PartyPoker Working Hard to Enter US Market: Redlines PokerStars, Full Tilt

Forbes.com reported on Tuesday afternoon how PartyPoker co-chief Jim Ryan has been meeting with investors in the US to highlight how his company will benefit from the latest exits of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker from American soil.

His chart, according to Forbes, listed Stars and Tilt with red lines drawn through their names.

“Where you see the red lines, those organizations have been indicted, so although one can’t predict the future, it’s unlikely you will see those brands back in the U.S.,” Ryan said during an interview with Forbes.com. “The brand that has the most consumer awareness is in fact the PartyPoker brand.”

“My focus is on the U.S.,” says Ryan, who is at the final stages of negotiating partnerships with two U.S. companies. “Even though there is no guarantee that online gaming will ever regulate in the U.S.”

Party is no doubt thrilled by the fact that PokerStars was forced to flee the US market following indictments against two of its executives on April 15.  Both were charged with money laundering and fraud.  The company has retained the powerful law firm of Skadden Arps to represent it.

Despite its exit from the United States, PokerStars continues to reign as the largest online poker room in the world, more than five times PartyPoker’s size. 

The powerful American Gaming Association is now behind legalizing online poker in the States and they are looking to bring on established partners like Party and perhaps 888.com and iPoker.

“We have to be ready for both federal or state,” Ryan says. “It feels good to have American taxpaying companies finally driving this.”

- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher