Big Changes For Party Poker VIP Program


Tuesday January 15, 2013 : PARTYPOKER RINGS THE CHANGES ON V.I.P. AWARD
 
Online poker operator to do away with all bonuses that generate an effective rake-back of over 30 percent
 
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment subsidiary Party Poker has announced some significant changes to VIP programs commencing April 1st 2013.
 
Palladium Elite, the ultimate tier in the program, is to be dropped, as are all bonuses that generate an effective rake-back of 30 percent or more.
 
The company recommended in its announcement that players cash in points on the top tier bonuses before March 31 in preparation for the Palladium shutdown on the following day. Palladium will remain open and active until that date.
 
A Party Poker spokesman explained the thinking behind the changes, saying: “We believe the change will allow us to manage our poker room more effectively and ultimately allow for fairer distribution of bonuses across the network."
 
Palladium Elite was the highest level in the company's VIP program, topping Palladium, Gold, Silver and Bronze levels. The generous rewards offered to players as loyalty incentives in many cases effectively constitute very high levels of rake-back. Other perks on Platinum Elite include a concierge service and dedicated VIP management attention.
 
Observers see the changes as a rebalancing of the poker ecology in the enterprise, placing more focus on retaining recreational players, something the parent company has emphasised as desirable in its corporate reportage in the recent past.
 
Other facets of this strategy were abandoning the nosebleed tables offering, migrating to Party Poker the players from the now disposed of Ongame network and the introduction of the very popular "fast-fold" poker variant, all of which have since been accomplished.
 
The next major card Party Poker is almost ready to play is an extensive improvement in its software, reportedly scheduled for release around mid-year.