GGPoker Parent NSUS Buys WSOP for $500M
The rumors that had been swirling for years took form on August 1, 2024. The press release came from Caesars Entertainment, the longtime parent company of the World Series of Poker. GGPoker’s parent company, NSUS, bought the WSOP.
NSUS Buys WSOP
The company calls itself NSUS Group. And for the cool price of $500M, it is the new owner of the World Series of Poker.
Caesars Entertainment signed a definitive agreement to sell its WSOP brand’s intellectual property rights to NSUS Group. The transaction is worth $500 million, which is comprised of $250M in cash and a promissory note for the other $250M that is due five years after the closing date of the sale of the WSOP intellectual property assets.
There are some important points for poker players to understand.
- Caesars has the right to host WSOP’s flagship live tournament series at its Las Vegas casinos for the next 20 years.
- Land-based poker rooms and casinos operated by Caesars will continue to host live WSOP Circuit events “going forward” for an unspecified length of time.
- NSUS will license Caesars Digital to continue operating its WSOP Online poker sites in Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania “for the foreseeable future.”
NSUS CEO Michael Kim noted that the company will leverage GGPoker’s technology to create an “exciting” future for the WSOP and an “increasingly improved, safe, and seamless poker experience” for WSOP players. He also noted that NSUS will expand the WSOP worldwide.
What is NSUS?
According to the press release and the NSUS Group website, NSUS pronounces its name as “answers.” Its letters stand for Nice, Superb, Unbiased, Social.
Founded in 2014, NSUS Group specializes in investments, consulting, and marketing in the online gaming space. The company has its headquarters in Ontario but also maintains offices in Dublin and Seoul and on Malta and Isle of Man.
While the website says NSUS has been an integral part of launching ventures like 2Ace, SlotsVenture, and Ocean Master, its most popular one has been GGNetwork, which produced GGPoker and Natural8 poker sites.
Years-Long WSOP-GG Courtship
The sale/takeover/buyout had been in the works for years. There had been rumors. There were not-so-secret meetings and pieces of the puzzle that fit together a little too perfectly.
The relationship can be unofficially traced back to Daniel Negreanu’s ambassadorship with GGPoker. In May 2019, Negreanu severed ties with PokerStars, where he had been a member of Team PokerStars Pro for about 12 years. Six months later, he announced that he signed a multi-year deal with GGPoker as an ambassador.
I have a BIG announcement to make! Details in the video below: pic.twitter.com/1xDTkglYmD
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) November 20, 2019
It should be noted that Negreanu was once on a sort of players’ council that advised the World Series of Poker. This was never official or announced, but he was widely thought to have influence with the WSOP.
That appeared to come into play in 2020. While the WSOP had maintained a years-long relationship with 888poker, a sponsor of the WSOP, that fell apart in 2020. The pandemic forced the cancellation of the live World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, so the WSOP decided to take its bracelet events online. The WSOP only offered real-money poker in Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania at the time, and to reach rest-of-world players, it needed to offer online events on a global platform. But instead of doing this with 888poker, the WSOP partnered with GGPoker.
The first WSOP Online at GGPoker was fraught with technical issues, including a DDoS attack, and a controversy regarding GG banning winning players. It did make history at that time, though. Its Main Event prize pool was the largest ever for a single online poker tournament; its $5K buy-in attracted 5,802 entries for a $27,559,500 prize pool.
That series led to more WSOP Online bracelet events on GGPoker and its Asia-Pacific arm, Natural8, as well as WSOP Circuit events online.
In 2022, GGPoker obtained a license to operate online poker in the province-fenced market of Ontario, Canada. More notable, though, was that it was going to use its software but operate as a WSOP (WSOP.ca) poker site.
Speculation ran rampant that the WSOP would eventually switch out its own software for GGPoker-powered online poker in the US market – Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan – but it didn’t happen. Even so, it fueled the rumors of a GGPoker buyout of the WSOP.
What Will Happen Now?
That remains to be seen. There are only rumors for now.
The press release noted that the WSOP Online poker site in the US market will remain on its own software for the time being. Considering it only launched its NV-NJ-MI combined platform a few months ago in 2024, it would probably not be efficient or practical to change it anytime soon.
One thing that remains in question for now is WSOP Europe. While GGPoker has taken an active role in promoting WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas, it has not done the same for WSOP Europe in Rozvadov, Czechia.
Meanwhile, longtime owner of King’s Casino, Leon Tsoukernik, recently retired – reportedly – from the casino business. He sold a majority stake in his company to Scott Hanna and another person, a silent partner. It sparked a conversation about King’s relationship to the WSOP, not only because of the change in ownership/management but because the WSOP Europe had been at King’s Casino in Rozvadov since 2017 but had not expanded. It also received less promotion each year from the World Series of Poker. Most WSOP Europe announcements now come directly from King’s Casino and not from the WSOP, which has been much more focused on its WSOP Paradise endeavor that started in 2023.
Considering GGPoker’s relationship to the Asian market, it would not be surprising to see a WSOP Asia pop up in 2025.
It almost goes without saying that the WSOP in Las Vegas next year will feature much more GGPoker branding than in the past. That might be the most noticeable change to expect.
In truth, not much will change with the WSOP until after the deal officially closes. Gambling regulators in numerous jurisdictions must still approve the sale. The press release noted that the parties to the deal expect it to close before the end of 2024.
