Deputy Editor
Popular sweepstakes poker site ClubWPT Gold has added pot-limit Omaha after almost a year of being hold’em only. It will also reportedly welcome Canadian players this week.
The change comes just as site ambassador Doug Polk begins yet another high-profile streaming challenge, and he showcased the addition during his live Tuesday play. However, a rash of site issues brought the show to an abrupt halt.
Cash games were down for about an hour late Tuesday afternoon, based on posts to the company’s X account. The announcement that they’re back and up running came 15 minutes before the publication of this article. Multi-table tournaments were unaffected throughout.
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ClubWPT Gold Adds PLO, Expects to Welcome Canadian Players
ClubWPT Gold launched earlier this year and spent approximately eight months dealing nothing but Texas hold’em cash games and tournaments. A promised PLO addition has been in development for months.
Finally, server maintenance this morning saw the popular game added to the site’s menu.
Not having PLO had put ClubWPT at a competitive disadvantage relative to other sweepstakes sites like Global Poker and Clubs Poker. Both of those sites already offered PLO.
While PLO is less popular than hold’em, it’s still the second-most popular game at most live venues and online poker sites.
Additionally, Polk said on Twitter that ClubWPT Gold will open to Canadian players this week. That’s an interesting development in light of the fact that Global Poker exited the market less than two months ago, and other sweepstakes sites have likewise withdrawn.
A move into Canada continues ClubWPT Gold’s habit of zigging while competitors zag. Even as other sweepstakes operators prepare for eviction from California, ClubWPT Gold announced it plans to continue operating there. That announcement reflects confidence in a new business model that it hopes will shield it from legislative language banning “dual-currency” sweepstakes sites. The same change may be the reason it believes it can operate unchallenged north of the border.
Much like PLO, the addition of Canada would be a welcome change to players, boosting liquidity at a time when the addressable market for sweepstakes poker has been shrinking. Canada has a population of about 42 million. That would help offset the losses of U.S. states that could amount to as much as 95 million, or about 30% of the market, depending on the exact legislative fallout.
Polk’s Stream Shows Off PLO Addition, Ends Early Due to Bugs
ClubWPT players and interested observers didn’t have to wait long if they wished to see how the site’s new PLO games look. Polk showcased the new tables on his stream immediately after they opened, part of his latest public bankroll challenge.
🚨My stream challenge starts today and viewers are going to benefit massively
I have a 50k bankroll and I’m streaming every day until it’s at 100k or 0
I’m also going to be giving tons of chips to random viewers
Today there will be 100s of winners. See you in chat at 9am CT
— Doug Polk (Code Doug) (@DougPolkVids) October 20, 2025
Polk, a player whose poker skills revolve primarily around hold’em, fired up several tables of PLO to kick off his Tuesday stream. He played as big as $5-$10-$20 and got in the mix both heads up and in six-max games.
Unfortunately for both Polk and the viewers, the additions to ClubWPT Gold appeared to bring some fresh bugs to the site. Polk ended his stream after about two hours. Both the hold’em and Omaha lobbies had bugged out and showed no available tables after Polk stopped the broadcast.
“The development team is going to have to get to work here on fixing some things with the software,” Polk said. “My choices are really end the stream or play 10 chip ($10) tournaments.
“The great game was too great. It broke our software today. It’s all part of the beauty of this wonderful, wonderful platform.”
