Weekly Poker Roundup: May 14, 2018

Esports to Debut at WSOP

Ever get knocked out of a tournament on a bad beat (YES) and wish you could just beat the crap out of someone? Well, this year at the World Series of Poker, you will be able to…kind of. The WSOP has partnered with UMG Media Corp. to develop an eSports gaming area in the Rio’s Pavilion Room, the main poker room during the WSOP.

UMG is an eSports company that hosts live video gaming tournaments in cities around North America, as well as organizing daily events online. Players actually pay a buy-in to play – just like in poker – and can win the money in the prize pool depending on the result of the contest.

The UMG Esports Stage will be built in the Pavilion Room and will feature competitions on both the Xbox One and PC in games such as Fortnite, Hearthstone, and FIFA. So, if you get coolered and hit the rail when your Aces lose to Kings, head over the Esports Stage, blow someone away in Fortnite, and steal their stuff. That’ll show ‘em.

Atlantic City’s Ocean Resort Casino to Open June 28th

The Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City confirmed the rumors that it has scheduled its grand opening for June 28^th. Ocean is the former Revel, built to the tune of $2.4 billion with the idea that it would compete with the Borgata as the ultra-luxury gambling resort in New Jersey. It opened in April 2012 and closed in September 2014, a spectacular failure.
The property was bought by Glenn Straub in April 2015 for only $82 million. He renamed it TEN and had plans to open a smaller-scale casino with more entertainment facilities, but never did. He sold it to Bruce Deifik in January 2018.
In the announcement, given to Ocean’s employees, Deifik said,

“Our team has been working diligently since we acquired the property in January and have put a great deal of time and effort into creating a truly unique and memorable destination guest experience. We think people will love what we have created through our partnerships with well-known brands such as Hyatt, Topgolf, Walhburgers and others that offer the best in quality dining, entertainment and hospitality.”

Michigan Rep. Hopeful Online Gambling Bill Will See Vote

Michigan State Representative Brandt Iden believes he will be able to have his online gaming bill brought to a vote by June 21^st, before the legislature takes its summer break. He first introduced the bill in September 2017 and though it quickly made it through committee, it went no further. Fortunately, it stayed on the agenda so Iden was able to try to pick things back up this year.

This go-around, Iden said that some of his fellow lawmakers have raised questions about the topic, so he is determined to make any necessary edits to his bill so that he can satisfy his colleagues and get it to a vote. Speculation also has it that they may be waiting on the PASPA ruling from the Supreme Court; if states are permitted to offer sports betting, the bill might be adjusted to allow for that.

Just three states have active online gambling industries: New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware. Pennsylvania did pass online gambling legislation last year, but online poker and casino gaming has yet to launch.