Posts Tagged ‘Merge Gaming Network’

Under The Boardwalk

by , May 20, 2013 | 10:00 am

From OnlinePokerReport.com for the week of May 20th

STORIES TO WATCH THIS WEEK

#1. PokerStars came out on the losing end of last week’s legal battle with the Atlantic Club Casino. But given the latest statement from PokerStars, and the fact that they’ve sunk $10mm+ into the deal to date, I expect PokerStars to file new litigation in the days ahead.

#2. iPoker has given skins until May 20th to verify the identity of all players referred by certain affiliates. Sources report the action is linked to suspected VPN play from banned countries – including the United States.

Watch iPoker’s traffic – and the traffic of major US-facing sites – this week for clues to the scope of the issue. Based on back-channel chatter, it’s potentially huge.

#3. Iovation will continue to be a story to follow. Nevada regulators are reportedly planning to take a closer look at the company, which has been linked directly to the cheating scandal at Ultimate Bet, most recently in secret recordings released by Travis Makar.

+ THE WEEK THAT WAS

OPR OUTPUT

The latest edition of poker news podcast Rabbit Hunt (sponsored by CardRunners) is now available on iTunes.

PICKS

#GoodRead – Interesting commentary on the relative wisdom of buy in spreads from Kim Lund at QuadJacks. And PokerFuse has a fascinating take on The Rising Concern of Forced Disconnection Attacks.

More from Chris Grove: @OPReport / Google +


Rats! More Black Friday Fallout!

by , Jun 10, 2011 | 5:52 am

This week’s online gambling news comes from New York City, where a “Black Friday” defendant has been denied bail. Plus, is legal Internet betting in Washington DC in jeopardy? Also, updates from Merge Poker, Intertops, and QuickTender.


PIC Club vs. Merge

Minor-league American-friendly online poker battle

by , Nov 24, 2009 | 5:46 am

There’s a little brouhaha I think outta Costa Rica that I’m not really following, but there might be something there. It involves PICClub … one of those loophole-based payment processing alternatives that has found itself embroiled in a 6-figure payment dispute with a network of smaller online poker sites (Carbon Poker, Reefer Poker, ACED, GR88.com, Felt Stars, StinkyFish Poker, and more than a dozen others).

Apparently someone’s ripping off someone, and flaming fingers are starting to point all willy-nilly in a world of folks trying to play as legit as they can providing a service that the US government would prefer they not.

I first learned about PICClub about a year ago … heard about it from one of my old cronies in the Dallas underground, and TJ Cloutier was apparently involved. Though I had decided it was not quite my thing, I wanted a second opinion, so I sought the counsel of a trusted friend and colleague semi-involved in the poker bidness:

On Dec 3, 2008, at 9:22 AM, [name removed] wrote:

[Name removed] told me about it. But I’ve decided it’s in my best interest to steer clear of shady, 4-year-late concepts that are audibly mistaken for porn sites.

LOL, right, exactly …

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