PokerTek, the company responsible for the move towards the automation of live poker rooms around the world, announced last Friday that effective the start of trading on the NASDAQ exchange yesterday, the company’s stock would now be listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market instead of the NASDAQ Global Market.

In late November, PokerTek was informed by NASDAQ that it was not in compliance with the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement of $10 million as set forth in Marketplace Rule 4450(a)(3) to continue its listing on the Global Market exchange. According to documents filed by PokerTek on September 30th, the stockholder equity was worth only $9.4 million. Thus, PokerTek took action on November 24th to move the company’s listing to the Capital Market in order to reach accordance with NASDAQ regulations and received approval last Friday.

Mark Roberson, PokerTek’s Chief Financial Officer, commented in a press release, “For our shareholders, the transition to The NASDAQ Capital Market should be seamless and will not affect trading of our shares. This transfer will ease the financial compliance burden for our company and will reduce our annual listing fees and expenses going forward.”

PokerTek will continue to use the same stock identifier (PTEK) and both the Global Market exchange and the Capital Market exchange operate in virtually the same manner. Each is actively traded during weekdays. The Capital Market exists for companies that are smaller – called “small caps” – and must maintain a minimum stock price of $1, among other caveats. PokerTek felt that it has met all of the requirements for inclusion in the NASDAQ Capital Market and closed the day on Monday with the stock trading at $1.55 per share.

PokerTek is responsible for the movement towards the automation of poker rooms worldwide. Founded in 2003 by Lou White, James Crawford, and Lee Lomax with the financial backing of WPT co-founder Lyle Berman, PokerTek set out to develop an automated table that would not require a dealer and, in essence, was a merge of the computerized online world and the live poker world. The table would handle the dealing of the cards, determine winners, and award pots while players still had the sensation of having a live opponent across the table from them.

May of 2005 was a watershed point for the company, as its installed its first ever table – called the “PokerPro” – at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, and the demand for the tables has increased since then. Named the “Most Innovative Technology Product of the Year” at the 2006 Gaming Technology Summit, PokerTek tables have been installed around the world, including Macau, Australia and Canada, and are on all of the ships in the Carnival Cruise fleet that contain casinos. Casinos in the United States aren’t overlooking the PokerTek tables either, as both the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and the Excalibur in Las Vegas have installed them, with the entirety of the Excalibur’s twelve table poker room featuring the PokerPro tables.

PokerTek also features tables for restaurants and bars. Called the “Heads-Up Challenge” table, it enables two players to play against each other for entertainment purposes. It has been endorsed by the World Series of Poker and more than 250 tables have been installed worldwide and sold countless others for home use.

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