Ultimate Gaming Wins Final Approval from Regulators

Ultimate Gaming gained final approval Thursday from the Nevada Gaming Commission to operate what is currently the state’s only legal Internet poker website. The company, which is majority owned by Station Casinos, launched Ultimate Poker on April 30 and then began a field trial to prove the website meets state regulations covering interactive wagering.

The field trial is now complete. Ultimate Gaming Chief Technology Officer Chris Derossi provided commissioners with a detailed report on the system. Figures, including financial details, were not made public.

Derossi said Ultimate Poker has dealt more than 9.1 million hands of poker and operated some 100,000 poker tournaments since its launch. “The technology has worked,” Derossi said. “We are able to offer a safe and secure online poker experience for the first time in America.”

Online poker in Nevada is restricted to players wagering on computers or mobile devices located within the state’s boundaries. Derossi said the company handled several minor technology issues during the field trial.

The only concern that gaming commission Chairman Pete Bernhard raised was from comments he found on various online poker forums and message boards. “I saw comments that games weren’t as sophisticated as the illegal games,” Bernhard said. Read more about Ultimate Gaming at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.