by LTDPipkin
21. April 2009 00:12
Last week, one of the first-ever online poker rooms, PokerRoom.com closed its doors for the last time. PokerRoom has been owned and operated by Bwin, in 2006 when they bought the Ongame Network
An announcement by bwin last month said it would be closing down the site for good. All existing players were told the "the option to play poker on PokerRoom…will be disabled on Tuesday, April 14th." PokerRoom players were given the option of cashing out or transferring their accounts over to bwin poker with a number of special bonuses being offered to entice players to transfer and play at bwin.
PokerRoom dates back to the 20th Century. The site was launched by Swedish poker players Oskar Hörnell and Claes Lidell in 1999, when online poker was still in the embryonic stages. They saw the potential for poker on the internet, and Oskar brought in his brother Karl, a computer programmer, to help design the software. With their combined know-how, the three men soon had the fledgling poker site up and running.
In 2003, the breakthrough year for online poker that saw Chris Moneymaker win the WSOP Main Event and kick off the poker boom, the site revamped its software and expanded its hold'em-only offerings to also spread Omaha, Omaha hi/lo, and seven-card stud. Within the next few years, PokerRoom grew to be one of the most popular online poker rooms and became a part of the Ongame Network (then known as the PokerNetwork), establishing itself as Ongame's most recognizable poker site.
At its peak, PokerRoom was one of the world's leading poker sites, boasting a huge player base and a superior reputation. One of the first sites to offer a Mac-compatible client, along with Linux and mobile phone applications, it was also known for excellent, innovative software. PokerRoom was truly a pioneer in the world of online poker.
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