There are no guarantees, but it’s looking like ClubWPT Gold might not be gone long from the state of Nevada.
The sweepstakes-based poker site, available exclusively in the United States, sent an alarming email to its Nevada players last week. A message informed players in the Silver State they’d no longer be able to access ClubWPT Gold starting Sept. 28. Purchases were immediately shut off.
This left not only Nevada online poker players frustrated and wondering what to do next. ClubWPT Gold offers the biggest prize pool guarantees in the U.S., and there are thousands of players on the site who reside in the state. But, as it turns out, it might not be all doom and gloom.
Is ClubWPT Gold Coming Back?
Poker players in Nevada will no longer be able to enter cash games or tournaments as of Monday at midnight. That’s the bad news. The good news is it might not be a permanent ban. ClubWPT Gold sent out a second email to its NV players that was a bit more positive.
“In response to shifts in the regulatory environment, ClubWPT Gold will be pausing sweepstakes gameplay in Nevada. We are optimistic that with product modifications we can resume offering sweepstakes gameplay in the future,” the email read.
ClubWPT Gold is not a traditional poker site, but it is represented by some high-profile ambassadors such as Doug Polk and Phil Ivey. The site uses a sweepstakes model. Players purchase a hand analysis product and receive free chips, as opposed to making a standard online poker deposit.
The chips are used to enter poker games (tournaments and ring games), and all chips won can then be converted to dollars when cashing out. Online poker is legal in Nevada, but the only licensed traditional poker site is WSOP Online, a platform that is highly popular and occasionally hosts online World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet and WSOP Circuit events.
Many states, including Nevada, are beginning to crackdown on the sweepstakes online gambling model, which is essentially a loophole to make the casino games legal, depending on which lawmaker you ask.
It’s unclear what sort of “modifications” are being made to ClubWPT Gold products or a timeline for the poker site’s return to Nevada. But the email was, at the very least, promising for the thousands of poker players who are affected.
For now, however, ClubWPT Gold is about to completely shut off operations in Nevada on Monday. Players in Nevada can still travel to a nearby state such as California to compete on ClubWPT Gold, or they can play on WSOP Online.
ClubWPT Gold Pulls Out of Nevada
