It has been a little while since I last updated y’all on the progress of our Texas Poker Bill (HB 3186). When we last left our little bill it had had a great hearing in the Texas House Committee on Licensing and Administrative Procedures. At the end of that hearing it was left pending and the real work began behind the scenes.
Bear in mind that, prior to police entering, the place was virtually quiet. There was the sound of poker chips in the air, but not much else. The players were essentially professionals and working stiffs having fun…there were doctors, lawyers, accountants, and other professionals. There was hardly anything “dangerous†about the place at all. In fact, the cops found no weapons in the facility or on anyone there. The show of force and weaponry brought by the cops was simply outrageous and unjustified, given the circumstances, but, then again, are they enforcing the law or making a TV show?
[...]
Despite the abject mistruths in the police report, I was still confident the tapes would help me. We finally got our subpoena response. Guess what? According to Granada Entertainment, there wasn’t any videotape of the event. All of the tapes had been recorded over, and there simply wasn’t any tape available. Two camera crews and helmet cams on the SWAT guys and not one single inch of tape existed.
It’s a lengthy report, but definitely worth the read (especially if you happen to have a poker case pending) — particularly because this guy had nothing to do with poker … he was simply helping out in the kitchen because the main food lady had an injured hand. Even as a non-poker player, this guy was able to call down the Assistant District Attorney on his bluff (literally!) when he said during the plea bargain that they had video of the defendant at the tables.
All charges ended up being dropped (even the ones for possession of marijuana and a pipe, which were actually found on him) — as has been the case for all poker cases where defendants have insisted on a jury trial.
No word on whether or not any charges will be filed against the the city of Dallas or agents of Granada Entertainment (the forces behind Dallas SWAT) for destruction of evidence, or perhaps more aptly, lying about destruction of evidence.
Go Poker!
ALT HED: Why We Play (Legally Questionable) Poker, Part 2
Julian in Dallas writes in with some official information about this past weekend’s poker busts, and … perhaps like a player intentionally showing his hole cards? … informs Dallas pokerers about what the police plan to do next.
(Austin poker people may also want to take note.)
In a nutshell, I think what he’s saying is stop playing poker giving citizens reason to complain about illegal gambling … or their gonna getcha, and might possibly sick the Feds on yo ass! As things stand now, 79 players were ticketed this weekend, 18 of whom are soon to be arrested … with some TABC violations to boot.
Hey, I’m just passing on info — and perhaps contemplating hosting a charity tournament freeroll for the Assist the Officers Foundation — so don’t shoot the messenger:
Dan …
Just FYI, we did not take the persons charged with M/A Keeping a Gambling Place to jail on Saturday night. Those charges have now been filed and those persons will now be picked up and placed in jail. In the future, all persons charged with M/A Keeping a Gambling Place will be placed in jail. Persons charged with M/C gambling are also subject to arrest and could be placed in jail depending on the circumstances. All persons recently charged with Gambling M/C were issued citations and released.
For the purposes of your website, I think you all should know that the Vice Unit would much rather have voluntary compliance from the businesses and citizens of the City of Dallas. Gambling investigations are in fact time consuming operations and we have other priorities that we could be working on. Let me repeat, we would rather have voluntary compliance from a group of normally law abiding citizens. If we cannot get that compliance then we will have to conduct operations that will ultimately discourage those normally law abiding citizens from engaging in such behavior.
Or not … our beloved little HB 3186 still has a ways to go. But we are “this much closer” to legal-better poker in Texas … at a minimum, people in the law business are becoming more and more familiar with our “issues” … and an increasing number of political bidders are looking at dollar signs (and calculating implied pot odds) on an unusual bill that has, let’s say, 75 percent public support …
Here is the testimony presented earlier this month for and against legalized Texas poker to the legislative committee charged with making the first rounds of decisions about this bill. You will find it either totally boring or C-Span fascinating … and if you’re in the latter camp, you’ll probably hear much that you find encouraging. Listen closer, however, and you may get a sense that some hardline politicking has only just begun:
House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee Austin, TX - 4/3/07
The news keeps trickling in … and still no arrests reported from either of the four recent poker “raids” — at DC’s, Top Shelf, the Island Club, or the VFW. (Can we really call them raids if there’s no semblance of violence?) Not sure what the police have in mind. Either they’re respectfully responding to citizen complaints about the aggression with which they handled previous poker round-ups … and/or they are conveniently “responding to citizen complaints” while looking for something bigger. Gotta be, right?
