I missed the Texas gubernatorial debate last night … then I caught the last two thirds of it on C-SPAN. Unfortunately, the two biggest pro-poker candidates, Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn, gave two of the more lackluster performances. It was clear that Strayhorn is no Ann Richards, and Kinky is no Jesse Ventura.

Anyhow, before I saw the actual debate, Lavigne in Austin was kind enough to fill me in on what I’d be seeing, particularly as it relates to poker:

cool. you didn’t miss much, but kinky did mention legalizing texas hold’em. otherwise he came off as unknowledgable as the rest of them did boring.

So long road row to hoe. But is cynicism becoming the enemy?

I’m sure I’ll be stumbling across more and more must-click items throughout the week … the latest is Amy Calistri’s well-written take on what all came together to create the current online poker clusterfuck.

Wow, for the first time, the non-poker media is actually paying attention to non-poker issues. The result is some incredibly insightful stuff and the occasional pure bullshit:

First off, DICK MORRIS has an interesting column — penned a few days before the Safe Ports Act passed — asserting that were BILL FRIST still a doctor, he would be sued for malpractice for his tactics.

A finance site claims there’s nothing illegal about offshore banking poker middlemen (such as Neteller, Firepay, et al.).

But that didn’t stop NETELLER’S stock from taking a big hit.

Meanwhile, PARTY GAMING canceled its Oct. 31 dividends as it begins to shift some business gears. Here’s the best story I’ve seen so far explaining their numbers and future plans.

The blogging community in BUFFALO theoretically wants to engage in debate, but you aren’t allowed to use the word “poker”.

It is, however, good to see NON-POKER BLOGGERS calling a spade a spade and recognizing political fucked-uppedness.

British columnist SIMON YOUNG is questioning America’s whole “land of the free” concept.

The CALIFORNIA COUNCIL ON PROBLEM GAMBLING believes regulation would do more good than prohibition, particularly when it applies to the internet.

AWARD for WORST JOURNALISTIC ANALYSIS: In Washington State the owner of the DRIFT-ON INN says his poker room has been hurting, and the online ban should be a boon to his business. Apparently he sees the fact that 80 percent of his customers play online as the reason they don’t play live more often, CHRIS MONEYMAKER be damned.

Though NEVADA casinos used to think online gambling hurt their business, now they realize how important online is to them and how much a ban could hurt their business.

We probably shouldn’t forget that JC TRAN won $670k last week in the World Championship of Online Poker. Kinda ironic that this event was such a smashing success?

The MOTLEY FOOL has a sober, intelligent analysis of it all.

In SOUTH KOREA, they are declaring online gaming ready to go bust. I, of course, blame SANG.

Here’s a quality essay from a kid at UCLA. The multi-generational nature of poker suggests the issue will be around for quite some time.

Kinda interesting to see the MIDDLE EAST TIMES declaring that the ban on online gaming is destined to fail.

Of course BUSINESS WEEK sees plenty of loopholes, too.

The TECH MEDIA agrees that this law is unenforceable.

Of course that doesn’t stop the hurt for legitimate gaming executives in Europe, who are (finally) asking the governments of the UK and EU why they haven’t done anything to stop this mess.

MARKETING COMPANIES are also sure to be hurt.

Another sober, non-poker analysis — seeing this as an issue of PURITANISM and PROTECTIONISM.

More on protectionism.

A July column by SEN. JON KYL likening internet gambling to crack cocaine, which received negative response from Republicans who actually believe in smaller government. (Uh-duh, if crack and poker are the same, crack is cheaper and therefore comes with a more positive EV.)

So Party’s pulling out, and so is PokerStars … Pacific Poker is out but Paradise Poker is staying put (for now). Is it just me, or does all this remind you a lot of the (temporary) implosion of the Dallas poker scene earlier this year?

More on the online poker “crisis” here.

I had been meaning to put this article up for a while … it was my entrance into the poker media in the first of what would be many new poker magazines; and because of the magazine’s newness, the story never found its way online. Anyhow, though speculation can never be exact, much of what is in there still seems to be at least partially relevant and serves as a good reminder of where in fact poker may or may not go from here …

Poker at its Renaissance

The game became a worldwide obsession virtually overnight. Now what will become of the game?

By Dan Michalski — published in All In Magazine, premiere issue, June/July 2004

The future of poker arrived in 1984—when legendary Vegas gambler Bob Stupak faced off against Orac, a poker-playing Apple II computer. It was heads-up no-limit Hold ’Em for $500,000, in a showdown that would later air on ABC’s Ripley’s Believe it or Not. At one point in this first-ever televised poker game, Orac had flopped a set, and Stupak, looking at top two pair, was raising into the stone-faced machine.

As he was programmed to do, Orac put Stupak all-in. Stupak called, and that’s when the computer crashed.

“It just froze,” recalls Mike Caro, “the mad genius of poker” who created Orac. According to the rules for this unusual match-up, even though the cards had already been turned over, the hand had to be replayed. Stupak would get a better deal after the machine re-booted and would go on to claim victory for humankind.

More…

I’m confident the sky isn’t falling, but the stock is. PartyPoker’s stock is down 55 percent in the first hour of trading today.

Click here to follow it’s status.

UPDATE: It took a while, but the non-poker world is finally starting to notice poker’s issues. Even Al Jazeera is covering today’s developments.

OK, no need to freak out, but the Port Security bill that also makes any semblance of online gaming illegal seems to be going into effect sooner than many political typicos (self included) imagined possible, and that has big-time internet poker execs scrambling as the European markets are about to open.

The bill will likely be signed into law in two weeks, and it will go into effect immediately … at which point Congress will have nine months to figure out with internet companies and others how this is all going to work. It’s gonna be interesting, I’ll say that much:

PartyGaming, the operator of the world’s biggest online poker site, said that if President Bush ratifies the law - expected within the next fortnight - it would immediately suspend all real money gaming business with US residents.

