In a move that has stunned poker, the World Series of Poker brand has been sold by Caesars Entertainment to NSUS Group a key investor company of GGPoker. Just a fortnight after the legendary 55th annual WSOP broke its record for attendees in the $10,000-entry Main Event, the brand has been sold to GGPoker’s leading investment group and operator NSUS Group for an eye-watering $500 million.
Poker World Stunned by All-in Move
In a powerplay not seen in the poker industry since Harrah’s bought the WSOP brand way back in 2004, a year after the so-called ‘poker boom’ of 2003, NSUS Group’s buyout of the WSOP brand stunned poker fans and players around the world when it was announced last night.
If confirmation was required that we are in the middle of a second poker boom, this is it. Caesars Entertainment’s announcement of sale for the World Series of Poker branding to NSUS Group Inc, who are a primary investment group and the operator of GGPoker’s online arm is huge. The deal is said to be worth $500,000,000, with $250m of that amount payable in cash and the other half consisting of a promissory note that is “due five years after the transaction’s closing date” in 2029.
The deal represents not only the WSOP doing as it did in 2004, selling at its peak market price at the time – in 2004 it cost ten times less – but a serious powerplay from GGPoker. In recent years, the brand have acquired major talents on and off the felt and produced iconic content in the form of Game of Gold. The purchase of the WSOP is something bigger than anyone saw coming.
Hybrid Year Paves Way for Partnership
While GGPoker is a comparatively young poker brand, set up many years after other legendary industry brand PokerStars, 888poker or Full Tilt Poker to name three, recent years have seen ‘Stars step back, reducing their live schedule for a few years. GGPoker moved into that gap and now have their reward.
In 2020, the year COVID-19 stopped the WSOP Main Event from taking place in Las Vegas during the summer months, it was GGPoker who stepped forward and held an online WSOP schedule, eventually producing the ‘Hybrid’ world champion, Argentina’s Damian Salas.
Since then, four years of running satellites to the WSOP Main Event and producing WSOP online festivals have solidified that business relationship and in some ways, the purchase of the WSOP by NSUS Group Inc.. should not be seen as a surprise. While they now own the intellectual property rights to the world’s most iconic poker brand, Caesars will continue to serve as a physical home for the WSOP in Las Vegas and has been confirmed as having ‘priority venue’ rights for other events as they take place.
World Series to Remain at Horseshoe and Paris
While the WSOP’s signature series, the Las Vegas based World Series of Poker will still be held at Caesars Las Vegas casinos for the next 20 years, GGPoker is sure to expand the brand, after all, this has been their own personal expansion model. Looking back at the past four years as the resurgence of live poker is one thing, but even online, GGPoker’s growth of brands such as their weekly $10,300 tournament the GG MILLION$ has been indicative of their voracious desire to grow.
WSOP Circuit events continue to take place around the country on a weekly basis, and Caesars venues remain the location with their preferential right to host the WSOP’s roaming Circuit Ring series in full force. Eric Hession, President of Caesars Digital, is excited about the partnership and the future of the WSOP brand.
“We can’t wait to see what NSUS has in store for growing the WSOP’s legacy in poker,” he said. “We’ve enjoyed a longstanding and successful partnership with GGPoker that has helped spur the growth of the WSOP brand. We look forward to continuing to deliver an unmatched and familiar experience to poker players going forward.”
GGPoker Outline Plans for Growth
GG Poker’s own experts are also positive on what they see as a major boost to the online arm of the WSOP, which in recent years has grown and grown, with online poker – so important to the industry during the pandemic – now working in tandem with a booming live sector.
“We will leverage GGPoker’s cutting-edge technology and industry expertise to create an exciting future for WSOP, ensuring players have an increasingly improved, safe, and seamless poker experience,” said Michael Kim, CEO of NSUS Group Inc. “Under the new leadership, NSUS intends to expand WSOP worldwide, positioning it at the forefront of poker’s growth.”
With the WSOP Online brand growing too, players can expect more opportunities to qualify for exciting World Series of Poker festivals such as WSOP Europe and WSOP Paradise, both of which take place before the end of 2024. NSUS Group Inc. have already provided Caesars Digital with the license required to continue operating in real-money states such as New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania and of course Nevada.
With the sale process only delaying the next deal by a short time as it goes through, with everything expected to be rubber-stamped in the forthcoming weeks, the future for the WSOP – and GGPoker – looks like being bigger than anything we’ve seen before in poker.
This article originally appeared on PokerStake.com