Hey Dan DC’S was in Dallas and open for about a year. No arrests were made only citations. Also the dealers and workers at the V were released with a message that the police department would be in touch after having a mug like picture taken.
Below is the audio from an impromptu, late-night interview with the Dallas police official who seemed to be in charge of the post-raid cleanup at the Audie Murphy VFW. He provides some basic facts about this latest police incursion and some insight into how our local games are seen by the men sent to the front lines of the War on Poker:
Deputy Chief J.A. Bernal / Vice and Narcotics - 4/15/07 Dallas Police Department
[display_podcast]
ALT HED: Beyond the Crime Scene
Vice unit does more gambling busts than SWAT
Citizen complaints on one end, DA’s office on the other
Two weeks of investigation nets search warrant for 70+ misdemeanors
Dallas po-po says they know about “a majority” of local games. And even though we have yet to see a single conviction (by judge or jury) of more than 200 potential defendants, here’s a list of underground poker rooms put out of business recently: (Feel free to add if I missed any — but, hey, don’t go naming your friends just to be funny!)
Aces Jackie’s JB’s/Goodfellows Ace High R&R #2 VFW-Audie Murphy Top Shelf Island Club DC’s Poker House
Previously and outside of Dallas proper EV Enterprises (Richardson) Sons of Italy (McKinney) Poker Pound (Duncanville) R’s Game (Addison) R&R (Carrollton)
Hmm, wow … OK, it looks like they’ve gotten all of ‘em. Yep … all gone. No more cardsy fun for citizens to complain about. Now poker players can take up new hobbies en masse … like fishing/bowling/golf/panhandling/beekeeping/graffiti.
OK, these videos may not be as good as the stuff you see on Raw Vegas, but still … worth a look:
Michael Bolcerek thanking the 20,000 Texas members of the PPA:
(via the PPA Blog)
Clonie, Michele, and Rep. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio) laying it all on the line:
And this vid … I’m not so sure about. Are Nixon and G.W. Bush really the presidents you want to ally yourself with? Either way, this almost seems like something the “other side” might have put out:
Headed to AUSTIN in a few hours … cards go in the air on Tuesday for a high-stakes political game that I sure-as-heck don’t wanna miss … $1 billion and the future of Texas Texas Hold’em is on the line. Like seriously. No April foolin’.
LYLE BERMAN, CRANDELL ADDINGTON, MICHAEL BOLCEREK, ERICK LINDGREN, Dallas DA CRAIG WATKINS, CLONIE GOWEN, Pokerati, et al. will be making the push for [tag]HB 3186[/tag] in front of the Licensing and Administrative Procedures committee.
Poker we know can make good TV, and you can find the live House video stream here. I get roughly THREE MINUTES to state my name for the record, tell bad beat stories, and scream “Go Batfaces!”
Hold’em Radio (which started in Austin) has moved into a NEW STUDIO in Las Vegas — at Binion’s, right by the poker room. Very cool! Live poker radio 24/7 and subsequent podcastable shenanigans just got more interesting.
Check this out … seen on I-20, en route to SHREVEPORT … a BAPTIST CHURCH dropping [tag]the hammer[/tag] in a cyber-evangelical effort to save degenerate gambling souls:
ONLINE GAMBLING is running into some problems in the CZECH REPUBLIC. But the companies behind the betting industry there are circumventing the legal nuisances by setting up shop in MALTA.
OK, circling back the globe … here’s the article (scroll down to the very bottom) … they are now running SATELLITES to the PPT (emphasis added):
Airport Casino Filipino Parañaque will host the first Metro Manila satellite/qualifying tournament for the 3rd Philippine Poker Tour (PPT) Million-Peso Hold’em Championship on March 31, 2007. Registration starts at 1 p.m., and tournament at 2 p.m.
