Lol to think I was wearing this T-shirt a couple months ago when someone noticed that a full year since the first ever Zynga Pokercon had come and gone with nary a mention, let alone much talk of a second such tournament event.

Gaming Social: Perhaps surprisingly, this photo was not taken with Instagram.

Kinda surprising considering that Zynga’s top executives had been chattering incessantly all Q1 about the company’s future in online gambling … almost as if their stock price depended on it!

But then, players learned this weekend …

Technically no purchase is necessary … but Zynga seems particularly interested in people motivated to spend real money online simply at the mention of the phrase “Las Vegas”:

It must be a sign:

Seriously, even though I’ve never played for real money on Zynga (I got drunk and tried to once –almost bought chips, but struggled with my paypal password and failed to get 10 million for $5 or whatever the going rate of exchange was at the time) … this weekend, Zynga really tried to excite convert me with the idea of something closer to real money play.

Ahh, a raffle. Now I get it. Unless this whole time we’re just talking about a virtual trip to virtual Vegas in a game where people spend money on virtual beer.

The New York Times says it was for $875,000. (And the New Zealand Herald puts the stakes at NZ $1.1 million.) Holy craps, that’s a big roll. However, we know the mainstream press has a habit of making errors when talking poker. If they are talking 875k South Korean Won, however, the currency converts to more monk-like stakes … about $900.

Exciting nonetheless, especially for holy men who have taken a vow of celibacy.

Check out her latest in Poker Player Newspaper — Full Tilt Creates Drama at PokerStars. Wendeen doesn’t seem as willing as I am to flat-out scoff and pshaw at any suggestion that PokerStars could swoop in and “save” Full Tilt (while saving itself for less than a billion) … but she does provide more facts to put any emerging hubbub in context — including some rather interesting narrative about PokerStars’ designs on going public and American banking giant Morgan Stanley’s interest in online poker sites prior to Black Friday.

A good companion piece of reading is DiamondFlush’s GBT post-mortem, which includes the email Laurent Tapie sent to his extended inside circle, giving not only his presumably honest perception of the deal as it went afoul, but also insights into some of the hard, painful numbers in play.

MacKinnon explains:

Before everyone rushes to E-Trade and shorts the market, in Washington I’ve found that things are never as good or as bad as they appear to be. The one thing Congress is good at is kicking the can down the road. This will be a test of wills like no other – especially for lobbyists like me.

The breadth and number of contentious issues to be decided after the election is overwhelming and quietly has garnered the attention of many CEOs and financial industry leaders. A few of the issues that must be addressed before the end of the year: expiring Bush tax cuts; extending the debt limit; stopping drastic reimbursement reductions for physians in the Medicare program; an unemployment insurance extension; a transportation bill to fund highway programs in 50 states; changes to the alternative minimum tax; tax credit extenders for renewable energy and research and development; and the expiring payroll tax cut. Combined, these issues on the table are equal to 3% of our GDP.

All these contentious issues have become very partisan and are to be decided by a “lame-duck” Congress and possibly lame-duck president. Failure to act in a significant way would throw a recovering economy into a tailspin and further harm our ability as a nation to borrow money. Unfortunately, Congress’s track record in recent years is not good and failure, as always, is not an attractive option. Depending on how the election turns out, it is unclear if elected leaders will have the collective political capital to pass a compromise on these measures. Hopefully the congressional leadership knows the discipline involved in a short stack strategy!

Before everyone rushes to E-Trade and shorts the market, in Washington I’ve found that things are never as good or as bad as they appear to be. The one thing Congress is good at is kicking the can down the road. This will be a test of wills like no other – especially for lobbyists like me.

One silver lining for the PPA is that our legislation to regulate online poker brings additional revenue – up to $18 billion - into the U.S. Treasury. That, combined with the Justice’s Department’s ruling last December that the 1961 Wire Act only applies to sports betting, makes it possible that our bill will be attached to “must-pass” legislation during the lame duck session of Congress in December.

As part of PPA’s lobbying team, we are busy trying to win support for our bill. Nobody on either side of this fight wins if there is inaction. Unfortunately we can say that about many issues before the Congress. Hopefully sanity prevails and Congress responsibly deals with all pending issues on its plate INCLUDING passing our bill to regulate online poker. Stay tuned and thank you for your continued support of the PPA. 

Totally coincidental, I happened upon this keyless keyring while cleaning out one of my poker closets last week and couldn’t help but lol-chuckle that none of these three operations made it to a second birthday despite significant hype and promotional spends.

And the good folks at Grinder Gear Clothing Co. (poker, surfing, skateboarding apparel) have partnered with the Poker Players Alliance to put out their “Live and Let Grind” collection — a political statement and slogan of solidarity that stands to catch on with poker players and strippers alike.

Grinder Gear says 20 percent of what they make on these shirts will go to the PPA, so it’s feel-good fashion all around — comfortable clothing for poker freedom.

The key take-away is that poker losses are now deductible for professional gamblers beyond your profits, so you can carry them forward and backward to offset income in other years. You can file on Schedule C instead of Schedule A, which limits deductibility.

Of course, none of you probably have any losses to deduct, but it’s nice to know that you have the right anyway.

Wow. You know taxes and finance aren’t really my game, but if David’s correct, this reversal of interpretation seems nearly as big as the DOJ’s December flip on the Wire Act — microeconomic change poker players can believe in!? Even if my attachment of significance is a bit of a stretch, it probably was about time for the Feds to acknowledge that yes, they know now (after years of investigation), playing poker even semi-professionally comes with legitimate business expenses beyond your buy-in …but bummer for Dan personally, as losses suffered in the Pokerati game apparently are not deductible as marketing write-offs. (Crap, there goes my equity.)

Kinda a big step for poker players seeking a certain legitimacy for their profession. And who knew … “Tax Court,” it turns out, is a real place, not some reality show on Bravo or The Learning Channel.

A quick-and-dirty excerpt from the new issue of the (always-sexy) Journal of Accountancy that jumps right to the end for stuff that matters for poker players who at least occasionally find themselves reporting net-positive results is below:

CONCLUSION

Under the holding in Mayo and the IRS’ acquiescence to it, professional gamblers are allowed to fully deduct their nonwagering business expenses beyond wagering gains. Nonwagering business expenses may include transportation, meals and entertainment, admission, subscriptions and other fees. In addition, if nonwagering expenses exceed wagering gains and other income, they may give rise to a net operating loss that may be carried back to previous-year returns or carried forward to future-year returns. Professional gamblers still must substantiate the amount and the business purpose of the expenses to secure their deductibility (Presley, T.C. Memo. 1979-339).

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The IRS acquiesced to the Tax Court’s recent holding that a professional gambler in the trade or business of gambling could deduct nonwagering expenses in excess of gambling winnings under Sec. 162(a).

Historically, such costs in excess of gambling winnings have been disallowed under Sec. 165(d) and previous Tax Court precedent. Now, however, such deductions may offset other income and even result in a net operating loss that may be carried back or forward to other tax years.

To be considered a professional gambler, taxpayers generally must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the IRS that they are engaged in gambling as a trade or business rather than casually. The IRS and courts apply nine factors in regulations under Sec. 183, as well as all relevant facts and circumstances, in making the determination.

Nonwagering business expenses may include transportation, meals and entertainment, admission, subscriptions and other fees. Wagering gains include wagering winnings and “comps” (the fair market value of complimentary goods and services) but not additional income to casino personnel in the form of “take-offs” and “tokes,” which are likely to be considered compensation or other, nonwagering income.

Neither Gary Loveman nor Mitch Garber could be reached at Caesars to confirm or deny the rumored buzz Pokerati was hoping to start on this one — that Cleveland is the new Pennsylvania.

Colorful urban blight probably had something to do with Dan Gilbert’s success in bringing casinos (and thereby partnership with Caesars) to Ohio right around the time Harrah’s Interactive was born and Caesars’ online poker/gambling strategy became more official.

Though the grand opening was delayed a few weeks, the Caesars-operated Horseshoe Casino in Cleveland begins taking brick-and-mortar bets May 14.

While poker people may think this film is a fine representation of the past nine years of our lives … the virtual parade of poker personalities telling the tale (including yours truly, ahem) in the most hyped poker movie since Lucky You got panned by had the New York Times rolling its eyes, saying, “in the interest of accuracy. It ought to be ‘All In: The Poker Propaganda Movie.’”

Fair-ish point by the NYT, but really, watch the clip above and you see a filmmaker who, after 5+ years shooting this film, is not so much a political activist as he is a religious convert.

