Harrah's Prepares for Online Casinos, Hires PartyGaming Official
There is much expectation across the US that Internet gambling will soon be regulated in the country. At least one land-based gaming operator is now openly preparing for the day online casinos are licensed in the US, as Harrah's Entertainment announced it had hired a former PartyGaming executive.
Mitch Garber, former CEO of the online gambling firm, will run a new branch of Harrah's specializing in Internet gaming operations. Among the projects expected to be handed to Garber is the online development of poker rooms featuring the World Series of Poker brand, owned by Harrah's.
While Garber was at PartyGaming, he helped operate PartyPoker, once the largest Internet poker site in the world. The passage of the UIGEA forced PartyGaming to withdraw from the US market,causing a decimation of its poker operations.
Speculation has been great that when regulation comes to online gaming, the WSOP brand would give Harrah's a huge advantage to exploit, The names is by far the best known in the poker world, and gets extensive exposure each year on ESPN.
While the direction intended by land gaming concerns in the US has been uncertain, many observers have noted the natural progression of the giant casino companies toward online venues. Financing has disappeared for new casino resorts, and land costs are becoming prohibitive. Meanwhile, Internet gambling continues to expand its audience while having next to no overhead in comparison.