Call your Senators … even now, even though it’s late. Bill Frist is apparently trying to slip through the online gaming ban tonight, as we speak. Some good information from Change100 here. And if you don’t have your senator’s number in you cell phone, you can find it here.

I’d also like to take this chance to remind you all that no matter what happens, we’re going to be OK. Ours is a perfect system of democracy, with checks and balances in play. Take for example the Wright Amendment. It looks like it will be repealed (or at least semi-repealed) tonight as well. Only took 27 years to get that problematic law off the books.

UPDATE: They are debating the relevant bill right now. Watch it here. You can also read the actual bill here — page 213 is where the gambling stuff can be found. The reperesentative from Nevada got up to call bullshit on Sen. Bill Frist for his move lumping it in with a port security bill, but said the bill itself is important enough that she can’t vote against it. Not looking good for poker.

UPDATE: According to this site, it’s over. Anti-poker forces successfully slipped 30 pages of language into a port-security bill that makes playing online punishable by up to five years in prison.

This is pretty bad news, but before you start assassinating people, remember … it’s been the courts that have for the most part been instrumental in legalizing poker anywhere from the get-go, not legislatures.

Check it out … Big Bob Wilonsky also wrote about the Dallas poker scene in the Observer’s Best of Dallas issue and laments its decline. He also seems a little excited to hear that new poker options here are emerging. But you do have to question his journalistic credibility when he talks about how Stagecoach “boasted stellar players.”

All I can say is that was one of the few games around town I could come close to running over, so deduce from that what you will.

This just in … the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act is apparently dead in the U.S. Senate. Not sure what that does to the law in Washington State, but had this legislative measure passed, it really coulda broken into a states rights issue. But now, thankfully, law-abiding citizens can donk it up like crazy from the comfort of their homes … and kids can feel free to gank their parents’ credit cards and gamble til their hearts are content!

Meanwhile, European investors can expect quite the spike in FTSE gaming stocks in a few hours.

UPDATE: Yeesh, Pokerati must’ve gotten a little rusty in the news-gathering department. Turns out the exact opposite could be true, with a more credible publication reporting that the anti-gambling stuff got snuck back into a sure-to-pass Defense bill.
Link props: Change100

LAKE TAHOE, NV–Am off to eat and drink with a bunch of dealers. So much I forgot to tell you all about. Be sure to check out PokerBlog to read my live-blogging of the 60 Minutes episode and the end of the WSOP Circuit main event. Maybe later I can tell you about my glorious $2/$3 action (with mixed results), my 15 minutes of blackjack, my great-then-terrible tournament play.

Oh, and I “hired” Gonz and have a new life. I hope the government doesn’t ruin it. More later.

LAKE TAHOE, NV–For anyone who has a stake in the future of online gambling in America, they may want to watch 60 Minutes tonight … they’re doing a story on the proposed Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.

UPDATE: Apparently it has already aired in the non-Pacific time zones. Did anyone out there see it?

As you all probably know, their are forces out their trying to quash our fun. Thankfully, there are peeps out their organizing to quash the quashing. Specifically, Wicked Chops and Pocket Fives have joined with the Poker Player’s Alliance to spearhead a day of civil spamming. Here’s the info — with props to Dave in Washington DC for sending it along:

The Background

H.R. 4411, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives very convincingly, 317-93. The bill now may be passed by the U.S. Senate. Click here to read PocketFives’ response to the passage of this bill. We’ve made it through the summer without the legislation being brought up in the Senate. In light of recent events including the arrest of Sportsbook.com CEO Peter Dicks, we have decided to take action. The threat to online poker is real.

What We’re Doing

On Tuesday, September 12, 2006, from 9:00am ET until 5:30pm ET, PocketFives.com and the Poker Players Alliance will be co-sponsoring the Phone March on Washington.

How You Can Stop This Legislation

Talk about the Phone March when you play this weekend. Inform fellow poker players who do not understand how real this threat is. Have them visit the official site, www.pocketfives.com/phonemarch for the phone number and talking points.

On Tuesday from 9:30 ET to 5:30pm ET, we encourage everyone to call 800-289-1136. This is a FREE phone call and will connect you directly to your Senators’ offices. You will be connected to one of your two Senators’ offices. Here are some talking points for you to use:

1. I am voter in your state.

2. I strongly oppose any legislation that would prohibit online poker, and urge the Senator to vote against such legislation.

3. Poker is a skill game enjoyed by 70 million Americans.

4. The Senator should seek to regulate online poker much like the government regulates other forms of gaming, like lotteries.

5. Prohibitions don’t work. Any legislation that tries to ban online poker will only drive those players underground.

6. Again, I urge the Senator to oppose any attempts to prohibit me from playing the great American game of poker on the Internet.

Together, we need to help keep the current bill in Congress, H.R. 4411, controversial. Doing this will prevent it from being passed. This means YOU can continue to enjoy online poker in the United States.

Questions?

If you have any questions or can help us reach more online poker players, please e-mail me at dan@pocketfives.com. We cannot make this effort a success without your help.

Helpful Links

Click here for the latest on the bill in the Senate.

Click here to learn about H.R. 4411.

Click here to visit the Poker Players Alliance website and become a member. Please help support our industry’s lobby group.

Click here to visit the National Right for Online Gaming, an industry group fighting for the rights of online gamblers everywhere.

Read PocketFives.com’s official press release for the Phone March on Washington.

The wheels are turning, Jerry. The city of Dallas is trying to figure out what to do with Reunion Arena — and next month the economic development committee will make recommendations. One strong possibilty: turning the house that Jim Spanarkle built into a casino. Cool. Awesome. I’d say that turning it into just a poker room would also be fine — but I don’t think those who are horrified by the idea of a full-blown casino would see the difference, nor the possibility for the amazing big events that we could hold.

