World Poker Store Opening Poker Club in China

The World Poker Store, a Las Vegas-based company that operates poker-themed stores in the United States and Europe, and also operates more than 100 pub poker leagues on both continents, announced that it will open a membership-based, upscale entertainment center for executives in Loudi, China.

Scheduled to open in June, “The Palace” will be the first of several of what the company is calling “upscale entertainment complexes” that will offer Las Vegas-style entertainment, including Las Vegas-style shows, VIP amenities, and Texas hold’em freerolls to upscale Chinese businessmen.

The complex will occupy 50,000 square feet, which will be the fourth and fifth floors of the HuiTain Office Tower and Shopping Center. World Poker Store expects annual revenue will be $2.5 million-$3 million.

“The concept is based on a Las Vegas-style experience,” said Greg Needham, the vice president of marketing and business development at World Poker Store. “The folks in China obviously have a lot of people who are looking for the opportunity to experience gaming without it being something where they are gambling, because casinos aren’t legal in China — you have to go to Macau for that. And so, our project basically started out as an opportunity to bring our poker league concept over there.”

But after talking to some contacts company officials have already made through the World Poker Store and expanding its research, they realized that businessmen and even government officials would frequent clubs like this. The company have been working on this for a little more than three years.

The World Poker Store will bring Vegas-style acts right to the Chinese businessmen. Most of the patrons, at least in Loudi, will have ties to the steel industry, which is a major employer in the city. World Poker Store research suggests that upwards of 200 foreigners with ties to the worldwide steel industry visit Loudi each day to check out the area’s facilities. Many of these foreigners most likely will end up at The Palace as guests of the steel executives, Needham says.

Loudi is the home to 4.5 million people and is located in the Hunan Providence. The largest steel mill in China, Qianan Liangang Yanshan Iron & Steel, is located there.

Besides the casino industry in Macau, there’s currently nothing like this in China. The closest thing they have to Las Vegas in China, outside of Macau, are night clubs where the upper-class patrons rent out private rooms for drinking and karaoke. The Palaces’ two main focuses will be Texas hold’em and live shows.

“Poker is actually the main focus of the experience. The poker pit is the focal point, so everything resolves around that, all the way from the main level to the VIP level upstairs. The whole design is based around the poker pit and the entertainment area," Needham said. “Our intent is obviously to bring the game to them, and what better way to introduce the game to them than through freerolls?”

The World Poker Store opened an office in Shenzhen, China, to manage its business affairs in the most populous country in the world. It also created a wholly owned subsidiary called Shenzhen WPS Entertainment Development Co. Ltd, to both build Palaces and negotiate with other cities to expand the brand throughout China.

So far, World Poker Store has reached an agreement with two cities. Loudi was actually the second city to agree to allow a Palace to open there. Late last year, the company received approval from the city of Sanya, located on the resort island of Haiman, to build a complex there at a brand new resort development. This facility will have to build from the ground up and will open later this year.

Earlier this year, gaming officials in Macau begun to allow the casinos there to spread Texas hold’em games, and last fall, World Poker Tour Enterprises began holding free tournaments featuring the Chinese national card game Traktor Poker.

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