Ultimate Poker gearing up for Launch

Tuesday March 19,2013 : FERTITTA READIES FOR THE LAUNCH OF NEVADA ONLINE POKER SITE
 
Ultimate Poker gearing up from a Las Vegas centre staffed with some Pokerstars vets
 
Readers may have done a double-take on the news that Ultimate Poker will be online operating under a Nevada licence in the near future, but the enterprise is not the once-notorious sister of Absolute Poker, but a new brand owned by the Fertitta brothers of Station Casinos fame.
 
The influential poker information site Pocket Fives visited the online poker venture's dedicated 20,000 square foot premises just off The Strip in Las Vegas this week and found that preparations were well in hand for an eventual launch.
 
Pocket Fives says the Fertitta's are clearly making a significant investment in the new venture, with a dedicated team that includes Pokerstars veterans like Joe Versaci, who was at one time head of North American marketing for PokerStars, and Scott Yeates, who helped create the PokerStars VIP Program.
 
Terrence Chan is another highly experienced former Pokerstars support team manager.
 
Our readers may recall that Fertitta Interactive, which handles the online activities of the brothers, acquired the well-established online poker software developer Cyberarts last year, and this is the platform that will be used for the Fertitta Ultimate Poker operation – the branding is an extension of the brother's Ultimate Gaming and MMA corporate identity.
 
Cyberarts CEO Chris Derossi stayed on to lead Ultimate Poker's software team, Pocket Fives reports.
 
The information site found the personnel at the new centre enthusiastic about the potential for online poker in the Silver State, especially if interstate compacts are signed to generate greater player liquidity.