OK, before I over-insinuate: some news-you-can-use for poker players looking to play it straight with the Feds:

Attorney Brad Polizzano (aka @taxdood) has a series on PokerFuse about various tax matters pertinent to poker players — such as rakeback, staking agreements, and Form 8-Ben Lamb, I think it’s called?

And Theresa Fox (@TfoxCPAinc) talks taxable income on Strategy with Kristy n — tackling matters for anyone with gambling winnings in play, especially those that may have transpired in some capacity across international borders:

They’re having a soft opening April 2. Special thanks to Pokeratizen Darren in Millville for pics the entire Eastern time zone has apparently been clamoring to see:

click to enlarge

FWIW: Fahrenkopf’s sway in the overall-world-is-bigger-than-just-poker political discourse extends far beyond gaming, as he currently serves as co-chairman of the Committee on Presidential Debates. So that’s one to grow on, obv.

Well you’re not gonna believe what our balder, gastronomically larger, bi-braceleted pal is up to now: Country music.

Seriously, have a listen to First 5-Song CD, Created in December 2011, a title he apparently shortened prior to mainstream release on iTunes with the simpler, more memorable “EP”, which some say could be subtle commentary on the plight of a one-time WSOP POY seeking recognition as a real pro by Epic Poker.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tom-schneider/id435732204

You know I wanna mock the ’06 PI Champion now as some sorta wannabe Dwight Yoakam of Poker, presumably doing country things like chewing on straw and watching Barbara Mandrell videos on YouTube. But dag-nabbit if the music’s not actually pretty darn good … seriously, the Tom Schneider EP is like almost professional-sounding and shit!

This is no karaoke endeavor by a disgruntled poker pro. On the contrary, these five collected tunes are uplifting musical tales of a hard-workin’ joe pullin’ himself up by the bootstraps, and even though you’re not gonna hear references to being all-in nor hardcore hand analysis set to gangsta rap a la Ghostface Killah … it is a poker life that Tom Schneider writes about, you can tell, with songs like Kick My Own Ass (about waking up at “the crack of noon”) and Wrinkled Clothes (about “wrinkled clothes”).

Have a listen, and if you like, email me for a free pirated copy! buy it now to help fund a country music singer/songwriter’s bankroll for the 2012 WSOP.

Stu notes that the investigation leading to Bodog’s shutdown wasn’t singular in scope, and asks who might be next on the DOJ’s hit-list. The answer to that question, I believe, is in the indictment itself — and though they don’t name any magazine or website by brand, the DOJ does reveal that after more than five years of investigation they consider certain media part of a criminal conspiracy to facilitate illegal online gambling.

Read and decide for yourself on the not-so-subtle nuances of the DOJ-Maryland office’s carefully chosen words:

6.Through these communications, members of the conspiracy caused the media reseller to create and execute an advertising campaign to increase the participation by gamblers in the United States on the BODOG.com website.

7. Through these communications, members of the conspiracy caused the media reseller to send invoices to BODOG ENTERTAINMENT GROUP S.A., d/b/a BODOG.com. These invoices represented the costs and fees for the creation and execution of the advertising campaign.

8. Members of the conspiracy caused funds to be sent by wire from accounts located outside the United States to accounts located in the United States to satisfy the invoices sent by the media reseller. These wire transfers totaled more than $42 million during 2005 through 2008.

The DOJ has been telegraphing their next move(s) with virtually every court filing for two years or more, and with Ayre’s indictment, you can see the legal play being set up by calling it all a conspiracy, bringing charges of “aiding and abetting” into play, and putting a specific dollar amount ($42 million) on at least one media operation’s ill-gotten gains.

Yeow. So what unnamed media had such a deal with Bodog worth $42mm? I have few ideas can assure you it wasn’t Pokerati. There’s actually a remote possibility that since we’re talking about sports-betting here it’s not “poker media” at all … but assuming the DOJ understands the difference between rev-share and CPA, then if poker media isn’t in line for indictments or big money seizures of their own, then I’m pretty sure it means they’re cooperating.

PokerFraudAlert.com — Former Neverwin/Donkdown bandmate (and WSOP bracelet winner) Todd Witteles is going solo to be a crusader for clearing out the scumbags in poker. (And Dan Druff doesn’t need-no fancy “blog” or “forum” software to do it!)

