In December, Carlos Poker and the iPoker Network parted ways. The move was effective in January and, this week, Carlos Poker announced that it was headed to the popular Microgaming Network. The online poker room is run by Unibet, which also operates a Microgaming Network site.
At the time of writing, Carlos Poker states that it is still a part of the iPoker Network, which does not offer rakeback to its players. Nils Andén, Head of Poker for Unibet and Carlos Poker, stated in a press release distributed this week, “Since most of our players already have had great experiences with Microgaming, we expect the transition to be smooth. As a company, we also have great respect for Microgaming and we admire their innovation, professionalism, and forward thinking.” The executive added, “We are confident that our players will greatly enjoy the fast-paced game play, great tournament offering, and exciting developments of the network during 2009.”
Carlos Poker has been open for business since 2003 and is owned by Global Entertainment Antigua Limited. In addition to poker, the site also offers an online casino for its members, who will officially become a part of the Microgaming Network by the end of the month. Carlos Poker will join Canbet, Doyle’s Room, Eurolinx, Gnuf, and Poker Host, among others, as Microgaming sites. Currently, the group of online poker rooms does not allow real-money customers from the United States. Following the legal action in Kentucky, it originally blocked consumers from the state. However, it later elected to exit the market entirely. Trying to access Microgaming.com from the United States returns the result, “Site not available.”
Sites on the iPoker Network include CD Poker, Mansion Poker, Noble Poker, Poker Ocean, and Titan Poker. Its flagship tournament series, the European Championship of Online Poker (ECOOP), recently held its third installment. Over $4 million was up for grabs and the high dollar event attracted such brand name players as Tony G, who hit the felts in a $1,060 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max tournament with a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool. In November, just before the ECOOP began, Sun poker became part of the iPoker family of rooms, departing from CryptoLogic. iPoker is owned and operated by Playtech, a major software developer.
Petter Nylander, CEO of Unibet, stated, “We are confident that Carlos Poker will continue to be a vital brand in the poker community, offering that little bit of extra service to the players, always going that extra mile in offering the ultimate player experience.” The Microgaming room currently has 14,000 players online. According to PokerScout.com, a website that tracks traffic across the major online poker rooms, the Microgaming Network ranks as the 12th largest in terms of the number of cash game players. It boasts a seven day running average of 1,100 ring game players and a 24 hour peak of 1,992.
PokerStars ranks as the busiest online poker room by traffic. On December 28th, the site held the Largest Online Poker Tournament ever, attracting 35,000 players. In addition, it set the record for the most number of people to play online simultaneously at 250,500. Over the past seven days, PokerStars had 23,600 cash game players at its felts, on average. Behind it was Full Tilt, with 9,900. At the time of writing on a Saturday afternoon in the United States, over 200,000 players are currently placating PokerStars.
The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), which set the mark for the largest live tournament held outside of the United States at 1,346 players, is down to its final six combatants. Along with their chip stacks, they are:
Poorya Nazari – 6,985,000
Alexandre Gomes – 6,540,000
Benny Spindler – 4,105,000
Anthony Gregg – 3,750,000
Dustin Dirksen – 3,280,000
Pieter Tielen – 2,130,000
We’ll keep you posted on the latest moves of online poker rooms right here on Poker News Daily.
