Genting closes Fox Poker Club
London venue to be relaunched in new guise in Spring 2013.
Alderney-licensed operator Genting has closed Central London venue The Fox Poker Club with immediate effect, just thirteen months after acquiring it from its previous owners.
The company will refurbish and relaunch the property in spring next year, however there is no indication as to whether it will remain a poker-specific venue.
Upon acquiring the club in November 2011, a Genting casinos spokesperson pledged that “There will be no changes to the operation of the club in the immediate future.”
The location, on Shaftesbury Avenue in London’s West End, had continued to hold regular tournaments as well as one-off specials such as this year’s English Poker Open, which was won by PokerStars pro Mickey Petersen.
It had also previously hosted PKR’s ‘London Calling’ festival in 2010, and received a 24-hour licence in June last year. The venue also holds a casino licence, which could point to a relaunch as a casino and poker property.
The closure of the club comes as PokerStars prepares to launch its branded poker room at the nearby Hippodrome Casino, in which it bought a minority stake in October.
Stars will also provide an online poker element for the casino, while Genting continues to provide satellites to tournaments at its own land-based venues through its Genting Poker skin and white-labels Circus Poker and PokerEncore, all of which sit on Playtech’s iPoker network.
According to the Fox Club’s Twitter feed, poker chips held by players will be redeemable at Genting’s West London casino, the Cromwell Mint.
A statement on its Facebook page explained: “Although the Fox has closed the venue will be refurbished and re-born in spring 2013 as a new venue. We understand the frustrations of those who may have paid to join the club recently and are working on a way to make good.”