On May 22nd, the gaming finance (GameFi) firm Gala Games declared its collaboration with PokerGO, the renowned streaming service for poker based in Las Vegas, aiming to launch an innovative Web3 poker game. The game, “PokerGO Play,” will allow players to elevate and improve their in-game characters while having opportunities to win tangible rewards. PokerGO is slated to begin beta testing in June, with plans to roll out later this year officially.
PokerGO’s Genesis NFT Collection
In May of the previous year, PokerGO introduced its collection of 1,326 Genesis non-fungible tokens (NFTs), symbolizing all feasible opening hand permutations in Texas Hold’em poker. To date, the collective trading volume of this collection amounts to roughly 52 Ethereum, with a base price of 0.1 ETH for each piece. Token holders were allowed to earn cash, merchandise, and collectibles whenever their represented hand emerged in triumphant rounds.
PokerGO Genesis NFT holders will receive beneficial status within the game, and the two sides plan to host special events inside the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.
Developers said.
As the creative force behind several play-to-earn games on the Ethereum blockchain, Gala has been a key player in the GameFi space. On May 18th, Gala announced that it had incinerated over 21 billion Gala (GALA) tokens, valued at nearly $640 million, after implementing the protocol’s version 2 airdrop. Before this, in December 2021, the decentralized Ethereum-based poker platform Virtue Gaming had initiated a digital poker casino that incorporated cryptocurrencies and a play-to-earn model. The platform has the backing of Phil Ivey, a World Poker Tour champion and prominent figure in the poker world.
Gala Games’ Legal Troubles
A setback occurred in November 2022 when Gala Games experienced an exploit in its token bridge due to a fault that allowed unlimited minting, resulting in a loss of around $4.5 million from its liquidity pool. Currently, the company is embroiled in a $28 million lawsuit against pNetwork, the cross-chain interoperability platform Gala Games utilized on the BNB Smart Chain, which is being accused of involvement in the incident.
