Source: Washington Post

So who knew … seems like we mighta had two poker players running for president in ’08. (Yet somehow federal legislation always seems to stagnate?)

Sen. John McCain got “busted” playing online poker on his mobile phone Tuesday, during a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing to assess the merits of military action against Syria. Here’s the original source, and read here to see the Twitter firestorm around senior senator from Arizona’s on-duty online poker play. McCain tried to brush off the “scandal” with some LOL < 140 … and, hey, what’s there to consider when you have already know your vote is gonna be based on a rather clear position of “More War Always Better”.

As for the brand of poker McCain was playing on his iPhone … VIP Poker. Ever heard of ’em? Yeah, me neither. I suppose it’s possible I’ve ignored a Facebook ad from them offering $120 Jillion in free chips … but then it’s also possible that the fake-sounding “VIP poker” is really just an NSA shell for financing covert missions and McCain was trying to dump chips before the next committee hearing.

VIP Poker LOL.

From the Twitter of Washington Post reporter blog-shadowing Darvin Moon (@jfdulac) comes a story from the Baltimore City Paper, detailing Darvin’s numerous past transgressions over the past few years. It includes him pleading guilty and receiving probation for forgery and theft, along with three counts of passing bad checks. Court records also show Moon posting bail for others on two occasions, in 2002 for a man who plead guilty to drug dealing and is serving a 10-year sentence, and once for an apparent relative on assault charges.

From the BCP’s look at his financial and legal past:

But it is Moon’s record of civil judgments against him that may come into play in the future, given the kitties he’s been winning in Vegas. Court records show liens filed against Moon for nearly $20,000 owed to City National Bank of West Virginia, a little over $1,000 owed to Miners and Merchants Bank, nearly $13,000 owed to Pasadena Receivables, and about $1,000 owned to Southern Auto Supply in Moon’s own community of Mountain Lake Park, near Oakland in Western Maryland.

His creditors, no doubt, will be much obliged to share in his recent winnings.

On today’s episode of The Poker Beat, BJ and I lightly sparred about the significance of Party Gaming’s $100+ million settlement with the US Department of Justice. I’m pretty sure I beat him in everyone’s mind but his own … but still, I also know I got a few things wrong that might unsettle the Insider, so it’s good to know the Washington Post pretty much agrees with my take on the fluid situation:

Today’s news sent online gambling stocks soaring overseas. That’s because some financial analysts see the settlement as possibly leading to others, thus reducing uncertainty in the industry and opening the door to industry consolidation and expansion outside the U.S

Moreover, it’s taken some hard work to educate the masses on our semi-complex issue, but it’s good to see the message the (super-influential) non-poker media is putting out there:

… some legal scholars and Internet gambling proponents see the government crackdown as a disconnect between 21st-century technology and the 20th-century laws used to protect Americans from gambling.

The Justice position is considered controversial with some members of Congress and gaming analysts arguing it has steered U.S. players to unregulated offshore sites. “The U.S. government has now succeeded in driving out the reputable publicly-traded Internet gaming operators,” said Joseph M. Kelley, a professor of business law at the State College at Buffalo, who has also served as an expert witness for gaming and government interests. “It has not decreased online gambling, but has reduced the ability to monitor suspicious transactions.”

The new episode is a pretty good one … Joe, Gavin, Shronk (via robot voice), a hot girl, and the other guy Ali Nejad haven’t even gotten to the Annie Duke interview that I clicked over to listen to yet … but they’ve kept me thoroughly infotained talking about the Bellagio 5-Diamond blind structure, November Nine TV appearances, and a few poker hands.

Good stuff. Goes well with FoxNews in the background: PokerRoad Radio, with Annie Duke

UPDATE: OK, I listened … and though I’m not sure I cared to know so many details about Annie Duke-Joe Reitman sex, she does answer some questions revealing why she didn’t participate with 60 Minutes (her claims of their falsehoods to lure her into the story seem totally believable to me — media people do say these things — though I do wonder could they have gone with a more regulation-oriented storyline had she or Paul Legget gone on camera), why she is indeed so confident about AP/UB/Cereus’ commitment to running an honorable business, why she remains a loyal face for the brand (it’s not the money), and how she wants to see Russ Hamilton burn in non-Atheist hell.

She also dances around questions about her rumored appearance on the upcoming season of The Apprentice in a way that semi-confirms she has intimate knowledge of a show beginning in March with a finale in May.

This was my “career horoscope” yesterday:

Assuming you understand others is a big mistake. Bypass the analysis and stick to your own work.

Oops, but oh well, too late now … The podcast is up.

Because Gary Wise relies on me to tell him and his listeners how to think Hevad Khan canceled … (right)click here to listen to/download the entire episode (including the opening segment with Dewey Tomko) or press the buttons below to hear my segment — where GW hems and haws as I analyze the 60 Minutes and Washington Post pieces, then speculate wildly on the cheating scandals and their relationship to the present business/legal/political landscape and what it all may or may not mean for the future of the entire world! poker industry.

