From Playboy to Online Poker: Pam on Bam
Pamela Anderson announced last week her intentions to become the visage of a new online poker site. BamPoker is a Facebook application with an innovative approach to community poker games, combining a seamless gaming experience with a social atmosphere that is, for all intents and purposes, Facebook’s already popular Zynga Poker app, with a fancy makeover.
In essence, there isn’t much difference between Zynga Poker and the new Bam Poker application. They both offer free poker play with experience points and level-ups, they are both delivered via Facebook, they both have Texas Hold’em in a versatile range of limits and stakes. The only real difference is that players get to stare at a caricature impression of Pamela Anderson in the dealer’s seat, and if they are lucky enough to find an opening at the right time, chat it up and play Texas Hold’em against the super-sexy Playboy model herself.
BamPoker does not support any kind of real money gambling. All of its online poker games are 100% free to play. Those looking for real money poker will find it at hundreds of websites that promote player deposits with real cash-value chips in a virtual environment. Party Poker, Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars come to mind. For US players, however, since the ominous Black Friday of 2011 that virtually cut off the option to play online poker for real money, an opportunity to compete with one of the most universally recognized Playboy models may be just the fix they need.
The new Facebook poker site promotes competition with level-ups and awards. As a player participates in more poker hands, they gain experience points and their skill level rises, opening the door to new stakes levels and a more robust scope of competitors. The mission of each player is to work their way up to receiving the ultimate prize, the VIP Badge, which grants access to the poker site’s exclusive VIP tables.
BamPoker is the brain child of CEO Elton Pereira, a Canadian businessman, and Jeremy Nichele. “We are committed to providing a fun, social and interactive gaming experience through quality game design,” stated Pereira. “BamPoker encourages active user engagement and strong community spirit, something we feel has been missing from the online poker world.”
The former Baywatch bombshell is not just the façade of BamPoker. Anderson intends to incorporate herself as an active member of the poker community, taking time to chat with other players, maintaining a fan page and actually playing online poker at the virtual tables.
“When I first met Elton and Jeremy, I knew they were on to something special,” relayed a characteristically high-spirited Pamela Anderson. “They weren’t interested in creating just another game — they wanted to take the social elements of online poker in a bold new direction. There is nothing like BamPoker out there today, and I am excited to be a part of such an innovative platform!”
The new online poker room hit the world wide web via the BamPoker Facebook App last week. The response has been great thus far, attracting its first 1,000 users within 24 hours and about 400 “likes” in the first three days since its launch. However, the question remains: Will ‘Pam on Bam’ be able to take over the powerhouse poker app of Zynga on Facebook?
