Bad Beat Poker Jackpots Winning Big in Bad Economy
It turns out that in online poker winning really isn't everything. The CEREUS Poker Network, home of leading online poker sites Absolute Poker and UltimateBet, today released payout data on its popular Bad Beat Jackpot offering and the news is good in this struggling economy.
Over $32 million was handed out at the two online poker rooms' Bad Beat Jackpot tables since the game was initially launched in 2007. The $32 million figure was reached on January 31 when an Absolute Poker player named HIPLO pocketed $132,888.80 after losing a hand of Texas Hold'em holding four nines. The data reported today does not include money won at the tables through regular Texas Hold'em play.
The news comes on the heels of several highly publicized reports on the Gambling911.com website revolving around professional poker players getting beaten up bad by the economy. One poker player, for instance, Tom "Durr" Dwan, is rumored to have lost a few million dollars in recent weeks.
"People are losing their jobs, their homes, their money," expressed Payton O'Brien, Senior Editor of the Gambling911.com website. "It's great to know you can lose something and actually be up $32 million."
The online poker sector and sports gambling industry have called for legalization, insisting that regulated and taxed online gambling in the U.S. will provide some answer to the current economic crisis.
Barney Frank, who chairs the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, this week outlined his agenda to help the economy get out of recession. It includes a provision to make online gambling legal.
"I think if we do this right we should make online gaming legal and subject it to a reasonable taxation like anything else," Congressman Frank told Gambling911.com. "This does not conflict to our effort to stimulate the economy. This isn't bad for the economy."
Both Congressman Frank and The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, a group challenging the Constitutionality of current online gambling legislation, expect to have the issue of regulated online gambling brought to the surface by April, though it will take several months beyond that point to have any repeal enacted. In the case of iMEGA.org, the trade group hopes to prevent policy enforcement from taking effect later this year which would require banking institutions to stop allowing credit card transactions to online gambling establishments.
The "Bad Beat Poker Jackpot" concept was introduced by Absolute Poker as a means of helping its customers recoup losses derived from gambling on their website. UltimateBet.com introduced its own Bad Beat Jackpot a few months later.
"Call it the ultimate ‘bailout' for the every day citizen," O'Brien quipped.
And she's right. Check out the Bad Beat Jackpot data released by CEREUS today:
- $32,665,751.03- The total value of Bad Beat Jackpot payouts at both Absolute Poker and UltimateBet
$1,605,573.30 - The total Bad Beat Jackpot winnings handed out so far in 2009 - $ 16,435,623.88 - The amount of money handed out to the recipients of bad beats
- $ 8,272,211.92 - The amount of money won by hand winners of qualifying bad beats
- $ 7,957,915.23 - The amount of Bad Beat Jackpot money shared by players seated at the table where the bad beats occurred or at tables with the same stakes
$325,212.40 - The single highest Bad Beat Jackpot payout to a single player on the CEREUS poker network - 15,002 - The total number of players paid at both online poker sites to date
How it Works:
Bad Beat Jackpot is just like regular Texas Hold'em but with a slight twist. When seated at a Bad Beat Jackpot table, if a player loses a Texas Hold'em hand holding four 8s or anything better, they'll win a large piece of the Bad Beat Jackpot.
To help the jackpot build, $0.50 is collected from qualifying hands at Bad Beat Jackpot tables. The jackpot keeps growing until someone hits a qualifying bad beat, at which time a large percentage of it is distributed amongst the bad beat victim and the participants in the online poker hand. The next player to lose a hand holding four 8s or anything better will win a large piece of the new jackpot. The participants in the bad beat hand also share in the jackpot.
Absolute Poker and UltimateBet both reside on the CEREUS Poker Network. CEREUS, which launched to rave reviews on November 25th after more than 12 months of development, delivers a secure, responsive and flexible online poker gaming experience to members of the AP and UB communities. The new poker platform is backed by leading technology and a 24/7 Security Center to deliver a watertight gaming experience for everyone at the tables.
Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
