PokerStars

PokerStars is a large online poker cardroom which allows players to interact through online gambling (1). There are two ways for players to dive right into online poker. The first is PokerStars.com which allows one to download the client, create an account, and get started gambling with real money. The other is PokerStars.net which hosts free online gameplay with "play money" chips of no cash value (2).

On April 15th, 2011, PokerStars and Full Tilt, two of the biggest online poker platforms, were shutdown in the United States due to the indictment of the site owners (3). Real money gambling was suspended because of bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling in the United States. The U.S. Department of Justice ruled the 11 defendants guilty and were charged for four counts each of violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, operation of an illegal gambling business, conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy (4).

According to Forbes magazine, PokerStars generates over $1.4 billion dollars in gross revenues, employs over 1,000 employees, and with nearly 50 million registered accounts (5)(1).

History

PokerStars was launched on September 11, 2011 by the Scheinberg family as a beta play money version only. Later in December, PokerStars implemented a money wagering site hosting live poker tournaments and tables for the public (5).

In 2003, PokerStars gained a lot of attention as a rag to riches story developed for a person named Chris MoneyMaker. He entered a small $39 dollar satellite tournament in which he won. Then, moved to a larger satellite which allowed him to purchase the buy-in at the 2003 World Series of Poker. Eventually, he became the winner and had a large influence on increasing PokerStars's popularity and registered users (5)(1).

In 2005, after the tsunami, PokerStars raised up to nearly $400,000 dollars as a way for philanthropy and relief to those who suffered losses(5).

In 2009, Joe Cada, a Michigan native, became the youngest winner of the World Series of Poker with a total winnings of $8.55 million dollars. He is a frequent user of PokerStars and him as well as Chris MoneyMaker have made advancements in the success of PokerStars interface.