Virgin's poker phase, by Mark Tran - The Guardian - 25th November 2005

As news reaches us that Richard Branson is joining the card table, Mark Tran asks Virgin Poker to show its hand

If internet gambling is like the wild west, then Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Poker is the latest cowboy to swagger into the saloon.

Virgin Poker, relaunched this week - complete with a poker party at Sir Richard Branson's home in Holland Park - admits it is a latecomer to internet gaming. But it is banking on the full resources of the Branson business empire to ensure its success.

"Virgin Poker will use the resources of sister companies throughout the Virgin group to add new value to our players' experience," Simon Burridge, the chief executive of Virgin Games, told reporters and poker enthusiasts wedged tightly into a marquee in Sir Richard's garden.

After that pitch, followed by champagne and superior canapes - spoonfuls of risotto, miniature pails of fish and chips, lamb meatballs, salmon on toast and cubes of deep fried camembert - the guests took their allocated seats to play Texas Hold'em.

The last man and woman standing from about 50 players would win a weekend to Sir Richard's new digs in Marrakech. Guardian Unlimited unfortunately made a very early exit, its pair of sevens and kings going down to a flush.

Although a relative tiddler in the online poker world, Virgin Poker believes it will shake things up thanks to benefits available from the company's other business. Players will be able to accumulate Virgin air miles and loyalty points that can be cashed in for Virgin products. There will be also prizes such as Virgin flights and weekend trips to the entrepreneur's Marrakech home.

The site will include blogs by players, poker writers and enthusiasts, and a poker school that includes live online tutorials to take newcomers through the basics of the game. Virgin Poker is particularly keen to attract people who have never played before - poker virgins - by emphasising the light-hearted side of the game.

"We want to make poker accessible," said Joshua Morris, a product marketing manager. "There will be no intimidation factor as we are going after the mass market."

But the site will not be open to US players as Virgin does not want to leave itself open to any legislation that might ban online gambling. The company says its software will block users from the US. Despite staying out of a potentially huge market, Virgin Poker believes there will be plenty of takers in the UK and the rest of Europe.

Virgin Group brushes aside notions that it may have missed the boat on internet poker, currently dominated by PartyGaming, owner of Party Poker, the world's largest poker site. PartyGaming, based in Gibraltar, made its debut on the London Stock Exchange in June, when it was valued at £4.64bn, the biggest UK debut in five years.

But PartyGaming shares dropped by almost a third in September after it warned future market growth could slow. That setback has prompted commentators to say that the internet poker bubble has burst. Even so, revenues at PartyGaming soared in the first six months of 2005. Revenues soared to $437.4m (£237.7m), from $241.5m a year ago, while profits rose to $186.3m from $146.6m.

With those kinds of numbers it is no wonder that Sir Richard, the billionaire with a sideline in ballooning, wants to join the saloon.

Virgin plans to have Virgin Poker on its trains and planes - the discount airline Ryanair also has plans for in-flight gambling - to make the most of a captive audience - although there will be loss limits.

As one Virgin executive said: "We don't want anyone landing in Las Vegas down £25,000. It's not a great way to start a holiday."

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