Out With the Old, In With the New

There is a momentum building within the poker and gaming industry which will pass most players by. It is a constant presence but is largely unseen, moving through the back rooms of the major industry operators before slipping quietly onto the financial pages of the broadsheet press, oblivious to the masses.

From World Series of Poker owners Harrah's takeover by a venture capital firm which took it back into private ownership to Stanley Casino owner Genting's strategic move on rival UK casino operator Rank, the industry is changing behind the scenes.

Rumours of takeover moves for bookmakers and poker operators Ladbrokes and Paddy Power have made the mainstream press in recent weeks while poker network operator Boss Media has been snapped up and 24h Poker morphed into Entraction with the help of Betdaq and serial investor Dermot Desmond. Bwin is reportedly after Sportingbet (again!) and the World Poker Tour has reduced the number of events on the Tour from 20 to 14 citing increased competition. Even the mighty PartyGaming has been mooted to be open to offers of a takeover.

"There are two times when consolidation typically occurs: when an industry is growing rapidly or declining," media and entertainment guru Strauss Zelnick recently told Variety magazine.

But it is not quite clear which, if either, poker is experiencing.

As Isaac Newton pointed out in his third law of motion, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction - as old investors have been falling by the wayside new ones have been entering the industry at a steady clip.

Displaying a zest for taking on the big boys are the Genting Stanley National Poker Championship in the UK, a re-launched DevilfishPoker.com, BINGPoker.com, MarathonBet.com, T6Poker.com, the Indian Poker Tour, and Win2day.at.

They are all confident they can wade into this most competitive of landscapes and succeed.

There is no doubt the global economy is in flux and it appears the poker economy, at least at industry level, is mirroring this with some backers believing the time is right to take their profits and get out and others seeing an opportunity to find a bargain and a way into the industry relatively cheaply.

Good luck to those who have paved the way and welcome to those who will shape the future.

Old School Meets New School

Echoing this theme of change the main features in this month's issue span the spectrum of players who have succeeded at making an impact in poker; whether fleeting, sustained, deep, or superficial. Be they respected world beaters such as Dan Harrington and Phil Ivey, both of whom recently proved they are still at the top of their game with serious tournament victories, or the hottest European upstarts who are hungry and impatient for greater and greater success.

When looking at the stories of these champions, past, present, and future, an old adage springs to mind: "The more things change, the more they stay the same."