There has been a lot of hype in the poker community in the last few days about PartyGaming re-entering the US market. The buzz has been spurred by comments Party CEO Jim Ryan made in an interview. However since that interview all sorts of clarifications seem to be coming out. First it was that Party simply intended to keep its brand strong in the US market perhaps by offering free games. Next came word that they might attempt to offer gaming in states where governments are considering allowing poker.

Whatever it is, it does seem a little pie in the sky. First, what use is it to keep one’s brand strong by signing up a huge database of free money players who never realized that perhaps they could go to Stars or Tilt and play for real money? It’s highly unlikely that a player who plays on a Party free poker site for two years will suddenly become a hard-core player on a real money site once it’s legalized. The WPT and several other “membership” sites are already struggling with a similar business model and none of them seem to be able to make it as successful as they boasted when they each of them set out.

Second, regulation in any US state seems like it may come about sooner than say legalization at the federal level but states like California getting the most hype are still very early on in the process. Even if they passed a bill in 2009 it could take another year or two before specific regulations, licensing procedures, regulatory bodies, etc are in place to begin accepting applications for licensing. So while there is a chance Party might be able to re-enter the US market in a limited and legal way don’t expect it to be next quarter or perhaps even in the next year or two.

In other words, most of the news about Party re-entering the US market is likely hype.