Caesars Entertainment has agreed to sell the World Series of Poker to NSUS Group, the parent company of GGPoker.com. [Image: PokerGO.com]

New owner, same digs

Just a couple weeks after another record-breaking World Series of Poker concluded, Caesars Entertainment, Inc. has announced that it has sold the WSOP brand to NSUS Group Inc., the parent company of online poker giant GGPoker.

The total value of the deal sits at $500m, comprised of $250m cash and $250m in a five-year promissory note.

Caesars will continue hosting the World Series of Poker at its Las Vegas casinos for 20 years

It appears that not much will change in terms of the WSOP’s operation. As part of the agreement, Caesars will continue hosting the World Series of Poker at its Las Vegas casinos for 20 years. Caesars-branded poker rooms will stay as they are, and Caesars casinos will have the right to host WSOP Circuit events.

WSOP Online will stay the course

The sale also means that any possible expansion of Caesars’ online poker business, WSOP Online, will be on hold. NSUS will give Caesars a license to continue to operate WSOP Online in Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, but that’s it for the “foreseeable future.” Caesars will not be allowed to launch more online poker rooms “for a specified period of time.”

That also implies that Caesars could open online poker rooms at some point in the future, after that “specified period” expires. The question would be whether or not NSUS would permit Caesars to use the WSOP brand or if Caesars would have to rename its online poker business (also whether Caesars actually wants any more internet poker rooms).

WSOP Online and GGPoker do not currently butt heads, as WSOP Online real money poker is only in the United States and GGPoker only operates outside of the US.

Two-decade history with Caesars

The last time the World Series of Poker was sold was in 2004, when Harrah’s Entertainment (now Caesars), purchased Binion’s Horseshoe, keeping the rights to both the Horseshoe and WSOP brands.

NSUS Chief Executive Officer Michael Kim said in Thursday’s press release that his company “intends to expand WSOP worldwide.” WSOP Europe is currently held annually at King’s Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic and WSOP Paradise is set for its second rendition this December in the Bahamas. The defunct WSOP Asia Pacific was held in 2013 and 2014.

That ushered in a new era for the WSOP, as Harrah’s sold Binion’s Horseshoe to MTR Gaming Group and then moved the Series to the Rio Hotel and Casino in 2005. That year, the final two days of the WSOP Event were still held at Binion’s in downtown Las Vegas, but after that, it was at the Rio full time.

Caesars sold the Rio in 2019 and in 2022 moved the World Series of Poker to the Las Vegas Strip for the first time. It has been hosted jointly by Paris Las Vegas and Horseshoe Las Vegas, both Caesars properties.