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Casinos> 2007
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Sad End For The Pokerdome
Only a year old and shutdown in progress after major
sponsor pulls out
Remember the excitement and publicity surrounding the advent of
the Pokerdome just last year? The $12 million, hi-tech poker venue
in Las Vegas looked set to revolutionise poker competitions with
interesting high-tech innovations. Design features aimed at increasing
spectator appeal were built in, like LED displays for the dealer
button and players' pulse rates monitored in high-pressure situations
and displayed to the audience from an encapsulated playing area.
This week it appeared to be all over as a three-year lease and
plans to broadcast 43 events a year were abandoned by Mansion Poker.net
and the Fox Sports Network only a year from the opening. The company
which held the Poker Dome lease made a statement announcing the
shutdown following the withdrawal of Mansion and Fox Sports TV network.
The announcement said the company had received word at the end
of its first season that the network no longer wanted to produce
the show, and that the Poker Dome will therefore be shut down on
August 1. The Las Vegas mall that housed the dome, Neonopolis, comfirmed
that Fox Sports had been released from their three year lease commitment.
Given the mainly American audiences and political and legislative
developments in the United States since last October regarding online
gambling, it is not surprising that Mansion has withdrawn, industry
observers commented this week. Mansion was forced to exit the US
market following passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement
Act, which prohibits financial transactions with Internet gambling
companies.
The closure is disappointing as Poker Dome had extraordinary potential
- in one full season that included high-profile events, Rodel Tuazon
won over $1 million in the Poker Dome Challenge and Gavin Smith
collected $500 000 in the World Pro-Am Challenge, events that drew
significant television audiences.
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