OK ... I get it ... having online poker back in the US seems the ultimate goal.
This seems to be a popular fallacy. It may be the result, it surely is a goal of the new ownership, but it's not the reason for the sale.
"So Pokerstars can get back in the US . . . " does nothing for the seller, and it suggests some kind of altruism that is not credible. The seller is selling because the price is right, the time is right, and it's a good deal for the sellers. The price is well above value, and that is when/why you sell. You don't sell a business that is benefiting you greatly so that that business can go on to greater things without you. There is no logic to that at all.
What I don't get ... is doing it the wrong way (for us in the USA).
PS and FT will now be owned by a Canadian firm, with Canadian stock, already heavily involved in other online and hardware gaming, additionally funded by Deutsch Bank (Germany), Barclays Bank (UK) and Marquarie Capital (Australia).
The rest of the world - clap your hands together. The US consumers are sending another large portion of their US Dollar your way. Congratulations !!
Perhaps you aren't getting it because you think internet poker in the US is holy grail of internet gaming. That simply is not the case. The world market is quite profitable for Pokerstars, and will continue to be so under new ownership. Entry into the US is far from certain (although it would seem the door is now open in NJ; they are barred for a few more years in NV; the ball hasn't moved in CA), so to bank this kind of a deal on a possible future market in the US also defies logic.
The
real money is in casino games . . . in NJ casino games generate almost 4x as much as poker. They have already indicated that an all new casino gaming platform will be rolled out. The world market first, then possibly the US.
Oh - and for the few dollars remaining here in the US, it seems those profits for the operators will be directed primarily and predominantly to the Indian gaming establishments ... and we all know that that is directly assisting the poverty stricken and deprived Native American Indians - who by the way - are still mostly poverty stricken. The major profits remain in the hands of the few tribal leaders who drive the largest most expensive vehicles in the "Reserved for Tribal" parking spaces and have moved off the reservations into the most exclusive residential estate areas.
Be that as it may, it's the same either way
But hey ... we get to play online poker ... :hmmmm:
We shall see, we've been down this road before, some promising looking development drives hopes up, but nothing really changes.
Baby steps.
It's not a bad thing by any stretch, but it's not the key to the candy store either.