February 09 2011, Chad Holloway

An early morning press conference was held today announcing a three year agreement between the WSOP and Lucien Barrière Hôtels & Casinos, BarrierePoker.fr, and Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) to host the World Series of Poker Europe between October 7-21, 2011 at the Casino Barrière de Cannes Croisette in France. This means the WSOPE, which will officially be rebranded as the World Series of Poker Europe Presented by BarierePoker.fr, will be not be held at the Casino At The Empire in London.

According to a statement released by WSOP.com: “The World Series of Poker Europe is moving from London to Cannes in 2011 and will be rebranded as World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE®) Presented by BarierePoker.fr. In addition, the Barrière Poker Tour 2011 will include seven stops qualifying for the WSOPE®.”

“This alliance reinforces our strategy of powerful synergies between the offline and online, and it is an honor to partner with the tournament poker world’s most prestigious,” said Dominique Desseigne and CEO of Groupe Lucien Barrière.

Mitch Garber, CIE’s chief executive officer, added: “This is a unique agreement between two casino leaders with great brands. Lucien Barrière Hôtels & Casinos is a well-run organization and we are excited to work with them to access the French market with high-quality and reputable poker events both in their hotels and casinos, and online with BarrierePoker.fr.”

As part of the deal, the Barrière Poker Tour 2011, which begins in April and spreads across seven locations (Toulouse, Nice, Lille, Dinard, Enghien, Trouville and Bordeaux), will serve as qualifying rounds for the WSOPE. Eric Cavillon, Operations Director in charge of poker development at Lucien Barrière Hôtels & Casinos, explains: “The Lucien Barriere Hôtels & Casinos, BarrierePoker.fr and WSOP® alliance allows us to put on an outstanding tournament hosted by a world famous brand in France while positioning us to become a leading operator of both online and live poker.”

Another part of the agreement calls for the creation of a new WSOP.fr site, designed by CIE and Barrierepoker.fr, that will present all WSOP news in French. That site is expected to debut later this year.

“Backed by this alliance, we will be even better equipped to let online players access the most prestigious world poker events in casinos and to benefit from special, unique operations in conjunction with WSOP events,” concludes Jean-Etienne Bouedec, BarrierePoker.fr Deputy Chief Executive Officer.

According to the WSOP statement, seven bracelet events will be offered at this year’s WSOPE. PokerNews will bring you all the details on this surprising announcement as they develop.

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March 24 2011, Chad Holloway

On Thursday night, Wynn Resorts, Limited announced a strategic alliance with online poker giant, PokerStars. Both parties are interested in helping pass federal legislation that will define illegal Internet gambling, while establishing a regulatory force to ensure safe operation of online poker, protect consumers, and collect taxes. Once that happens, the partnership between Wynn Resorts and PokerStars will seek a license to jointly operate a US online poker site known as PokerStarsWynn.com.

“After much study, we are convinced that the lack of regulation of Internet gaming within the U.S. must change. We must recognize that this activity is occurring and that law enforcement does not have the tools to stop it. As a company that has safely conducted gaming in the US for more than 40 years, we believe that the same can be done for poker on the Internet,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wynn Stephen A. Wynn. “Additionally, it is time that the thousands of jobs created by this business and the potentially significant tax dollars come home to the U.S.”

Mark Scheinberg, Chairman and Founder of PokerStars, went on to say, “We have long supported the enactment of local regulatory regimes that protect consumers and provide valuable tax revenues and jobs. PokerStars is closely regulated in many European countries and it has been endorsing the adoption of the same approach in the United States for years, with this alliance representing a critical step in that direction. We are excited about the opportunities that partnering with Wynn, a pioneering leader and innovator in gaming, will present for PokerStars in the United States. These opportunities include the rapid ramp-up in hiring of a large number of professionals in this growing global technology and services sector that will benefit from US talent to keep up with global demand.”

PokerStarsWynn.com would become the newest member in a growing PokerStars licensed family that includes PokerStars.fr, which operates in France under the French government license, as well as PokerStars.it, which operates in Italy under the Italian government license; PokerStars.ee, which operates in Estonia under the Estonian government license, and PokerStars.be which is operating in Belgium under license of the Belgian government for an initial trial licensing period.

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