New article in the Las Vegas Sun, looking at the WSOP and the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s comfort level with online poker sites that do and do not accept American players. No one’s wagging any fingers at the WSOP specifically, but the article does take a closer look at Full Tilt’s and PokerStars’ presence at the Rio (and a little bit UB’s) as well as partnerships these sites have with other casinos.

You get a subtle clue of what the implication might be directly from the article’s URL, as well as quotes from GCB’s chief enforcer of dot-net-dot-com issues:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jul/13/guilt-association/

After the [UIGEA] passed Congress, some sites left the U.S. market, fearing prosecution by federal regulators. Some sites, including PokerStars.com and Full Tilt Poker.com — whose .net logos adorn the clothing of many World Series of Poker players — continue to allow action from Americans, however. Those sites are “purposefully putting that product in the United States in disregard of Department of Justice interpretations of federal law and also Nevada law,” [GCB member Randall] Sayre says.

This closer look stemmed from what would become the rapid rise-and-fall of NAPT-Venetian. The Venetian does confirm in the Sun article, btw, that they have no current or future relationship with PokerStars … you know, despite appearances one might get from PokerStars.net and NAPT logos on 119 felts throughout this summer’s Deep Stack Series.

GCB makes it clear that they don’t like to see its licensees in bed with American friendly online poker sites, but they’re still not being clear on where they draw the lines for what might constitute just messing around. Even the regulators contend they can’t begin to tell people what they can and cannot wear on their bodies.

That, of course, begs the question, then why not just let people wear hats and shirts logo’d up with dot-coms?

Part 2 is coming … and parts 3 and 4 … and maybe even a Part 5 addendum. But damn, writing semi-investigative narrative non-fiction ain’t exactly easy, especially when the story doesn’t convert well continues to develop in the present tense.

On May 28, the same day we ran the first part of NAPT, Venetian Part Ways over Row in Carson City, the Nevada Gaming Control Board officially responded to a formal inquiry about the Stars-sponsored event at the Venetian from attorneys representing one of its other licensees. They then posted this letter on Nevada Gaming’s website on June 2. Though this correspondence in and of itself doesn’t constitute enforceable policy, it does serve as effective notice to all Nevada casinos about how the GCB, the “prosecutors” of Gaming violations, will be seeing relationships with the likes of PokerStars … dot-com or dot-net.

Click here to read this important letter.

(In a nutshell, they say don’t mess with Stars … too much trouble from the Feds with these guys, not to mention the Czechs, and getting into bed with any site doing biz with American players could violate other GCB policies about working with international thugs. Oh, and dot-net doesn’t make it OK.)

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