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.

photo: Benjo / via Pauly
Online phenom-turned-live-action-threat Gobboboy makes peace with Howard Lederer at the PPA Booth in the Amazon hallway.

Of the many groups with a presence at the 2008 WSOP, the Poker Players Alliance is doing its best to let the amateur players who flock here know not only that their voice is relevant, but also that there is a plan of action in motion to, essentially, allow online poker sites to advertise with a dot-com. OK, there’s far more to it than that … but establishing poker’s political presence is important — and because it ain’t easy to become the NRA without something akin to the Second Amendment behind you, the PPA is spearheading the efforts both on the grassroots level as well as the important behind-the-scenes ass-kissing palm-greasing politicking in Washington DC.

To help explain the cause and sign up new members, the PPA has poker pros at its booth daily. Click below to read the full press release about these meet-n-greets designed to get everyone on the same team.

More…

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

Oops, while rambling on in the previous post, i forgot to share with you the email Alfonse D’Amato sent out today that made me start writing it. He makes some good points while, of course, also trying to give away a seat to the WSOP. My one question for the for-sale figurehead retired senator is: When are you going to start blogging Why age 25? That seems weird.

Dear Dan,

On behalf of the Poker Players Alliance, thank you for being part of our landmark drive to sign up more than one million members nationwide. Speaking with one voice on behalf of the great game, we have become one of the leading grassroots advocacy organizations in the country.

We have expanded our reach coast-to-coast, opened offices in our nation’s capital, and we are fighting each and every day to preserve your ability to play the great game of poker. Politicians are hearing our message – that Poker Is Not a Crime.

Today, I am excited to announce that the PPA is ready to reward you for your participation. We are launching PPA Online, a new and improved Web site, and a brand new membership package of valuable benefits.

More…

Had a pleasant chat with PPA boss John Pappas yesterday about the state of poker legislation. “We have a new website!” he says. OK, that quote’s semi-made up, but he definitely wanted to pimp the Poker Players Alliance’s new forums, benefit packages, and webtronic goodies. Yeah, yeah, website uh-huh … I didn’t tell him that I get most of my PPA on MySpace, where they share rank with Ed, The Poker Atlas, and RawVegas TV.*

Anyhow, in hearing about what they’re trying to achieve, I came to realize just how much progress the PPA has made. There are currently five bills pending in Congress specific to our issue. You can say all you want about the “special interests” … but that’s what we are. And frankly a rather small one in the Beltway schema. Yet those five bills come with 98 unique sponsors — meaning nearly a quarter of the House of Representatives are more than familiar with poker causes and have affirmatively declared themselves on our side. That’s pretty impressive progress over the course of 18 months.

With that said, Pappas doesn’t necessarily expect to see a legally enforceable undoing of the UIGEA this year. Nor do I, nor does Lavigne in Austin, nor does anyone actively working toward that goal. This being a presidential election year, with so many big big issues in play and seats at stake, Congress just isn’t gonna get around to making the world safe for online poker in ‘08. I could be wrong on this — and hope I am — but I’m not. Fortunately the PPA leadership and lobbyists seem to recognize that hoping is seldom a good strategy … and while there’s always a chance poker could hit a political miracle on the turn and river, the PPA should shove all-in! what’s important now for the PPA is putting us in a position to succeed in 2009, when table conditions are sure to have changed.

* Pauly, dude, when are you gonna get on MySpace?

Not super-related to poker … but as Houston poker-raid cases make their way through the notably harsh Harris County court system, I couldn’t help but think about how in Texas, playing underground poker is basically the same crime as decapitating a corpse and smoking pot out of the skull, which some kids not playing poker did there recently. [via Iggy]

Harris County sheriff’s deputies raided a poker room on the northwest outskirts of Houston this afternoon. There were about 8 tables of action — a $300 tournament had just gotten underway — and 11 were arrested. Police say the raid came after two months of investigation.

Hmm, sounds kinda like the Aces bust in terms of numbers. However some key differences are that nine of the busted were charged with organized crime. Yeow! No no no … Class C misdemeanor … maybe a Class A that can be pled down! Leave it to Houston to try to outdo/be tougher than Dallas.

