Bitcoin online poker room SealswithClubs.com has been shut down, but the site has been relaunched under a new brand SwCPoker.eu. This was exactly as promised by SealswithClubs chairman, Bryan Micon, who was forced to shut down the former site after his home was raided by agents from the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC).
SealswithClubs shuts doors
The saga began back on February 11th when Micons house in Las Vegas was raided by the NGC and armed law enforcement officers. According to Micon, he was led outside in handcuffs while the agents spent around eight hours searching his house and confiscated computers and electronic equipment. Micon was not placed under arrest.
The site was offline from that day, and bitcoin poker players were left to wonder what had happened to the site, and more importantly to their funds. After more than a week of uncertainty, SealswithClubs management made the decision to officially shut down the site on the 20th of February. Customers of the site were all emailed to inform them of the decision, and were assured in the email that their funds were safe.
The fact that Micon was not arrested is significant as it allowed him to move to Antigua and begin work on setting up SwC Poker. In the video he released about the raid, Micon explained that the move had already been planned, but that the ‘unexpected’ visit had forced him to make the move sooner rather than later.
SwC Poker rises in its place
SwC Poker is essentially the same site as SealswithClubs, albeit with a few improvements and a more polished look. Upon the launch, Micon released a celebratory statement on the SwC blog, saying:
“What a brilliant few days for bitcoin poker. The successful launch of SwCPoker has been met with worldwide cheer. New games and features are online, such as OFC pineapple, badeucey, badacey, 12 game, dealer’s choice, and many more, available in Cash, SnG, or MTT format. OFC/p MTTs have quickly become a crowd favorite. Look for cash game stakes to slowly increase as confidence in the new system builds. Thanks for the outpouring of support for SwC. We are happy to be back and serving the btc poker public”.
SwCPoker.eu is a bitcoin exclusive online poker room. The site does not accept any traditional currencies, and even player balances and the chips on the tables are denoted in bitcoins, with one chip to the value of 1/100th of a bitcoin. The only information a player needs to register an account with SwCPoker is an email address, and the site is keen to point out that it ‘Flatly rejects the idea that an online poker room should require your personal information’.
