Archive for the ‘Bodog’ Category
Week In Review
August 14th, 2011 by Kyle Silverberg
Merge Coming Back
Some of the biggest news this week was overshadowed by the fact that the Merge gaming Network has announced its imminent return to the US market. Earlier in the summer the network announced that it would be pulling out of the United States market because of traffic volumes that caused delays in payment and because it would be in their best interest after all of the happenings surrounding Black Friday. With them they took some poker sites that were becoming quite popular in the dwindling US market, including Lock and Carbon poker.
But now, with most of the payout problems fixed and the Merge Network still facing no issues with the US government, it is a good time for them to burst back onto the scene. This means that players once again have somewhere to turn. Poker in the US may be on one of its last legs, but this turn of events should show everyone that it is most definitely not dead.
Because a license agreement with Morris Mohawk gaming is set to expire, Bodog will take their services elsewhere. While this decision makes a lot of people angry, at the same time we have to understand that they are doing this in order to preserve themselves and not in spite of the US poker players who have supported them for a while now.
Moving out of the US not only opens them up to new opportunities, but it also keeps them out of our government’s line of fire. Because at this point no one really knows when the next government crack-down is going to occur. The company is moving to the UK where gambling, especially of the internet variety, is much more commonly accepted. We thank Bodog for their service and wish them the best in the UK, we will be patiently awaiting their return.
Moving Forward
In the next coming days and weeks we will keep all of our readers informed as to what exactly is going on with Merge. Their return date is not set in stone as of yet, but further details are expected to be released this week.
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Bodog to Leave the US
August 1st, 2011 by Kyle Silverberg
Agreement Expiring
In a breaking news sort of deal, Bodog is set to leave the US market at the end of the year. The license agreement that Bodog has with Morris Mohawk Gaming is going to expire at the end of the year, which essentially means that they will be leaving the US.
Bodog offered a public statement on the issue, saying:
“Following recent news that Bodog UK has been granted a gambling license by the UK Gambling Commission, we are pleased to announce further developments to the Bodog brand going forward.
As highlighted last week, Bodog UK’s CEO, Patrik Selin believes the trust and credibility that having a UK license brings to the brand will benefit customers and allow him to attract the best talent in the industry to work with him.
However, in order to ensure the brand’s expansion is not affected by negative perceptions, both in the UK and elsewhere in emerging markets such as Asia, where Bodog88 is already successful, a decision has been made to withdraw the Bodog brand from the US market at the end of 2011. As a result, the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group’s (MMGG) brand licensing agreement will be allowed to expire on December 31, following which US residents will no longer be able to access bodog.eu or any other Bodog branded website. We understand that MMGG will launch under its own brand in 2012, licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. All Bodog.eu clients’ funds will remain safe and they will have the option to switch to a new MMGG brand should they wish but MMGG confirms it’s business as usual. If you are looking for a new place to play, check out this site about the best online casinos.
This decision presents a fresh direction for the Bodogbrand.com as it looks to create a new chapter in its history. The move will enable the Bodog brand to continue its growth and expansion and maintain its position as the world’s largest gaming brand.”
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Bodog Moves From .com to .eu
June 1st, 2011 by Kyle Silverberg
No Need to Fear
Recently, Bodog announced that it would be making the move from being known as Bodog.com to Bodog.eu. Of course as soon as anyone close to the online poker community hears this their first thoughts are that Bodog is the next site to vacate the US market. But this is not the case as Bodog reassured their American players that they will continue to play normally. The move to a .eu address was, according to them, a way to help them expand into new markets. With all the turmoil recently it is not too rash to think that they are making this move as a preventative type of thing.
Bodog is one of the most respected names left standing in the US market after the collapse of poker on “Black Friday.” If they were to leave the market, online poker would suffer even more than it already has.
Poker Today
Currently, sites like Carbon Poker, Lock Poker, and Bodog are the three main names when it comes to playing online poker in the US. Before April 15th, those three names were PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker. Barely a month and a half later and the entire shape of online poker in the US has changed. Sites like Bodog and Carbon Poker, who used to be secondary sites, are now on the forefront of online poker in the US. Thanks to sites like them US players still have somewhere to go.
The sites are thankful too because they are seeing US player traffic like they never could have even imagined. It is literally an overnight success story for some of these smaller sites. You can see how well they are doing by the actions they are taking. For instance, Lock Poker has been signing pros out the wazoo in hopes that their pro team can make a lasting impact in the poker community, especially with the 2011 WSOP having just started yesterday.
Like always, bad news for some is good news for others, and for sites like Bodog, they have been hearing a lot of good news lately.