From the local ABC news team:

they weren’t playing ordinary poker matches. Thousands of dollars were at stake in the sophisticated operation.

“You gotta know somebody to get in. They have two doors to gain entry. It’s operated by a button to gain entry, as well as they have cameras to monitor who’s at the front door,” said an officer.

Indeed, a button to gain entry. Case closed, obviously.

One of the other players arrested got cuffed for “unlawfully carrying a weapon” and the other guy ha an outstanding warrant.

This room had reportedly been around since late last summer. We’ll see if we can’t find out more about how this all shook down, where the room went wrong, and what’s really gonna come out of these organized crime allegations.

Thanks, Jim in Houston, for the tip.

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!

According to current forfeiture laws, when the Dallas cops raid a poker game, they generally get to keep whatever money they confiscate. However, assuming the DPD is operating all on the up-and-up, that money is supposed to be used for more poker busts …

In addition to what I was calling “Henser’s Game” (have since learned it might be “Gennser’s Game”), DC’s Poker House also got raided last week — Friday, I believe, about the same time as the robbery at the Ashton.

From a Pokerati citizen journalist on the ground:

Another game that got raided was DC’s POKER HOUSE in dallas off of shiloh & northwest highway. The cops single handedly busted that game because of money laundering. DC had about 40 slot machines in the building that caused his place to be shut down. I beleive what made DC’s place get so hot was when he pulled out a 9mm on one of the players who were getting a little out of hand.

Yikes, mix 8-Liners and 9-millimeters together and you kinda gotta expect some problems, no?

Also, maybe this is where the reports of a triple poker robicide came from … within a few days last week you had two busts and one robbery nearly simultaneously … and as we know in poker, it’s often difficult to distinguish between the two, because the action and results are usually pretty much the same.

UPDATE: Hmm, this is the second time that a robbery and police bust went down at two separate poker rooms nearly simultaneously. Strange coincidence? It’s possible that both sides make similar assessments when it comes to game selection — picking nights when they expect the most money to be in play.

Unconfirmed word coming in over the Pokerati newswire …

Police shut down a suburban Dallas game on Wednesday — I only knew it as [name temporarily withheld]’s Game — located in Mesquite at Motley and I-30. It wasn’t vice or SWAT, reportedly, but detectives … confiscated the money in the game, and issued players Class C misdemeanor tickets outside. The game’s purveyor was “caught on the street” and police supposedly confiscated his car, along with all the cash he was carrying.

I never played in this game before, but I did hear about it and find out about playing. If I recall properly, they were running a 1-2-5 … medium action and pleasant crowd. Can’t remember if it was in a house or office park. That’s all we know for now. If you’ve got any reliable info please fill us in. Interesting to see War on Drugs-style forfeiture laws being applied in poker cases where we pretty much know the results of prosecutions even before they don’t go to trial.

CORRECTION/DETAILS (3/16): A guy named “Henser” was arrested. The game took place in a residential house. Detectives were in the game (?), but they ticketed players outside the house. Not for gambling, but for parking too close to the curb and things like that. And Henser was apparently pulled over (driving away from the scene?) when cops caught up with him.

Been a couple of news items over the last week or so regarding the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. You remember the UIGEA. You don’t? Look over yr shoulder. It’s that big black cloud over there, heading this way . . . .

First, a U.S. District Court Judge threw out the Interactive Gaming Media Entertainment and Gaming Association’s case against the U.S. government. You might remember iMEGA had attempted to have the UIGEA’s implementation postponed until it could be determined whether or not the law was unconstitutional. (They had some other points in there, too.) The case was dismissed, but iMEGA was recognized as having “legal standing” and so will surely continue the fight.

Meanwhile, we learned this week what the American Banking Association had to say about the proposed UIGEA regulations. Recall that back in October, the feds presented their proposed regulations & asked for comments. The comment period ended in mid-December, and now the Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System are considering those comments as they prepare to “finalize” the UIGEA.