Thanks, Mulry, for the link!

Of course all this hinges on legalizing casino gambling in some capacity in Texas. At least two of the four gubernatorial candidates are fully behind the idea — Kinky Friedman, and Carole Keeton Strayhorn (who understands Texas’ financial issues plenty well). But that’s not enough … so this is as good a time as any to remind you to make your contributions to the Texas Poker PAC (of which, full disclosure, in case you forgot, I am on its board).

Click below to see the comments left on The Dallas Morning News website about the article … and you’ll get a better sense of the fight ahead.

More…

UPDATE: Peter Dicks is being held for extradition to Lousiana, where he will be tried on felony charges.

Don’t know much else right now … but we’ll keep you posted.

UPDATE: OK, it’s not yet clear that he was arrested in Dallas or even Texas … but that is indeed the buzz going around the shop here in the UK. Apparently Texas is fast gaining a reputation as the anti-gambling capitol of the world.

Peter Dicks, age 64, is the arrested individual.

Here is a story from the British Channel 4. And here is another one, from the BBC. And here’s Bloomberg’s recounting of what little we all know.

UPDATE: From Dan Weeks, reporter for Bloomberg:

hi, dicks was detained at kennedy airport and is being held by the ny port authority.

Thanks, Dan, for the additional info. (Hedline has been updated accordingly.)

“Oh no, that’s even scarier,” says one Party guy a few desks away.

Another item from Pokerati's "lost archives": Here's an interview done on Hold'em Radio's "Beyond the Table" with a Dallas underground poker room operator. This took place on May 10, shortly before the Aces raid (and subsequent fallout). Have a listen — plenty of irony abounds.

MP3 File

NOTE: This recording is on the lengthy side. While it often is easier (and fun!) to just click the embedded player, if you’d like to listen while reading Pokerati and other sites, you are probably better off clicking the “mp3 file” link … which will open up the file in another window (or tab, if that is your choice).

So much going on with the Richard Lee case. He’s friends with the mayor, yet San Antonio PD has been investigating him for months. He’s allegedly the bookie to the stars in San-An, or at least to a lot of prominent judges, lawyers, and other big-city players.

He also happened to be playing on PartyPoker when the raid went down. A few SWAT guys and everything, one of whom was a poker player and couldn’t help but ask him about a few hands. And the Bexar County DA is now saying (unequivocally?) that playing online poker is in fact a crime in Texas. Wow, and yeow.

All this while the Senate is a few days away from beginning consideration of federally prohibiting online gambling/gaming/poker of any sort (except for lotteries and horse racing).

I gotta say, I feel good that so much of all the challenges ahead are falling in the lap of Richard Lee, as opposed to Jamie Gold. Gives me the sense that whatever happens, poker is gonna be OK.

Meanwhile, I’ve been getting scooped on much of this by my own girlfriend at PokerBlog. (Bitch! Well done, Sweetie.)

Wicked Chops and CardSquad are keeping on top of things very well, too.

And by the way, to the commenter who wondered why a potential bookie story has anything to do with the “war on poker” … if you don’t see it now, just stick around. You will see.

We’re all in for a fun ride.

Oops, I knew that couldn’t be everything:

The IRS just got underway with its PRIORITY GUIDANCE PLAN. One of the things that will be discussed over the next year are new rules pertaining to poker tournament winnings.

Some colleges are banning laptops in class — in part because of internet poker play. (Perhaps SHANNON SHORR is doing the right thing by quitting school and JEFF MADSEN is a sucker?)

Local and FEDERAL authorities worked together to raid a couple poker games in ALASKA last week.

The first hearing in the CRISPIN LEYSER vs. JAMIE GOLD lawsuit takes place in LAS VEGAS on friday.

DANIEL CRAIG, the new JAMES BOND, apparently likes poker — and we are supposed to give a shit.

(Doesn’t he know that, thanks to JAMIE GOLD and DREW BARRYMORE, Hollywood poker is like so 2004/05? Just ask BEN AFFLECK.)

Here’s more NON-POKER media on the legal struggles we all face. And here’s a story about the new lives of online poker felons in WASHINGTON STATE.

All this while prosecutors in COLUMBUS, OHIO NEBRASKA are reconsidering the legality of amateur poker games in bars — in part thanks to some money-wielding players at a golf course.

And SOUTH KOREA’s prime minister is apologizing for letting gambling in his country run amuck and hurt the low-income earners. HAN MYEONG-SOOK, however, does not include live poker as part of the problem.

It’s getting harder and harder to keep up with what’s going on in the poker world. Thank goodness I didn’t decide to try and cover football … because that would be near impossible. In no particular order of importance:

ANNA BENSON is no fan of Wicked Chops Poker. For shame.

But Wicked Chops knows its PR (that’s what they do for their day jobs) and thus they have mad respect for RICHARD LEE’S crisis management chops.

Note to San Antonio TV news and Police Department: 6th place does not make someone a “world champion.” If this were the case, OTHER would be the World Champion of Presidents.

Bic Lighters are about to go poker-crazy. They gave a lot of their fire-sticks away at the WSOP, but sadly, most of them had to be left behind at McCarran International Airport.

The US SENATE reconvenes next week. With legislation to ban most semblances of online gambling on its agenda, our future is currently in their hands.

Anti-poker bill sponsors REPS. JIM LEACH (R-IA) and BILL FRIST (R-TN) are holding a “field hearing” in Iowa today (Thursday) to hear what the people have to say about the matter.

Oops, I’m wrong … the field hearing isn’t about listening to the people — it’s about rallying support for the anti-online-poker measures.