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Online Poker Down 22% After “Black Friday”
May 5th, 2011 by Kyle Silverberg
Overview
In the immediate few days after “Black Friday” the effects were clearly visible. Because Absolute Poker, Ultimate Bet, and PokerStars all had high ranking officials indicted by the US Department of Justice, they were no longer able to offer online gaming services to those players from America. Because of that simple fact, the traffic on the aforementioned sites has declined steadily.
PokerScout.com analyzed the numbers. The drop in cash game players has been a whopping 22%. This number was taken when PokerScout viewed traffic on April 9th and 10th, the weekend before “Black Friday”, and compared it to the ensuing weekend and the results were astonishing. Additionally, US poker sites that still accept American players have not brought in enough online traffic to bring that 22% back to par. The same goes for poker sites that do not accept American players. The hurt from these indictments is being felt more than just in the United States.
Still holding the title as biggest online poker website, PokerStars is still feeling the hurt. Their online cash game numbers have dropped 28% which translates to significant setbacks. In more recent days PokerStars has seen that decline change course, but the percentage of players online on PokerStars currently is nothing compared to what it was before “Black Friday.”
Full Tilt Poker’s website was hit harder than most and most definitely harder than anyone could have imagined. In the immediate wake of “Black Friday” the site saw drop offs in cash play of almost 50%, 49% to be exact. But they too have slightly rebounded more recently and things are not looking quite so bleek anymore. The last recorded percentage shows that Full Tilt is still down about 35%.
CEREUS Network
The hardest hit of all was the CEREUS Network. Their sister sites Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet saw some steady declines, but overall as a network the decline was catastrophic. And on top of it all, they are one of the few sites that did not see any kind of improvement two weeks after “Black Friday.” In fact, PokerScout reports that by two weeks after “Black Friday”, when most sites saw improvements, the CEREUS Network saw a 65% decline in cash games.
And you would think that all of these sites going down would be great for American sites like Bodog, but it is not as great as you think. The numbers are not evening off and online poker, worldwide but specifically in the US, is taking huge hits…Something has to give.
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Coping With “Black Friday” Fall-Out
May 1st, 2011 by Kyle Silverberg
How to Cope
In the wake of something like the bomb the Department of Justice dropped on every online poker player in the US, it may be quite difficult to know exactly what to do. The most common thing that a lot of people have been doing is complaining and speculating. But this just wastes time. Speaking your mind and voicing your frustration is all fine and good, but there comes a point when you have to do something.
Instead of looking for rumors and hear-say on online poker forums you should listen to credible news sources. Instead of making rash decisions on what to do it would be a lot wiser to consider all of your possible actions. For some, these new sanctions by the government come as nothing more than a minor inconvenience but for others it completely changes their day to day lifestyle.
Possibilities
For people who relied on online poker to make a living, it is natural that they are going to be going through a whirlwind of emotions. Anger is probably what comes first but the fact of the matter is that the average person like you or me has very little say in the whole situation. This pretty much means that getting angry will get you no where.
It seem a little counteractive but sitting back and letting the situation develop may be one of your best options. This is because it will give you a chance to completely understand the whole situation. There are more poker sites offering their services to US players, and for many that comes as a relief. Even if you have problems with the sites that are still running, like Bodog, PlayersOnly, Lock Poker, and others, it may be time to suck it up. These sites are your only option.
For some, “Black Friday” came as a relief. Some people look at it as a sign to give up poker and pursue other alternatives. Some are finding jobs, becoming entrepreneurs, and some are simply retiring from the game all together.
Another option that some folks have taken up is making the jump from playing only online to playing only live poker. Some think that all hope is lost but there are plenty of options if you think enough. Playing live may not be an option for some people who are not located in any reasonable distance to a casino, but for those that do live near a casino it could be a great option.
The important thing is to take control of the situation and not let it take control of you.
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Reasons Behind the US Seizing of Poker Sites
April 26th, 2011 by Kyle Silverberg
Long Time Coming
For a long time, the status of online poker has been a confusing and heavily debated subject. State and Federal governments have tried to come to terms with online poker but have not done a good job.
After the government has seized four of the biggest names in online poker, Full Tilt, Ultimate Bet, Absolute Poker, and PokerStars alot of different opinions are beginning to form. In addition to the seizure of the aforementioned sites’ domains the US goverment is also indicting 11 executives that are affiliated with the sites.
Theories
A lot of folks think that the government making this move is actually a preparation for a total move-in of land based casinos. Of course this is just speculation and there is not much evidence to back it up at this point, but this particular hypothesis does not seem too unbelievable.
It is also a known fact that the online poker industry in the US, prior to the seizures, was generating billions of dollars in revenue and none of that money was going to the government. By taking the online poker industry away and making moves to have regulated online poker and other online gaming in the US, the government seems to be wanting to get in on all this money. Before the seizure of the sites, all of these companies were based outside of the United States which therefore left no taxation money available for the government.