The abridged version: the ABA thinks the UIGEA is not A-OK. Gives the banks too much to do — more than they can feasibly handle. In fact, the ABA believes the UIGEA will place most banks in what they call a “compliance trap” and thus do more to hurt the American payments system than it will do to stop folks from gambling online. Read Haley Hintze’s PokerNews article & also check out the full text of the ABA’s comments over at Kick Ass Poker.

And for more from those comments to the UIGEA regs — including some of what the “webmaster of the popular blog Pokerati.com” had to say about ’em — check out Jason Kirk’s article over at PokerListings summarizing them all: “Stakeholders sound off on UIGEA regulations.”

The political season is well underway, and the PPA, having brought on board a new seasoned politico to coordinate grassroots efforts and direct external affairs, is lining up their state directors and kicking butts into gear. Here is a breakdown of how many members poker’s version of the NRA has by each state, as of noon EDT today. (Go Texas!)

CA: 97107
TX: 58512
FL: 57924
NY: 52090
PA: 50221
OH: 40356
IL: 35147
MI: 34541
NJ: 23999
IN: 23538

More…

Bots, colluders, super-user accounts … all things online poker players need to be wary of … and now, according to a presumably well-respected tech site, we also need to be afraid of Trojans. The claim is that poker players have been ripped off for millions of Euros:

“Online poker players are a massive target for hackers. People play it with real money obviously, so they’re a big target. We were just investigating a case where a professional online poker player was attacked by someone he would play against regularly online. And we’re talking about professional players, and big money. Hundreds of thousands of euros on the table at a time,” he said.

“All of a sudden he started losing. He would regularly lose even when he had a great hand – pocket aces for example. If he had an unbeatable hand, the other players would simply fold. And when he tried to bluff, he would lose. He lost a lot of money this way, we’re talking hundreds of thousands of euros.

“This went on for weeks. And when we looked into it we realised that one of the other players at the table had sent him a tool. A calculater to help optimise the poker playing or whatever. And we found that the application included a Trojan.

“Which means that when he was playing online poker against these people who were in another country, the guy could press a button and he would receive a screenshot of the target’s screen. So he sees the hold cards. If you’re playing poker and the other players know your cards, it’s pretty hard to win.

“It’s a clever attack because the hacker could have just stolen the account and moved the money away. But he would have been caught. But this way the target was losing his money to someone else and he didn’t realise it was a con. I don’t think many online poker players realise that those kind of attacks are being done.”

I’m not sure if this article is a good warning or just anti-online poker propaganda. It brings to light a case where online poker was apparently used to launder money to fund insurgents fighting against Americans in Iraq. Yikes.

In last week’s episode:

Online Gambling: US National Security Threat?
YES! Online Gambling is a threat to National Security! This according to the United States Trade Representatives office, and it’s one of the most unbelievably stupid stories of 2008… so far. You will not believe this bull stink. It’s good to know we always have American government to make us laugh and keep us on out toes.

Online Gambling Executive Shot in Costa Rica…
One of the founders of BET US was shot in his car in Costa Rica last week. Details were sketchy for a while and other, than the name of the victim and where he works, it hasn’t been cleared up much. We’ve been told he’s ok, but this is a strange story… and Costa Rica is an interesting place to live and do business.

Continuing Coverage of CAP Euro Awards…

We wrap up coverage of the event with a run down of the APCW Members and Supporters who took away awards!

Perspectives Now! Live Radio Call-in Show…
The APCW hosts Perspectives Now on Rounder’s Radio every Tuesday night ! Rounder’s Radio is dedicated to poker talk and industry news, and our show is live every Tuesday night at 10pm eastern. Listen live and call in!

Visit Rounder’s Radio!

Photo: Nick Oza / The Arizona Republic

Harold Lee may seem like a bit of a whack-job, but the retired Arizona judge is standing up for poker — beckoning authorities to take him to jail/court for running a legally questionable poker room. He’s convinced a jury won’t convict, and is ready to put to them the question of whether or not poker really is illegal in Arizona, the AZ Republic reports.

