Weekly Roundup June 3 2016
Merge Gaming Stops Accepting New U.S. Players
Merge Gaming no longer accepts new U.S. players. This applies to poker, casino and sports betting. Carbon Poker, SuperBook, PlayersOnly and Sportsbook.ag are the sites affected. Players that already have accounts at these sites are not affected. Deposits and withdrawals will continue as normal.
This is not the first time these Merge Gaming skins have taken this path. All four sites stopped accepting new U.S. players after Black Friday in 2011. They all returned fully to the U.S. market in October 2011.
World Series of Poker Underway
The 47th World Series of Poker started this week at Rio in Las Vegas. As usual, the first event was the Casino Employees tournament. The winner was Christopher Sand, who took home $75,157 along with the first World Series of Poker Bracelet of the season.
There are 68 events this year at the World Series of Poker. It ends with the $10,000 Main Event, which starts on July 9. The schedule includes an online event with a $1,000 buy-in.
Bitcoin Prices Skyrocket
Bitcoin has become a top funding method for online poker rooms. Players that hold Bitcoin have enjoyed quite a week. Prices are up $100 in the past week, including a gain of $35 on Friday. That made for a nice windfall for Bitcoin collectors.