nugget will be well positioned to compete when U.S. laws allow for online gaming."
Golden Nugget executives spent nine months evaluating potential partners in the U.S. market. Nevada has already adopted online poker regulations and is currently in the process of evaluating potential operators. It could soon boast the first intrastate online poker market in the USA and may allow rooms later this year. A recent Department of Justice opinion letter stating that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting has, according to many in the industry, seemingly opened the door to legalized intrastate internet gaming.The Golden Nugget has three properties in the United States and can be found in Las Vegas, Laughlin, and Atlantic City. The former property (pictured above) is in Downtown Vegas on Fremont Street and houses over 2,400 guest rooms.
Dreyfus formed ChiliGaming six years ago and the company has since grown to set up offices in the United Kingdom, France, and Malta. Its ChiliConnect social networking tool allows players to share their results and compete with or against their friends in a variety of side bets, last-longers, swaps, and cash game challenges. ChiliConnect is heavily integrated with Facebook.
ChiliConnect could grow going forward with brands like the Golden Nugget onboard. EGR quoted Dreyfus as saying that ChiliConnect is “a great idea, but so far with the wrong execution. Chili is too small to use a tool like that and make it successful. We want to bring it onto a bigger scale with a bigger platform.”Dreyfus told PocketFives on Friday that ChiliGaming will not utilize Playtech’s software for the Golden Nugget partnership. However, he would not identify which software provider will instead be featured. ChiliPoker regularly makes its home on Playtech’s iPoker Network alongside real money rooms like Poker770.
Dreyfus also told PocketFives that ChiliGaming is in talks with four to five other casino partners and will be “supplying technology and services to the Golden Nugget.”
ChiliPoker’s free-play site is called ChiliPlay and allows players to connect via Facebook, a downloadable client, and a web-based interface. ChiliPlay also supports Android-based phones, iPhones, and iPads. At the time of writing, there were 1,552 players connected.
This week, ChiliPoker found itself on a so-called “Belgium Blacklist” along with 888 and Everest Poker, among other sites. Meanwhile, PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, sent out a press release on Wednesday saying that it had partnered with the Circus Groupe to launch PokerStars.be in Belgium. The PokerStars.be license has an A+ classification and PokerStars players from the European nation will be able to take part in all international tournaments.
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