Perhaps inspired by the amount of money police forces take in from poker raids, police in Port Arthur, Texas, raided an internet cafe that was allowing patrons to gamble online — the first bust of its kind in our nation’s history. In a way this would be awesome if it forced the UIGEA into court — but we know the routine … plea down to an irrelevant if not disappearable criminal charge … shut down the operation and make the purveyors sign over any confiscated cash.

All I can say is wow. Can’t believe I didn’t think of opening such a joint I guess you can’t really have multiaccounting problems with online slots Wonder if federal authorities realize the UIGEA caused this, and if Texas officials see the clear citizen demand to expand gambling options in the Lone Star State. Interestingly enough, police say the problem wasn’t internet gambling per se — they don’t have much problem with it done in private — but with the public nature of a business set up to help senior citizens circumvent the banking nuisances created by the UIGEA.

Tomatoes/Tomahtoes, really … because you can arguably say police simply saw it as an opportunity to claim moral righteousness while adding to its asset forfeiture stacks.

Here’s more info on the raid of the “40 Deuce” club in Hurst. It was indeed another undercover narcotics investigation followed by a paramilitary SWAT-team incursion:

Hurst police said they found two dozen people inside the home, which had tables, dealers and even a banker, and was set up to look like Las Vegas.

You know, Pokerati used to defend the police for just doing their jobs, and reminding poker players of that. But c’mon … SWAT teams? That’s so 2006. When you want to shut down a game next time … here’s a hint … try just knocking on the door(s). I know I know … I’m just a blogger and don’t understand police operations — so maybe you can explain to me how, using knowledge gained from your undercover, a knock on the door combined with a marked squad car in the driveway wouldn’t stop any poker crimes from being committed.

In fact, I’ll even give you the answer to this question: “Uh, duh, Mr. Know-it-All, because then there would be no money to confiscate for us to put toward other poker raids/the police “petty cash” fund.”

And while we’re bitchin’ about the money … yo local news media … when “dozens” of players gather with a sum total of a few thousand dollars … since you’re not going to really follow the money to look into what police are really up to with it, at least do the math and realize that this is not “high stakes.” You should be journalistically ashamed of yourselves for being so careless/sensational with your word choice.

For the rest of you, check out the comments on the Channel 5 story. At the time of this posting, they’re running 11-1 in favor of poker and against the police:

More…

A poker room in Hurst (a suburb between Dallas and Fort Worth) got raided Thursday or Friday night. I have few details — perhaps some Pokeratizens can fill us in on the game action, weapons in play, arrests made, etc.? — but according to my source:

Channel 4 said it was a gambling club.
Channel 5 said it was a poker club.

Hmm, makes me wonder if ItsOverJonny may have been right when he suggested that a little extra poker ink tweaks the coppers into action. Not saying that Pokerati or a forthcoming poker documentary is to blame (the doc, after all, wouldn’t be coming out for a long while, and Pokerati generally prefers to pass on responsibility) … but there was apparently a big to-do in Dallas (again) over turning Reunion Arena into a casino … and boom, a few days later, perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, somebody in some police force decided they didn’t want to look like they were turning a blind eye to “gambling.”

BTW, The Dallas Morning News poll results to the question:

Would you support a casino in downtown Dallas?

So far …

85 percent yes
15 percent no

In this episode:

Jon Kyl is Facing Reality!
It’s Lonely at the top of Morality Mountain…
There are still no regulations for UIGEA… Banks don’t want to police UIGEA… and others in Congress want to overturn UIGEA… I guess it’s time to face facts, Jon.

Chuck E Cheese is Facing Prison?
Pizza Selling Rat also promotes illegal gambling…
The great legal minds of South Carolina have concluded that the Skee ball and Whac-a-Mole games at Chuck E Cheese are a slippery slop to illegal gambling… and they must go!

News from both sides of the Atlantic
Lottery to Tennis… Texas to France…
In Texas, lottery officials are warning consumers about buying tickets online… and with good reason! And out of France, a judge has returned a ruling in the French Open vs Online Gambling case.

In this week’s episode:

There’s No Cheating in Online Poker!
Now that we have your attention…
We thought that we should let ya know that some companies are boldly selling poker bot software for under $200, claiming big returns on your investment! Good luck with that! =0)

Our Tribute to the FBI…
We just LOVE the FBI…
I mean, why wouldn’t we love the FBI? They give us so much free comedy material that we would otherwise have to write for ourselves! God bless those brave men and women fighting the tyranny of online gambling!

Washington State to be a Battleground… Again…
The War Rages on…
First, it was J Todd battling the State Gambling Commission over his websites in 2006. Then our friend Nick Jenkins was actually arrested and charged with online gambling in 2007. Now, in early 2008, Attorney and poker player Lee Rousso is challenging the State’s online gambling ban in court!