Now I know what you’re thinking … wait, don’t they have Indian casinos in AZ? And indeed they do … but he’s got a problem with that, too, claiming it to be an illegal state-granted monopoly. Interesting way to look at it. You can read more about Judge Lee’s Arizona Card Room in Sierra Vista and his poker manifesto here.

The commenters (and the raters of the commenters) overwhelmingly support the crazy-ole judge. And apparently the entire city of Tombstone is behind him and wants to follow suit. (Watch the news vid.) Despite what the state has to say … the city has looked through it’s law books and can’t find anything that says poker is illegal and they’re good with that.

As Matt the commenter informs us, DC’s Poker House in Dallas was raided last night. Hmm, we kinda thought Dallas poker raids would stop now that Pokerati has relocated. Apparently not. Details not clear — am curious to know the number of arrests vs. tickets … also, if someone could let us know where that room was located … and anything else that may have contributed to its shutdown.

It’s much easier to be in the news than write the news …

You may recall the raid on the Audie Murphy VFW. Comedian Drew Carey thinks it’s a not-so-funny indication of disturbing trends in the nation’s approach to policing as a whole.

via Reason.tv

We told you a while back about the National Poker Challenge opening up in Little Rock … on the self-declared, “hey, we are legal!” concept. Authorities (DA included) didn’t agree, and a couple of days ago Little Rock Police went in Prohibition-raid-style (like they said they would) and shut the business down. Bummer … but we kinda saw it coming, no?

[link props: ppa blog]

The NPC peeps arrested still contend their rake-free model — players payed $100/month to be “tracked” — is legal, and plan to fight it in court (just like they said they would).

Could this be the battle some sicko, poli-minded action junkies have been jonesing waiting for — a fight that forces at least one state to deal with outdated laws being applied to a game they didn’t really conceive of way-back-when? If so, this bust seems to be part of the plan. The NPC has/had clubs in Little Rock, Portland, and Memphis, where the company is headquartered. When it comes to poker penalties and the statutes behind them, the game in Arkansas might be softer than just about anywhere else.

In this week’s episode:

Sweden, Germany, and France…
What a big week for online gambling, with lots of great news mostly coming out of Europe! Sweden wants into the industry… Germany says any ban on internet gambling is impossible… and even France knows it’s time to surrender.

EU Trade Commissioner in the United States…
Why should we care that the EU Trade Commissioner was in the United States this week? Because this man flew all the way across the ocean to tell the US Congress they’re a bunch of schmucks! Peter Mandelson urged US Legislators to overturn the UIGEA.

Barney Frank, Ron Paul, and Radley Balko…
We all know Barney Frank… many know Ron Paul… but who the heck is Radley Balko? We feature a video from June of this year where Mr Balko testifies in a Congressional hearing about online gambling. You simply must see this video!

A poker room in Kingsport, Tennessee, got raided Friday night — 15 people arrested, one of those being Paul McKinney, winner of the 2005 WSOP Seniors event. Police confiscated nearly $20,000 in cash, and apparently believe McKinney, age 82, was the one running the room.

McKinney was one of two people charged with aggravated gambling promotion on suspicion of organizing and promoting the event, according to police reports. Police also said McKinney was charged with possession of Schedule III narcotics after pills were found in his pocket.

Drugs, too? For shame! My whole belief system is being challenged to learn that the man who at one was time the oldest player to win a WSOP bracelet now takes prescription medication!

McKinney has 34 cashes in major tourneys to his name.

FYI, another episode is up … for those of you who haven’t yet subscribed or synced your iPods. In this episode, our favorite non-bracelet-wearing cruiser-stakes pro sits in for Tom.

[display_podcast]

• Robert G drinks the BTT Kool-Aid.
• WSOP scheduling, the Houston poker bust and felony charges, an Illinois amateur poker crackdown, Charles Nesson as the Timothy O’Leary of Poker.
• Gratuitous pimping: Up for Poker and the PokerStars Blogger Championship.
• Action junkies and Karridy’s online sit-n-go multitabling master plan — big screens and upside-down calculator words.
• Tom goes to Spain in search of plaques and CardPlayer points.
• Karridy hits the Stockyards in search of family values and professional online poker dreams.
• The Fort Worth police vs. Beyond the Table.
• Dan tries to take credit for bringing the Mob into Texas poker.

