With over 9.1 million online poker hands under its belt, Ultimate Poker gained the final approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission to operate an online poker website. It is currently the only website in Nevada that is eligible to do so.
Ultimate Poker is the baby of Ultimate Gaming, which is owned by Station Casinos. It started its field trial on April 30th to prove to regulators that it can meet state regulations on interactive wagering. While the generated reports have not (yet) been made public, Chris Derossi, Ultimate Gaming’s Chief Technology Officer, announced in a Las Vegas Review-Journal article: “The technology has worked. We are able to offer a safe and secure online poker experience for the first time in America.”
While the reports generated by the software ultimately sealed the successful trial run, leadership at Ultimate Gaming aren’t just looking at those numbers. The launch had some minor technology issues that were quickly handled, some of which were brought to light by various online poker forums, blogs, and message boards. In fact, chairman Pete Bernhard expressed concern at comments from players stating that the software wasn’t as “sophisticated as the illegal games.”
Now that the field testing is complete, Ultimate Poker is lacing up for the long haul with goals to further enhance its product and improve customer service. After all, it won’t be long before it finally gets some competition.