In this week’s episode:

Congressional Hearings on UIGEA…
Barney Frank Heads to the Hill…
We all know our friend Barney Frank isn’t shy about speaking his mind, calling UIGEA the “stupidest”law ever passed. Now, he’s taking his straight talk about the law before Congressional Committees on the issue. See what was said!

Coverage of the Amsterdam Conference…
Reporting from Amsterdam!
We’re hear and we’re causing trouble! See our exclusive report from the Casino Affiliate Convention, and where J. Todd has been having to spend the night!

Sorry for the lack of personal postage last week and presumably this one … I have gotten caught up in the housing crisis and am moving again over the next couple days … even though I don’t know where yet. Seriously, housing crisis is very real here — our friends at The Poker Atlas were forced to relocate due to the house they were renting going into foreclosure; Rounder Club West got evicted from their digs a couple weeks ago because their landlord decided to desperately sell. When this sorta thing happens to three homes in an isolated niche, it can’t just be coincidental.

Anyhow, so yes, content … sorry for the lack thereof and sorry for the blog-cliche post about being sorry. There’s still plenty going on out there that the poker-minded populace shouldmaybe care about, regardless of my personal battle against homelessness.

As we know, the US is currently trying to figure out how to enforce the UIGEA — the AMERICAN BANKS say they can’t really do it — so now, instead of rewriting our own bad laws, we are pressuring the UK to change theirs.

And here’s an article about EL PASO’S rich gambling history - underground or not — over the past 100+ years, starting with a mayor in 1895 known as “Poker Bob” Campbell.

A NEW BLOG (to me) I am now following semi-regularly: David Matthews’ Gambling in Space.

Through him, I learned about FRANK GAGLIARDI, a California Lottery winner who also likes to gamble and recently won his very relevant (to me and you) court case vs. the IRS:

If this case stands, then it could effectively rewrite tax law and make it easier for gamblers to report losses and more difficult for the IRS to go after gamblers.

BALLY TECHNOLOGY also won a pretty big case in court — against SHUFFLE MASTER, which up to this point has maintained an expensive stranglehold on the automatic shufflers you see in poker tables.

And CALIFORNIA JEN may have loved the poker mockumentary THE GRAND, but not everybody did.

Crap, that’s hardly everything, but I have to run …

Joe in New York writes in with some clarification about Kwari – the online shooting game played for money with full awareness of the relevance of the UIGEA, despite its not-so-pokery nature.

Hey Dan,

Hope all is well. I just checked out your column where you mentioned Kwari had launched services and want to provide a little more information so your readers do not get a bad experience. Currently, Kwari is only available in the U.K. The US version has not launched yet. While you could download the game and play for money in the US, Kwari does not encourage this. If you log in the United States, there will be some serious lag issues as the games are based in the UK. Kwari is expected to launch in the United States towards the end of the summer. Thank you for your interest in Kwari and if you have any questions, please let me know.

Best,

Joe

Thank you, Joe. Will be interesting to watch how the concept of professional online gaming develops. Hey, I noticed that Kwari is based in Gibraltar … Be sure to tell our good friends and your presumable neighbors at PartyPoker we say hi before you shoot them for fun and duckets!

Microsoft, we know, likes to fight … and the company fired their first shot against cheaters in their online Xbox Live community by conducting a little neighborhood sweep. They aren’t banning players, but instead dropping their player points down to zero and marking their profiles with the digital equivalent of a scarlet C. Not sure how that would work in poker … but it shows the relevance of poker issues in a non-poker world, and perhaps suggests some potential allies who have an interest our fights. Online gam(bl)ing and online gaming, after all, aren’t that far apart.

Online video game competitions for money are already in play — the Fifa Interactive World Cup, for example, awards $20k to the winner. And the shoot-em-up game Kwari has started offering real-money competition, where you win cash for kills and the house takes its cut by charging you for ammo. Bullets, chips … tomato, D’amato … Seriously, how familiar does this sound:

More…

Eliot Spitzer: Strong means weak.

A key player in getting PayPal not to accept gambling-related transactions … taken down by the exchange of virtual money he tried to stop.

We all know Richard Lee settled his case — pleading no contest and forfeiting more than $2 million dollars to make it all mostly go away. That seems to be the way it goes with enforcing the Class A misdemeanor of “operating a gambling place” … “like seriously, don’t make us try to send you to jail, just give us all your money and everything will be fine.”

Earlier this month, with approval from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, Bexar County officials released the names of Lee’s alleged punters. Some 3,200 of them — the juiciest ones, presumably, redacted … complete with cell phone numbers, you know, so other bookies can find these customers in need. Click here to see for yourself, and let us know if you recognize any celebs on the Lee-List. I definitely maybe know one dude from Dallas on there. I think he plays poker. He lives kinda near where there used to be a poker room. Sounds vaguely and theoretically familiar.

From KSAT:

According to [Bexar County District Attorney Susan] Reed, though, the list does not mean her office will pursue charges against those on the list.

