How can some sites be still alive???

My question is about Tropical Poker but I guess there are many other sites like them. I joined them to see what's going on inside the room but the only thing I found was ( and still is ) 20-30 players max playing at maximum stakes of 0.25/0.50 . I ve done a little research and found that they ve been alive since 2006. They have some freerolls and they get almost nothing from the rake. My question is how they maintain their site. They must be down financially. It doesn't make sense to me.

Good question, and here is my thought on it.

If they have only been alive since 2006, it seems to me that they had a plan that would not put them in the pink for probably another year. WHen the ban hit, and folks flocked to the big 5, Tropical might have seen this as no big problem. They may see it as an opportunity to refine the site while the big boys fight the ban in court.

If there was some entity backing this operation, the original business plan may still be operative.

If and when the ban gets lifted, all sorts of things will happen, most good I think, but many might be total shams. I personaly have a small site I loved that I would flock back to in a heartbeat.

Tropical may also be part of a larger network of poker sites. They flourished pre ban. These places would have many (5 or more even) poker sites running from one site. Staffing could be minimalized for that, with one or 2 people watching everything purr.