Current industry scuttlebutt suggests there are a number of pure poker companies in serious financial straits. Even the top dogs, like Full Tilt and PokerStars, are reportedly having issues related to eCom in the US. When tough times hit, cuts aren’t usually far behind, and Everest Poker appears to be the latest company looking to trim some fat.
According to industry sources, approximately 50 people were recently been let go at Everest. The cuts don’t appear to be confined to a specific department, more like an across the board cutback. This pruning follows the departure of two prominent marketing execs, both of whom walked away within the last three months. Everest did not respond to requests for comment as to the extent of and reasons for the cutbacks, but we have our suspicions.
Everest places a lot of emphasis on its French operation, but a litany of complaints has emerged from the operators that have licenses under that country’s new regulatory umbrella. These companies are spending vast sums on marketing, but so far, the regulated market is only a quarter of the size it was estimated to be, prior to the French government getting involved.
The Bodog Network’s Jonas Odman crunched the numbers when the system first rolled out and predicted there would be problems. As the CEO of Bodog Europe recently observed, the system almost seems designed to make the experience so unworkable that foreign firms will withdraw and leave the spoils to domestic concerns. La plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose…