“Being the number of names on here, being a Class C misdemeanor… the cost of that would be incredible,” she said. “(It’s) not something I’m interested in spending a huge amount of taxpayer money on.”

In this week’s the February 1, 2008, episode:

Complete Coverage of the CAP Euro Conference in London…
We went… We saw… We drank our butts off! Yea yea, I know that sounds unprofessional. But this event had some great parties! And both had an open bar… for a few hours at least! LOL!

In all seriousness, however, there were many things to learn, and many meetings to attend. See our highlights from the event, including an interview with CAP staff!

Positive News from America? That’s a change…
We’re following two interesting stories from the States… and both have a connection to Washington State, where former professional poker player turned lawyer Lee Rousso says he will make a run for governor! And Mr. Rousso is already challenging the states online gambling ban!

Also, Representative Jim McDermott is floating an online gambling study in the US Congress!

Finland Makes Online Gambling News… AGAIN!
Here’s the absolute proof that government has no clue… Just a week ago, Finland was talking about a new online gambling ban that would allow players in that country to pursue civil recovery from online gambling websites, players at those sites, or credit card companies that process payments for those sites.

This week, they want to run an online poker room?

DALLAS–The charity tourney for Bea’s Kids was Saturday night, and none other than your second-favorite host of Beyond the Table won it! No, I’m not talking about Tom … In a field of 80-someodd players — most of whom had little or no experience — Karridy took down first prize, winning a 52-inch HDTV for his efforts and charitable donation(s). Nice!

Karridy Askenasy, counting out his chips two at a time before making a call and sucking out on the river (four outer?) to win the 2nd Annual Bea’s Kid’s Texas Hold’em Tournament.

His victory was extra impressive not just because at one point he was the chip leader at the final table with an M=4, but also because he played taking a note from Gentle Shane and acted the whole time as if this were his very first time playing poker. “For a second there I thought that was Jamie Gold,” said one of his more knowledgeable competitors.

Even if Karridy hadn’t won it — along with my $20 in our lasts-longest bet — this was still a great event. Kudos to tourney organizers for kicking it old-school and insisting on giving non-raffle prizes to the winners, and to Eddie Deen’s for not letting legally questionable threats from anti-poker forces get in the way of raising money for a good cause.

[display_podcast]

In this week’s episode:

The United Kingdom, where they LOVE this industry…

Better late than never, right? Sorry it’s taken a few days to send a “simple” email, but this time difference has been kicking my bum, as they say… =0)

Well this weeks show is here, and it is the first APCW show brought to you from two continents! Watch J.Todd’s race to London as it unfolds!

China, where they LOVE TO HATE this industry…

What are they doing now? We know they are not the greatest when it comes to human rights, and that intolerance extends to online gaming as well, where this industry is viewed as “undesirable”.

Hope the US Government is proud to emulate one of the most repressive nations in history when it comes to playing online poker.

Finland, where they have NO CLUE about our industry…

Imagine that you’re sitting at home… and you get a letter from the government of Finland! They say you owe one of their citizens money because you beat them in online poker!

Don’t laugh! This is real! And the government in Finland wants to allow players there to recoup losses from other players, credit card companies, and online gaming sites!

As Pokerati slowly but surely gets settled in to our new Las Vegas digs, we’ve started thinking about the next Pokerati Invitational … and specifically how to keep it legal. Kinda funny, but that was pretty easy to do in Texas … just throw a tourney with no entry fee or any other sort of rake and it was all good — whether it was held at Adam’s house, the Lodge, Sadler & Carter, or the Platinum Room. Dealer tips and money that was taken out of the prize pool to be put back in in the form of a medieval battle helmet trophy or fancy sandwiches … well that may have been legally questionable … but we somehow managed to stay clean as I threw an event once a year for all my best poker friends/clients/colleagues and anyone else’s butt that may have needed kissing. Good times!

Anyhow, I’m trying to figure out what’s possible here in Nevada, where all things “gaming” seem to be heavily regulated. Like can I throw my own event, at a house, if I so choose? With my own dealers? Or if I go to a casino, do I have to take an entry fee?

These questions are semi-rhetorical for now, as I study up on how things work in the Silver State … where as far as I can tell it is still illegal to play online. (Who knew?!? I thought they changed that law, but apparently not. I was kicking ass on Full Tilt just yesterday!) You know what has me shaking my head is how I made a conscious choice way back when to ditch the Dallas underground in favor of the online world. Shortly thereafter, my bosses at PartyPoker were deemed serious criminals if they didn’t get out of Dodge by sundown. So now in an attempt to go totally legit, I have come to Las Vegas, where, heck, just about everything is legal … and lo and behold, there’s still a lot of gray areas — not to mention people who live and work in them.

Check it out … casino executives have been making political contributions long before this sorta stuff was tracked and kept on the legal up and up. Click here to see who is giving to whom this presidential election season.