LegalPokerSites.com — These guys hustle to stay on top of poker-related legal matters across America and worldwide … and provide a thorough rundown of the newsbuzz should a certain site’s editor need to catch up with what’s been going on!

StackemCoaching.com — Yet another training site … but this one (led by John Kim and Joe Tehan) focusses on live play and offers coaching via audio lessons and live sweats with their stable of pros. Their students (and coaches) make up many of the local grinder thugs, and thus SEC is shaping the way a certain sect of Vegas player handles their chips these days.

IGamingNorthAmerica.com — Politicians, regulators, and gaming industry nerds executives descend upon Planet Hollywood over the next few days for a boutique confab with Oscar Goodman introducing Caesars’ chief bean-counter to deliver the keynote. Who woulda ever guessed such a policy-wonk road show like IGNA (with panels on taxation modeling, regulatory timelines, internet security, and liquidity paradigms) would be such a hot ticket in 2012?

StupidBetz.com — Possibly in preparation for the inevitable legalization of making semi-obscene jackass-style prop bets online … or maybe just to encourage stupid behavior for money … this site pays out “stupidbuckz” for people to eat bugs, shave heads, and stick tongues in mousetraps.

But still cool they’re talking online poker legalization on TechCrunch. And Bronson seems to be converting at least a few of those doubting the benefits of online poker’s legitimization.

They did, of course, use a question mark disclaimer in the clue, but it probably wouldn’t have made sense without it.

Daniel Negreanu is keepin’ it real for his fans with a new V-log that talks about Jason Somerville’s coming out of the closet to him — yay, go gay poker pros! — and then sympathizes with poker players who might inflict testicle-centric violence on Howard Lederer, Ray Bitar, and Chris Ferguson.

Negreanu’s disdain for the Full Tilt empresarios is from the gut, you can tell, but gotta say … his calling for essentially the equivalent of a lifetime ban — hoping/encouraging-by-proxy all poker players to shun them forever — sounds ironically similar to KidPoker’s childlike rants against Clonie Gowen back in ’08, when he beckoned for a poker-worldwide ostracization of Clonie after she filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against … um … Howard Lederer, Ray Bitar, and Chris Ferguson (among others) … claiming they ripped her off and that Full Tilt Poker was a shadier operation than many might believe. LOL-oops? (Tune in next week!)

Just last week Wendeen laid out why the supposed “Tapie Deal” isn’t taking shape the way many purport (didn’t someone say FTP-Europe would be up and running by now?) … and she follows that up with a little shameless expose on PokerStars and the cloak of secrecy covering many of their operations — modus operandi she contends became the norm for a company that couldn’t at once be biggest in the world while still trying to fly beneath various legal radars.

From PPN:

Reports from current and former employees, consultants, business partners, Team Pro players, and media brought many verified vignettes that highlight the secretiveness of the company. The various accounts share a common theme; they all indicate a core value of camouflage that permeates so many of the company’s significant initiatives.

Yeesh, happy Valentine’s Day to someone!

Also extra-fascinating is a part of her story suggesting that PokerStars’ efforts to get poker declared a game of skill could be what does them in, financially, because of European tax laws.

The independent, non-partisan Office of Congressional Ethics believes Bachus was “betting” the stock market with privileged information, the Washington Post reports.

OCE says they’ve been looking at the current Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee for more than a year to confirm suspicions that, essentially, Bachus, an active trader, was operating like a stock-options superuser! OK, maybe not exactly, because you gotta think Bachus woulda banked more than a few thousand bucks here and there if he were truly the Russ Hamilton of Wall Street politics. But still …

DC Power Broker? A leader in the cause of stifling online poker, seen here with his wife at an event honoring Rafe Furst and Phil Gordon, two Full Tilt Poker pros.

Regardless of whether or not this level of OCE censure might ultimately land Bachus in prison a la Martha Stewart (it’s often a fine line between unethical and illegal) Bachus’ woe is a big win for poker because such allegations alone effectively neutralize his power and influence on Capitol Hill. In the War on Poker, Bachus has been a General for the other side post-UIGEA, and twice before has shown the ability to stop online poker legalization efforts in their tracks by persuading other members to line up behind him on our issue. But not this go-round, it would seem …