Latest Events
The most recent events in the aftermath of “Black Friday” are that the US Department of Justice is returning the seized domains. The only catch to that is that the sites (Absolute Poker, Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet, and PokerStars) have to agree to no longer accept players from the United States. And this denial of access for US players raises even more problems, because now players that were on the site before the government stepped in are currently unable to access a lot of their funds that were on their site accounts.
This is all just an extremely unfortunate situation. There are millions of people in the US that relied heavily on these four sites to either make a living or add supplemental income. Now these people are left in the cold and have to search elsewhere to continue to make money. Luckily for these players, there still are sites that offer their services to US players. These sites are Sportsbook, PlayersOnly, Bodog, Party Poker, Lock Poker, and Carbon Poker.
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Bodog Remains In the US; Traffic Up
April 19th, 2011 by Kyle Silverberg
Exciting Promotion
Because of the US shutdown of PokerStars, Full Tilt, UB, and Absolute Poker Bodog is offering a 110% bonus with 10% paid up front to all new and existing US players. A post from TwoPlusTwo displayed a copy of an e-mail that was sent to all existing Bodog members recently. The reason that Bodog was not as popular prior to the government seizure was a number of complaints that users had with the site. Among the complaints were that sometimes cash-out checks from Bodog were known to bounce and just flat-out not work. Their customer service was also a focal point of the complaints offered by users was that the customer service is not the best. The last complaint is that some of the tournament gameplay does not work right.
The hope is that with the continued banning of the big 4 poker sites maybe Bodog will up their game and provide a better environment for new and old players alike. A large part of players who use to play their poker and make their living on sites like Ultimate Bet will be turning to Bodog not only because they have limited other choices but because Bodog is offering an enticing offer for a bonus.
Bodog Flourishing
With UltimateBet, Full Tilt, PokerStars, and Absolute Poker all down in the US they are seeing reductions of cash games that are reaching drop-offs of anywhere from 30-50% of normal. And coming as no surprise, Bodog has seen an increase of 25% in cash games since last Friday. The other smaller poker sites that remain in the market like Carbon Poker have seen similar rises in cash games. Carbon Poker has seen increases of 23% in the past few days. This is a good sign and it is great that at least there are small nice things coming from such a disappointing situation.
This is also a great opportunity for Bodog to revamp their systems and make themselves the premier name in US online poker. They need to listen to common complaints from old users and fix them. Fixing things like customer service and having reliable payments are not ground-breaking changes and can be done with little to no effort. I guess we will have to see how things pan in the next few weeks.
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A Shot At Poker’s Main Event From Bodog
April 17th, 2011 by Kyle Silverberg
How to Qualify
The qualifying events to win A Shot At Poker’s Main Event will run from April 1 through June 20th on Bodog. There are a variety of ways in which you can win your Shot At Poker’s Main Event. You can pay as little as $1.10 and work your way through a number of qualifying rounds in order to make it to the final Main Event Satellite. The $1.10 ticket gets you to what is called a “cheap seat” or is the very first round of qualifying. If you work your way out of the “cheap seats” you move on to the Quarterfinal and then subsequently the Semi-Final round. Advancing through to Semi-Finals will take you to the the Main event Satellite, and the winner receives the $12,000 prize package.
Of course the “cheap seats” is the cheapest and most involved way to reach the Main Event Satellite, there is a medium priced range route and a way where you can buy directly into the Main Event Satellite. The Medium price range route is about $38 and takes you right into the the Semi-Final round. The most expensive, and at the same time, most direct route takes you directly to the Main Even Satellite. The cost of that route is $500. This promotion is unique because it offers players of every variety a Shot At Poker’s Main Event.
Prize Package
The winner of the Main Event Satellite will receive the grand prize package which is valued at over $12,000. The bulk of the prize is the $10,000 buy-in to the World Series of Poker’s Main Event. This is the 42nd annual World Series of Poker and is held at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Players in the World Series are competing for over $180,000,000 in prize money.
In addition to the $10,000 buy-in you will receive $2,000 in money for spending and travelling. And if that was not enough you will also receive a Poker swag bag from Bodog and a personal VIP host for the duration of your stay. To top it all off you will be granted VIP access to a huge Bodog party. This is an extravagant prize package to win a chance not many people have in their lifetime.