Note to supporters of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act: Build more jails.

Meanwhile, in DENVER, a SWAT team busted a small-stakes poker room. No word on whether or not this bust was made-for-TV as was the case in DALLAS. Had the cops known they would have found cocaine, they probably would’ve used smaller artillery.

Note to poker-room operators: Dudes, keep the coke out of your game. (Adderall, after all, is a much better poker drug.)

STEVE HALL has become addicted to homemade Bollywood movies. He also thinks Mansionpoker.net might be hurting for money and running a scam.

He also has an intersting list of well-known pros who failed to cash throughout the entire WSOP:

Liz Lieu
Eli Elezra
An Tran
Gus Hansen
Alan Goehring
Kenna James
Al Ardebili
Norm Ketchum
Antonio Esfandiari
Scotty Nguyen
Ram Vaswani
Noah Boaken

BATFACES who faced similar fates include:

Troy “Darling” Phillips
The Big Randy
Scott Fawcett
Eric “Tulsa” Celeste
Dan Michalski
Eric “the Freeze” Pfeifle
Dan “Hong Kong Sue” Ballenger
Todd “Tiny B” Phillips
“Gentle” Shane Keller

On the pre-eve of WPT Ladies Night — the event that made her famous — CLONIE near-bubbled in the WPT Legends of Poker.

Go Dallas Poker?

Here’s the latest on Richard Lee … who shows why, regardless of what crime he may or may not have committed, he’s probably a good-guy.

Compare Lee’s first public statement on his legal troubles to that of Jamie Gold … who hired a PR firm to spew a bunch of yadda-yadda bullshit.

This just in … a few hours ago police in San Antonio raided the home of Richard Lee — 6th place finisher in the WSOP.

Click here to see the TV news report.

Police reportedly were executing a warrant that allowed them to seize everything inside his estate in the tony Shavano Park neighborhood … because cops claim possessions inside may all be ill-gotten gains. According to a police spokesman, this was not a raid to arrest Lee, but it was part of an investigation into a “major” online gambling ring.

Wow wow wow.

Of all the final tableists, Richard Lee was arguably the nicest guy there. The anti-Jamie Gold. After he busted out in 6th place (winning $2.8 million), I asked him:

You’re the only one at the final table not wearing anything from an online poker site. Why is that?

His answer:

“I don’t need the money, I have plenty of money, and I decided that I wasn’t going to endorse anyone but God, my family, and San Antonio, Texas.”

Yee-haw! I screamed on the inside. I looked over at Nolan Dalla, because he knew what I was getting at with my question, and being a Texan, he, too, likely felt the internal whoop.

Anyhow, it was an impressive statement by Lee. Supposedly the going rate to wear an online poker site’s gear at the main event final table was $500k. (As opposed to $50k at other televised final tables.) But if what police are suspecting is true, then huh … wonder if there wasn’t some other reason he didn’t want to attach his name to any semblance of an online gaming site.

(Mean Gene can add another one to his entertaining POKER: CSI line-up.)

UPDATE: Here’s the San Antonio Express-News on the investigation.

Just going through some old emails — the backlog is finally below 900! — and came across some discourse between various poker legalizers. Turns out that Charles Humphrey, the Colorado lawyer filing suit in New Jersey with claims that fantasy football constitutes illegal gambling, is clearly on the right side of the law poker. Not only was he in Vegas playing satellites during the WSOP, but, according to the politicky emails, he was there meeting with folks from the PPA and Bob Ciaffone. He’s also apparently very aware of the Texas Poker PAC.

So interesting approach, Counselor Chuck. My apologies for implying that you might suck. Now I get it. Good stuff. Keep the frivolous lawsuits flying!

(And give me a buzz so I can tell you about the way cash fishing tournaments work in Texas — similar combination of luck and skill … only these take place on public waterways.)

OK, so all I really know is that it was a lawyer from Colorado that made trouble for Texas poker. No real clue if it was the same lawyer. But seriously, how many gambling lawyers in Colorado want to spend their time trying to shut down charity events in Texas and/or panning for a judicial jackpot based on laws written prior to the birth of George Washinton?

Regardless, I found a little more on Charles Humphrey, and I think some of the commenters may be right — he might be “good,” filing lawsuits to make a “point.”

Still not sure, but not sure it matters — whatever side he’s on, his semi-ridiculous claims should help poker at least a little bit, because they are so ridiculous. Here’s his take on whether online poker is a game of skill or chance.

And here’s the actual legal filing for his New Jersey lawsuit.

Mr Humphrey clearly knows his gambling laws … so he may well know better than anyone else how ridiculous they are. Or he could be a holy roller eager to save the world from damnation. I find it interesting that in his claim, he points out to the state that they could get half the money from these allegedly ill-gotten gambling gains. So in a way, he’s making the same pitch the poker people are making … hey, government, you can get rich off of gambling, too!

“Our side” is saying, hey gov, let us gamble and you can make money. His side is saying, hey gov, let’s prohibit gambling, and we can take down pretty much the same pot. It’s scary that this could be a tempting argument to legislators looking to wave the family values flag. Or it might be a sign that pro-poker forces might consider a different tactic.

One of the most significant cases in forthcoming poker legal fights may be one that has (almost) nothing to do with poker.

A Colorado lawyer has filed a lawsuit (in New Jersey) claiming fantasy football, with any money attached to it, is illegal gambling. The targets of his lawsuit: ESPN, CBS, and The Sporting News. This case brings so many interesting thingies to the fore.

First, the crux of the argument is that fantasy sports is a game of chance, not a game of skill. Wow. But this is AWESOME for poker. Why not let the fantasy sports population — which, perhaps surprisingly, outnumber poker players — do the dirty work on the all-important skill vs. chance issue?

