For those of you who are fans of the Poker Genie, like I am, or were thinking about trying one out for your poker tournaments, the short term news is not good.  We have been unable to get a restock shipment for several months now and the word is that more are not on the way.

After several conversations with the maker of the Poker Genie, I still believe they will be back on the market, but how soon is very hard to tell.  It seems that they are trying to sell the company (or at least the rights to the product) and that has evidently put on hold on any future production runs.

Just in time to mess up another Christmas season for a great quality product that people want and is easy to stand behind. The reason I say another season is that we had similiar woes last year around Christmas, but it was much later in the season and for different reasons.  It is out of our control. 

If you were considering a Poker Genie and don’t want to wait, you could try the ESPN Timer.  It is not near as sophisticated as the Poker Genie even though it looks similiar.  However, it does provide a basic level of functionality in a sleek design.  Also the price point is now much lower than the Genie, even though it started out a fair amount more expensive. When the Genie comes back I doubt the price will be any lower than the current $50 range.