Last summer Full Tilt Poker officials said that the company planned to begin offering casino games in addition to its core product, online poker, though at the time no firm date when such games would be on offer was made public.
The time is apparently now.
PokerFuse.com is reporting that Full Tilt has introduced casino games as part of a software update that occurred at the beginning of the week.
Not all players will have access at once
According to PokerFuse, Full Tilt will be giving access to the games at various intervals so as to allow the company to properly vet the software.
For now, roulette and blackjack will be on offer in addition to, of course, online poker.
In a statement exclusive to PokerFuse, head of corporate communication for Full Tilt's parent company, PokerStars (which is itself owned by Isle of Man-based the Rational Group), Eric Hollreiser, said, "As we announced last summer, the Rational Group is expanding our offering to include casino style games on Full Tilt Poker. This week we began testing single and multiplayer play-money versions of Blackjack and Roulette in select markets."
"Following the test period we will provide real money offerings in current and additional test markets. As always, we will provide the high quality player experience, integrity, security, safety and support that players have come to expect from Rational Group brands," the statement continued.
Full Tilt not available to U.S.-based players
Of course, Full Tilt Poker - and its new online casino games - are not available to players based in the United States.
Full Tilt has not operated in the U.S. real money online poker market since the site was shut down by the federal government amid a sweeping crackdown on unregulated offshore companies offering Internet poker games to American players that took place on April 15, 2011, a date that will forever be known to fans of online poker as Black Friday.
In the summer of 2012, online poker behemoth PokerStars settled its own case with the Justice Department in New York federal court, and in the process purchased the assets and liabilities of its former chief rival, Full Tilt Poker.
PokerStars relaunched the Full Tilt brand in regulated online poker markets outside of the United States in the fall of 2012, reimbursing at that time players in those locations whose funds had been frozen since Black Friday.
Remissions for accountholders still underway
U.S. players who had money on Full Tilt when it was shuttered have had to wait considerably longer than their rest-of-world counterparts.
Nearly three years later, so-called victim players in the United States are still awaiting the return of their accounts, though the remission process is now well underway.
The firm appointed by the government, New Jersey-based Garden City Group, at last notice said that players should expect to see their money sometime later on this year, most likely in March.
Whether or not American online poker fans will ever be able to log in to play at Full Tilt Poker, or Full Tilt Casino, remains to be seen.
Parent company PokerStars has attempted to gain a foothold in the nascent New Jersey online gambling market, first attempting to buy the soon to be closed Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, and in the wake of the failure of that deal, by forming a partnership with Resorts, the oldest land-based casino in New Jersey's gaming capitol, Atlantic City.
Last month Resorts was cleared by New Jersey gaming regulators to offer a betting website, however PokerStars' application was essentially shelved for twenty-four months with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement saying that they are willing to revisit the application should PokerStars demonstrate "significant" changes, mostly pertaining to executive personnel.
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