Nevada’s online poker scheme reached its highest monthly revenue total in June with $1,037,000, passing the million-dollar mark for the first time.
Totals from May came in at about $862,000, making for a $175,000 month-over-month increase in collective revenue from the three sites of Ultimate Poker, Real Gaming and WSOP.com. The latter site was responsible for the lion’s share within the market, as players flocked to the online poker room while not playing poker at live tournament tables last month.
That live action was the 45th annual World Series of Poker at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas that attracted thousands of amateur and pro players. The festival was in full swing during the entire month of June, kicking off in late May and extending into the first two weeks of July.
It is likely that July revenue totals will not reach that of record-setting June, since players began returning to their homes throughout the world following elimination from the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event. The nine finalists for poker’s most prestigious tournament have been determined and will compete for a first place prize of $10 million in November.
While Las Vegas will be buzzing with excitement in four months when the final table is played out, all of Nevada is equally excited about the upcoming interstate online poker launch with Delaware. The two states brokered a partnership in February that will combine player pools and enhance liquidity.
Although the launch date of the historic interstate compact remains unknown, it is hoped that the pair of states will be ready prior to the Main Event final table play set for mid-November. While the initial launch will be the first step of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, future steps hope to include additional states that eventually join the party.
Both Nevada and Delaware are rather light in terms of population and both would love to welcome larger states into the fold. An invitation has been extended to other states by Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, but so far only New Jersey can legally join as no other state has launched an online poker regime as of yet.
Online poker revenue totals released by state gaming officials for June in Nevada were a breath of fresh air for the regulated U.S. industry. Collectively, the trio of states have tended to show somewhat disappointing ipoker revenue numbers in the past. However, all three are still establishing themselves in the newly-legalized market, so improvement is expected as more states eventually enact legislation of their own.