[...]
Details of prize structure and tournament rules for the 3rd PPT Million-Peso Hold’em Championship are posted in the official PPT website, www.PhilippinePokerTour.com.
Could ENERGY DRINKS be the next poker? They’re exploding like online poker rooms in 2005, and there’s too much unregulated profit margin in these arguably addictive chemical products (that teens love!) for the Feds not to eventually take note/want their cut.
I’m not really sure what this latest “ruling” means for all practical purposes … I guess we’ll see in coming years just how much clout the WTO carries. The US has about 14 different appeals and redraws should they choose to even acknowledge the decision has been made. But a most basic translation of the WTO message: The rest of the world thinks the US is wrong when it comes to the prohibition against online gambling — well the rest of the world except for Turkey and France — and the world may soon authorize the mighty nation of Antigua to try and wield fiscal harm in an effort to get America to change its protectionist ways.
A big thank you to the PPA for sending out this email to their Texas membership today!
_____
Dear Texas Poker Player,
As you know, the Poker Players Alliance is fighting on your behalf in Washington, D.C. and at the state level to defend your right to play poker. The fight for legal, safe and fair poker is taking place here in Texas right now.
The Texas Poker PAC is an ally of the PPA and has worked hard to get great legislation introduced that will regulate and expand legal poker in Texas! House Bill HB 3186 was filed by Representative Jose Menendez of San Antonio. This will have a public hearing on Tuesday, April 3rd in the House Committee on Licensing and Administrative Procedures and poker in the great state of Texas needs your support.
This is a unique opportunity to have your voice heard in support of the game you love! Testifying in favor of the bill will be some high profile folks like Gavin Smith, Erick Lindgren, Lyle Berman, Dallas DA Craig Watkins and others.
Please join us in Austin on the afternoon of April 3rd to make your voice heard! The hearing will be held in the Capital Extension Building (North side of the Capitol) Room E2.030 (3rd Level Downstairs) at approximately 2 PM. I would love you to join me and other members of the PPA and stand up for Poker in Texas!
If you cannot make it to Austin then, please click here to send an email or call the committee members’ Austin offices. Here is a list of Committee members with their e-mails and phone numbers. We encourage you to call for poker in Texas.
Interesting story in today’s New York Times about Alberto Gonzales, the beleaguered U.S. Attorney General … “whose tenure at the Justice Department may still be in peril as lawmakers in both parties have called for his resignation, questioned his credibility and raised doubts that he can lead the department.”
Gonzales, of course, is a key factor (if not driving force) behind the crackdown on online gambling. So you gotta think getting rid of him would be a good thing, right? But we should also remember that, especially in the Bush administration’s waning years, just because there is a call for a resignation hardly means it will happen. And when a bureaucracy is troubled, just like a field of donkeys, they are apt to make rash, harmful decisions. So while maybe Gonzales (who was in Houston yesterday) may not be able to explain his mysterious firings, he conceivably could press even harder against online gambling just to change the subject.
My read on Alberto (in the face of growing criticism): total landmine.
NOTE: Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not … PartyGaming’s stock went up 2.5 percent when the NYT story broke.
***It will remove the limit on the number of tables an establishment may have and significantly lower the asset requirement on bars to apply for a permit to a monthly gross receipt of $7,500.***
Mike, just playing devil’s advocate here … but $7,500 seems low. I mean I can see why ho-hum bars might want an electronic poker game in their establishments. But if any ole bar could open up a poker room … yeow, is that really a good thing?
Poker players aren’t big drinkers, we know. Yet every so often a drunk person shows up at a poker room to test their impaired skills. Good fun. But that person, even while drunk, is choosing to go to a poker room, and if he gets his ass handed to him, he understands why. But what’s going to happen when a drunk guy in a bar stumbles into a poker game … not because he is a player, but simply because he is drunk? If he ends up getting cleaned out on a really really bad beat levied by a slow-rolling asshole … well, that’s the kinda thing that could lead to someone getting shot! We are in Texas, after all.
