Hot off the presses this week was news that the South Point Casino in Las Vegas had launched the first ever Nevada casino-branded online poker site, SouthPointPoker.com. The site is completely free to play and, consequently, is above board in the United States. It offers $100,000 in cash and prizes every month, which includes qualifiers for the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio.

South Point Casino owner Michael Gaughan commented in a press release obtained by PocketFives.com on Wednesday, “SouthPointPoker.com proves Nevada is at the forefront of the regulated gaming market. It’s a great accomplishment and honor to offer the first online poker room branded by a Nevada-licensed, land-based casino property. Much like the overall quality we deliver at South Point, SouthPointPoker.com will offer our online players a top-notch experience, big action, and the best in customer service.”

Real money online poker has been frowned upon in the United States, as evidenced by the U.S. Department of Justice indicting the founders of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker back in April. However, there has been growing interest in free online rooms like South Point’s and subscription-based sites like Pure Play, Rise Poker, and ClubWPT.

South Point’s online poker room will be part of the Zen Entertainment Network, which also includes branded rooms like UFC Poker, CardPlayer Poker, and WWE Poker. Its hallmark promotion consists of recurring WSOP Main Event qualifiers, where the winners of each online satellite head to the South Point to compete against eight other players in a live setting for a 2012 Main Event seat. Daily winners will receive free accommodations while at the South Point Casino, but must provide their own travel to Las Vegas.

The launch of SouthPointPoker.com could have several positive effects for the Nevada hotel. First, registration for the site is open to players outside of Nevada, meaning that the hotel has the potential to grow its database of customers considerably before online poker is fully legalized and regulated in the United States. When that happens, the 2,200-room resort could quickly ramp up its online presence both in Nevada and around the United States using information obtained from operating a free online poker site.

Second, with online qualifiers required to travel to Las Vegas in order to play in a live nine-man sit and go for a WSOP Main Event seat, the casino is in essence putting a national spin on a local brand and bringing customers through its doors. South Point’s Club members were able to sign up for the poker room today, while non-Club members must wait until October 17th. The property was formerly known as the South Coast before changing its name five years ago.

Gaughan told the Associated Press on Wednesday that opening a play money room was the “first step in being ahead of the pack if Federal or state lawmakers decide to explicitly allow casinos to operate internet poker.” Nevada has legislation in place to allow online poker should the legality of the game be clarified at the Federal level.

According to Zen’s website, the poker network averages 10 hours of play per player per month, has a database of one million users, and runs tournaments an average of once every two minutes. In a thread on PocketFives.com, one poster questioned the user-friendliness of its software however, commenting, “I checked it out. Unfortunately, the software is absolute garbage.”

Other land-based casinos have partnered with Zen in the past. For example, in May, Zen launched a branded online poker room for Larry Flynt’s Hustler Casino in Los Angeles. Check back to PocketFives.com for the latest updates from the world of online poker.