Deleware is the latest state to pass a bill through committee, while in Nevada online poker will probably have to wait until early 2013 before launching. Read about these stories in this week's Industry Update.

Delaware Bill Passes Committee: Last week, Delaware lawmakers passed a bill through the House Gaming and Parimutuels Committee that would regulate online poker in the state. The bill will also allow bars and restaurants to offer Keno instant lottery games and pro-football parlay cards. It now moves on the House, where it will not be addressed for at least another two weeks. Melissa Blau, CEO of Live Gaming, said that concerns about security are unfounded. "The concerns around player protection, specifically underage gambling, can be mitigated and almost eliminated." She noted that prevention of underage gambling is something that is being executed successfully right now.

Nevada Poker in 7-10 Months, Regulator Says: Cardplayer reported this week that the first Nevada licenses will be issued within 30-60 days but that online poker will likely not go live in the state for another 7-10 months, likely moving the launch date to 2013. The majority of the time will be devoted to regulators approving technology of licensed poker rooms.

Meanwhile on the federal front, the CEO of MGM raised doubts about a federal online poker happening this year.

Cake Poker Network Rakeback Increasing to 36%: Big news for rakeback players on the Cake Poker Network. Ahead of Lock Poker's purchase of the Cake Poker Network, Lock Poker announced last week that rakeback would be increasing from 33% to 36% effective June 1st. The new rakeback rate will be among the highest flat rakeback deals in online poker and will mean that Cake Poker/Revolution Gaming will be offering the highest rakeback to U.S. players.

Full Tilt Poker/PokerStars Announcement This Week? It's now been almost a month since the Full Tilt Poker/GBT deal fell through. While Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars continue to be silent, reports from outlets such as iGaming Post suggest an announcement could happen this week.

PokerScout Traffic Update: Online poker traffic gave up most of its gains of the previous week, down 8.2% according to PokerScout. Much of the decrease came from PokerStars, although among the top 10 sites, decliners outpaced advancers seven to three.

Jottings: Obama administration release statement on online poker...Carbon Poker previews New Merge Gaming software...Facebook rise opens new door for online poker...WSOP satellites and marketing opportunities posted on PAS...
Denmark signs agreements with five Euro regulators to promote cooperative Online Gaming Regulation...
Party Poker Launches Championship Challenge...California regulator says online poker in Nevada "dependent on prayer"...Court considers harsher penalties for Beckley.

Tags: cake poker, deleware, full tilt poker, lock poker, nevada, poker stars, poker traffic, rakeback, revolution

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‎ Poker Industry News

Last week, Lock Poker and the Cake Poker Network announced that Lock was in the process of acquiring the Cake Poker Network and rebranding as the Revolution Network. On that day they promised big changes. With today's announcement they have delivered. Effective June 1st, rakeback on the network will be increasing from 33% to 36%. All other rakeback terms will remain the same.

The new 36% dealt rate will apply to both existing and new players of all Cake Poker Network sites. The new rakeback rates will not eat into affiliate commissions. Margins will remain the same that they were under pre-June commissions.

The 36% rate puts the Cake Poker Network near the top of the rakeback range, especially for larger networks, surpassing the standard 27-35% rates of most other sites. On the Merge Gaming Network, Lock Poker offered 35% rakeback until June of 2011. Rakeback is not currently allowed on the Merge Gaming Network but is still available for players that signed up through a rakeback site prior to June of 2011.

As stated, only player rates will be changing. The Cake Poker Network will continue to be one of the few poker networks under the dealt rake calculation system, which many rakeback players prefer, especially those that play a tighter game. Payment dates will remain the same. At Cake Poker, for example, players are paid rakeback every Thursday for rake generated during the previous Wednesday through Tuesday period. There are no deductions to rakeback, although affiliates do receive deductions to their commissions for items such as bonuses.

Stay tuned to PAS for the latest information on Lock Poker's migration to the Cake Poker Network.

Tags: cake poker, lock poker, merge gaming, rakeback

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‎ Poker Gaming , ‎ Poker Industry News , ‎ PAS News

Over the weekend, reports began to surface that Lock Poker was in the process of acquiring the Cake Poker Network. This morning Lock Poker released a press release confirming the news by announcing the network would be rebranded to Revolution Gaming on May 31st.

In a separate statement Cake Gaming confirmed they were in the process of selling "selected assets to Lock Poker. They went on to say "Cake is excited about the benefits this deal will offer all of its partners and players, including increased player rewards, a richer tournament schedule and new product features. "

The Cake Poker poker room is not a part of the deal and will continue to operate as a separate poker room. Lock Poker currently makes their home on the Merge Gaming Network and attracts poker pros such as Annette Obrestad and Chris Moorman.

We will be sure to keep PAS publishers on any developments and how the news affects them.

London, UK - May 7th, 2012 - Lock Poker Launches Revolution Gaming. The future of Online Poker.

As of June 1st a whole new world awaits the Lock Nation.

