It has been two and a half years since Rush Street Interactive announced it would be acquiring poker pro Phil Galfond’s poker platform Run It Once. Since then, U.S. poker players have been counting the days until the platform is live in the states. The wait is finally over.
Rush Street officially launched the platform in Pennsylvania on Thursday, promising some of the lowest rake in the state. However, it does not bear the Run It Once name and, instead, is branded as BetRivers Poker.
The platform will be linked to BetRivers’s iRush Rewards and another Rush Street company, Poker Night in America, will help to promote the brand on its streams and television programs.
As poker players, we designed this platform from the ground up to be for the players – all players. From the amateur playing their very first hand to the sophisticated pro, everyone was kept in mind as we focused on fairness, excitement and generous rewards that truly benefit the player,” said Galfond. “I’ve been heavily involved in the game design, promotions, and policy decisions, and, more importantly, in building an incredible team that sees online poker the way I do.”
“We are incredibly excited about the launch of this platform. Our goal is to create a seamless experience for players, bridging the gap between the BetRivers digital and Rivers Casino offerings,” added Rush Street Interactive CEO Richard Schwartz. “By aligning with Rush Street Gaming’s strong retail presence, we are able to leverage our combined strengths to offer a truly unique poker experience that benefits players and drives growth across our entire portfolio.”
Pennsylvania is the first market for BetRivers Poker, but Rush Street says more are coming in the future. Those options could include Michigan and New Jersey, which share player pools with one another. In theory, Rush Street could also roll out BetRivers in West Virginia as well, though nobody has launched online poker there yet. Finally, since it took over the lottery contract for 888 in Delaware, BetRivers could also debut there, where it would have a monopoly.
