Should PokerStars Buy WSOP?

Nearing the end of February, multiple sources have reported that Caesars Entertainment had offered PokerStars to buy Rio Casino together with its most recognized brand, World Series of Poker. This was later confirmed by PokerStars spokesperson and subsequently Stars have turned down the offer. Caesars had their own reasons to make the offer, most likely due to their own financial difficulties, but we are more interested in why did PokerStars turn down and should they purchase WSOP?

At the time offer was made, Stars were looking into buying another casino, so that could be a part of the reason they turned down the offer. At the same time, they refused to comment from Caesars about this offer, which does seem a bit far-fetched considering the WSOP is their main brand and with the poker regulation in Nevada and couple other states, its influence is expanding strongly to the virtual felt as well.

On the other hand, a lot of this value is lost for Stars, who are having serious troubles entering the US market, especially in Nevada, where the law prohibits licensing any company that accepted online wagers of US residents after December 31 2006. They could apply for exclusion, but there are very strong forces opposing Poker Stars entering the US market due to different reasons and under different pretenses, but reality is the biggest fear is that Stars would simply grab the lion share of the market.

While arguably the best known name in the poker industry purchasing the most famous tournament series would likely be good for players due to different reasons, like playing conditions, number of online satellite qualifiers etc., it is somewhat questionable how good of a business decision it would be for them.

Rio and brand such as World Series of Poker certainly come with a hefty price-tag, and these investments are not made on a whim. We are, of course, not privy to the information about exact numbers in play, but if PokerStars were to buy the Series, they would certainly want to extract its full value, and in today’s environment a lot of that value comes from the online traffic.

So the question should PokerStars buy WSOP is much more complex than it would seem at the first glance. No doubt that Stars would love to get their hands on another major poker tour and confirm their absolute domination in the poker industry, but it is unlikely they would do it at any cost. After all, this is a business we are talking about, and the bottom line is all that matters. Profit can be sacrificed to some extent for prestige or future potential, but purchasing World Series at this point may seem as just too big of a risk.

On the other hand, it is highly unlikely that anyone apart from couple of high ranking PokerStars people have all the important information regarding the matter to give a truly accurate assessment. This is all just guessing based on the little information available and some expectations based on that same info. Whatever PokerStars decides to do in the end regarding WSOP (if such offer is / has been presented) will, in all likelihood, be the best option for the company.