Online Poker

Ultra Internet Media, the company that owns Everest Poker, is trying to get out of its sponsorship contract with the WSOP. It was the on-the-felt sponsor of the World Series of Poker for 2008 and 2009, having paid a total of about $14.6 million for the privilege. UIM is now trying to get out of a further $8.4 million sponsorship for the 2010 WSOP, citing a breach of contract by the WSOP where RTL9, a French ESPN affiliate, showed Full Tilt Poker logos on the felt of the final table broadcast, but no Everest Poker logos. While meetings were apparently held to rectify issues with the RTL9 broadcasts, it would seem that the problem did not improve.

This has got to be particularly grating for Everest Poker given so many of their players come from France. They do not accept US players, so a sponsorship arrangement that shows their logo all over US screens but not on French screens would be a pretty bum deal. With no guarantee that they will get the exposure they want in their biggest market, and with the meetings they've claimed to have had with ESPN and Harrah's about this sponsorship deal suggesting they've tried and failed to get what they want, it's understandable that Everest would want to pull out.

It has to be said that it's a bit late to be doing this, which can only be seen as a tactical move by UIM. With the 2010 WSOP just over a month and a half away, this puts the World Series in an unfortunate position. There are so many possibilities for how this could go down, and the WSOP may have to run the advertizing before a decision has been reached. How would that affect the case, and could Everest end up with free advertizing? Who else could the WSOP find to advertize? There are a lot of questions, with even more uncomfortable answers.

My feeling is that this is simply a play by UIM to show they are really serious about Everest Poker coverage in France this year. It seems too late in the game for them to be seriously bringing this to court, but it should be a wake up call for Harrah's and ESPN to keep affiliate channels playing for the team. I agree that Full Tilt Poker is a great poker room, but Everest have paid quite a bit of money for their extra special coverage, and they really need that French audience.

What do you think will happen, and will this affect the 2010 WSOP? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

-Shad