Remember, the legislative masses still hardly understand our poker issues — whether they be regarding charity tournaments in a state (like Texas) or the right to play for money online anywhere in the United States. So we should be happy anytime a potentially bad legal precedent that affects a few million more family-friendly law-abiding citizens comes to light. Again, that is assuming we are on the right side.

More…

Here’s the thing about poker in Texas at present — it’s difficult to think big. Think too big, put together something too cool, and someone will try to put a stop to it. It’s a real shame, too … because as a society, we might be better off trying to finance schools or focussing on keeping the terrorists away. But alas, such is not reality … and the latest victim of (misguided?) anti-poker sentiment is True Texas Poker with TJ Cloutier.

So say event organizers, who have further delayed/restructured their made-for-TV spectacle. I tend to believe them, too, because for the past year they have almost constantly had to be shifting gears to appease anti-poker powers. Here’s the latest on the status of their tourney(s). Considering that no one has had to pay a dime to win a seat, all is probably well. Not sure how his sponsors feel, but regardless, Karridy/TJ looks to have moved to a poker-entertaining Plan B C D … and he’s still got a long way to go before running out of letters.

Thanks, PokerDonkey, for the tip!

I’ve started to notice more and more the real world taking note of the online-poker legislative fight. That’s a good thing, of course (assuming we are on the right side). And we’re also finding more and more confirmation that a lot of the money funding Bob Goodlatte & Co.’s anti-poker efforts is coming from Native American casinos. Not a shock, but good information. Apparently the legendary WinStar tribes are having conferences about it and everything. Below is internet journalism at its finest, as I try to “follow the money” and head out the door for a late-night meeting with a decidedly pro-poker lobbyist:

ALT HED: Breaking News: Sang not dressed well enough!

momentophotos: real quick…forgot to tell you that when I stopped by Denise’s…her boyfriend Josh was talking about being at some native american gambling conference
Dan Michalski: interesting
momentophotos: not that this surprises you, but he said they were all paying legislators big money to make online gambling illegal.
Dan Michalski: why was he there?
momentophotos: yes…he works with a company who builds golf courses for a lot of these companies who build resorts/casinos in NM, OK, etc.
Dan Michalski: know anything else, like what the conference was called or where it was?
momentophotos: no but if you want, I can give you Denise’s phone number and you can call them tomorrow evening….she works early a.m. so she’s probably in bed….i don’t know his number
Dan Michalski: yes, that would be great. thanks much.
Dan Michalski: by the way, i am probably going to post this IM conversation.
momentophotos: 214-[number deleted] —- her boyfriend’s name is Josh…don’t know his last name
Dan Michalski: cool. thanks.
momentophotos: ok…just obviously don’t post her number…she’s a hottie…i would hate it if Josh got upset because a bunch of poker perverts started calling Denise
Dan Michalski: ok, i am going to finally jump in the shower. just called sang, but no answer.
momentophotos: he’s probably already drunk
Dan Michalski: will give you a buzz when i get out. am starved, by the way … they were talking about going to dinner, but no clue where.
momentophotos: i have food over here from whole foods
Dan Michalski: what kind?
momentophotos: carne asada with salsa, green beans and portabelo mush, etc
Dan Michalski: i like salsa

More…

LAS VEGAS–Just getting word that a game got raided recently (like days ago, maybe?) in Highland Village. From the sounds of it, it was a home game … (or maybe a “home game”?) … with a little money taken out of the pot to pay for food and drinks. Could this be the case that brings the concept of rake to a real legal test?

Here’s what I know, thanks to an email from Sang in Dallas:

Dan I know you’re busy, but the local news had a story of how Highland Village cops busted a guy’s house to bust up a poker game. I think there was a rake, but he claims it went for food and drinks. The cops confiscated about 8 grand in cash and everyone went to jail. Highland Village is right north of Lewisville and a fairly affluent suburb. I think the channel was channel 11, pretty sure it wasn’t channel 8.

Thanks, Sang, for the on-the-couch reporting. Nothing’s up on Channel 11’s site yet (but that’s normal, I think). Perhaps some of the people who were there — cops, you are welcome to comment, too! — will fill us in on what all went down. In the meantime, here’s the story they ran on the Aces raid.

(Everybody loves to see poker on TV!)

UPDATE: Here’s the link to the Channel 8 story. Watch the story and you’ll notice a chip tray suggesting there was indeed a rake of some sort … and Jimmy Ray Everett admits as much. But at the same time, this was hardly a major “poker room.” This could be a very relevant case — cops busting into a private home where people are engaged in social gambling (which is legal) and freely choosing to take some money out of the pot to pay for snacks (which may or may not be illegal, but right now probably is) — if someone chooses to make it so.

At the last charity tourney I played, I sat next to a Richardson cop who explained to me why taking money out of a pot to buy pizza for a home game is NOT illegal. I believed him until this story emerged.

LAS VEGAS–Quick little WSOP-stupid rant … As you all probably know by now, this year the WSOP is all about dot-net. Now I’m no lawyer, and I always want to do poker right, but I think I could make a good case in just about any court to convince a jury that dot-net, for all its legitimacy, is hardly distinct from dot-com. Think about it … terrorist-ish groups like Hamas and Hezbollah really do do legitimate things, like pay for people’s medical expenses, build hospitals, homes, etc. That’s what gets people to love them … and from there they are welcome to kill away. Same thing for online poker, really.

OK, maybe not-so-quick a rant … anyhow, the WSOP is clearly scared shitless about dot-com this year. And probably not even half as scared as the actual online sites that make so much money from their dot-com endeavors. Many representatives from non-US poker sites have been warned to not carry dot-com business cards, and for extra protection in the wake of David Carruthers’ arrest, some of them didn’t even bring their computers — presumably fearing there was too much dot-com info on them.

