Touting poker as the driving force behind the company's success, Party Poker and the rest of the poker industry had no idea what was in store.
Less than three weeks later the House and Senate passed the Safe Port Act, which included the devestating Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Party Poker, as a publicly traded company, was forced to pull out of the US market.
An estimated 77% of Party Gaming's revenues came from customers in the United States. The company's stock fell dramatically to 60% of its former value as Party Poker's player base was cut off at the knees.
But even before getting knocked out of the number one spot in online poker, Party Gaming was making decisions that would give them a leg-up in the post-UIGEA poker world.
In our story from today in 2006 Party CEO Mitch Garber emphasized the importance of international markets.
"PartyGaming has delivered a strong first half performance. These results demonstrate the strength of our business model and also the potential to grow our business through investment in the development of new products and new territories outside North America," said Garber.
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