End of an Era: Planet Poker Closes

The first internet poker room, Planet Poker, announced today that as of March 31, 2007, it will no longer be offering real money games. The rise of its competitors, combined with the impact of the UIGEA, had obliterated Planet Poker’s customer base, reduced the poker room to barely a blip on the industry’s radar.

Effective immediately, no more deposits will be allowed at the online which opened in January 1998, although players with funds on the site will be permitted to compete at the real money tables until the end of the month. For those who chose, Planet Poker will facilitate a transfer of funds to another poker room from within the Planet Poker software. Those who want to cashout can do that, as well, although the company has warned that “…due to restrictions imposed by processors…” it may take up to four weeks to receive funds.

Cashouts via the software will be available through the end of April. Anyone who wishes to withdraw after that will need to e-mail Planet Poker. Starting May 1, and recurring on the first of each month, Planet Poker will charge customers a $10 fee on any funds remaining in their accounts.

While Planet Poker is largely unknown to many young players, this is a sad day for the industry. Planet Poker was a pioneer, and while it took its lumps over the years, it remained strong as long as it could. Rather than take this as another opportunity to rail against the U.S. government for what it has done to online poker, we will leave you with Planet Poker’s closing statement:

“We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all our players for their patronage and loyalty over the past nine years of operations. As on-line poker enters a new era, we wish you all the best of luck. We hope to return to real money operations when the U.S. government declares online poker legal and players from around the planet can play the game they love in the comfort of their own home without fear of financial or legal challenge.”

Originally published 1:33 PM Friday, March 23, 2007