Part 1:

Click here to watch Part 2. Brought to you by APCW.org.

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

In a sign of how hard it is to convince non-poker people how different types of poker work … the Illinois liquor police are shutting down the amateur bar tournaments that so many of us (nationwide) know and love:

Rather than trying to sort out those playing poker for fun from those playing poker for money, they say it makes more sense to simply prohibit poker tournaments in liquor establishments.

“Usually when you’re playing poker, you’re gambling,” says Ted Penesis, a spokesman for the liquor commission.

Yeow, nice enforcement standards. Apparently there’s no need to send in an undercover agent when you’re not gonna find what you’re looking for.

Here’s the video:

The Houston Police Department has fired back at Pokerati’s assertion that the SWAT team was necessary for their raid on The Palms.

From KHOU:

HPD’s Vice Division was so concerned about being able to get inside what they said was an illegal poker room, SWAT was called in to make sure the raid went off without a hitch.

This wasn’t an easy place to get into. The door was secured with locks and you had to have a special card to get in.

And a security company had been hired to watch the place from the outside.

Police tell us this was a place to play high dollar poker. Texas Hold ‘Em poker to be exact.

More…

This is not a stock photo. It is recent KHOU footage of poker players being rounded up so they can plea down to a traffic ticket and receive deferred adjudication.

So I just took a look at the pictures from the Houston poker bust at The Palms, which really I think has to be called a “raid” any time machine guns are brought into play. Maybe I’m just getting sappy, but these photos — they look soooo familiar — actually offend me. If HPD is trying to put a scare into poker players and operations, congratulations on your short-term success.

Now if you don’t mind, could you provide the people of Houston a detailed accounting of how much Operation Drawing Dead cost?

I thought we were moving into a “sensible government” phase in this country … but apparently not. And if the HPD would allow me to call at least one of its bluffs:

HPD said SWAT was needed because the building was secure and guarded by a private security firm.

Not true. Just ask the Dallas police about this … it only causes you more trouble, and makes the prosecutors and citizenry less sympathetic to your cause. Hey, I’m just a blogger — not a law enforcement specialist — but I can tell you a better way to do your job. If you want to shut down a poker room, simply park a marked police car outside the front door. It’s that simple. Dealers won’t go to work, and players won’t go in. And it will cost you the citizens you are paid to protect a lot less money.

ALT HED: Strong Means Weak

More…

That’s about all we know right now. We’ll try to find out a little more … please feel free to share what you may know, particularly if you were there.

A temporarily anonymous reader writes in with an update on some cases against “alleged” poker dealers and room operators at the Audie Murphy VFW, which was raided (as opposed to just busted) in April:

I just thought you might want to know that all of the Gambling Promotion charges that were pending against 11 alleged dealers, and or operators have been deleted,or shall I say in the words of that wonderful attorney of mine “Dallas County has decided to throw in the towel”. Chalk up another one for the Poker Players and give my attorney a raise? NOT!!! he was expensive enough to begin with but well worth it.

Cool, awesome … good for you. I mean except for the legal fees part. But considering how much money Dallas attorneys tend to donk into a game, it’s probably a wash, right?

(Not sure “deleted” is an actual legal term, by the way. But I suspect it is still good for the defendants.)

More on the VFW and other poker busts in Dallas here.

These came, interestingly enough, just a couple weeks after the Dallas DA publicly declared his support for HB 3186, which set out to clarify the legality of raked poker games and set up standards to regulate such businesses.

More on Dallas’ poker-friendly courthouse here.

Some dudes in Georgia are making a documentary …

“Underground Home Game, The Movie.”

No release date yet … they’re still in the process of making it as they follow a posse of low-stakes players engaging in civil disobedience.

For those interested in the details of the Carolina poker raid, information is continuing to flow via Otis and G-Rob (including specifics about the tournament itself, which should give you a little better sense about what sort of poker operation it was that police went after):

Updates here, and here.

