By Maria Willson
The list of upcoming online poker sites in Nevada has a new addition now. So far, all the casinos that have obtained licenses for offering online poker in the state are from Las Vegas. The latest entrant to join the list is from Reno, and will be the first ever online poker site based in that region. The Hotel Siena in Reno has obtained the license to offer real money online poker to people in the state soon. Even when the others, who have obtained their licenses more than six months ago, are seeking extension, Reno’s Siena Hotel is positive about launching its operations in early 2014.
Partnership with Z4
Siena Hotel Spa and Casino is one of the popular destinations in the “biggest little city in the world”, Reno. The hotel and casino is partnering with Z4 Poker to develop an online poker platform for offering real money gaming in the state. The site, which will be called HD Poker, will be launched next year and can be accessed by poker players in Silver State.
Z4 Poker is a young and independent gaming development company founded in 2012. The company, which was founded by Eric Colvin, is based in Las Vegas.
A number of poker players in Nevada are eagerly waiting for the other online poker rooms to launch their operations. And the fact that Siena Hotel can launch its site as early as 2014 is good news for them. However, they may have to wait some more than anticipated. The hotel is planning to launch its new HD Poker site in play money mode first, sometime during the first quarter of next year. Following the success of that, the hotel will be launching its real money operations.
The CEO of Z4, Eric Colvin, stated that the team is excited to be a part of the competitive online poker market and they are confident that their software is top notch and offers excellent gameplay. He said that they would rather have the software talk for itself, instead of running expensive ad campaigns.
Games will be Accessible across Various Platforms
HD Poker from Siena Hotel and Casino will be available as a free social media game for play money. At present, the two operational online poker rooms in Nevada, WSOP.com and ultimatepoker.com are accessible only on select platforms. But Siena’s HD Poker will be accessible across most platforms right from the start, which is what sets it apart from the existing sites.
According to a statement released by Z4 Poker, the online poker platform will be available for free money play, and eventually real money play, on Windows devices, Mac devices, iPhones and iPads, and a multitude of Android devices. Once it is launched, HD Poker will have an edge over the other existing sites which are not available for mobile devices. At present, Ultimate Poker is available only for Windows devices and WSOP.com can be accessed only on Mac and Windows devices, but not on mobile devices.
For Now, Poker is What You Get
Even as New Jersey and Delaware are preparing to launch their online poker and gambling sites very soon, Nevada is happy to be only poker state for now. Even with five or more Las Vegas casinos gearing up to launch their online operations soon, the Nevada Gaming Control Board is not ready to discuss the possibility of offering casino games other than poker. The board apparently feels that online poker in the state is still in its infancy and introduction of new games like slots or blackjack online would not be a wise move right now.