So now, with ESPN cameras rolling even more than before, all media has been warned to cover up any semblance of dot-com … and here’s where I am getting pissy. You see, today I am wearing a shirt for LoneStarPokerTables.com. I’m running out of laundry here at the WSOP, so swag it is … and today I am donning “the widowmaker” t-shirt from Mulry & Co. And this is apparently causing a problem. For the WSOP. And for me.

From the “new” official rules, posted today:

APPAREL CONTAINING LOGOS FOR ANY DOT COM GAMING SITES MUST BE COVERED WITH A DOT NET STICKER.

And thus, I have been instructed to put a dot-net sticker on my lovely shirt from lonestarpokertables.com. My first beef with this is that it’s not a gaming site! It’s a friggin’ tablemaker! As far as I know, furniture is not illegal anywhere in America.

A word of advice to the WSOP: Stop posting rules and then changing them nilly-willy. It’s been a theme throughout the 2006 WSOP — inconsistent, on-the-fly decision making, along with declarations of rules that may or may not exist. If you say something is one way, then stick to it! You said “gaming companies.” So stop yelling at me for following the letter of the memo.

With all due respect, you have a lot of intelligent people equating WSOP officialdom with “fuckheads.” I would never say anything so harsh, of course … but I thought you might want to know how others are phrasing their discontent.

And on a more serious note — because really, when it comes to looking out for poker’s interests, we are all on the same team — the WSOP and pro-poker forces should be careful … because basically, with these now-ubiquitous little stickers, they are knowingly putting LIES on the air, particularly when the dot-net site doesn’t even exist. I hear that kinda media misrepresentation can get you shot in England! I also suspect it might alert Bob Goodlatte and his anti-poker cronies to the front-business nature of somanythingspoker.net.

Of course maybe I am wrong. Because, you know, “covering up” is always a good way to avoid legal problems.

LAS VEGAS–As mentioned before, what will probably be the biggest convention of legal-minded poker people and poker ambassadors in the modern poker era is going down this afternoon — just as the biggest poker tournament in the history of the world gets underway. So much talk in the hallways, in the media room, in the hopitality suites, on cell phones, and at the table about various poker laws. No one is screaming the sky is falling, but there’s an underlying buzz by a noticeable percentage of people who — for reasons beyond the game itself — don’t want to see the poker party get crashed.

Be sure to check out Iggy’s post on PokerBlog.

We all know what has to be done. But the question is how to sell it to the people who just don’t understand. Is it a matter of morality? Of personal liberty? Of fiscal practicality? Of luck vs. skill? Probably all of the above.

Click here to hear the CATO daily podcast about anti-poker legal efforts and the threats they pose to the non-poker world.

Word of the SWAT-team poker raid in Dallas is making the rounds. The Daily Kos took note, as well as a few other political websites. Cool. And most recently, I came across this from the CATO institute. Just to set the record straight, they have one thing wrong in their reporting of Pokerati’s reporting: The cops didn’t come in with computer-generated maps of the entire Dallas underground … they came in with printouts of tables and chairs. Reason magazine got it more correct.

(Don’t the cops realize they could license the exclusive rights to those photocopies to CardPlayer!?!)

Apparently the non-poker people are concerned about the militarization of our police forces. They probably should be equally concerned about business relationships between police and for-profit media entertainent companies, particularly when ratings may or may not play a role in enforcement decisions. After all, poker is hot … but you know what else is also hot? Sex. Think of all those outdated sodomy laws (you know, the kind that would make Bill Clinton a felon in Mississippi). Well, poker laws are outdated, too … but hey, legal is as legal does if it’s gonna make great TV, right?

Today, by the way, the Poker Players Alliance is holding a rally at the Rio. Should be interesting.

LAS VEGAS–There’s a new piece of Pokerati Polling down on the right sidebar. Seriously, wanna know what you think.

Also, don’t forget to keep up with more WSOP at PokerBlog.

LAS VEGAS–Sorry for the lack of posts … have been particularly busy with various other criminally questionable? sweet gigs. I know a lot of folks have been visiting — as I do monitor my traffic now and again to learn things about you (sickos) … and one particular recent visitor from Washington DC caught my eye.

Apparently word of the Aces/Dallas SWAT raid has made its way to the DOJ. So either government officials are starting to note the concerns of its poker citizenry, or are planning for a military takeover of poker blogs. Either way, G-men, welcome to Pokerati. Take your shoes off and make yourself at home. While you’re at it, you might also want to check out The Fat Guy. Also, totally unrelated, just wondering … do they have wi-fi in prison?

LAS VEGAS–The craziness continues to build. We’re just two weeks away from when the real carnival begins. Whatever you do, please don’t take the brown acid:

There are MARKED CARDS all over the place at the WSOP. I’ve seen them in every cash game I played. ANDY BLOCH got a 10-minute penalty at the start of the HORSE event for raising a stink about the easily dented COPAGS. Even DOYLE BRUNSON voiced his disgust — no new decks for the biggest tourney buy-in in history? — as did ANNIE DUKE.

Click here to follow the action today, as they get to a final table, and maybe a winner. DOYLE is still alive, along with many other big names. ROBERT WILLIAMSON is the lone DALLAS guy.

In the big $50k HORSE event, RODEEN TALEBI learns that prayer is not always the best strategy.

TEXAS DOLLY seems to be a little on edge (with HARRAH’S?). He reportedly was also screaming (several days ago) at a diminutive bathroom-attendant lady who wouldn’t let him use the indoor men’s room — holding up his crutch while balking at her suggestion that he walk the 200 yards to the outdoor facilities.

A scene from the MILWAUKEE’S BEST LIGHT GARAGE (which is just before the bathrooms). You can see why I don’t mind the walk.

Here is another shot.