One of Otis’ favorite local games was also robbed just a couple weeks ago. Sometimes the cops go after the money first, then the robbers start coming … and sometimes its the other way around. Either way, the same underlying mechanisms are in place for what leads to the rise and fall of a vibrant poker scene.

As expected, the non-poker, non-local media has caught wind of the poker raid in Raleigh — the one in which WPT champion and accomplished pro Michael Gracz was nabbed. [Forbes.]

This sort of coverage always reminds us how unfamiliar the non-poker-playing public is with our issues. Like really, the “game of skill” concept is foreign to them:

“Although skills such as knowledge of human psychology, bluffing, and the ability to calculate and analyze odds make it more likely for skilled players to defeat novices, novices may yet prevail with a simple run of luck,” the appeals opinion said. “No amount of skill can change a deuce into an ace.”

You can’t change a deuce into an ace? The North Carolina Appeals Court clearly doesn’t understand the power of The Hammer.

You know, if he fought his ticket, we could count on some more stories like this one as the misdemeanor case went to court. Just saying’ … Worst case scenario would be that he loses, pays the fine all the same, and still gets “the poker cause” some valuable ink. But odds say he’s very unlikely to be found guilty anyhow. Sounds like a win-win, no? Definitely a negative EV play if Gracz were to fold.

Chris Bell and WPT champion Michael Gracz were playing what appears to be a $1,000 tournament with about 70 players when police rolled in and stopped the action. Ahh, reminds me of the good-ole-days of the Dallas poker scene (which is now a shell of its old self, for better or for worse).

According to CardPlayer:

The misdemeanor gambling charge is akin to a speeding ticket, which Gracz said we would probably just pay. All of those charged were free to go home and the whole process took about four hours.

C’mon, Gracz, fight the power! Make an issue out of this you pussy! distinguished poker ambassador. Sure, it’s only chump change to you, but fighting your ticket to the fullest (like the gentleman you are) could mean a lot more to all those other players in North Carolina.

RELATED: Other poker cases moving through the system in New Jersey and Kansas. It’s kinda understandable why the cops running one of these poker rooms had to plea guilty, but the barber should be in good shape to claim otherwise.

A few click-worthy items populating browsers throughout the poker world this week:

The WSOP-Europe is kicking off right about now — with a £2,500 HORSE event. Click here to follow that action. Then comes £5,000 PLO and £10,000 No-Limit Hold’em. Remember, that’s $20,000 to US Americans.

And click here to see Gavin Smith topless pictures from the LAUNCH PARTY for the WSOP-E, held at PURE in Caesar’s the day after the end of WSOP-LV.

PAULY will clearly be having a terrible time covering the three bracelet events in LONDON:

Ahh, London …

PARTYGAMING’S stock has been sinking. And upon reporting half-year earnings last week, the company that was minting more money than they knew what to do with a year ago is operating in the red.

PartyGaming also made a pretax loss of $32 million on revenue of $212.5 million, down from revenue of $662 million before the U.S. clampdown a year ago.

Maybe we just miss the good-ole-days with some good-ole-friends (half of whom no longer work for Party), but Pokerati says Party is still a BUY! (The Motley Fool agrees.) We first thought that, of course, shortly after the stock plummeted to 26. We acted on it at 36, then thought it again at 56. Currently trading at about 28.5.

Meanwhile, PartyGaming continues to seek retroactive amnesty from the US DOJ for its execs.

The BRITS are having to come up with corporate policies these days to deal with online gambling in the workplace. Uncertain waters … but depending on how the cards fall, its theoretically possible that multitabling while on the clock could get you some paid leave.

Gah, you just gotta love the LIMEYS. Their government is also funding a program to teach tight play and bankroll management — “responsible gambling” they call it.

All this coincides with some new gambling laws that went into effect September 1 across the UK.

With companies from GIBRALTAR now allowed to advertise in England, PARTYPOKER (and PARTYBETS) will be turning 70 official UK soccer clubs’ websites into affilliates. But footballers better not be punters … an unusually bad game could land players who bet on their own action in jail for two years.

