GGPoker Launches New Sweepstakes Poker Site for Americans; Three Players Earn WSOP Entries
The US traditional online poker market remains limited to a few states at the moment. However, sweepstakes-style online poker remains an option for many American players.
GGPoker has now gotten in the act and recently announced the launch of ClubGG. The platform is a different arm of the real-money poker side of the company. However, players can make use of the site’s well-regarded software experience.
ClubGG hopes to bring something new to the subscription/sweepstakes poker model. A company representative recently spoke with USPoker about the recent launch.
What is ClubGG online poker?
Subscription-based poker is nothing new to the American market. The World Poker Tour has operated its own brand for years. Global Poker has also become a popular social gaming option with more than a million players.
Many of these types of sites offer players a chance to pay a monthly subscription fee or buy virtual coins. This then offers a chance to play for real prizes.
Sites like Zynga Poker also offer players the chance to play for virtual money as well. ClubGG hopes to offer something new and players can expect:
- subscriptions starting at $49.99 per month
- $100,000 worth of live event prizes every month
- Free access to the GGClass training platform
- 20% discount at the GGStore
- Availability on desktop or mobile poker app
Beyond the chance to win cash and prizes, ClubGG hopes to focus plenty of action on winning live tournament entries. GGPoker’s partnership with the World Series of Poker is a big part of that. The site also focuses on allowing players to compete with friends.
“Just a few days ago, we awarded our first of many seats to the WSOP Main Event,” a ClubGG team member said. “Three lucky players turned $49.99 into a $10,000 WSOP seat in a week.
“ClubGG offers a unique model of combining the popular home game/club games with subscription-based sweepstakes poker. It’s the poker platform that caters to the world, virtually anybody can create their own club and play with friends for free.”
📣 Congratulations to our first 3 winners to the WSOP Main Event @MrEstrada303 @realCJamBlues 'M0 LIFE' 👏👏👏
$49.99 ▶️ $10,000 WSOP Ticket. EZ GAME? GGWP. #ClubGG #WSOP #SeeYouInVegas 🥳 pic.twitter.com/aZKiEqINMu— ClubGG (@ClubGG_Poker) August 12, 2021
Latest poker option from growing brand
GGPoker has made plenty of news in recent months internationally. The site has overtaken PokerStars for cash game players and is also currently running the WSOP Online for players outside the US.
In February, GG received approval as a manufacturer in Pennsylvania. That means a potential partnership with a casino to provide software is possible in that state at some point.
GG has certainly made overtures of venturing into the US market. In the meantime, ClubGG offers the company a chance to build a player base and market the brand. However, the company notes that the sweepstakes site is a “different beast” and focuses more on live event qualifiers.
“We want to bring fun back to poker, lowering the barrier of entry for casual players who want to play with friends or their social groups and qualify for live tournaments,” the company says. “ClubGG is our take on the modern, paradigm-changing version of the old .NET play-money model.
“We aren’t just taking a small step toward shifting the online-live scene, we are stomping it and plan to become the new norm for ways players qualify for live events. Forget going to play live satellites that usually cost 10% of the buy-in. Forget playing a gazillion super satellites to get there. We shall provide it, at a fraction of the cost, and comfort within your grasp on a software that cannot be matched.”
Test drive to WSOP ticket
Francisco Estrada, 27, was one of those first three players to cash in on a WSOP entry on the site. An Amazon delivery driver in Denver, Colorado, he began playing poker at age 18. He was one of the first to give ClubGG a shot.
“The experience was phenomenal , the graphics were on point , and it felt like straight-up real poker just on my phone, which was very very convenient,” he says.
Giving the site a chance paid off in a big way. Estrada will now be among the WSOP Main Event field this fall.
“It felt absolutely amazing and still feels so surreal,” he says. “It all feels like a dream. But then I snap into reality and realize this is my reality. I’m super content with the way I played all through each stage one day at a time.
“I’m so excited for the opportunity ClubGG has given me and I’m ready to give it a deep, deep run. I’m just awaiting my moment to put all of my hard work to good use.”
Scoring a WSOP Main Event seat in first-ever poker tournament
Cameron Fegers grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and now lives in Washington, DC. The Columbia University graduate also earned a Main Event entry on ClubGG.
Amazingly, Fegers earned a WSOP Main Event entry in his first-ever poker tournament.
“I saw the ad for the platinum membership during the install process and figured I’d try my hand at their Main Event giveaway,” he says. “I’d never played in a real tournament before so of course there was a lot of skepticism whether I’d even progress to the final stage at all.”
Fegers enjoyed the ClubGG atmosphere and found the software intuitive and efficient. He’s now hoping to parlay his success on the site even more.
“On the day of the final stage tournament, I had tactics in place for handling different situations that would come up at the tables and just played my game,” he says. “I avoided getting out of line, stayed patient, and had to make some tight folds.
“In the end, it was all worth it. This is an unbelievable opportunity and one I won’t take lightly. Not many people can say they’ve had the chance to compete in the WSOP Main Event. I’m hoping to do more than compete.”