A little casino east of Phoenix, Arizona called Apache Gold is running a fantastic casino promotion until the end of this month. They are doubling or tripling any other casino’s offer up to $300. For example: If you have a valid casino offer for $50, they will give you $150 in free play, no strings attached.  They have full pay 3:2 video blackjack and full pay video poker (.25-$5 8/5 Bonus Poker) and plenty of slots so it’s well worth the drive. You can stay overnight nearby or in Phoenix and double dip too as its available once a day! Read the full details here.

While you are nearby, make sure to check out the fantastic poker action near Phoenix at both Wild Horse Pass and Talking Stick Resort.

Good luck!

Send me your tips on twitter to: @RobertGoldfarb

It’s Responsible Gaming Education Week, August 4-8, you probably know, or maybe not, because “responsible gaming” isn’t exactly something we celebrate in a culture that extols the virtue of being “All In”. And it’s not likely that poker is about to see any special prizes for best bankroll management or superior game selection or, say, excellent investment of tournament winnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

So RGEW is an annual campaign from the National Center for Responsible Gaming, which is the AGA’s officially independent 501c3 that gets $25 million (a year?) from the casino industry to fund academic research in a transparent, peer-reviewed way that tries really hard to not look like Mad Men-era tobacco science.

This year’s theme: “Get to Know Responsible Gaming”. (A sensible revision to 2012’s plausibly oxymoronic “All In for Responsible Gaming”, no?) Anyhow, this new campaign caught my eye in part because I spent the better part of a semester last year doing research about gaming-related media and their connection to irresponsible gambling, particularly among those most vulnerable to manipulative messaging. Have a look if you like at 30+ pages of what is essentially just literature review on:

It’s riveting, I swear — delightfully long, dry, and unwieldy. I laughed, I cried, but mostly just committed follicular assault on myself while trying to grasp tenets of “academic writing” and APA style. (“Too much personality in your verbs,” my professor balked.)

Hey, it was good enough for a B. And if I learned anything from the process, it was that in a regulated industry there’s far more to the business of responsible gaming than a few glossy brochures in a dusty casino next to the taunting ATMs.

A Canadian gambler’s license plate asks: Want to go double or nothing?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martingale_(betting_system)

Here’s a glimpse of who’s been driving around the Rio this summer. Some are obvious poker players (or poker workers) while other vanity plates might leave you guessing about any such connection … but regardless, you have no idea how much info you can glean from peering into private vehicles this small sampling of what was on display this summer tells you a little something about who’s in town ready to play. Overall, not too many corny poker phrases, but we do see a lotta 8s, a little bit of religion, some sports, and boy, those handicapped people sure do drive nice cars …

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CHP LDR (Nevada)

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WELLTHY (Nevada)

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CHECKEM (Nevada)

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We spend so much time reading about poker legal developments here at Pokerati that we sometimes forget to share the relevant news before the cycle turns to something else … and then I complain that our readers here aren’t as smart anymore as they used to be? It doesn’t take a JD to see the flaw in my logic there. Thus, here’s a much-needed batch of recent highlights and hedlines to keep the incessant but important buzz in context … a semi-special link-dump, btw, brought to you by our new-good friends at LegalPokerSites.com:

First UIGEA Conviction in the Books The DOJ logged their first win on UIGEA charges — making the supposedly weak law thus far undefeated — against online sportsbook operator Todd Lyons. His arrest back in May 2010 shoulda been a big warning sign to American online poker operators (and players?) — and Full Tilt specifically — that the DOJ was coming to get them! [CalvinAyre.com]

First Black Friday Trial Date Set John Campos and Chad Elie, the Utah banker and PokerStars payment processor indicted for their role in online poker criminal activity, have a trial date in March … creating a tangible timeline for Black Friday cases and added pressure on the big fish the DOJ really wants — Isai Sheinberg, Ray Bitar, and Scott Tom. [Legal Poker Sites]

