Caesars Entertainments Sells World Series of Poker Brand
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Caesars Entertainment is parting ways with its historic World Series of Poker brand.
The company recently agreed to sell the World Series of Poker intellectual property rights to NSUS Group Inc., a leading investment group in the iGaming space, for a total of $500 million.
As part of the deal, Caesars Entertainment has secured the rights from NSUS to continue hosting the World Series of Poker’s (WSOP) flagship live tournament series at its Las Vegas casinos for the nest 20 years.
Caesars Remains Involved with WSOP
The sale will consist of $250 million in cash and a $250 million promissory note due five years after the transaction’s closing date. NSUS has launched several iGaming ventures, including the online poker room, GGPoker.
In addition to hosting the WSOP for the next two decades, brick-and-mortar poker rooms currently operated by Caesars will continue to feature WSOP branding, and Caesars destinations will continue to have preferential rights to host live WSOP Circuit events moving forward, according to a press release.
“We’ve enjoyed a longstanding and successful partnership with GGPoker that has helped spur the growth of the WSOP brand,” said Eric Hession, President of Caesars Digital. “This transaction is an exciting step for Caesars as a company and the WSOP brand as it continues to evolve. We can’t wait to see what NSUS has in store for growing the WSOP’s legacy in poker, and we look forward to continuing to deliver an unmatched and familiar experience to poker players going forward.”
Caesars to Receive License
AS part of the deal, Caesars Digital will also receive a license from NSUS to continue operating its recently upgraded WSOP Online real-money poker business in Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania for the foreseeable future. It will otherwise be restricted from operating online peer-to-peer real-money poker operations for a specified period of time.
The sale of the WSOP brand to NSUS is expected to close prior to the end of 2024, subject to customer regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
“After collaborating with Caesars Entertainment for years, NSUS Group, the operators of GGPoker, is thrilled to announce their new role in leading the World Series of Poker, the world’s most renowned poker brand,” said Michael Kim, Chief Executive Officer of NSUS Group Inc. “We will leverage GGPoker’s cutting-edge technology and industry expertise to create an exciting future for WSOP, ensuring players have an increasingly improved, safe, and seamless poker experience. Under the new leadership, NSUS intends to expand WSOP worldwide, positioning it at the forefront of poker’s growth.”
Robert Linnehan
Covering regulatory developments in online gambling. Editing/writing/creating a newsletter for readers across all formats.
