Lock Poker has become a running joke in the industry. The site has average payout speeds of over one year, according to a report compiled by IHasTehNutz at Two Plus Two. The amount owed to Two Plus Two posters is approaching $1 million. It has been two months since any player on the list has reported a payment.
In 2014, you can count the number of players on the cashout report that have been paid on your fingers. At the same time, the list of players reporting unacceptable withdrawal speeds grows with every week.
It is hard to imagine that Lock Poker can ever get out of this tailspin. The site attracts less than 100 players at its daily peak, according to PokerScout. It averages about half that amount.
The cash game quality is extremely high. Chips are thrown around the tables like they are worthless. That is, of course, because they just about are. Players have been swapping Lock Poker chips for cash at a rate of about $.06-$.07 on the dollar for months. That means a player at a $200 NL table is really at a $12 or $14 game.
Lock Poker has little in the way of marketing partners to draw players to the site. Most abandoned them after getting stiffed or seeing players complain of slow cashouts. A Google search of Lock Poker shows warnings from affiliate sites, a closed Lock Poker support forum full of player complaints, and news stories detailing the site’s struggles.
Same Path as World Sports Exchange
The whole scenario closely resembles the World Sports Exchange, often referred to simply as WSEX. World Sports Exchange was a well respected site in its prime. Sports Book Review started warning players in 2009 that cashout requests were taking longer than the industry average. By 2010, WSEX’s rating had fallen to the D territory. By the end of 2012, more than $1 million was reportedly owed to players.
At the start of the downfall, WSEX management communicated with Sports Book Review and players. As time went by, WSEX fell silent, just as Lock Poker is doing now. WSEX finally went down for good in April 2013.
Lock Poker has several similarities to this. Lock Poker owes nearly $1 million to players at just one poker forum. The company went from one that communicated with players several years ago to one that says little. Its last tweet was over six months ago and its forum presence is nonexistent.
Players are given canned responses when complaining about late payouts. Meanwhile, deposits are still accepted from unsuspecting players that have little or no hope of ever getting paid should they win.
Not only is Lock Poker not generating much in the way of deposits, it is losing a fortune in its guaranteed tournaments. Its weekly $20k Sunday tournament has 100 freeroll entries. The tournament still struggles to make its guarantee. Other tournaments also miss the mark.
Other Offshore Sites Distancing Themselves
Lock Poker is now the poster child for why online poker should be regulated. It is giving the offshore sites, which for the most part pay players in a timely manner, a bad name. The legitimate sites do not want to be associated with Lock Poker but are constantly lumped together with it when offshore sites are discussed by regulated industry representatives.
Time to Throw in the Towel
All evidence points to Lock Poker being insolvent. The company has fallen silent and it would appear that little to no deposit money is finding its way to the site. In the meantime, players are anguished by looking at cashout requests that date back to 2012 with no end in sight. It seems extremely unlikely based on cashout speeds and chip trading prices that Lock Poker can ever find a way out of its quandary. That is at least the perception players have.
If all is hopeless, continuing to operate just makes things worse. If no deal that would add liquidity to the site is imminent, it is time for Lock Poker to do the honorable thing. It is time for it to close its doors.
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