Friday, March 27, 2009

Bugsys Club Poker Internet Site Goes Dark

It saddens me to report the death of one of the truly classy internet poker sites. The handling of their closure by their management shows the true depth of their commitment to the players (customers). From the Bugsy’s Club website:

“Firstly, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support of the Bugsy's Club Poker Room. Since Bugsy's Club was formed, our mission statement has always been that we will offer you 'The Best Poker Games in Town' and that 'We will take care of you Personally'. We are proud to say that these are goals we feel we have consistently exceeded, providing you with a great place to enjoy poker.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control with regards to banking facilities, it is with regret that we have to announce it is no longer viable for the Bugsy's Club Poker Room to continue our business operations.

However, we are delighted to inform you that Bugsy's Club have reached an agreement with the world's largest online poker site, PokerStars.com, to allow all Bugsy's Club players to transfer your account balance over to their site.

Through the agreement we have reached with PokerStars, your player balances will be transferred to them. Regrettably, your Bugsy's Bonus Points (BBPs) are not able to be transferred from the Bugsy's Club Poker Room.” – end

I won my first internet tournament on this site. The software worked well enough and the graphics looked a lot like the “Saloon” look PokerStars offers. I quit playing there as the player pool dried up and the tournament entries failed to reach 100 – and eventually could not reach 40.

I still resisted leaving, but when Tropical Poker closed leaving players with deposits in a lurch, I decided it was time to leave the micro sites I was on. So I left Bugsy’s Club, True Poker and Jungle Poker before they closed, possibly taking my money. I also left Doyle’s Room before they abandoned Michigan players anyway.

Jungle Poker did close a few months later, leaving their players hanging.

Bugsys Club did it the right way, as did another site I used to love – Pokertropolis. True Poker still is in operation.

This closing leaves Michigan players with only these sites left to play on (in Faldo's ranking order):

PokerStars - Simply the BEST!
Full Tilt Poker - Second best.
Ultimate Bet / Absolute Poker (same site - two names)
BoDog Poker - and sportsbook!
Cake Poker / Sportsbook Poker (same site - two names)
World Poker Exchange - and sportsbook
Spade Club (flat monthly fee site)
True Poker - Great graphics! Low on players and tournaments.

Tip of the hat to the management of the Bugsy's Club Internet Poker Room and good luck in your new endeavors. - Faldo

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