Full disclosure: I say this as someone who would love to run a brand-spankin’ new poker room at The Lodge and/or elsewhere. Suspect this law would be financially beneficial to a guy like me.
There will be a committee substitute next week. It will remove the limit on the number of tables an establishment may have and significantly lower the asset requirement on bars to apply for a permit to a monthly gross receipt of $7,500. This would, for example, make eligible about 25 establishments in Arlington and 4 Abilene.
I think this is good news! The hearing is set for next Tuesday. They may not vote on it that day, but they will take all pertinent testimony at that time. i hope to have a new copy of the bill soon.
The PPA has agreed to help us publicize our progress and the hearing. They will be sending an email I’m writing to their members in Texas (between 10-20,000) this week.
Think the crackdown on online gambling — which became a clear reality with the arrest of Sportingbet’s Peter Dicks in September — is anything but a legal shakedown? Dicks, who had criminal allegations pending against him in Louisiana, had all charges dropped last week … for $400,000. (via NWP)
Yep … that’s all it takes, apparently. The money will reportedly be split amongst the St. Landry Parish DA’s office, the Louisiana State Police, and the state attorney general’s office.
I sent an email out a few days ago to all my poker friends. If you didn’t get it, here it is, and you can sign up to get on the Texas Poker PAC mailing list here.
Attention Texas Poker Players!
Legislation has been filed in the Texas House of Representatives that would allow real poker in Texas!
The bill is HB 3186 by Jose Menendez of San Antonio.
Highlights of the bill include:
4 live and/or electronic, raked tables allowed in each establishment that meets requirements
Lottery Commission decides how many tables are allowed in each racetrack
Charitable poker enabled
Mandatory dealer training and licensing
Licensing for distributors of commercial poker equipment
Money raised will be dedicated to necessary state services
HB 3186 was filed today in the Texas House. If you want to play poker in Texas legally, this is the best flag we have to fight under. I encourage you to read the bill or at least the press release pasted below.
This is going to be a tough, potentially long fight. I’ll begin posting more regularly as our bill moves through the Legislature. The first step will be to get a hearing in the House committee after it is referred. HB 3186 should be referred to committee early next week.
When the hearing date approaches we will need as many folks as possible to congregate at the capitol and attend the hearing. Details to come on that.
In the meantime, the press release is below. Feel free to send Representative Menendez an email thanking him for filing such a great bill.
My html skill is akin to that of a 5-year-old, so please pardon my lack of fancy formatting:
In a relatively bold statement, Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price says it’s time make poker rooms legal. And a deputy Dallas police chief informs us that he doesn’t have the resources to put a stop to all the games. That’s always the issue with poker, isn’t it — should we spend money to try and stop it, or generate money by making a previously poo-pooed behavior legit?
Of course, not everyone in Texas has read enough Sklansky to understand why the above is really an easy decision. But the Channel 11 story does suggest a little more thought is being given to the math.
I’ll post a press release later, but I figured Pokerati readers should be the first to know that a real, true poker bill will likely be filed in the Texas House on Tuesday!
Here are the Highlights:
-4 live and/or electronic, raked tables allowed in each establishment that meets requirements
-Lottery Commission decides how many tables are allowed in each racetrack
-Charitable poker enabled
-Mandatory dealer training and licensing (inexpensive)
-Licensing for distributors of commercial poker equipment
-Money raised will be dedicated to necessary state services
-Criminal penalties for dishonest operators
The bill will be tweaked as we go along, so if you read it and have a concern don’t panic- please let me know via email. Your support is appreciated.
When it is filed and available online I’ll link to it.
A fresh comment on a relatively old post about a Dallas poker raid caught my eye … seemed relevant in light of discussions we’ve been having about police activity in other Texas poker scenes. In it, the accused houseguy makes claims of borderline abusive behavior from police — smacking an 83-year-old man in the back with the butt of a rifle, for example.
Nothing Rodney King-like, but still, pain-addled nuisances that might kinda should be expected when dealing with armed enforcers charged with putting a scare into a semi-criminal subculture.
It’s snowing outside. If you don’t mind, please bear with me as we shut down about 30 open Firefox tabs that Pokerati has accumulated over the past few days.