Interestingly enough, very few are giving to Barack Obama. Even though Elain Wynn (Steve’s wife) is working for his campaign, their family is giving to Joe Biden. The Binion’s are John McCain people. Kirk Kerkorian digs Joe Biden and john McCain. The Sands Corp. … they love the ultraconservative causes of Rudy Giuliani. There seems to be some bet-hedging with Hillary Clinton … but again, very little casino money going to Obama (or Ron Paul).

In this week’s episode:

New year… New music… New Graphics…
…and the same ol’ host, J. Todd. To celebrate the start of 2008 he makes a resolution to clean-up his potty mouth. Then, he tries to give away some cash! Watch and win with this weeks show!

Hollywood the Latest Victim of UIGEA?…
When the WTO gave Antigua the rights to profit $21 million a year at the expense of American intellectual property rights, a collective chill could be felt sweeping over Silicone Valley and the Hollywood Hills. There are some out there who believe that — if Hollywood suffers — they are getting just what they deserve!

What are those damned Germans up to Now?!
Last week we told you that Germany has decided to ban internet gambling as of January 1st, 2008. In a no shame attempt to protect their state monopoly, they don’t seem to care what the EU Court of Justice thinks. Now, they may have issues mounting from within, as several online gaming companies may be teaming up to go after them civilly. Where the hell where these guys and the will to fight when UIGEA rolled out?

More…

Radley Balko, one of my favorite poker-friendly non-poker provocateurs, is on the radio right now — ESPN 970 am in Las Vegas — talking about poker, online poker, internet gambling, the UIGEA, and presumably how it all ties into other pressing issues that will (or should) be on voters’ minds in 2008.

NOTE: I can’t seem to listen to the station online. “New-to-Vegas,” I claim. Can anyone help? I thought all radio stations were online these days.

In this week’s episode:

US / EU Deal has Serious Issues…

There are some in the European Union who are not at all happy with last week’s announcement of a deal to compensation over the online gambling ban. In fact, it looks like the US may have even mislead the EU on what the deal was about

This could help our industry stay on life support a bit longer… and we’re not dead yet!

Antigua gets $21 Million and Piracy Rights…

The World Trade Organization has decided to allow Antigua to recover $21 million in damages by violating US copyrighted products, just like the APCW predicted in November of 2006!

Antigua was asking for $3.4 billion, and the award is well below that. So can a measly $21 million make a difference at all? Maybe…

Germans Give EU the Finger…
Germany has decided to ban internet gambling as of January 1st, 2008. They say that they have to protect their monopoly, and they expect the EU Court of Justice to come after them… and they don’t care.

More…

An interesting vid I found via the PPA’s myspace page. (We’re “friends.” But should I be jealous that Wicked Chops and CardPlayer are “top” friends and Pokerati is not?)

Anyhow, not sure what to make of this CNN story. The bad side is the way they attribute one person’s weakness as signs of an endemic problem. Also bad that there are forces in Congress — a Democrat no less — wanting to further paint gambling as evil. The good side is that this pending legislation pulls out slot machines as something different, and points out that the government is aware of its own abilities to make money via different forms of recreational gaming.

Either way, gambling in all forms clearly is becoming a hot minor issue in the upcoming election year — one that many congresspeople may find easier to take on that some of the country’s more pressing concerns.

News Clip on Bill to Ban Military Slot Machines (12/17/07)

In the spirit of political compromise, I think at least a few of us would be willing to say, fine, pull slot machines from military bases … and make online poker more legal so we can replace the revenues lost from the removal of military slot machines. That would be a win-win, right?

While bills to undo the UIGEA are picking up steam, the Treasury Department is still trying to figure out how to enforce it. And they have to decide on Wednesday if one proposed system of blocking financial transactions will work. Thus, click below to see the letter I just sent out in opposition (with a little help from the PPA). If you would like to do something similar — you have to do it pretty much in the next 24 hours — click here (and scroll down toward the bottom) for instructions on doing your non-lazy-poker-player patriotic duty as an American citizen opposed to bad, non-sensical regulations, policy, and law.

More…

Some interesting developments in the off-the-table workings of the online poker world. Millions of votes and billions of dollars at stake:

BARNEY FRANK’s bill is picking up steam — with 44 cosponsors. Not sure of the party breakdown, but the willingness of others to sign on suggests undoing the UIGEA could be a good “sensible government” issue that, frankly, is easier to deal with than so many other pressing political concerns.

Meanwhile, the conservative anti-gambling forces are starting to organize their troops and take fighting against us a little more seriously. Poker enemy FOCUS ON THE FAMILY is calling gambling “out of control” (via Citizen magazine) — possibly because our political successes are a chance for them to raise funds regardless of the results.

They do, however, remind everybody that you have until DECEMBER 12 to let the feds know what you think about the online gambling issue. (Anyone got a link to a email-your-rep thingy?)

And here’s an interesting article from a decidedly non-poker source about how the UIGEA has been responsible for getting rid of spam. While ZDNet’s RYAN NARAINE guest-posting expert on INTERNET SECURITY makes some good points about how some semblance of internet regulation was able to put poker spammers temporarily? out of business, he carries on to show he doesn’t really know what he’s talking about:

[The UIGEA] effectively caused the death of numerous black hat SEO companies–comment spammers. Perhaps the UIGEA measure against processing of payments proved too difficult to overcome. Not being a lawyer I can’t say exactly how UIGEA caused this death. No matter, US online gambling operations were effectively destroyed.

Spam decreased. The underlying cause for that was that the clients weren’t there due to the inability to process payments because of the online Casinos law.

Not only black hat SEO companies suffered, many spam operations lost clients. There is nearly no more Casino spam in our mail inboxes. Isn’t that grand?

Um, yeah. Wanna make a wager about the casino spam? It just took a break … the pathetic side of the industry shifted around about, that’s all. But by his grand logic, we could get rid of all spam by banning all sorts of stuff on the internet. This is semi-true, but would require the U.S. enforcing its laws beyond its borders … which is part of the problem we currently face.

Anyhow, his GADI EVRON’s semi-informed ignorance is indicative of the types of landmines the poker politicos will have to avoid this year.

I haven’t played much at PokerStars in a long while … I dunno, I guess I ran out of money on that account last spring — brutal pot-limit heads-up against Gonz — and just stopped playing because I didn’t wanna go through whatever new process to get money back online. But i just got an email from our good friends at Stars, telling me there’s a new way to transfer funds directly to and from your American bank.

Hmm, interesting. At least if it’s anything new it is:

Dear RiverDan72 ,

Instant eChecks is a great deposit option which allows you to make safe and secure electronic fund transfers (EFT), directly from your bank account to your PokerStars account.

eChecks allow you to load your account instantly, (providing you have no past negative eCheck history), so you can hit the tables and get in the game in no time at all!

You may deposit funds into your PokerStars account using eChecks at any time. Simply click on the Instant eChecks icon in the PokerStars Cashier to make a deposit.

If you have any questions about eChecks, please feel free to contact us at cashier@pokerstars.com.

Regards,
The PokerStars Team

More proof that politics is way more about money than morals … Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is pushing for three resort casinos in his state. You would think we might say that’s a good thing — especially for Gonz. However, let’s hope it doesn’t pass … because buried deep inside the legislative initiative is a provision that would make it a serious crime to place a bet online.

If it does pass as-is, playing poker online would be punishable by two years in jail and a $25,000 fine. Rep. Barney Frank isn’t happy, because that’s a rake you just can’t beat!

What rubs me a little raw here is the short-sighted ignorance of politicians (and others) who don’t see how online gambling — at least as it applies to poker — actually helps feed their brick-and-mortar interests. I mean that’s just looking at the bucks and bolts of it. Forget about the morally offensive nature of criminalizing any solo activity perpetrated in one’s private bedroom.

What the people who care less about online poker and casinos for the people of Boston should be concerned about is yet another attempt to put laws into play that will ultimately require an internet police force to be set up to patrol our computer screens.

Let’s focus, political people: “Sensible government” is what the voters want to see in 2008! And when the PPA is siding with anti-gambling advocates, you know something doesn’t add up.

That’s the story and he’s sticking to it.

Pleading no contest and saying goodbye to that much money means one of two things. Either:

1) He made so much money from his legally questionable online gambling business that $2.2 million is simply an affordable nuisance “cost of doing business”

or

2) This was a deal worked out not just with prosecutors (who wanted to send Lee to jail on felony charges) but also with Lee’s top customers, who supposedly included some of the most powerful people in San Antonio, including the former mayor, in which case they might have let him know they would make it up to him.

NOTE: Link fixed.

Fourteen of the 15 people arrested in last week’s raid at The Palms in Houston have been charged with engaging in organized crime.

From KHOU:

The district attorneys office has now charged 14 of those arrested with engaging in organized crime, which is a felony offense. Those charged were allegedly dealers, game runners and waiters or waitresses at the club where the bust took place.

ALT HED: Murmur

Another late comment on an older post, semi-related … comes from Marisa in the Midwest:

I have been a licensed poker dealer in the midwest for 13 years, and I have been waiting many years for Texas to legalize poker rooms in Texas. I am originally from the midwest, but lived in the Dallas area from 1981 to 1989 and have wanted to move back to the area for quite some time, but I would like to stay in the poker industry. I am currently employed by the largest poker room in the midwest (34 tables), and it is located at a horse racing track. We are a card club/horse track only. It has been a wonderful combination. From the rake we take in the poker room, at least 25% of that is put toward the horse racing purses which has allowed our horse track to increase its payouts and draw more and better quality horses. We also have a “casino games” room in which we spread blackjack, carribian stud, pai gow poker, let it ride, 3 and 4 card poker. Although those games are normally considered “house games” ours are not. The only “profit” that the house makes from these games is by taking a fifty cent rake from these games put up by the player. Any monies lost by the player are put into a “player’s pool”. This money must be given back to the players by the end of the year. It is given back in the form of bonuses for each of the different games (example…get 3 blackjacks in a row, win an extra $500. And for every blackjack in a row after the intial 3, the player is awarded $1,000 bonus for each consectutive blackjack).

More…

Here’s an interesting story on MSNBC — about concerns within the horse racing community about the legality of their favorite pastime. What-the? Here we are in the poker world wishing we could be like the competitive equestrian industry — with a stated exemption from the UIGEA … but apparently the Department of Justice is contending that betting on horses on the internet is still illegal:

The online horse betting industry says the IHA, in effect, amended the Wire Act – the main federal anti-gambling statute – but the justice department has stated publicly that it believes the Wire Act remains paramount and that interstate horse betting online remains illegal. [...]

“My gut feeling is that they haven’t tried to prosecute somebody because they don’t want to lose, because then you have case law that says they’re wrong [...] And I think they would lose,” says Steven Barham, associate co-ordinator of the race track industry programme at the University of Arizona.

While most industries might be alarmed by a pronouncement by justice officials that it is operating illegally, the leading industry body takes the department’s latest opinion with little more than a shrug. The willingness of established companies to defy the department highlights the industry’s confidence that it has the upper hand in its analysis of the law.

Wow, sounds so much like poker in the “old days.” It also reminds me of 1) the impacts of badly crafted laws, which continue to need to be rewritten; and 2) how important the courts can be in determining who’s interpretation of a bad law matters most.

The non-poker press is catching on to online gambling issues [Fort Worth Star-Telegram] — still learning what they really are about, and feeling out whether or not they have enough relevance and traction to merit follow-up stories throughout the upcoming political season.

And no matter how much our ilk doesn’t think it should be this way — we can hardly be surprised when stories like the one above get packaged with a teens-on-heroin variety of poker/gambling story like the one here. It’s inevitable … they’re going for that whole concept of “balance” that we in the poker media are generally unfamiliar with.

Ray in Chicago writes in with some relevant, outside-the-poker-box thoughts about why it might be a losing battle to argue poker as a game of skill:

Hi Dan,

I wanted to comment on the bust and on the updates that you linked to.

The underlying theme that is always put forth is that poker is a game of skill, and therefore not gambling. As long as the poker bloc keeps saying that, it will always be more difficult to get it legalized. A large percentage of Americans will never agree with that stance, and many people who could be convinced to support poker as legal gambling will not support it as an occupation of skill.

Think about it this way. Horse race handicapping is a skillful endeavor. Some people are good enough at it to make a living playing the horses (just like poker). Their bets are against other players (just like poker). The house takes a rake (just like poker). But the moment you make a bet and risk your money or the money of a sponsor, meaning that you could walk away a loser, it’s gambling!!

If the poker experts consider horse racing gambling, then for exactly the same reasons poker should be considered gambling.

Instead of trying to convert the people with the say-so your time and money is better spent convincing them that poker is a form of gambling that should be legal. Since poker rooms abound in every legal casino, where gambling takes place, the solution is to allow poker rooms to exist like the casinos and the race tracks and the off track betting parlors.

Good Luck with all the legislation,

Uncle Ray

Thanks for writing in Uncle Ray. And to think, these readers don’t even know that I am currently ranked 24th out of 84,000 nationally in our family football pick’em game. I hate to say you might be right on this issue … but.

What does seem clear is that anyone who has played “gets it,” and any who haven’t don’t. I suspect the people at NORML might contend the same thing.

Good stuff from J Todd and friends, as is generally the case, to those of us interested in the socio-political-economic waves (and butterfly effects) of the poker biz.

• New British gambling laws go into effect. The moralists fear “normalisation.”
• APCW takes on NPR for their gambling-law coverage.
• New American tax on poker winnings chaps some hides.
• Brokeback Harbor.

Yeow. The tax thing is pretty big, I think. (It’s gotta be enough to make Eskimo Clark’s heart skip a beat, yo.) From what I can tell, it doesn’t seem to take into account losses. And the 25 percent … perhaps a tax-minded Pokeratizen can clarify for us … is this in addition to standard income tax that all poker players dutifully report on their W-2Gs?

I mean it’s hard enough for low-stakes players to beat the rake. Now high-stakes players face a juice that seems almost impossible to successfully swallow.

UPDATE: Found a little more good information via Lou Krieger. His take makes it seem just that all casinos have to be like Harrah’s now, and automatically withhold the taxes, that’s all. Sucks, sure, but understandable? Unacceptable? Undesirable?

THACKERVILLE, Okla.–North Texas player Abteen Vaziri just said now that I know his name I can delete it. He is out. He wins $2,500 for finishing in 55th place. Much of Abteen’s recent success has come from study of Joe Navarro’s book on tells. But he misread a pulsing neck vain for weakness when in reality it was pocket queens.

Sorry dude.

Looks like it’s up to Josh, Troy, and/or TJ to do the Dallas gamers (whose names Pokerati knows) proud.

UPDATE: Troy “Darling” Phillips is out. He got pocket jacks on the button and raised. The ever-aggressive big blind pushed all-in … Troy called … and would learn the sad news that he was up against aces. Ouch!

50th place. $3,000. Still, nice job by the Batfaces favorite sugar daddy curly haired representative. It’s only a matter of time before he runs out of money makes another final table.

UPDATE: Josh Evans also appears to be out. Turned away for a second and his table was gone … and he couldn’t be found elsewhere in the field.

Interestingly enough, while Kido Pham and Greg Raymer were brought out here (and presumably bought in) by WinStar … TJ Cloutier simply showed up on his own and plunked down $1,100. Definitely not a charity event for him. And to think, they don’t even have craps in Oklahoma. Can we say positive EV?

With 45 players left and blinds at 4k/8k+500, Cloutier has about 165,000 chips. Average stack is 111,000.

UPDATE: Just learned that Cloutier was bought into this event by a heretofore unnamed military-ish backer in Dallas … who has 50 percent of the poker hall-of-famer.

An article in the Financial Times details how Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson thinks there is more to be gained by playing poker than one might think.

Haven’t we been saying that for years?

Just as the anti-poker side is encouraging their “pro family” members to write their representatives about the plagues that will fall if the UIGEA is undone, pro-poker ambassadors are also hard at work rallying the troops. Click below to see the letter Greg Raymer sent out seeking similar political activity from presumably lazy poker types.

Interestingly enough, I have a PokerStars account and am a paying member of the PPA … but didn’t get this email. (It was forwarded to me by Don the Las Vegas Real Estate Guy.) With the other side well-practiced in their methods of swinging votes, I gotta think the poker side may need some extra coordination to keep up with the competition. Perhaps the three federal bills in play would benefit from something similar to what we used in Texas to electronically connect the legislators and citizenry en masse. Seriously, this relatively small programming effort went a long way toward ensuring our beloved little HB 3186 was a good chunk of the hallway/bathroom buzz around the state capitol at a semi-critical time.

Again, Greg Raymer’s request below …

More…

LAS VEGAS–Just like old times … I’ve got so many super-fascinating browser tabs open I can’t keep up with them all. So please, allow me to unload:

The major tournament action underway is the LEGENDS of POKER at the BIKE in CALIFORNIA. Perhaps we’ll swing by …

MIKE MATUSOW, with his second-place finish in the main event of the BELLAGIO CUP III, is no longer broke. Apparently his $670k payday left him with 50 grand all to himself. In the real world this means he now qualifies for a loan. In the poker world it means he no longer does, unless he goes broke again.

DANIEL NEGREANU’s got a pretty good skill column this week, talking about manipulating table image to better reap the rewards of shifting gears. Hmm, something to think about?

From the Dept. of: Awesome … PHIL HELLMUTH will appear on The Surreal Life. Might an ass-kicking be inevitable, as he moves into a house with RANDY “Macho Man” SAVAGE, MISS CLEO, NANCY MCKIBBEN (who?), DABNEY COLEMAN, and the uber-pumped CARROT TOP.

BILL RINI, whom I consider an expert in matters of online cheating, has up a video that I thought was informational warning about a new form of MARKED CARDS circulating. But upon closer look, turns out to be just an ad hawking the illicit poker gear (compliments of GOOGLE).

Interesting (biased?) article here on what Google supposedly does to keep online poker seekers away from the bad poker sites.

Speaking of cheating … has anyone heard word of who might have been the high-stakes players allegedly swindled in major cheating scam at the BORGATA? Famed cheating consultant STEVE FORTE, of course, was one of the guys busted, even though he uses the journalist’s beloved excuse of “I was just working on a story!” Suddenly scary: the notion of tapping into hole-card cams.

Suddenly needed: a big-time poker security accreditation system?

Check it out … DUGGLEBOGEY is back to his old tricks sticks:

Glad to see the return of some more friendly faces.

Here’s a great article on the rise and fall of an ONLINE PRO — how you can go from $10k to $1.5 million and back down again. It coincides with a semi-related story about KaiBuxxe / RealAndyBeal — a 22-year-old Austrian and former MAGIC player who is tearing up the world of POT-LIMIT OMAHA.

And BRIAN TOWNSEND (aka “sbrugby”) — an online superstar turning to live games — is in the midst of a $3 million downswing. This according to his own blog. [via PokerKingBlog]

Dude, tell me about it … I’ve been running similarly bad:

POKER IS HARD!

Looks kinda like a PARTYGAMING stock chart, no?

SHANNON ELIZABETH was unable to play in the Victoria Poker Championships in AUSTRALIA … because she got carded at the door and didn’t have her ID. The male contingent of Pokerati has always wondered why ladies go anywhere without their license/passport/prescription.

Speaking of Australia, it may have slipped under your radar that the AUSSIES, along with CANADA and MACAU, have joined the WTO dispute against the UNITED STATES over the UIGEA. The beef started by ANTIGUA and BARBUDA seems to be growing some teeth, as others fighting against the chief enemy of AL QAEDA include COSTA RICA, INDIA, and … the EUROPEAN UNION. Think this fight isn’t about the future of international online economies as much as it is about poker?

A group called IMEGA continues to challenge the controversial internet law in court, and have their fingers crossed that a federal judge in New Jersey will issue a TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER in September.

Speaking of lawsuits and court actions in September, attorney and PPA representative LEE ROUSSO has a hearing set for his suit, which challenges the Constitutionality of WASHINGTON STATE’s law that makes playing online poker a felony on par with CHILD MOLESTATION.

A CARIBBEAN BUSINESS CONGLOMERATE will be entertaining a bunch of AMERICAN CONGRESSPEOPLE in November to explain Antigua’s WTO stance, among other things. In attendance will be CHARLIE RANGEL (D-NY-Taxes) and BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS-Homeland Security),

AMERICA ONLINE wants in on online poker. Or at least online SPORTS BETTING, as AOL has entered into an internet bookmaking contract with a GERMAN company, FLUXX, which will target punters in the UK.

A good article from the BRITISH PRESS here — describing the UIGEA as a “TROJAN HORSE” given to the European gambling industry.

Meanwhile, British online gaming company WILLIAM HILL says they are having a hard time keeping poker players, because the EUROS really want to take on the AMERICANS (at Bodog, for example).

Over in the PHILLIPINES, they have (finally) opened up a bar-and-grille with amateur Texas Hold’em tourneys (scroll down near the bottom).

The nightly non-wager Hold ‘Em tournaments at the Player’s Den hope to further sharpen the skills of the Pinoys in this ultimate mind game where we can eventually excel worldwide.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

You may notice a lot of linkage today from this PokerKing guy. He has a lot of good stuff to read, including this article on why JERRY YANG is bad for ONLINE poker. Maybe maybe not, but I tend to agree with the wisdom of LOU KRIEGER, who recognizes that poker is a long-term game, and Yang couldn’t have come at a better time.

Here’s one of the more balanced takes on the JERRY YANG FOR PRESIDENT campaign.

Pokerati has long been a fan of Sealand … an independent, sovereign seaside “resort” off the coast of Britain that has all the right infrastructure to thumb its nose at American efforts to stop anything internet. They’ve already fought the battles with Europe and won … and now they are opening an online casino.

Click here to read the full Sealand story, from before we even knew what online poker was. [Wired, August 2000]

Official site: Sealandgov.org

“The misinformation campaign is in full swing, and Congress is the target.”
- letter in support of UIGEA

As efforts to circumvent, overturn, repeal and/or just generally undo the UIGEA are gaining momentum, the anti-poker forces are acting as if the UIGEA has saved hundreds of thousands of babies and is an essential part of protecting us from terrorism. And as crazy as what they say may sound — seriously, their arguments couldn’t hold up in a high school debate class — politics has nothing to do with what’s right and/or makes sense … it’s simply a matter of how each side plays its chips.

Click below to read the letter the other side is sending to members of U.S. Congress with hopes of making any anti-UIGEA legislation better off untouched:

(Then feel free to pick it apart at will.)

More…

LAS VEGAS–It should be noted that today is the day the 270-day enforcement grace period for the UIGEA expires. But the Treasury Department has been unable to come up with a plan to force American banks to enforce the legally questionable act. While some of us — including yours truly — expected this July 13 marker to prove very dramatic and telling for the future of online poker, it’s actually been rather anti-climactic. Hardly a peep about it at the WSOP … neither Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, nor Otis has been arrested.

A court case that could lead to the overturning of the act is scheduled now for September 4.

More on iMega vs. the UIGEA here.

And here.

We’re hearing some interesting rumors from reliable sources about a fundraising poker tournament that didn’t happen in San Antonio this weekend. The purpose was reportedly to raise money for the American Legion there — with top prize being a WSOP main event seat. Either that prize was donated by none other than Richard Lee … or Lee had something to do with the organization of it. But apparently the cops shut it down before it happened.

Ahh, remember the good-ole-days when the police could just look the other way?

For those of you who may not recall, Lee was the well-connected, family-lovin’ San Antonio bookie businessman who finished 6th in last year’s WSOP main event (winning a cool $2.8 million) … only to have his hometown police rain on his welcome-back parade by busting into his house to confiscate cash and cars on allegations that he was running an online gambling ring. His case is still pending.