The latest from J TODD and the Affilliate Wolverines at APCW:

In and outside of TORONTO, police seem to be in the midst of a POKER CRACKDOWN that seems all too familiar ’round these parts. NEW JERSEY police doing the same thing.

Only difference was in DALLAS it made for good TV. (Old article, but one I just stumbled across, and found interesting in light of the Dallas SWAT poker raids.)

In MISSOURI, where what appears to be a $20 (w/ rebuys) barbershop tourney has the barber headed to an actual trial, facing felony jail time.

USA TODAY has an article about how fraudsters are using bots at online poker sites not to beat the game, but to launder money by programming them to PLAY badly. A little confusing, but read the comments for how poker players respond to any anti-poker propaganda written by someone who may or may not understand how internet poker works.

An editorial in NEW YORK NEWSDAY about how it’s time to regulate online poker. This viewpoint has little to do with your rights to play, but the legitimacy of the WTO if the United States doesn’t either re-legitimize online poker or ban all forms of online gambling, including what’s currently allowed under the UIGEA.

The claims against the US from the European Union and Antigua and Barbuda exceed $22 billion. Japan, Canada, Macau, Costa Rica and India will each be asking for a few billion as well. So far the US hasn’t put up much a defense beyond “not paying.”

In other legal issues, Bodog lost a PATENT INFRINGEMENT lawsuit … and their domain! Try it yourself … Bodog.com no longer exists. Now you gotta go to newbodog.com.

Apparently the HOLLYWOOD Set is still learning to love poker — as actress JESSICA BIEL found herself pulled into a game — reportedly with pros, but whom I don’t know — at the opening of the Ivy Hotel in SAN DIEGO. The girlfriend of JUSTN TIMBERLAKE is new to poker, and started out doing really well before she lost all her chips.

Did you know Jennifer Tilly is 48-years-old? Never woulda guessed it. She’s about to turn 49.

Oh, speaking of Hollywood … almost forgot to drop a name. Robert Wilonsky — the only Batface home gamer with his own Wikipedia entry — has started a new gig on national TV, filling in for Roger Ebert on Ebert & Roeper for the rest of 2007. Very cool! Congrats, Big Bob. With all his exposure to C B A-list actors, I wonder why he hasn’t learned how to pretend he doesn’t have a really big hand sometimes when he does. Click the pic for a funny-ish Robert Wilonsky highlight reel.

One year after the poker laws in this country changed … TODD BRUNSON gets on the anti-UIGEA soapbox. From his efforts to be an ambassador:

By the way, if you work for the Treasury or Justice Department, or any gaming control commission, please disregard that comment about “anyone with a brain.” I realize that it’s the politicians who are passing the laws, and you guys are just doing your jobs (and doing them well) by enforcing them. I also realize that you guys are much more powerful than a poker player, and could crush me like a bug. Please don’t hurt me.

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…

“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.

Just received a text from a concerned Pokeratizen informing us of some relatively quick dismissals of criminal poker charges in Dallas County:

Fyi. Dallas poker. Approx. 22 from the audie murphy vfw bust all hired the same atty for fifty a piece. This wk allcases were dismissed for misc reasons.

Related

Another Big Dallas Poker Bust - 4/15/07
RE: Another Big Poker Bust (2) - 4/15/07

Julian in Dallas writes in with a trip report from his most recent poker activity:

On Friday night, June 1, 2007, the Dallas Vice Unit and Northwest Division Patrol officers executed a Search Warrant at:

“Live Straddle”
7141 Envoy Ct.

28 citations for gambling

5 arrests gambling promotion M/A

seized:
4 poker tables,
poker chips,
playing cards, computer equipment, assorted paperwork, $4,599.00 cash

Deputy Chief J Bernal
Narcotics Division
Dallas Police Department

Umm, I guess $4,600 is a nice score … but really Deputy Chief, if you keep on being such a table bully, it won’t be long before you have no one to play with. I mean you probably feel like you’re winning … but really, check your bankroll … are you?

From what I hear, you and your players are not allowed