First off, happy February 14. If you do a Yahoo! or Google image search for “valentine poker” (quotes excluded) here’s the first thing you see:
JOHNNY CHAN has plans to eventually open shop in Macau (and elsewhere) — has partnered with the makers of The Block to create “the world’s first poker hotel.” Tourney director extraordinaire MATT SAVAGE is part of his team — we can only hope this doesn’t mean all of China will be taught to do the flop one card at a time.
This valentine from PKR.com suggests that while a man’s hand may seem stronger than a woman’s … it’s still possible that she’s holding the nuts:
UPDATE: Just re-watched the vid, and the lady actually would need some help on the turn to make her straight-flush.
Did you know the proportion of WOMEN PLAYING POKER continues to grow? The XX-chromosome set reportedly represents 30 percent of online players now.
BRANDI HAWBAKER, cute-as-pie poker girl and Full Tilt nipple-cover model, has reportedly found a new way to fund her bankroll by stripping at SPEARMINT RHINO. (Congrats on the new sponsorship deal!)
I just learned last night from a powerful lawyer playing next to me in an underground poker game that we’re not supposed to use the phrase “8-Liner” … because 8-Liners are bad. The preferred terminology is “VLT” — as in Video Lottery Terminal. Ahh, of course. Duly noted.
Upon returning home from that tourney (I finished 10th — three got paid) I learned that there was a big semi-raid on a Dallas VLT emporium. “Hank” in Dallas reports:
A friend of mine was at a local 8-liner establishment Friday night that was raided at 9:55. (N.E. Dallas area)
A lady playing a machine fell suddenly ill and asked a staff member to walk her out. Door was opened and in came 4 officers. The officers and the “ill” lady took it down.
All players, staff and the owner were given citations at $165. Monies and machines (55+ machines) were confiscated. Interestingly enough, no arrests, monies/winnings were not taken from players, no news crews and no warrant checks conducted.
I know for a fact had backgrounds been checked, arrests would have been made.
My only thought is - the money in the machines came from the government anyway - disability checks must have been looking good to the City of Dallas!
Hmm, I gotta say this is all very peculiar. But possibly a positive sign if authorities are simply doing their research to assess how much taxable money is out there for them to legitimize. But this, of course, could be just hopeful thinking on my part. And as all good Pokeratizens know, hope is seldom a good strategy.
The European Union considers fighting American anti-online-gambling laws via the WTO / Washington State looks to undo felony online poker statute / Dan questions Poker Players Alliance lobbying strategy // Tom’s sick of the war in Iraq / Fermat’s Last Theorem in the Middle East // Chaka Khan, Chaka from Land of the Lost, and Amarillo Slim at gunpoint // Russians betting their wives away
Poker bloggers rejoice … this day belongs to us. This whole year, really. May the rest of the world go on tilt and make our wishes come true … at least for a little while. (I plan to celebrate at the home game tomorrow.)
Came upon this Gregorian epiphany while reading this more-important-than-some-might-realize article from Ireland. (Dated 07/02/2007, which is like 02/07/2007 to us.) Anyhow, the story’s about legislative fights in Europe over ISP liabilities … with the head of the London Internet Exchange (LINX) urging ISPs to resist pressure from governments to block various content. Obviously this will be a huge technology issue over the next decade, and leading the way are laws being passed (by Italy and Germany so far) prohibiting access to specific online gambling sites.
The next Hammer Day falls during the World Series, on July 2, 2007 … the same day the 270-day “pre-enforcement” period for the UIGEA expires and the law really kicks into effect. If the banks can’t figure out how to stop online gambling by then, it supposedly falls on the Internet Service Providers to lock us out. And that, you can only suspect, will be a very scary day for a lot of poker-related websites.
After that, we won’t see return of a very Hammery calendar year for another 20 revolutions around the sun.
CORRECTION: The next Hammer Day actually happens in another 20 days, on 2-27. Then the potentially not-so-happy Hammer Day in July … then another one on 7-22 and 7-27. Then we gotta wait another 20 years. So really, a lot can happen, but for obvious reasons we have to move fast.