MGM Sues Poker Domain Squatters Just as Caesars sued (and won) to obtain the domain WSOP.com, MGM has filed suit to repossess the domains mgmpoker.com, bellagiopoker.com, luxorpoker.com, mandalaybaypoker.com, and ariapoker.com. Apparently the casino giant thinks they’ll have need for them soon. [VegasInc]

Barton Says Online Poker Bill Still Alive This Congress Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) gave a luncheon keynote at the DGLP, where he spelled out how his online poker bill is moving forward as a piece of stand-alone legislation and/or still could be absorbed into some omnibus bills. Pretty straight-forward, honest-sounding stuff as Barton even talks about his own live real-money play and admits to multi-accounting for play money on PokerStars. [Pokerati Soundcloud]

Adelson Balks at Readiness for Online Poker The poker masses got spun into a tizzy after Vegas politico Jon Ralston “reported” that Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson has been buzzing around DC that he is morally opposed to online gambling … and that age-verification technology isn’t ready yet. Ralston concludes that this could kill online poker’s chances in Congress as if Adelson alone is more powerful than the combined forces of Caesars, MGM, Steve Wynn, Station Casinos, Boyd Gaming, Michael Gaughan, et al. Quick to cry, some poker players have begun calling for a boycott of Venetian Poker. [Las Vegas Sun]

Nevada Regulations Almost Ready While so many chatter about complex details of future online poker, the Nevada Gaming Commission and State Gaming Control Board seem to be the only ones systematically moving forward with thorough, enforceable rules and regulations for online gaming. In one of the biggest overhauls to state gaming regs in history, they just released a whole bunch of revisions for licensure and suitable ownership that Big and Small casinos alike are paying close attention to. [gaming.NV.gov]

Fry Howie? Funny/sad, shortly after Black Friday I thought we might be seeing T-shirts that said “Free Howard!” not “Fry Howard!” But loyalty can be a fickle bitch when you eff up with someone else’s money. Hence this flash creation for players wishing to express their personal outrage against Full Tilt and Howard Lederer violently. [PokerListings]

UB Player Database Leaked Lots of offline debate over how and why nearly 3 million poker-player IDs leaked out. Work of a disgruntled employee or scuttling the ship before UB ultimately hits sea-floor? And will there be more such pressings of self-destruct? [Haley’s Poker Blog]

Rest o’World: Cyprus on Crackdown, South Africa’s Open-Market Mind, German Pre-unification Some of the other key political moves from the rest of the world, as the future of legal online poker (and gambling) actively takes shape … the mediterranean island that isn’t Malta doesn’t have moral opposition, they just want their cut (kinda like Kentucky) … while South Africa continues its progressive-minded movement from staunch opposition to tolerance to active support of online gambling … all while the German province of Schleswig-Holstein’s acceptance of new online poker rules is so big it actually moved some major market needles. [Legal Poker Sites]

If you just saw it on the street, you might not know it had anything to do with poker. But indeed, according to 2+2 NVG, this fine Nevada license plate is attached to nearly $100k worth of Beamer, a 650i, that Ben Lamb recently purchased:

Would be much cooler if the “1” represented a bracelet, and he got a new car for every one he won. But oh well, sometimes third place and $4 million will have to do.

ALT HED: Germans Win Again

Oh, and almost forgot to post … here’s Pauly and I on scene doing some Tao of Pokerati during the moment from the final 3 with him that we’ll all remember:

Tao of Pokerati: First Hand Fireworks FTW? by Pokerati

This license plate might make a nice inclusion in a more-real Poker “Hall” of Fame some day; for now we get Linda Johnson but not her car.

Congrats are in order for Linda Johnson and Barry Greenstein, as WSOP officials announced earlier today that they won the ballot race this year — and will be inducted into the Caesars-owned Poker Hall of Fame during the November Nine.

