The world of online poker is rather mundane. There are few innovations that have captured the attention of the players. The different versions of Rush Poker, where players are moved to a new table as soon as they muck their hands, was the most recent innovation that seems to have caught on (still too soon to see with “PowerUp” from PokerStars). But could the next big thing in online poker be a result of going “back to the future” in a sense?
When it was an active room, PKR was innovative in that it gave players the option of playing in a three-dimensional setting. The 3D tables were quite popular with the players as it gave the perception of actually “sitting” at a table and playing the game. When PKR shut down earlier this year, however, it was thought that not only the money that players had on the site was gone but also the innovative software.
A few months later, the situation for players brightened. PokerStars, as it did when the original Full Tilt Poker crashed five years ago, paid off PKR players’ balances in full, but it stopped short of buying up the other property – in essence, the software – of PKR itself. That wasn’t changed until recently when a suitor looking to pick up the software came along.
One of the top online casino operations in the industry, Videoslots.com, was in the market for an online poker software to add to its catalog of more than 2000 games that they offered. With that in mind, Videoslots scooped up the PKR software this month. Videoslots Chief Executive Officer Alexander Stevendahl noted during the announcement of the purchase, “PKR’s unique 3D poker client provides us with the platform to introduce a proven poker product to our customers.”
It is safe to say that PKR will be rebranded (Videoslots is looking at early 2018 to bring the software back online) but, if the statements of Stevendahl are to be taken at face value, it could mean that better times are on the horizon for the 3D software. Videoslots is quite in tune with what players need in their online experience from their previous time in the industry and stepping into online poker wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.
That seems to be one of the things that is plaguing the industry at this moment.
As it is the most powerful (and largest) online poker outlet in the business, PokerStars has arguably been taking back most of the player benefits that were enjoyed. When it was privately owned by its founder, Isai Scheinberg and the Scheinberg Family, PokerStars was the zenith of the industry with their treatment of players at live tournaments stops, through their player programs (the Nova and SuperNova programs) and through their customer service. Over the past few years since the sale of PokerStars to the publicly traded Amaya Gaming (now known as The Stars Group), however, players have noted a change.
First was the severing of the relationship between the affiliates that PokerStars had used. Those affiliates found their revenues significantly cut, with PokerStars cutting rake back to the affiliates to the first two years of a signup’s tenure on the site. In some cases, affiliates were cut outright, bringing a great deal of outrage upon Amaya Gaming. But there were other changes that indicated the move away from the “customer friendly” days of the Scheinbergs.
In 2016, PokerStars would announce the dissolution of the VIP programs – the Nova and SuperNova – that players had come to depend upon. Whether it was rake back (receiving a part of their rake back) or “player points” earned towards specific goals, the players (some of whom were already halfway through earning points to be eligible for the rewards in the upcoming year) suddenly were left playing without those benefits available. Once again, the outrage came from players and it wasn’t done yet.
Since Amaya bought PokerStars, many of the stalwarts who played on the old European Poker Tour noticed a shift away from the many “player perks” that were given to people who participated in the live tournaments. Then there was the “rebranding” of the EPT into the “PokerStars Championships,” further delineating the change from the old “player friendly” ways. Changes continue to come for PokerStars, with the players noting, in their opinion, that it is towards the bottom line for The Stars Group rather than the players.
Perhaps that can change with Videoslots entering the online arena with the PKR 3D software. We’ll have to wait until 2018 to see it in operation again and perhaps the players – along with the Videoslots “player friendly” attitude – will come this time.
