November shuttering planned following change of ownership
In a surprise announcement this week Ongame-powered AcePlay Poker, a free-play online casino and poker room offered by the Stratosphere in Las Vegas, announced that it is to close in November without moving up to real-money status.
In a blog post breaking the news, management advised:
“It is with a heavy heart we are announcing that acePLAY Casino will be shutting down Wednesday November 22nd. Our parent company was recently acquired, but unfortunately we will not be coming along for the ride. We have sincerely appreciated our loyal players over the past 2 years and you will be greatly missed. We thank you for your support.”
Coming on the heels of news that New Jersey is to join Delaware and Nevada in sharing poker player pools (see previous InfoPowa reports) the decision to close seemed premature, bearing in mind that the enterprise already has a licence, held by its parent company American Casino & Entertainment Properties (the owner of the Stratosphere).
The reason soon became clear; the decision is a consequence of American Casino & Entertainment Properties’ recent acquisition by Golden Entertainment in a $850 million deal.
Founded as an initially free-to-play site in 2013, acePLAYpoker.com was designed to build online business ahead of a switch to real-money action once Nevada legalised online poker. When legalisation took place, American Casino & Entertainment Properties intriguingly did not take advantage of its licence and pursue a real-money business model.