I still haven’t been able to find the actual “hall” anywhere on Google maps, but hey, at least there’s a list … which is included in the announcement below. Fwiw, whether right or wrong or historically consistent or not, a 2011 nomination (and subsequent induction) does seem to come with an extra stamp of approval for poker careers run on a clean path.

Barry seems incredibly deserving for his accomplishments mostly on the felt, with a little bit of important poker work off of it. He got 3 of my 10 votes.

Linda got 5 from me. Only the second women bestowed with the PHOF honor, she put up admirable numbers back in the day and still plays winning poker in medium-big mixed games during the WSOP … but really helped shape the direction of poker off the table as publisher of CardPlayer Magazine through the ’90s, a founding member of the TDA and PokerGives.org, and an instrumental force in the World Poker Tour, the PartyPoker Million, the general concept of “poker cruises”, and the Women in Poker Hall of Fame (which doesn’t have a hall either, but does have a fancy dinner with speeches, food, and booze; I do miss the grander fete for PHOF induction way-back in 2009 when Mike Sexton got in). Extra-charming to know the job she quit to pursue a career in poker was at the post office.

Scotty Nguyen got my remaining 2 votes, but did not get in.

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The redevelopment of the the Palms Poker Room continues. While some of us can’t wait for the state-of-the-art-in-2003 room to step into 2005ish with the coming addition of an electronic Bravo check-in system … Joe, Bobby, Eldon and crew are pushing forward with their plans to bring non-$20,000 tournament action back to the Palms … starting with a Tuesday-night $100 HORSE tournament.

It may not be PLO, but hey, I’m no one-trick pony. More like a half-trick pony, lol. But regardless, I’ve been meaning to sack up and get more live, low-stakes Razz under my belt. (I dominated the $1,500 event in the ’07 WSOP for Playstation — won a bracelet and everything!) The tournament is just a couple weeks old and supposedly has gotten a great response from the start: three tables of tournament action last week, followed by a $4/$8 HORSE cash game as players started busting.

Something similar expected tomorrow. RSVP on Facebook here … and/or just show up @ the Palms tomorrow at 7:30pm.

CORRECTION(S): I got a few factoids wrong. According to Michelle Lau’s FB invite …

Michelle Lau

Every Tuesday night 7:30, last week was our first tournament. Also Palms is gonna spread a HORSE CASH game at 5pm ($4/8) Come on down, lots of fun and very playable structure.

One guy I was hoping to find at G2E this year but did not was this guy …

I don’t remember his name and certainly not his email address … but I met him last year at the same conference, where he was trying to sell his Nevada Gaming license … plate! I seem to remember him saying something about acquiring it back in the 90s. And I recall he was asking $5,000 — for the set! Or maybe that’s what he paid for it, and definitely wanted more? I know I’ve got those notes somewhere … but guessing if he wasn’t trying again to sell them this year he musta found a buyer?

I’ve heard it can be kinda cut-throat in the high-risk-high-reward Nevada license plate futures market.

Just a few days ago, someone put up a Nevada REALTOR license (plate) on Craigslist for $3,000 obo.

I gotta think representing himself pro se against the DOJ was not part of the original plan. But that’s the real story (imho) yet to be noted in Ray Bitar’s claims that he wants some of his property back (including two bank accounts in Pokerati’s old Dallas stomping grounds).

Have a look at the document. He filed the motion himself — “Verified Claim of Raymond Bitar, Pursuant to Rule G of the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty and Maritime Claims” — with an Irish notary public to make it official.

I certainly don’t know the nuances of Rule G of the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty and Maritime Claims, but it seems complex enough that an attorney might-should usually be filing this kinda thing. And the lack of legal counsel’s involvement in this civil matter raises plenty of questions about the financial status of Bitar … and maybe even the motivations of various comments by Full Tilt attorneys who may or may not be still be getting paid.

