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.