Lock is in the process of acquiring assets from Cake and will be re-branding the Cake Network to launch Revolution Gaming, driving technology, marketing, player rewards and implementing a richer tournament schedule. The LockPRO team will be at the foundation of these changes. They will come together and offer their recommendations on all levels, truly bringing the player into the boardroom.

To all existing Lock players this move will be seamless - it will take the form of a simple software update happening on May 31st. You will login to find your real money balance as well as everything else you know and love about Lock. Lock will also continue to manage their own stand-alone cashier so withdrawals will be as fast and easy as they are now. All players' current player VIP rewards will only increase and all rakeback players will be moved over to the increased percentage on Revolution. More details coming soon.

Get ready for the exciting new times ahead as we continue to drive the new era where the player reigns.

"We are very excited at the prospect of driving the product, marketing and overall vision of the network. It is a dream come true," says Jennifer Larson, CEO of Lock. "Merge was a great stepping stone for us but we have outgrown them. We really need to forge our own path to continued success. The only way to do this is to stay true to our of core philosophy: partnering with our players."

Tags: cake poker, lock poker, merge gaming

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‎ Poker Industry News

The PAS Exclusive Promotions for the month of May have now been posted in the forum. Check out a full list of the $300,000 plus in exclusive promotions here. Often when there are new promotions introduced, there can be some confusion so I wanted to explain some of the newer promotions in a bit more depth.

Party Poker Tournament Fever Series:

The Party Poker Tournament Fever Series is back for a third round. The first event will be held on May 8th, and like the previous Fever Series events, will be a mix of No Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud. What's different this month is that two of the events will award WSOP entries to the top 4 finishers. Event #6 (May 15th) and Event #9 (May 20th) will award 1 $750 WSOP Satellite entry and 3 $80 WSOP Satellite Qualifiers.

All events will either be $500 freerolls or will add $500-$1,000 to the prize pool. A $8,000 Tournament Fever Series Leaderboard will award top Leaderboard Point earners over the 13 events.

A full schedule will be posted shortly on PAS.

Party Poker Tournament Fever Series Event #13

Event #13 is a new twist on the Tournament Fever Series and something you should begin promoting to your Party Poker players. The tournament is a $4,000 freeroll only open to the top 100 Party Point earners from May 1st to May 22nd. Of course, this presents an advantage for any player in the Tournament Fever Series leaderboard, so make sure your higher volume players are aware of this promotion.

Party Poker $10 Free Tournament Ticket

The first 200 first time depositors will receive $10 in tournament dollars to be used on any multi-table tournament on Party Poker. The buy-in Tournament Fever series events present a great opportunity for players to use these tickets.

Supplies are limited so make sure your players are aware of this ticket opportunity to encourage deposits.

Poker Heaven €5,000 Rake Race

After a month absence, the Poker Heaven €5,000 Rake Race returns. Paying cash prizes of
€20 to €800 to the top 50 rakers, this race has been relatively easy for players to place. Players must opt-in to the Player Zone to participate. This exclusive €5,000 Rake Race will compliment the €5,000 standard races running on Poker Heaven from May 7th-May 11th, May 14th-18th and May 21st-25th.

Cake Poker $60,000 Rake Race

For the last two months Cake Poker has offered a $100,000 standard points race. We're pleased to report that the $60,000 exclusive Rake Race is back for May. The leaderboard will be split into $15,000 weekly races running from May 1st-8th, May 8th-15th, May 15th-22nd and May 22nd-30th.

If you have any questions about any of these promotions, please don't hesitate to post them in our forum.

Tags: cake poker, party poker, pas promotions, poker heaven

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‎ Poker Industry News , ‎ PAS News

It looks as though another Cake Poker Network site has merged with Colt Poker, a US facing poker room that also makes their home on the Cake Poker Network. On Tuesday night, Only Poker players received an email message that Only Poker "is no longer offering their services." Account information, balances and player rewards were transferred over on April 25th at 08:00 GMT, according to the email. Players have received special instructions based on the status of their account.

Colt Poker has been a magnet lately for other Cake Poker skins unloading their players. Last month we reported that Power Poker had banned U.S. players and moved them to Colt Poker.

Only Poker was most famous for having former NBA "Bad Boy" Dennis Rodman as a representative. Despite aggressive marketing, the online poker site never seemed to be able to find their niche on the Cake Poker network. Onlypoker.com is currently not accessible.

According to the email, former Only Poker players signing up for Colt Poker are eligible for 110% up to $600 sign-up bonus, a 100% up to $500 casino bonus and the Loyalty Levels Rewards Program, all standard promotions available on the Cake Poker Network.

Update 4/27: Unbomber Poker has also been absorbed by Colt Poker. Players who go to UnabomberPoker.com are currently greeted with the same message Only Poker players received two days ago. Thanks to reader "notsocool" for the heads-up.

Tags: cake poker, only poker, site acquisitions

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‎ Poker Industry News