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A new California-like law goes into effect next week in Nevada, making it illegal to text-and-drive, as well as use handheld devices for verbal and non-verbal communications. While it’s not clear to me if truckers got a carveout for CB usage nor where non-verbal communication via middle finger might fall … @JessWelman will likely be disappointed to learn the ban applies at stop signs and stop lights, too (“intelligent multitasking” notwithstanding).

The imminent talk-and-text ban on the Las Vegas Strip and across Nevada will not only have a notable impact on 10s of thousands of local lives … but also gives a good microcosm look at how a bill may or may not become a law. Stuff to think about as we watch the next push for federal online poker legislation this fall.

Online Poker Logic
When I first heard about a “distracted driving” bill in Nevada, I was immediately concerned about lives lost and unnecessarily put at risk my future as a photographer of mildly amusing and sometimes pokery license plates. Though I have obtained many of these images with a handheld calling device while driving on Nevada highways, fortunately, using online poker logic, I’m sure I can find a lawyer who will tell me I’m totally in the clear.

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Big thanks to Dr. Pokerati for chasing down what is possibly the holy grail of poker-themed license plates we love around these parts. Apparently she had to chase this one down something fierce heading westbound on Sahara before the yellow lights conspired in our favor at Hualapai. (“I figured if I didn’t get it now this one would just disappear into folklore,” she explains.)

Would love to know who has “POKER” … and whether he’s had it forever or acquired it for a premium post-Moneymaker or even post-Jamie Gold.

The big one that didn’t get away.

TRICAT (not a poker player) says the driver of this notably American semi-luxury SUV was an “average 50something white guy” talking on his phone … but he got away before she was could get a clear shot of whoever it was who’s tagged himself with poker everywhere he goes. Drat! But oh well …

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I won my seat early … and since then I’ve been watching the field grow for Epic Poker’s inaugural $1,500 pro-am at the Palms, Pokerati’s regular low-stakes NLH/PLO home.

With @Donkeybomber so far my toughest potential competition … well, let’s just say I’m starting to get excited about the actual poker at hand in early August. And though TV exposure had nothing to do with my initial interest … that’s apparently now part of it, with Epic’s recently acquired sister company, the Heartland Poker Tour, coming to Vegas to film the tournament for syndicated distribution on its nationwide network of local TV stations, some of which are actually in HD.

(Yay!)

That might seem a little minor-league for the more-pro, less-am players in Vegas … but hey, this $1,500 event will be my second-biggest tournament to play in ever — so HPT coverage seems just about right for me and Tom Schneider at this point in my pro career. Having won my way into the August 5-7 tournament, I’ve clearly got game that’s ready for UHF.

Satellites running at 7pm on Saturday and Sunday in the Key West Room at the Palms.

We were kinda just kidding when we suggested this might be the Year of Free/Subscription Poker. I mean we knew we were gonna see some moves into WSOP poker space by various free American-friendly play money sites … but how that would translate at the 2011 World Series (and beyond) wasn’t so clear. It still isn’t. But Rise, makers of those douchebag-free poker clothes and now an online poker site … is showing that they will indeed be a force in the free poker future … whatever that might mean.

Move over Full Tilt Poker dot net. Scotty Nguyen sends the whole table a virtual Corona!

Personally, I don’t think they coulda picked better pros — Scotty Nguyen, Maria Ho, Jean Robert Bellande, and Dani Stern, aka Ansky (not pictured) — even better than a Team of Brunson, Hellmuth, and Negreanu, imho. If you don’t see why these pictured three +Ansky should do incredibly well @RisePoker … well, I could tell you, but, well … let’s say it goes beyond just “Asian”.

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It’s WSOP-time, of course … and that means the poker-y license plates in Vegas are out in full force. It’s kinda hard not to see them somewhere in Clark County, but extra kudos to those sending in their shots conscious of what the background also does for the pic.

From PokerGrump on the 215, presumably returning home from the WSOP:

And here’s one seen in a fast-food drive-thru, across the street from Casino Dealer School, sent to us via @KBBMT: