Pokerati » Minnesota

Uncle Sam Grabs the Cash, and Minnesota Blinks! Perspectives Weekly

J. Todd — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:23:44 +0000

Are you one of the 24,000 online poker players missing their cash outs? Well the US Government has your money, and they’re laughing all the way to the bank! Get the scoop on this story, plus the state of Minnesota comes to a decision in their fight to ban internet gambling within it’s borders.

Minnesota Frontlines: Poker, Internet Wins

Dan Michalski — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:01:21 +0000

While online poker forces and their internet freedom allies continue to fight a war of attrition in Kentucky, principals in Minnesota have not just called a cease-fire — the State halting efforts to force telecom companies to block citizen access to a random assortment of gambling-ish sites — but also the potential adversaries, who met face-to-face in St. Paul last week, seem to be forming a truce, looking for ways they can work together to regulate/tax online poker, etc. within Minnesota borders:

Minn. regulators drop bid to block online gambling [Associated Press via @ppapoker]

“We have not folded our hand,” said Andy Skoogman, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, where gambling regulators are housed. He said he expects new strategies for regulating Internet gambling to emerge.

“The action raised awareness of the broader issue about who is policing the Internet and protecting the consumer,” he said. “At this point, we don’t feel there is anybody. This is an issue that every state is going to face sooner rather than later.”

PPA Declares Victory in Minnesota Minnesota drops action to make ISPs block gambling sites (maybe)

Kevin Mathers — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:00:52 +0000

On Thursday, The Minnesota Department of Public Safety decided it was dropping its attempt to force ISPs to block several online gambling sites to Minnesota residents. The PPA press release can be found below.

UPDATE: Not so fast, my friend. Apparently, the Minnesota DPS hasn’t officially dropped its effort, but its expected to happen by early next week, stay tuned for further updates.

Poker Players Alliance Declares Victory in Minnesota
State Drops Enforcement Against ISPs Allowing Access to Internet Poker

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (June 4, 2009) â€“The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide (and more than 15,000 in Minnesota), declared victory as news broke that the Minnesota Department of Public Safety was dropping enforcement action against Internet Service Providers that provide access to Internet gambling sites, including legal Internet poker sites. The announcement was made by Representative Pat Garofalo, who indicated that the matter was concluded after â€œthe legal position underlying the issuance of the notices was reconsidered.â€ Garofalo specifically credited the PPA and the Interactive Gaming Council with contributing to the conclusion of the matter.

â€œThis is a great day for internet freedom,â€ said Garofalo. â€œIn the spirit of cooperation and in recognition of the rescission of these notices, I am more than happy to withdraw my bill and in its place sponsor a discussion aimed at establishing a framework for regulating and licensing the online gaming industry.â€

â€œMinnesota poker players made our voices heard, the state listened and ended its ill-advised and improper attempt to circumvent the rights of Minnesota poker players,â€ said Matthew Werden, Minnesota State Director of the Poker Players Alliance. â€œWe commend Representative Garofalo for literally taking this misguided effort head on and resolving it without incident.â€

â€œWe are extremely proud of our membership for unifying so quickly and effectively in opposition to this action,â€ said John Pappas, Executive Director of the PPA. â€œWe look forward to working with all parties involved to reach a sensible framework for regulation of this 21st Century pastime.â€

For more information please visit www.pokerplayersalliance.org

Barney Frank Rolls Out UIGEA Repeal Perspectives Weekly

Dan Michalski — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:44:14 +0000

Barney Frank has finally debuted his bill to Repeal the UIGEA and set-up a regulatory frame work for the online gambling industry in the United States! Also, industry news from Minnesota, Illinois, and the biggest jackass in the industry!

Twitter Your Governor

Dan Michalski — Sun, 10 May 2009 22:40:15 +0000

From the PPA:

Hi all,

Texas Gov. Perry is blocking the vote on HB222 (the bill that legalized land-based poker in Texas).Â Let’s all amp up the pressure!

Contact info:
Phone: (800) 252-9600
Twitter: @GovernorPerry

I believe we should hit with calls and Twitters.Â This was effective at getting us heard in Minn., so let’s try it here.Â I wrote up some Tweets to Twitter.Â It takes just seconds to send these out, so let’s all pitch in!

Click here to send Tweet #1: RT @PPApoker: PLZ tell TX @GovernorPerry at (800) 252-9600 to stop blocking a vote on HB 222, a bill that allows poker in Texas. PLS RT!”

Click here to send Tweet #2: “RT @PPApoker: PLZ tell TX @GovernorPerry at (800) 252-9600 that poker is a game of skill that should be legal in Texas. PLS RT.”

Also, if Perry follows you on Twitter, you can send him a direct message:

Click here to send the direct message: “D GovernorPerry: Texas Hold’em is a game of skill that should be legal in Texas. Can you end your HB222 vote block? THX! http://is.gd/uNvv”

I posted this to P5s at http://www.pocketfives.com/poker-forums/7/new-letter-to-congress-please-send-4240404 and http://www.pocketfives.com/poker-forums/8/texas-poker-legalization-people-living-in-texas-plz-read-4204172 .Â If you get a chance, please consider posting a message of encouragement there to get others to pitch in.Â After all, 2+2 responded to this by giving me a warning; P5s responded by stickying my thread for the day (I didn’t ask them to).

Thanks!

Rich

Minnesota Limits

Dan Michalski — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:14:10 +0000

Interesting article out of Minnesota about how the proposed Berlin Firewall legislation to stop online gambling would force a group of nice young, responsible internet pros (Mike Schneider is the name I recognized) out of their home state. I had heard from our friends at Minnesota Poker Magazine that Minnesota was a mini poker hotspot right now, following in the footsteps of Florida, Oklahoma, and other states that have recently embraced the game.

What I didn’t know before reading the above article is that Minnesotan’s are particularly deft at limit hold’em, apparently because they don’t have no-limit there (yet). Makes sense … when I first met Schneider, it was at the PartyPoker Million, where he won $1 million in what was at the time (2006) one of the biggest live limit tournaments in the world. And semi-verifying this claim … if you look at all the results for the 2008 WSOP, Minnesotans made two final tables, and ideed, one of them was in a limit shootout event.

So duly noted … Minnesota is a limit state. FYI to everyone else.

MN Legislator Says Online Gambling Ban Goes Too Far Republican: “The state ‘has better things to do’”

Kevin Mathers — Tue, 05 May 2009 01:53:21 +0000

The Minnesota Star Tribune has an article on a Republican’s legislation Monday to bar the state’s Department of Public Safety from attempting to block access to 200 online gambling sites without legislative approval.

Rep. Pat Garofolo from Farmington offered the following:

“The Department of Public Safety has to have better things to do with their time than to go after a college kid in his dorm room or some guy sitting in his basement spending a couple of hours playing online poker,” Garofalo said Monday afternoon. “Demanding that a private-sector Internet service provider block access to websites is not a proper function of our state government.”

In the DPS’s effort to block ISP’s from blocking the sites, it’s not looking good at the moment according to Alcohol and Gaming Enforcement director John Willems:

As for how the ISPs are reacting to his agency’s initiative, Willems said: “We have not heard from the ISPs apart from Dish TV, which has told me that they work with a third-party company to provide Internet access to their customers who need it.”

Minnesota vs. Online Gambling; Barney Frank, Wire Act to the Rescue? Perspectives Weekly

J. Todd — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:20:10 +0000

The state of Minnesota has decided to use the 1961 Federal Wire Act to target the online gaming industry, at the very same time Representative Barney Frank has decided to target the UIGEA for repeal! All this and a friendly warning for players and webmasters.

RE: Minnesota attempts to block online gambling (2) Minnesota DPS picked list of sites randomly

Kevin Mathers — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:19:36 +0000

The 200 companies that are to supposed to be blocked by 11 ISPs to Minnesota residents has now been published by IMEGA, which can be found here on their site . The list of 200 companies is an eclectic list of sites, because it was chosen randomly. While sites like Bodog and Full Tilt Poker are on the list, there are a few notable omissions: Absolute Poker, PokerStars, and Ultimate Bet. The list also contains sites that don’t take US customers (BetFred, Everest Poker, Interops, William Hill, among others).

RE: Minnesota attempts to block online gambling

Kevin Mathers — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:14:35 +0000

This just in, from the PPA:

Poker Players Alliance Statement on Minnesota Department of
Public Safetyâ€™s Announcement to Censor Online Poker

Washington, DC (April 29, 2009) â€“ Matt Werden, the Minnesota state director of the Poker Players Alliance, the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, and more than 21,000 in Minnesota, today issued the following statement following the press announcement by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety that they are attempting to block citizens from accessing any commercial gambling sites, including online poker sites.

â€œThis isnâ€™t simply a heavy-handed tactic by the government; this is a clear misrepresentation of federal law, as well as Minnesota law, used in an unprecedented way to try and censor the Internet. I donâ€™t know what U.S. Code theyâ€™re reading, but it is not illegal to play this great American pastime online, and weâ€™re calling their bluff.

â€œThe fact is, online poker is not illegal, itâ€™s not criminal, and it cannot be forcibly blocked by a state authority looking to score some political points. What are they going to do when this fails, ban poker books and burn our players at the stake?

â€œWe see headlines like this coming from communist China but never expect that it could happen here in Minnesota. The good news is groups like the Poker Players Alliance are here to protect the rights of poker players and set the record straight when government reaches too far. But this is more than just protecting poker â€“ this is about keeping the internet free of censorship and ensuring that law abiding citizens can enjoy a game of Texas Hold â€˜Em in the comfort of their own home, whether itâ€™s online or with a group of friends.

â€œThe PPA will take any action necessary to make sure our members and the general public are aware of these oppressive and illegal actions, and to make sure the game of poker â€“ in all itâ€™s forms â€“ is protected in the state of Minnesota.â€

Minnesota attempts to block online gambling for its residents

Kevin Mathers — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:20:44 +0000

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that the Minnesota Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division, part of the state’s Department of Public Safety, has sent a letter to 11 regional and national ISPs asking them to block Minnesota computers from over 200 gambling sites. State officials believe they’re the first state to restrict access to online gambling sites. However, Kentucky may want to have a few words with you, Minnesota. The DPS press release is as follows:

MINNESOTA NOTIFIES TELECOMS TO PROHIBIT ACCESS BETWEEN RESIDENTS AND GAMBLING SITES
U.S. Code Cited First Time in Effort to Halt Illegal Online Gambling

ST. PAUL. Minn. â€” The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division (AGED) today announced that it has served written notice to 11 national and regional telephone and Internet service providers (ISPs) instructing them to prohibit access of all Minnesota-based computers to nearly 200 online gambling websites. Online gambling is illegal in all U.S. states.

Written notice was served to AT&T Internet Services, San Antonio; Charter Communications, St. Louis; Comcast Cable, Moorestown, N.J.; Direct TV, Los Angeles; Dish Network, Englewood., Colo.; Embarq and Sprint/Nextel, both of Overland Park, Kan.; Frontier Communications, Stamford, Conn.; Qwest, Denver; Verizon Wireless, Bedminster, N.J.; and Wildblue Communications, Greenwood Village, Colo.

â€œWe are putting site operators and Minnesota online gamblers on notice and in advance,â€ says John Willems, director of AGED. â€œDisruption of these sitesâ€™ cash flow will negatively impact their business models. State residents with online escrow accounts should be aware that access to their accounts may be jeopardized and their funds in peril.â€

Believed the first attempt by a state to employ this federal statute to restrict access to online gambling sites, the letters cites U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1084, (d); notices were delivered Mon., April 27. Congress enacted the statute in 1961 in recognition of the need for states to control illegal gambling activities and granted authority for use of the statue to state law enforcement agencies.

Response from the notified ISPs is expected within two to three weeks, at which time issues of non-compliance will be referred to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Acknowledging the effort as an initial sample, Willems anticipates the program expanding to address thousands of sites, depending on compliance. He notes that the required technology to restrict geographic access to particular sites is a relatively straightforward procedure on the part of service providers.

In the written notices, AGED also provided the sitesâ€™ telephone numbers and requested access to those numbers by Minnesotans to be prohibited. For more than two decades, telecoms have shut down telephone numbers at the request of law enforcement agencies when believed to be involved in illegal activities, such as sports book-making telephone numbers.

â€œIn Minnesota, and for Minnesotans, the primary issues are legality, state self-governance and accountability,â€ says Willems. â€œIn broader context, the long-running debate on online gambling continues to raise significant issues, including absence of policy and regulation, individual rights, societal impact, international fair-trade practices, and funding for criminal and terrorist organizations.â€

Here’s another article at the StarTribune website, that says this attempt at blocking online gambling sites is doomed to fail.

Big Winners of the Every Other Week! New feature shining spotlight on current luckboxes/sharks

Dan Michalski — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:25:19 +0000

It feels good to run good … and because it’s important to know whom you’re up against, here are six players you may wanna congratulate/look out for at the tables live and online, as their most recent noteworthy successes suggest they are running particularly well.

Mary Joe Belcore-Zogman
Heartland Poker Tour’s “The Grand Series”
Onamia, Minnesota

Bested 201 players to take down $85,723 — making her the second woman to win an HPT event, and part of the first husband-wife team to both win on the Heartland Poker Tour. Dan Zogman won $220k in Gary, IN, last year. The Zogmans hail from McHenry, IL, about 60 miles outside of Chicago.

More details about her win at HeartlandPokerTour.com

Phil Ivey
Full Tilt Million Dollar Cash Game
London

Made a stab at his 6th bracelet in the Â£2,500 HORSE at WSOP-Europe (banking more than US$25k for 6th place), and while overseas was the big winner in the million-dollar cash game against his fellow Full Tilt pros and other highest-stakes players. Finished +$536,400, dominating the competition for the second time in the event’s 3-year history.

Live-blog coverage from Michael Craig (relevant posts start in the #520s)

Jesper Hougaard
WSOP-Europe Â£1,500 No-Limit Hold’em
London

24-year-old pro establishes himself as a Danish powerhouse, beating 409 Europponents to win more than US$256k whilst taking down his second WSOP bracelet in 2008. Gave up a career as a world-class table tennis player to focus on poker.

Check out his bracelet climb beginning with a cash in the 2007 main event at WSOP.com

Carter King — “ckingusc”
WCOOP $5,200 Main Event
PokerStars

22-year-old online pro from Columbia, SC, beat out 2,183 other avatars to win the biggest online tourney (in terms of prize pool) in history. Anytime you can win $1.27 million playing a computer game for two days straight, you gotta think it’s a pretty good use of your time. He got in on a $320 mega-sat.

Check his impressive stats at PocketFives.com

Vivek Rajkumar — “Psyduck”
WPT Borgata Poker Open — $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Atlantic City

Another 22-year-old online pro, Vivek “Harold and” Rajkumar (our nickname, not his) came off a win in the $2,500 NLH at the LA Poker Classic ($113k) to win $1.42 million at the WPT Borgata Poker Open.

More about Vivek at WorldPokerTour.com

Sherkhan Farnood
WSOP-Europe Â£2,500 HORSE
London

Barack Obama says we need to focus more on Afghanistan, and Sherkhan gives poker escapists a reason to do just that. The Kabul banker becomes the ~~first~~ second ever Afghani (and because he also claims residence in Dubai, the first UAE-er) to win a WSOP bracelet — US$193k.

Check out the competition he beat at WorldSeriesofPoker.com

Good Pokery Times, I Mean Tunes

Dan Michalski — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 02:07:08 +0000

The band is called Atmosphere. Underground hip-hop from Minneapolis. The album is Strictly Leakage. No joke. And the very pokery mixed-race rap song is “What They Sitting For” (not to be confused with Ice Cube’s “What They Hittin’ Foe”):

Whoa, dude, it speaks to me, man … I never realized AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted was about holding trip-kings.