An intelligent poker-playing attorney with GAMING INDUSTRY insight pointed out to me yesterday that the AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT could be used to defeat the GOODLATTE BILL … denying online poker could be denying certain citizens their right to comfortably play the game.

ALLYN JAFFREY SHULMAN (Barry’s wife) offers a solid explanation of legally unenforceable problems the bill faces.

Last week’s issue of CardPlayer featured DOYLE BRUNSON on the cover wearing his 10 bracelets. Brilliant idea — presumably taken from FULL TILT’s ad campaign launched about a month earlier. Only problem … Doyle has given nine of his away. Look closely at the cover and you will see one of those bracelets belongs to JOHNNY CHAN. And seven other were borrowed from BILLY BAXTER for the photo shoot.

THUNDER KELLER has a forum post for people to mock CardPlayer’s live coverage.

But gotta say, as much as bloggers love to hate CardPlayer this year, they really are doing a nice job getting their site back in working order. Chip counts and prize payouts and individual players are easier to follow now (wait til they start getting into the money), and the CHIP-STACK HISTORY feature is actually pretty cool.

GREG MERKOW is kicking butt in the $2,500 6-max NLHE event. GLYNN BEEBE from AUSTIN is too — showing he’s an upwardly mobile Texan that shan’t be ignored. Visors are apparently back in poker style.

HARRY DEMETRIOU has a significant open-letter outlining his BEEFS with the WSOP — and specifically why he didn’t play in the HORSE event. A $2k juice does seem a bit extreme.

Even MIKE SEXTON is (diplomatically) pointing out the important issues poker faces in its immediate future.

POKERBLUE is addressing one potential problem head-on — publicly announcing the stake that each of its players will have in each other at the main event. Wonder if FULL TILT will do the same. Their private-company money breakdown — complete with $120k “buy-ins” seems a bit “mysterious.”

I haven’t watched TV — save for a little poker on in various bars — for two weeks. From what I understand, the world may or may not be blowing up. It kinda doesn’t make sense to me, because here at the WSOP, there are tons of Arabs, Jews, Degos, Polacks, Blackies, and Bumpkins — and everyone seems to get along. Where else can you find such a diversity of people sitting around playing a game?

To the driver of the elegantly pimped ROLLS ROYCE parked in PHIL IVEY’S spot … your alarm is going off. It may or may not have something to do with a certain BLOGGER trying to look inside.

My personal LAS VEGAS/WSOP roller coaster bankroll-impact log. (Current.)

JUSTIN WEST writes a great recap of day 1 of the HORSE event. He’s an out-of-nowhere aspiring ANDY GLAZER with a refreshingly real voice, and he’s got solid blogger chops whether he wants to admit it or not.

A little more than two years ago, ANDY GLAZER committed suicide. It took a while for the poker world to admit as much publicly. The game seems past the point where sugar-coating was the standard. (Andy would have wanted it that way, right?)

Frightening resemblance: JUSTIN and MIKE PAULLE.

JENNIFER TILLY has been good to poker — credit her for significantly improving the hotness of women in the ladies event (and, of course, the quality of all x-chromosome play).

Her belt buckle. The bottom reads “will kick your ass!” No wonder the UNABOMBER’s in love.

LORI the DEALER may not have gotten married in Vegas, but one couple did — in the Rio poker room at the WSOP.

THE FAT GUY has re-done his website. (It was my privelige being his GUINEA PIG.) On it he brings up a really good point about the ridiculousness — and legal questionability — of a SWAT TEAM being used to bust-up a poker game.

GRUBBY has gotten a sweet gig designing slot machines.

Don’t forget to check out the Vegas Vacation recap fun at THE BATFACES.

LAS VEGAS–When people get on their soapboxes, they sometimes say goofy things … which may or may not make sense. Extra-good when a reporter is there to capture it all. Check out the story in today’s Star-Telegram about what online poker players are saying about yesterday’s passage of the Goodlatte Bill in the U.S. House.

ALT HED: D.C. Follies

The decidedly anti-poker Goodlatte Bill just passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. That is actually not a surprise. But the margin of victory is. So much work to do to keep poker legal. Otherwise, as you can imagine, in less than a year poker will totally go away (right? because if it’s the law …) … except in China and Cuba, where the governments do their best to ban visits to specific sites.

[Currently humming old Beastie Boys song in my head.]

Just learned from a secondary source that Arlington police may have raided a place called the VIP Room this week. No swat team … just a few uniformed cops. This all comes from a friend of someone who was there and claims he was able to sneak out a back door, so info is limited for now.

We’re not the only poker people talking about what’s going on in Dallas …

Over at Weston, talk of what went down at Aces has devolved into semi-intelligent discussion of poker laws.

2+2 seems more interested in the TV show than the book.

At RGP everything seems very matter-of-fact.

Word has trickled out to East Texas, where Shreveport suddenly becomes a lot closer.

And over at CardPlayer, everything is hunky-dory and they don’t have much to say.

I swear I’m not trying to be poker morose … but with Dallas poker shrinking like a cold turtle, there are presumably a lot of dealers suddenly without jobs. Ouch …

(Will probably be good for Oklahoma children, however, if a few of our best ones end up earning an income North of the border.)

“Dallas Attorney” posts an interesting piece of non-binding legal advice in his comment about the 80-or-so Dallas pokerers who now face legal ramifications for playing the game. I totally agree — and encourage all to plea not-guilty and insist on a jury trial — but:

Do what your paid for, protect the citizens of Dallas.

I don’t think that’s necessarily fair to the DPD. When the Pinnacle got robbed, Dallas police were alerted to the potential for violence around all the money in a Dallas poker game. So they start nosing around and — shocked at how easy it is to infiltrate — see that it’s not just a bunch of grizzled thugs playing in a dark room. Instead, you have upwards of 100 people — regular working folks, men and women, all races, fat and thin, parents with children … clearly, not your criminal sort.