Trying to clean up the place for a few new bloggers has left so much poker news passing us by. So in no particular order of importance, you might be curious to know:
CHARLES BARKLEY had a good weekend in Las Vegas, pocketing $700k on mostly blackjack. No word on where he played or how much he was betting per hand.
The first WSOP poker-bloggy marriage is set to go down, between the “all over the place!” JEN LEO and Stone Temple Pilots roadie-cum-PokerNews editor JOHN CALDWELL. Word spread via AMY C … should make for a festive Day 1B of the WSOP main event.
JAMIE GOLD has settled his case with CRISPIN LEYSER — no more lawsuit for the $6 mil … they’re gonna chop the pot instead. We’ll try to find out for how much, but clearly neither was going to win at this point, and any two SEMI-SERIOUS poker players can see the folly of letting LAWYERS take such a high rake in a heads-up match.
There’s an interesting tournament going on at THE BIKE … the $10,000 Poker Netcast HEADS-UP CHALLENGE. GAVIN SMITH sucked out hard on CLONIE (J7 vs AJ — 7 on the turn, 7 on the river) to knock her out.
You’ve heard it here before (and will hear it again) … 2007 is all about RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING. Some worldwide initiatives are taking shape, though the US, of course, has opted to have no say in the matter.
And anti-online gambling laws aren’t stopping Americans from trying to gamble online. Just ask SCANSAFE, a company that blocks employees of other companies from pissing off online while at work. (Looking at Karridy.)
No vote nor anything, but now it’s the way it is. If you are a pre-adolescent chickee, the government needs to inject you so men won’t get warts on their dicks from fucking you bareback to prevent cervical cancer. A few other old men will get extremely rich(er) off their legally enforceable access to your bodies … but hey, that’s not the point now, is it? Now please, enjoy your bump-free vagina (and .000004 percent increase in life expectancy) and be on your way …
Yep, with the stroke of his weak governor’s pen, Rick Perry — George Bush’s ace political understudy — has unilaterally imposed his will on millions of people. Awesome. He also happens to be one of the main guys in Austin pushing for various changes in Texas gambling laws.
I gotta think we might want him on poker’s side.
(Picture: Rick Perry speaking to the ever-poker friendly American Legion.)
UPDATE: Venerable Texas political observer Paul Burka points out that this is already one of the weirdest Legislative sessions he’s seen. And he has some extra insight into just how such an executive order might have come to fruition.
… based on the article, the state is GIVING the lottery away. If the lottery is making $1 Billion a year, why sell the rights away for 75 years at $10 Billion. Wouldn’t 25 years make more sense. But I wonder if this opens the door to more privately run gambling in the state. If we can get the powers that be thinking big, then maybe we’ll get some card rooms in the racetracks. There’s plenty of room for them AND those stupid slot machines.
Critics accuse the US government of seeking to enforce their own laws on businesses based outside the country.
[...]
He argued that the US is protecting its own gambling industry by stopping foreign companies from building up an online betting sector.
[...]
Mr McCreevy, who takes a well-known interest in horseracing, said that the US online gambling rules were a “prima facie” case of protectionism and that the World Trade Organisation was a possible venue for tackling them.
“Most certainly choosing to gamble, or play a game of skill such as poker, should not have been made a crime equivalent to possessing child pornography or threatening the Governor.” Rep. Strow told the Media.
However, the proposed legislation apparently doesn’t rewrite the component of the Washington State law that made it a felony to disseminate “GAMBLING INFORMATION” online … so poker bloggers are still in danger of going to the hoosegow with the same legal designation as pedophiles for talking about a game that may or may not be played for money.
Mentioned in a previous post that WSOP Europe is on its way — this year no less. Makes me wonder … considering the legal battle Harrah’s is waging for control of WSOP.com (Frederico Schiavio is still fighting away), can we expect similar Big Casino arm-twisting for WSOPEurope.com?
As it stands now, WSOPEurope is a semi-shill site, declaring power to the amateur pub-league players on the other poker continent. But it is based in another continent, too. Stay tuned …
Tim in Switzerland informs us that the World Trade Organization has just thrown a wrench at the United States’ crackdown on online gambling. Granted, it’s an allen wrench, but still … the WTO has upheld Antigua’s accusations that the US is engaging in unfair protectionist practices for allowing some online gambling (horse racing) but not that offered by international competition.