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Celebrate the Holidays with Poker at Bodog Poker
December 17th, 2010 by Sarah Stewart
The Holiday Pokerfest is a new promotion at Bodog Poker. From December 18th thru December 31st Bodog Poker will be running this promotion. Here is how you can participate in this new promotion and win some nice prizes. It is really pretty easy. First of all you have to choose to be in the promotion by opting in. Once you have opted in to the program then you have to play some poker online and earn at least 100 Bodog poker points in any of the two day periods in the 14 day program. Doing this you will win the corresponding prize. These are the 2 day periods and the corresponding prizes. December 18th and December 19th is the first period of the promotion.
If you have opted in and you earn 100 Bodog poker points in this period you will win $10.00 in cold hard cash. The next promotional period is December 20th and December 21st and if you earn 100 Bodog poker points in this period you will win $20.00 in Bodog casino chips. The next promotional period is December 22nd and December 23rd and if you earn 100 or more Bodog poker points in this period you will win an entry in to the Bodog Poker $100,000.00 Free Roll qualifier tournament ticket, the top 100 finishers in this qualifier will win an entry in to a guaranteed $100,000.00 Free Roll tournament.
The Holiday Pokerfest Continues to Give Great Prizes
The next promotional period is December 24th and December 25th. If you earn 100 Bodog poker points in this period you will get an entry in to a $20,000.00 free roll tournament.. If you earn at least 100 Bodog poker point during the December 26th and December 27th period you will win a $20.00 free bet at Bodog’s Sports Book.
There is Even More to the Holiday Pokerfest
For the promotional period of December 28th and December 29th, if you earn at least 100 Bodog poker points, you will win an $11.00 Tournament Ticket to the $5,000.00 guaranteed poker tournament on Sunday. And rounding up the Bodog Poker Holiday Pokerfest is the final promotional 2 day period which is December 30th and December 31st and if you earn at least 100 Bodog Poker points in this time period you will win a $11.00 tournament ticket that is good in any $11.00 tournament on Bodog Poker.
Bodog Poker is one of the most successful online gaming companies in the world and they wanted to use this Holiday Pokerfest promotion to be able to say to, as many of their players as possible, how much they appreciate their membership and support. Bodog has been in business since 1994 and they provide a full line of gaming products from Poker to bingo, to casino games and live casino games to a full service sports book. Bodog is based in the Caribbean nation of Antigua. Bodog is also involved in the music business with Bodog Music.
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Bodog Poker’s Holiday Pokerfest
December 14th, 2010 by Joshua Scott
The Bodog Poker Holiday Pokerfest only happens once a year and during this Holiday season you can make the most out of it at Bodog Poker. It starts on December 18th, 2010 and runs through December 31st, 2010.
What is this Holiday promotion that Bodog Poker is having? Well, the Bodog Holiday Pokerfest is a series of 7 two day bonus periods that will give you the opportunity to win real money. During these periods all that you have to do is to accumulate 100 Bodog Points and you will win $20 is chips that you can use at the Bodog Casino and an entry in to Bodog’s $100,000.00 guaranteed prize money tournament.
Football Meets Poker at Bodog Poker
Bodog Poker has taken two of America’s most popular games and combined them in to a fantastic event that will be taking place every week. The Bodog Poker’s Monday night Football Poker Tournaments will run every Monday night for the balance of the American Football season. There will be two tournaments every Monday at 8:00 PM EST with buy ins of $10 + $1.
Each of these tournaments will represent one of the two American Football teams that are playing that particular Monday night. In addition to the great Poker tournament action and prize pool that comes with these tournaments. If the tournament that you elected to play in is the one that represents the team that covered the point spread, then you will also receive a $10 Free Football Bet at the Bodog Sports Book.
To find these Monday night tournaments at Bodog Poker from their lobby go to “Scheduled Tournaments” and then to the “Special” tab so that you can register for the tournament with the team that you believe will cover the spread. Remember to register early because these tournaments have a limited registration of only 500 players.
The Bodog Poker WSOP Price Package and Experience
Bodog Poker is again making it easy to win your 2011 World Series of Poker $12,000.00 prize package. They are providing tournament entry paths for levels of players and will continue to do so until June 13th, 2011. There are basically going to be 3 paths to the prize package. Bodog Poker’s “Cheap Seats” that have a buy in of only $1 and can get you in to the Main Event Quarter Finals. The path for the Mid Range players is that they can by straight in to the Main Event Semi Finals for $50 + $5. The winners of the Main Event Semi Final matches win a seat in the Main Event Satellites. And for the less financially challenged there is the direct Main Event Satellite entry path with a buy in of $470 + $30. The truly special part of winning your WSOP Prize Package at Bodog Poker is that you will get a special handler from Bodog Poker to help make your Las Vegas experience go smoothly and you will get to spend time with some of the Bodog Poker professionals at Las Vegas Events and hospitality areas. And don’t forget that the Bodog Girls will be on hand in Las Vegas as well.
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