WSOP.com Marketing Push at Rio

The 44th World Series of Poker is almost halfway done at the Rio in Las Vegas.  One of the most noticeable changes from last year is the marketing for WSOP.com, the soon to be real money online poker room offered by the World Series of Poker.

Players arriving from the casino will notice a number of marketing cubes stacked three high along the walkway to the convention center.  There are also arrows applied to the floor directing players where to sign up for the World Series of Poker.  A signup desk awaits players directly across from the Total Rewards podium in the convention center.  Any player that wishes to buyin for an event must also walk by the podium.  An additional signup area is awaiting players in the Lambada Room.

The walls in all rooms announce the launch of WSOP.com’s online poker room.  There are also banners at the final table and featured tables, many of which will be televised by ESPN.  This will give an even higher awareness of what figures to be the next real money online poker room in Nevada.

Registration Perks

Players that sign up for WSOP.com at the Rio or online will qualify for a $500k tournament series in October.  The series starts with a $100k freeroll.  There are eight other money added events where the winner of each tournament will play in Las Vegas.  The first stage of the tournament will be played online.  The top three players will cash, with the final two playing each other heads up in the Penn and Teller Theater the day before the Main Event.

Total Rewards Marketing

The strong World Series of Poker brand is not the only marketing avenue Caesars Entertainment holds.  Harrah’s Entertainment, the previous name of the WSOP’s parent company, required players to register for a Total Rewards Card to play in a World Series of Poker event starting in 2006.  This was no accident.  Caesars Entertainment now has a substantial marketing list of past and present WSOP players.  This is in addition to what is likely to be the largest database of casino gamblers in the world.

Potential WSOP Dominance

Caesars Entertainment has a number of positives that will help it in its quest to be the largest US facing online poker room.  In addition to its large Las Vegas presence, Caesars Entertainment hold licenses in virtually every state with legalized casinos.  This gives it a distinct advantage over Ultimate Poker, where Station Casinos would need to acquire a property in another state or license its software to an operator.  Regional operators and software providers may be forced to join forces in their fight against WSOP being the largest online poker room in the US.