Full Tilt Poker will be merging its poker traffic with the other poker brand under Amaya Inc. PokerStars this year. This platform migration will allow Amaya’s development and technology teams to focus on improving one market-leading platform rather than two, leading to a better gaming experience for all; improvements and features will be delivered faster and more efficiently rather than doubling development requirements. For instance, rather than splitting resources developing Full Tilt Jackpot Sit & Go and PokerStars Spin & Go features independently, teams will be able to work together on delivering the best possible product on one platform.
“Players will benefit from a larger pool of players offering greater game choice, bigger prize pools,” said Rafi Ashkenazi, Chief Executive Officer of Rational Group. “It will also make us more nimble as we can focus our technological innovation on one platform, rather than two, so we will be able to innovate more quickly and enter newly-regulating and existing markets swiftly.”
Although Full Tilt continues to be a profitable poker room, the gaming brand’s market share has been in decline since its 2012 re-launch.
Full Tilt players will continue to enjoy the brand experience they love, with the continuation of Full Tilt avatars and innovative rewards, such as The Deal. Players will also enjoy access to a larger variety of games, buy-in levels and tournaments, as well as access to larger prize pools and faster service of games. PokerStars players will also enjoy a boost in liquidity, as well as improved software from a larger and more focused development team.
The migration will result in the elimination of a number of roles in the Company’s Dublin office. Staff who are at-risk have been notified and the company is in the final stages of a formal consultation process to determine the extent of the redundancies and expects to conclude that process in coming months.
One Universal Account Per Person
All Full Tilt players will be contacted directly and will be provided with a link to full and comprehensive information on how these changes will affect them. Once the migration has taken place, players will have one single account that can be used to play on the shared platform through either the PokerStars or Full Tilt branded software. The migration process will automatically identify whether players have an existing PokerStars account and combine the accounts if needed; for those that do, their PokerStars username will take precedence. If a player does not have a PokerStars account they’ll be given the option to keep their screen name – if it’s available – or create a new one.
Full Tilt players will join the PokerStars rewards program, VIP Club, with play on both brands counting towards a combined VIP Club level. Full Tilt will continue to offer The Deal, which features a jackpot that consistently tops $100,000.
To help build awareness of the process, Full Tilt will feature a series of promotions for players, which will include The Deal Jackpot being guaranteed to be at least $100,000 with an additional $2,000 added to every day for the duration of the promotion. In addition, Full Tilt account holders who have never deposited on PokerStars will be able to take advantage of the PokerStars first deposit bonus, worth up to $600 per player.
Dual-Brand Strategy
The brands are committed to a dual-poker brand strategy with Full Tilt and PokerStars. Players will enjoy a choice of PokerStars, Full Tilt and all Stars-family products that are available, depending on jurisdiction. This will give players the benefit of a more robust gaming experience. Full Tilt will retain its own great promotions, table layouts, specialist tournaments and branded differences, such as Rush Poker (instead of Zoom Poker).
Full Tilt Casino is included within the migration process and will be subject to the same automated account changeover process. Initially, Web Casino, Video Poker, Baccarat and Double-Ball Roulette games will not be available, but may be made available at a later date. Full Tilt casino players will benefit from access to additional slots games.
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