Party Gaming Sheds 'Poker Room Skins'
Published: Monday, October 10, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
PARTY GAMING SHEDS 'POKER ROOM SKINS'
Moves are part of a plan to provide a fully integrated operating platform
Speculation on the Internet was rife this week at the news that PartyGaming subsidiary Party Poker was to shed it's client "skins" as part of a strategy to build a new, fully integrated PartyGaming site. MultiPoker, Intertops, Empire and Eurobet are affected by the changes.
PartyGaming officials pointed out that the intention to ring the changes had been announced on a number of occasions, most recently in the companys half yearly reportage.
In a press release this week, the company said that it has taken a further step towards establishing a new, fully integrated PartyGaming operating platform which will, on launch early in 2006 offer a variety of different games but with a common systems architecture. This will allow each of its nine million registered PartyPoker customers to use a single account and a shared purse across all of the group’s gaming brands. These brands include poker, casino and mobile gambling interests.
The group has moved the Party Poker brand and all of its players to the new platform with immediate effect.
Historically, PartyPoker players have shared the same poker-only system with players from each of the PartyGaming's four white label poker clients or “skins” namely Empire Poker, Coral Eurobet, Multipoker and Intertops.
Following the new plan, PartyPoker players will now play on their own private tables and benefit from a number of new and exciting products that are exclusive to the new platform.
The new platform includes non-poker games such as Blackjack, as well as added features to the poker product such as Side Bets and Deal-Making in poker tournaments. Once the fully integrated platform is launched in the first half of 2006, players will be able to click through and play on PartyPoker, PartyCasino and other new PartyGaming products that are currently being developed, all using a common account and a shared purse.
The skins’ poker players will continue to have full access to the existing poker system. They will also now benefit from the release of several new product enhancements comprising “beginners’ tables” – these include “micro-limit tables” and low buy-in tables – and $50/$100 and $100/$200 tables.
Poker NOW, which was acquired by the group earlier in the year, will continue to operate on the existing poker system with the skins.
Commenting on the changes, Richard Segal, Chief Executive said: “We are on track to deliver our exclusive Party-branded integrated platform that will include additional products and services, enabling us to focus on optimising cross-selling opportunities. We believe that today’s development is an important step towards cementing together the inherent strengths of all the Party brands and is in the best interests of our customers and shareholders.
"In conjunction with this exciting development, we will continue to maintain and support the poker system we provide for the skins.”
Related Pages On Online-Casinos.com:
