Even though I’ve gotten hooked on two-minute video interviews and have kinda taken a personal change-of-interest-pace and started paying attention to actual tournaments … big names are starting to win at the LAPC, WSOP-Circuit Tunica is kicking it old school, everyone wants to know how the Venetian Deep Stacks is gonna shape up with PokerStars heading to town, and I really gotta make it over to the M Resort to check out this whole PartyPoker Premier League thing … I still tune in almost-weekly to APCW Perspectives Weekly for a little catch-up on the international poker and online-gambling-related political scene for 10 minutes at a pop:

This week J Todd keeps us abreast of California and New Jersey’ desires to get in on the online gambling game from a state-size perspective, updates us on the online gambling fund-transfer cat-and-mouse game with MasterCard and Visa getting more serious (just three months before they are legally required to do exactly what they are trying to do), fingers the Eldorado Casino as a potentially shady site to avoid, and tease me with some affiliate business stuff that I don’t really care about but am interested to watch because of the hidden-camera + foreign-accent nature of the upcoming interview.

Here are a few other semi-related newsy links about how things are going elsewhere in the poker world:

The Mayor of Baltimore is pushing for poker+table games despite the governor of Maryland having less of an interest in making expanded gambling a priority.

Michael Barnier, the newly appointed EU Internal Markets Commissioner, promises to straighten out inconsistencies in European online gambling laws.

Police in suburban Alabama are cracking down on / raiding the real-money tournament scene there.

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s going on in one of the hungriest industries out there, and, game of skill or not, the parent biz of our beloved little poker world:

ALABAMA — A small little gambling fight is going down in the land Spencer Bachus represents, over a matter of semantics, technology, and the millions of dollars bingo machines represent. Bingo is legal in ‘bama … but should video bingo be? The fight is a dirty — complete with one agency repeatedly trying to raid a well-monied operation that believes it’s on the right side of the law.

CHINA — After a slow start, gambling revenues in Macau are reaching record levels.

IOWA — The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission’s computer system got hacked, and they’re blaming China:

Chinese foreign ministry officials strongly disputed the report, issuing a statement calling it “full of bias and ulterior motives.”

Personal information in the breach included names, Social Security numbers, home addresses and dates of birth. Most of the people in the licensing database are Iowa residents, but it also includes residents of Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin and other states, Ketterer said.

The list includes workers such as card dealers, slot machine technicians, jockeys, trainers and owners of horses and greyhounds.

LOUISIANA — The New Orleans-to-Shreveport casino-biz is in a definite recession, one not planned for when the state planned on becoming the central-coast alternative to Las Vegas and Atlantic City. They blame Texans for not gambling enough Oklahoma and Mississippi for cutting in on their action.

NEW JERSEY — Big fight going on over laws related to the building of Revel — the east coast’s $2.5 billion version of CityCenter. Should be an interesting development to watch go up (or down) as New Jersey fights to stay competitive with the smaller casino operations set to open shop in Delaware and Pennsylvania, but not Maryland.

MARYLAND — Gov. Martin O’Malley is saying Maryland’s not gonna jump into the gambling expansion fray, despite assertions that his state is gonna lose out as neighboring locales up their casino offerings to include table games + poker.

OHIO — As we know, Lyle Berman has effectively bought himself a piece of all the newly legalized action to come in Cincinatti, Cleveland, and Toledo. But he’s run into some blowback over the location of a new casino in Columbus. The constitutional amendment voters approved in November called for a full-blown casino-resort downtown, but now a referendum on a May ballot will decide if the Penn Gaming development should be moved to a blighted part of the city.

Related: “It’s Lyle’s Ohio Now”

UNITED KINGDOM — Once upon a time, Great Britain was leading the world in all things online gambling. But regulations and tax issues are messing that up — and it’s turning into a battle of Labour vs. the Tories for the UK’s gambling future. Good rundown on some British gambling-law history and where the different parties stand on gambling in the UK … as the rest of Europe catches up.

Previous poker enemy Spencer Bachus (R-AL) — perhaps feeling bad about the outrageous mistruths spewed back in June? — seems to be softening on his opposition to the Payment Systems Protection Act.

Check it out:
[Birmingham News, via Wicked Chops]

“A lot of people out there that play poker on the Internet – they may lose their money but they’re adults – and they went to their members of Congress,” Bachus said.

BTW, also interesting/delightful to see that Al.com (a collective internet effort from three Alabama newspapers, not to be confused with Al.blogspot.com) has a dedicated poker blogger on staff — Brian Heptinstall’s Floppin’ Aces — keeping ‘Bamans up to date with the bigger poker world as well as Gulf Coast casino biz and hyperlocal concerns such as collusion in mid-stakes area tourneys.

OK, overstatement, I know … a potential collapse of the entire US economy (which George Bush is warning us about, upon request for a $700 billion semi-blank check to his buds in the banking industry) is far more important than poker.

But I gotta say, it was kinda interesting just now to see none other than Barney Frank (Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, D-MA) step out with Spencer Bachus (Frank’s enemy in recent poker fights, R-AL), letting the public know that they are working with the hastily constructed bailout bill to massage it into good working must-passable shape. Frank is talking about provisions Congress will add to the bill, and Bachus is there by his side, assuring taxpayers whatever happens, they won’t get screwed.

(Fingers crossed!)

Seeing these guys working together toward compromise (as John McCain and Barack Obama huddle with President G-Dub) made me think a little more about how poker might fit in to America’s 21st Century economy … and why shouldn’t the poker sites have to/get to pay a fee to American banks for processing their electronic transactions? Not anything to do with actual bets across the table, of course … but paying the banks to secure the transfer of money for players making deposits and cashouts … that certainly seems fair enough to me.

Maybe a drop in the bucket toward helping out such a huge industry … but a push in the right direction for the banks’ bottom line.

No, Hoyt, don’t do it! Hoyt Corkins sherpas Tuscaloosa Johnny to Red Rock Canyon for some fresh perspective and 2008 WSOP recovery.

Nearly driven mad from the land of poker, I had the opportunity on Sunday to get out of town. Since Hoyt Corkins busted out of the main event on Saturday he now had time to go for a hike.

I went to his house and we hopped in his jeep, fully equipped with four-wheel drive, roll bars and a winch with five-ton capacity that would surely get you out of a sticky situation. Starting too late to tackle Mt. Charleston, we instead headed to Red Rock Canyon to take the jeep trails into the Rainbow Wilderness area there.

It was no easy go up the rocky trails and I was surprised to see some drivers of Grand Cherokees try the climb. From the point in which we exited the main scenic drive through the canyon until we arrived at the trail to the North Peak probably took nearly an hour over the short, but rough terrain.

More…

While Tuscaloosa Johnny was representing in the media tourney, 85Nutz was also badged up today in Event #55, the Casino Employees Event. But alas, he ran out of chips before we could get a picture and begin following his stack status.

His update:

Out, crippled by JJ vs KK, pushed with A10 and called by AK … that’s poker

Indeed it is. Nice job, John. I mean except for the bad plays. But other than that, all good. Thanks for trying.

Tuscaloosa Johnny, representin’ for the first few levels in $1,500 HORSE at the 2008 WSOP.

Here’s Tuscaloosa Johnny’s “bustout interview” — you can feel the pain of a man who falls short of his dreams and must face the reality that he’s a long way away from the $50k HORSE final table, aka poker’s grandest stage … because really, when your two-pair run into rolled-up 10s that turn into a straight in 7-stud what can you do? I mean other than hit stuff fold.

ALT HED: Go Team Pokerati!

Mike Matusow and Player X, who has a thick accent from somewhere and a bracelet in something. Click to zoom in.

After much hemming and hawing, I decided to give the $1,500 HORSE a try, what I called “baby” HORSE when discussing it with Andy Bloch in the halls of the Rio. (I think he played it too. What must it be like to bust out of the $50K HORSE and then enter the $1,500 version?)

I had technically “won” the seat already through the Full Tilt Poker Battle of the Blogger tournaments, but I suppose I could throw that money towards anything I wanted (like a new stove that the wife really, really wants). But speaking of decorum, that wouldn’t seem like the right thing to do. So play I did.

My table included five guys I had no clue about, Mike Matusow and Mysterious European WSOP Bracelet Winner (otherwise known henceforth as Player X). Dan has pictures so maybe he will add them to this post. Hint, Hint.

When Matusow walked up to the table, he started counting the fish. He couldn’t find any until I raised my hand.

“Yeah, you look pretty fishy,” he said. “Just kidding, My name’s Mike. Nice to meet you.”

As per most WSOP events, the structure was fast. Either you catch some hands quick to double up and get some play or you go home. For the first two levels I wasn’t really doing either. I think I knew it was going to be a rough day when I raised from the BB in O8 with A-2-3-4 to see a flop of K-4-3, a turn of 7 that made my nut low and a 4 on the river that gave me a complementary full house. Of course, I got quartered by one player’s kings full and Matusow’s A-2.

Meanwhile, Matusow continued chatting up Player X every minute of every hour (they don’t call him “The Mouth” for nothing) with tales of 50K HORSE. He had invested in Mike Wattel, who was the $124K bubble boy in the event.

“He really needed that money,” Matusow said, adding that he saw Wattel in the hall after his bust out and he looked like he wanted to die. Apparently, Wattel had a few stacks shorter than his on the bubble and played a hand he shouldn’t have involved in, according to Matusow.

As for me, I wanted my $1,500 back after I got crippled in Stud. Sarting with split aces, I made aces up on fifth and got check raised by a player who started with a 10 showing and had added a K and Q to his upcards. Not sure if he had a straight, I called him down to try to fill up. I did not and he showed rolled up 10s.

I busted shortly later in Stud/8 when I missed both a low and flush draw. Matusow took the high with two pair and another played got the low (Mr. kings full).

After much consideration and prospective gerrymandering, upon the next update of the WSOP World Standings, we’re gonna make some switches … regardless of what they put on their official WSOP registrations, David Benyamine is soon to become fully French and Shannon Shorr will be screamin’ “Roll Tide!”

With that said, is there anyone else we should be considering for statistical reclassification? For the most part, we’re gonna defer to the Hendon Mob db … but I can think of three that are close calls:

Gus Hansen — Denmark or Vegas?
Hoyt Corkins — Alabama or Vegas?
Patrik Antonius — Finland or Monaco?

Crap, thought I was on to something … PartyPlaystation.com belongs to some dude in Alabama, not Gibraltar.

UPDATE: Here is some more about how Microsoft’s cheating crackdown is being perceived by gamers.

The video of Shannon Shorr’s drunken shenanigans last summer in Las Vegas that almost led to his becoming the Christopher Reeve of Poker has been posted on YouTube. 22-year-old kids with lots of money are so funny in how they almost die … though I have to say, it is kinda refreshing to see the youthful purity of engaging in such prop-bettable pursuits for nothing but the glory. Gavin Smith wouldn’t do this for less than $12,000, I am sure.

Via Wicked Chops: