Bringing a slice of Vegas to London, Empire Casino is the largest casino in London at around 55,000 square feet. Opening in 2006, Empire Casino has made a name for itself in the popular area of Leicester Square and is one of the UK’s most popular casinos, boasting an array of traditional casino games and slot machines. Now, with its Team Empire initiative, Empire Casino is taking one lucky London poker player to Vegas.

How does Team Empire work?

Team Empire is an initiative created by Empire Casino that invites customers to play cash games in their poker room for reward credits across 1 month in the summer. Across the duration of the month, Empire Casino keeps track of a leader board, whereby the top four positions are entered into a loyalty tournament the following month. The winner of the tournament is then awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to the world’s most prestigious poker event in Vegas – the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

What is the World Series of Poker?

For the poker fanatics, there’s no doubt that the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is recognised and applauded event. For those that don’t follow poker too closely, WSOP dates back tothe 1970s when gambling icon Benny Binion invited top poker plays to a casino tournament in Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel. It has since become an annual tournament consisting of over 100 events across June and July, that as of 2004, is sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. Some of the best poker players will no doubt be at this event too. For each event, there is a winner who receives a WSOP bracelet and a monetary prize. Amongst these events is the main event which crowns the World Champion of WSOP.

Why is this initiative admirable?

While Empire Casino is admired by professional poker players, travelling to the Vegas casino scene is every poker players dream. Winners of the Team Empire initiative get the full package; while they get a $10,000 buy-in for the WSOP main event, they also get return flights and 11 night’s accommodation at Caesars Palace. While this is of course a great opportunity for budding poker players to become the next world champions, it also helps Empire Casino’s marketing efforts by attracting more attention to their land-based casino.

Just like anything, the potential to benefit from taking part is enough to turn heads, and this can be said across several industries like fashion and home wear that offer loyalty schemes and rewards. Most similar to land-based casinos is the online casino landscape, with sites like 888 casino in UK offering benefits to their players like no deposit bonuses and up to a £100 deposit match. Following the same principle as Empire Casinos Team Empire, 888 casino helps players access their favourite casino games, from Roulette to retro slot machines with rewards along the way. It’s for that reason that Team Empire is admirable, as it allows poker players to do what they love; play poker, all while aiming toward the title of World Champion.

For aspiring poker champions who often frequent casinos, the Team Empire initiative is without a doubt an opportunity that ought not to be missed. While a business opportunity for Empire Casino, it is also an investment opportunity for budding poker players.