Full Tilt Partners with Fertitta Interactive
According to the Wall Street Journal, Full Tilt Poker will be teaming up with Fertitta Interactive to back Federal online poker legislation.
Tom Breitling, co-owner of Fertitta Interactive, told the Journal, "Our arrangement with Full Tilt is confidential, but it is contingent on the passage of Federal legislation regulating internet poker."
Commenting on the name of a site when and if online poker is legalized in the United States, Tiltware's Ray Bitar told the Journal that he "couldn't disclose the terms of the alliance with Fertitta Interactive, but that Full Tilt would continue to operate in the U.S. under the same name."
According to PokerScout, an online poker room traffic tracking site, Full Tilt Poker is the second largest online poker site in the industry and hosts an average of 15,800 real money cash game players per day, behind its competitor, PokerStars.
Fertitta Interactive is a division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) company. Therefore it's certainly possible that there will be a UFC partnership with Full Tilt Poker in the future.
Full Tilt Poker is yet to announce the location for its Las Vegas Onyx Cup events which will be starting in May. Many players have speculated that the Station Casinos partnership could mean the tournament series will be hosted at one of the company's Las Vegas casinos.
Commenting on the similarities between poker and UFC, one 2+2 forum member said, "Think about the kind of progress the UFC has made in licensing and regulation. In the early days, they were banned in 30+ states and now put on shows all over the U.S. (and indeed the world), sanctioned by regional athletics commissions. That sort of experience is extremely relevant to online poker."
The agreement is the third time this month that an online poker site and a land-based gambling company have formed ties. Last week, the largest online poker room PokerStars and Wynn Resorts announced a partnership, launching PokerStarsWynn if the online poker industry were to be legalized.
In March, the 888poker brand also teamed up with the casino group Caesars Entertainment to expand the WSOP brand in the United Kingdom. Mitch Garber, CEO of Caesars Interactive Entertainment, explained the significance of the joint venture: "It confirms that internet gaming is a reality. It should allow us to look more and more at a Federally regulated environment in the United States."