“What can they do that will affect the US one iota? Nothing,” said Jonathan Winer, a partner at Alston & Bird LLP who has followed the case closely. A greater threat is that success at the WTO for Antigua could pave the way for the EU to pursue a fair trade case against the US over online gambling, which the US might have to take more seriously.
Any casino legislation may be more palatable to lawmakers if it provides for cracking down on eight-liners, he said, as the Texas Gaming Association is proposing.
“They’re totally unregulated, totally unlicensed and huge amounts of money,” Perry said. “You’re fooling yourself if you think there’s not substantial gambling going on in the state of Texas.”
We’re all fine with that, of course. As far as we know, you don’t have too many eight-liner blogs and there isn’t a World Series of Eight-Liners. So all good, but with that said, why are the Texas Gaming Association and Texas Governor and all the proponents of expanded slot machines not even acknowledging “Texas Hold’em?”
Good morning. I’m not used to being up this early after a full night’s sleep … so let’s get to poker:
They’re down to 18 at the WPT’s WORLD POKER OPEN @ the Goldstrike in TUNICA. “The Catfish” is in the lead, followed by JC TRAN, DANIEL NEGREANU, AMIR VAHEDI and others.
In LONDON, they’re halfway through the INTERNATIONAL CASINO EXHIBITION, where 25,000 poker-bizzer types are contemplating a not-so-American gambling future.
Here’s some good discussion from a British STOCK FORUM about the big dip PARTYGAMING’S stock just took. A lotta mixed reactions. The Motley Fool has more on PRTY.L as well.
Something you may have missed but still worthwhile … the CC Times’ top 10 people of they year. BILL FRIST takes the crown, while other notables include JEFFREY POLLACK, CRISPIN LEYSER, PAMELA ANDERSON, and gaming CEO’s MITCH GARBER and DAVID CARRUTHERS.
Speaking of court, WOODY the Pokerati commenter is at trial today, as in right now, in DALLAS for his involvement in the GOOD FELLOW’S raid. He’s pled NOT GUILTY, and the TRAFFIC COURT hearing his case isn’t used to having SWAT TEAMS testify.
And hey, it’s WEDNESDAY, so don’t forget to tune in to Hold’em Radio at 7 pm central tonight for “Beyond the Table,” where we should have a very interesting discussion with BRIAN BALSBAUGH — the Gonz lover most important guy in poker who doesn’t know how to play the game.
It didn’t take long for the latest U.S. Department of Justice anti-online-gambling action — subpoenaing at least 16 European banks that did business with PartyGaming, 888, and others — to rub some powerful Brits the wrong way. Though the UK banking industry and their political cohorts could presumably care less about poker, they are publicly balking at the insinuation that the US has any semblance of jurisdiction:
Alan Duncan, Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary, said: “There is growing suspicion that the US Department of Justice is using its muscle in a highly unpleasant manner, and is targeting financial institutions beyond their own shores in a way that cannot be justified. I hope the Department will stop and review its approach so that its behaviour doesn’t sour relations between us.â€
It’s official … my online gambling days are done, at least for a little while. I tried to deposit some more money into ULTIMATE BET, but to no avail (despite following instructions and agreeing to an extra fee). Even if someone could walk me through it, it’s simply too difficult for this not-quite-winning online player to go through the hassle.
But the bona fide CRACKDOWN on online gambling (and therefore poker) continues. The latest step by our AMERIFEDS is subpoenaing foreign bank records. Whether this info would be used for information or prosecution is yet to be determined, but we can bet the request alone will be enough to pique some of our neighbors who don’t like the idea of the US CLAIMING JURSIDICTION over the world/money.
