No October Launch For South Point Poker: ReportReal-Money Games Likely Closer To End Of 2012, According To Vegas Inc |
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Although there never was an official launch date made public, the hope was that Nevada’s first ever real-money online poker site — South Point Poker — could launch as soon as October. However, that possibility is currently off the table.
Vegas Inc reported Monday that the company hasn’t gone through, as quickly as it could have, the process of having its technology inspected and certified by a third-party testing lab in tandem with Nevada regulators giving their final stamp of approval.
The site’s Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Vaughan told Vegas Inc that everything is ready on the company’s side of things for the doors to open right now. However, the launch reportedly is now likely to be closer to the end of 2012.
South Point Poker received a license for the web gaming business back in August. At the hearing, a starting date of sometime in October was told to gaming regulators.
Gaming Commission Chairman Peter Bernhard said at South Point Poker’s licenscing hearing: “[The state] want[s] to make sure it’s done correctly because what you do might have an impact on what others do later.” The country is watching how Nevada’s experiment goes.
Nevada poker players are still waiting for the country’s first explicitly legal poker site to begin operating — about 16 months after PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker were booted from American cyberspace on Black Friday. Other offshore sites have filled the void for some players in the interim, but Nevada sanctioned sites are the future.
Although authorized in Nevada, online poker is not legal nationwide. The Silver State’s industry will exist as intrastate, at least for the time being. Tourists will be able to play.
It’s unlikely that another Nevada company could leapfrog South Point Poker in being the first to the market. The firm has a huge lead on its competitors thanks to the decision to develop its own software and not rely on a partner. It partnered with Zen Entertainment for a free-play site launched last year, but that product is no more.
South Point Poker is under the umbrella of South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa, a brick-and-mortar property located off the Strip that opened in 2005.
Follow Brian Pempus on Twitter — @brianpempus
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