Originally Posted by PokerStars Steve
I see that there is a lot of speculation here about the impact of this news. I’d like to share some more details with you about how you as players will be impacted.
The short version is that there will be no significant impact on the player experience. We still plan to serve all current markets, including Canada, and to work to grow the game of poker globally.
We are also excited about the potential to be licensed in New Jersey and then begin serving players there quickly thereafter. I do not have a timeline to share, but can say that we believe that this purchase has a significant positive impact.
PokerStars and Full Tilt customer funds will continue to be held in segregated accounts, separate from operational funds, so you will know that your money is safe with us. The playing experience on both sites remains the same as it was yesterday. It is business as usual here at the Isle of Man office and at our other offices in Dublin, London, Paris, Malta, Costa Rica, and Sydney.
We will certainly miss Mark and Isai. As some of you have surmised, our founders established the culture and values that permeate every decision and every customer interaction. Though Mark and Isai are leaving, the culture and values remain, along with the nearly 2,000 staff who continue to turn our culture and values into action on a daily basis. Our entire leadership team is still in place, and I can assure you that we embrace these values whole heartedly.
While I only have responsibility for our PokerStars.com and shared liquidity poker rooms (.eu/.ee/.dk/.be), the continuity of leadership and staff extends to PokerStars.it, PokerStars.es, PokerStars.fr, and Full Tilt. To a person, we are all still here.
Will you see changes in your customer experience over time? Yes, of course! We have several projects already in progress and others that we are already in the process of completing, such as PokerStars 7. The people and values behind these two projects will also be behind our next improvements. A big part of our success over the years has been constant improvement of our product, and we plan to continue this tradition.
I still feel I was lucky to have the opportunity to transition from being a professional poker player to working at PokerStars. PokerStars was more than just my favorite online poker room, it was my favorite company. This is a feeling shared amongst many of our staff here, especially our poker room management team. We come to work with the mission of trying to maintain and improve the experience we had ourselves as customers. I have full confidence that this will continue to be the case for years to come, with full support from Amaya.
I do see some references here to casino and sportsbook. I can see why certain slides in the Amaya presentation linked earlier in the thread raise questions about our future plans relating to these products. Full Tilt has recently rolled out a wide variety of casino games, so it is not surprising to see such products referenced as areas of potential growth compared to the 2013 financial results.
Thank you for your continued support of PokerStars. And for those of you in New Jersey, I hope to see you soon at the tables!
Steve Day
Director of Poker Room Operations
PokerStars