Hollywood Poker, one of the long-time members of the Ongame Network, closed its doors and boarded up the windows Monday, surprising visitors to its site.
The shutdown came without any warning whatsoever. Fortunately, Hollywood Poker customers will not be left in the lurch, as their accounts will be transferred to RedKings.com. The following message now appears on the Hollywood Poker website:
“HollywoodPoker has stopped offering online poker. So that you can continue playing on the Ongame Network we have arranged to transfer your account with your entire account Balance to RedKings.com, a leading Ongame Network gaming site offering superb casino and poker games in a secure environment. Please be informed that your HollywoodPoker account, along with your entire account balance, has been transferred over to RedKings.com. Your nickname and password will remain the same. Simply log into Redkings.com with your HollywoodPoker username and password.”
Hollywood Poker refugees will also receive a $500 welcome bonus from RedKings.com, paid in $25 increments.
As mentioned, the shutdown came with no prior warning. For customers, there was no real reason to think anything was the matter. In fact, the Hollywood Poker Twitter account was active as recently as June 24th.
Hollywood Poker, founded in 2004, was once a popular online poker room, one of the best known rooms on the Ongame Network. With actor James Woods and World Poker Tour announcer Vince Van Patten as its spokesmen, the poker room prided itself on its customer-friendly promotions, including frequent opportunities to play in bounty tournaments with celebrities.
Other than some annoyance over the suddenness of the closure, there has not been much fretting in the poker community about Hollywood Poker. As poster “TWSteel21” on Two Plus Two put it, “To be honest at least they moved peoples balances to another site rather than steal peoples money.”
RedKings.com, the site which will now become home to Hollywood Poker customers, is also on the Ongame Network. According to PokerScout.com, Ongame is the fifth largest online poker network/room in the world, with a seven day average of 1,660 cash game players. That puts it 100 players ahead of PokerStars’ Italian offering, PokerStars.it, and 240 behind 888Poker.com.
Hollywood Poker has yet to offer an explanation for the closing. While it is certainly possible that the poker room was having financial troubles and shut down like any other business might, there did not appear to be any problems that affected players. Cash out reports have generally been positive, even within the past week or so.
The now-defunct poker room’s sister casino, Club Hollywood, will also be shutting down, but apparently only for three months. Upon loading the site, visitors are greeted with a message which says Club Hollywood is getting a “facelift.” It appears that the renovations will last until September 30th.
