SpadeClub Website Closes Due to Financial Difficulties

SpadeClub.com, an online poker site that used a subscription model to circumvent US gambling law, has closed down amid financial difficulties that had made the site unprofitable.

SpadeClub.com was a property of Card Player Magazine, and catered to the American market by offering fully legal poker tournaments to players. This was accomplished by ensuring that players didn’t actually wager any money on the site. Players would pay a monthly subscription fee of $20, and then be eligible to enter weekly and monthly tournaments with guaranteed prize pools as large as $30,000.

The site, which had opened in early 2008, offered over $100,000 in prize money each month. However, the site was not making enough money to maintain this level of prize support. According to Barry Shulman, owner of Card Player Magazine, the site model simply never worked from a financial standpoint.

“We were getting close to having a break even month for the first time about a year ago,” Shulman said. “Then we started having processing problems that we couldn’t overcome.”

The news came as a surprise to the more than 200,000 players who frequented SpadeClub. Players were emailed this week, notifying them that the site would be closed and that all accounts would be closed within 30 days.

However, contingency plans were put into place to help ease the transition for players who had been playing at SpadeClub.com. Zen Entertainment Network, a Las Vegas-based poker network, will be offering to take in players who have lost a place to play due to the closing of SpadeClub.

According to the SpadeClub website, ZEN Entertainment offers similar cash prizes, as well as merchandise and other prizes to players. Players will also be compensated for time they had already purchased on SpadeClub.com.

“ZEN’s VIP program will honor all time already purchased by SpadeClub members,” said a statement on the SpadeClub website. “Basic members can continue to play for free as well.”