And yet day after day, all around town, these nice poker people gather en masse to play this great social game that doesn’t really cost them much money but gives them a chance to win a relative ton, while catching the occasional adrenaline rush. Fun!

And ripe for an armed robbery … you know how easy it is for a violent crime (particularly one that starts on the internet) to go awry. DPD has raided only one game. And it just so happened to be one of the biggest, most open, easiest to get into … in a terrible part of town, no less …

If the cops didn’t bust in with their guns a-blazin’ to scare the piss out of 8 tables of poker players and leave with $40,000 … really, in retrospect, wasn’t it only a matter of time before someone else did?

Just got word from a super-reliable source that the Platinum Room is also “taking a break.” Doors are shut.

Er, anyone wanna go to Vegas?

(And in answer to the commentors in the previous post, there was no raid … but there were some cops checking out an errant burglar alarm next door … which may or may not be a nice way to set up a great green room for the TV show!)

Lavigne in Austin writes in about the state of poker movements in Austin and elsewhere:

Re: How a thought becomes a law

Nice post. Thanks for the props. It is important that we keep giving the media clear messaging regarding poker and the fight to regulate it. They are all too willing to lump us in with the rest of the gambling talk.

I can tell you from my discussions with legislators and lobbyists pushing for various levels of gambling that we need to make sure that poker is kept separate. the only way we get decent poker in texas is through it being held in a separate class or, we allow full on casinos. I don’t think we are close to getting casinos, so for the time being we have to work on getting just poker rooms.

the fight will not just be as to whether or not we get poker, but who gets to run the rooms. Are bars allowed to have tables? who can hold charity tournaments? do we put tables in bingo halls? racetracks? or can we get separate rooms? if we get separate rooms, who will be eligeable to get licensed as operators, distributors of poker equipment etc…?

these are just a few of the questions that are being discussed right now. we need to have the full participation of the rooms or those who want to operate rooms.

Here in Austin a group called the Texas Card Player Association has formed. Several of these guys want to run rooms and are also interested in protecting the integrity of the game (avoiding a fiasco like FL).

I am on the TCPA board now as well. These guys are putting their $$ where their mouths are too. they make regular contributions to keep the organization going and are working hand in hand with the Poker PAC.

Dallas rooms should get on board now and help guide this movement. I know they have a lot historical and practical knowledge about running a good room that could be used to write good law.

Thanks for keeping the fight up in Dallas.

Lavigne

Thank you, Lavigne. And I, too, know a thing or two about the media … and these will be some of the decisions players face in the coming weeks/months … how big of a fight do they want to pick? While law and media perception go hand-in-hand, they are often two very different things.

And with proper discourse, so the wheels begin to turn … check out the Bud Kennedy column in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about the prospects for more-legal gambling in Texas.

As I started reading, I began to grumble a bit … it didn’t seem like poker was being separated from slot machines in the discussion. But thankfully (you’ll see about halfway down the story) Lavigne in Austin steps up to bring the possibility of small, non-Harrah’s poker rooms into the equation.

I know a lot of poker rooms around town fear that legalized poker would actually put them out of business … but that’s not necessarily true. Future gambling bills are just starting to be written. The Texas Poker PAC is already aware of these concerns, and is working with the bill-writers (and other political entities) to address them accordingly in any future legislation. Local poker rooms (particularly the good ones) really should be making some regular contributions. It’s in their own selfish interest. And beyond that, $500 a month would go a long way toward looking out for the long-term interests of their players.

Got an email from Aces … and though I am pretty sure about 85 percent of all Pokerati readers have received the same email two or three times already:

Thank you for your patronage.

First off, we would like to welcome the DPD and SWAT to the list. I hope you enjoyed the action. BTW, do you have as many cops looking for this missing two year old as you sent over last night? Well, it was fun while it lasted and while it sucks for us, this has been going for 30+ years and will be for the next 30+.

Lastly, we are asking our players if they know a poker/vice friendly and experienced attorney. We have a few poker friendly lawyers but we are really looking for one with extensive non-drug vice defense experience. Asian tan, 8 liner etc type of cases.

Sincerely,

Aces

Indeed, lawyers, it’s time to step up. Yes, we know you already give plenty to the game in the form of rebuys … but what you do here/now could have a real impact on your ability to donkey off chips in the future.

Aces was hardly the only action in town on Saturday. Apparently, there was a big charity tourney in Garland that went off without a hitch. The “Annual All-In for the Kids Texas Hold’em Tournament” … or something close to that … at the Hella Shriners Temple … benefitting the Shriners “peace officer unit.”(?) Game supposedly featured a cash donation for chips and cash payouts — clearly making it legally questionable, no matter how much money it raised for a good cause.

Invites reportedly went out to a crew of Dallas County cops, deputies, lawyers, DAs, judges, and a few proprietors of underground poker rooms.

(Dudes, next time you gotta get Pokerati at your event! It will be great!)

No word on whether or not the winner of the Shriners/Sherriffs tourney made it to Aces in time for the big raid.

I’m not ready to declare the sky on Dallas poker falling, but it has for certain turned rather green. (Look, over there! I think it’s a wall cloud!) With the Channel 8 “expose” and the Dallas SWAT raid … there’s one other piece of info I heard recently that might also fit into the picture. Just a few days ago, a well-connected Omaha player witnessed a raid on an 8-liner room in Dallas. Cops hauled off a truckload of machines. Not sure on the location (ever wonder why there is no GuinnessandEightliner or Tao of Video Poker?), but I seem to recall hearing that there were some arrests.

Also heard that two other rooms were raided Saturday night … but I am starting to doubt that, because games are still running around town and the only buzz is “Aces.”