It took less than a few days after the most recent blow to legitimate online poker sites for SPAM from the criminally minded, fly-by-night operations to arrive. Below is an example of a site that for obvious reasons shouldn’t even be considered a viable alternative:
—–Original Message—–
From: Ian Hardin [mailto:allenipbo@tftdisplays.com]
Sent: Sunday, January 21, 2007 7:49 PM
To: danm
Subject: US players are welcome
hi
(download), start playing
US players are welcome
most fair casino
you don’t know internet at all if you don’t know this casino
http://greatdefisha.org
Go ahead and click the site (assuming you feel good about your SPYWARE/VIRUS protection) … I did, and it wasn’t even operable yet.
The BRITS, we know, are all about online gambling. And one of the thing they’ll likely be doing with all that TAX REVENUE the UK gains — besides making sure their players can be confident they are dealing with a safe, fair, legitimate site — is helping doctors help the tiny (but still sizable) percentage of people who have true GAMBLING ADDICTIONS.
We can expect plenty of stories like this one to emerge — about a 53-year-old lady lawyer in CALIFORNIA who just got sentenced to NINE YEARS in prison for embezzling $900k to fund her internet gambling addiction. (I wonder how many of her tainted dollars got dispersed directly or indirectly into any of our online accounts.)
MICHAEL BOLCEREK (of the PPA) was in attendance at the NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES last week, where talk of UIGEA enforcment was a hot topic, and he introduced elected officials to the concept of RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING.
And speaking of Poker Pages, KAELAINE kicks it old-school and has a nice tourney recap of her victory in a MEDIA FREEROLL in TUNICA. What’s interesting about this quick-blind freeroll is that the field grew … and that the WORLD POKER OPEN folks now pay out a cash prize ($1,000) to the winner. (I’m pretty sure this is new.)
Likewise for this 2005 article in Time … declaring how the BRITS are leaving us way behind in the online gambling world … and giving a little more insight into the factors in play before the CRACKDOWN on poker really kicked in.
BEST POKER SHIRT ever? I gotta get me one of these. (Go Polacks! Go “the dan” circa 2004!)
All the legal hubbub hasn’t stopped DOYLE BRUNSON from spreading the poker gospel to Hollywood (via UTAH) with a charity tourney at the SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL.
Back in DALLAS, a charity called BEA’S KIDS held an old-fashioned charity tourney (c. 2004) this weekend … where players actually paid money to compete for real prizes … a big-screen TV, trip to Vegas, stuff like that. There was no police raid on the illegal/tax-deductible attempt to raise money to send poor kids to summer camp.
Speaking of kids … here are some more MUSICAL CHIPS:
Online legalities not withstanding, teenagers are the future of poker/doing the “chip dance.”
UPDATE: GUTSHOT proprietor DEREK KELLY has decided to appeal the recent LONDON court ruling that declared (unregulated) poker clubs like his to be within the reach of British gambling laws. Pokerati loves the Gutshot. But can we say good luck?
Click here to see poker-related teenage angst.
OK, so I just did some checking … Indeed, UB won’t let me deposit via Neteller. However, when I log in to Neteller, I am greeted by the following screen:
Very interesting. I can only imagine the whole company is in a tizzy as we stand … perhaps even in “fuck it” mode. So we can’t as intelligent poker players expect them to make all the right moves.
I just got the following email from Ultimate Bet, regarding Neteller:
January 18th, 2007
Pokerati Dan,
Due to some changes in the online poker industry, NETeller has decided to no longer process payments as of January 17 to customers within the United States. We noticed you have used NETeller in the past to fund your UltimateBet account, and we are pleased to offer you a wide variety of safe and secure methods.
UltimateBet offers you the following easy-to-use payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, Instadebit, ePassporte, ATMonline and Click2Pay. Funding your account has never been easier. Get more info in the Cashier section of our software.<
House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee
Airport Casino Filipino Parañaque will host the first Metro Manila satellite/qualifying tournament for the 3rd Philippine Poker Tour (PPT) Million-Peso Hold’em Championship on March 31, 2007. Registration starts at 1 p.m., and tournament at 2 p.m.
Poker bloggers rejoice … this day belongs to us. This 
Texas supposedly has a “weak governor” system — where all the real power resides with the Lt. Gov. and the Lege. But it’s apparently not that weak … as Gov. Rick Perry 