Wise Hand Poker (feat. Dan from Pokerati) 42:08
RoundersRadio

[audio:12-03-08-wisehandpoker.mp3]

The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, another lobbying organization on the side of internet poker players, released a statement first thing this morning regarding the recent 60 Minutes broadcast and corresponding Washington Post articles. SSIGI really doesn’t mince words, starting with wording that calls government prohibition of internet gambling being “a failure and a mistake.” More about legislation that would regulate the industry in the following statement:

“60 Minutes” and Washington Post Coverage Highlight Why Congress Should Regulate Internet Gambling and Protect Consumers

Current prohibition leaves Americans unprotected

Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, today issued the following statement in regards to recent coverage on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” and in The Washington Post on the dangers Americans face when they gamble online.

“The 60 Minutes and Washington Post stories demonstrate unambiguously that the existing government prohibition on Internet gambling is a failure and a mistake. The millions of Americans who continue to gamble online are vulnerable to being defrauded by offshore operators who exploit U.S. prohibition policies, leaving U.S. consumers without legal protections when they make a bet or play poker online. It is clear that a different approach is necessary to protect consumers, as well as to recapture the billions of tax dollars currently lost to offshore gambling operators and out of the U.S. economy. Now more than ever, Congress should understand why it should step in and regulate the industry to protect the public. We are hopeful that increased attention in the media about the issue will lead to increased movement in Congress.

More…

Nice statement from the Poker Players Alliance just came across the transom. We’ll see if it leads to more coverage of our issue in the non-poker political press. Regardless, I think historically November ’08 will be seen as a period where everything changed for the industry (for better or worse is yet to be determined) … probably the most significant period since Sep/Oct ’06.

Statement by PPA Chairman D’Amato on “60 Minutes” and Washington Post Coverage of the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet Cheating Scandals

Washington, D.C. – “The recent cheating scandals underscore the need for U.S. licensing and regulation of online poker to help protect consumers. While even the most highly regulated industries are susceptible to fraud and abuse, regulation does provide assurances that when consumers are harmed they have recourse, and that the offenders will be sanctioned. The continued pursuit of poker prohibition, on the other hand, will only drive this industry underground. As the Washington Post pointed out, prohibition represents a widening disconnect between 21st-century technology and 20th-century laws.

More…

For those that want to get an early jump on Monday’s story in the Washington Post about attempting to legalize online gambling, preferably poker, it’s now available here.

They report, you decide:

Watch CBS Videos Online

As has been discussed earlier, Mike Sexton, Greg Raymer and Linda Johnson were also interviewed for the story. In this web exclusive, Steve Kroft discusses tells with them, which seems silly to talk about in reference to online poker.

Watch CBS Videos Online

OK, I just read Part 1 of the Washington Post story by Gilbert Gaul on cheating at Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. I thought it was great and on target and technically correct to the letter when discussing legal matters. I learned a bunch of stuff I didn’t know, too.

Two-and-a-half specific things caught my eye:

(The name of the alleged cheater has circulated widely among poker players on the Internet. The Post is not publishing his name because, even though he purportedly confessed to AbsolutePoker, the company did not release its records and would not discuss the matter. The alleged cheater declined requests to be interviewed.)

Maybe I just haven’t been following it close enough on the forums, but I’m wondering whom they’re referring to here.

The story also doesn’t reference the new formation of Cereus, after acknowledging that UB would likely lose its license and be out of business soon. Hmmm. But that’s really new, and this story was possibly put to bed a few weeks ago?

The other thing is the last graf:

The Kahnawake now say they operate one of the most secure Internet gambling operations in the world. Tokwiro says it has “established cutting-edge security systems that make us the safest site in the industry.” But Catania said he does not expect cheating to stop: “I’m sure there are people out there right now figuring out, let’s say, ‘Here’s a way we can do it again.’

Yikes, that last sentence leaves it open-ended as to how part two of the story will fall when it comes to legalization efforts.

I really like poker’s chances (because I sincerely believe despite our internal battles with shadiness, our industry is on the right side of legal issues here) … and from what I’ve learned in my rookie dabblings in poker (and strip-club) politics, the treatment this story is getting in Washington DC — a big investigative feature spread out over two days with lots of informative sidebars — now guarantees (I’m like 86 percent sure) that our issue is on the 2009 political agenda. I’m not totally comfortable yet, of course. Current feeling in my gut is comparable to waiting for the river when all-in against an 8- or 9-outer. A little unsettling. But hey, that’s what we came here for, right?

In addition to the story itself, the WP’s got a bunch of goodies for those who want to dig deeper, or just check their work:

• Here’s a timeline titled “Internet Poker and the Law” — they get the UIGEA, imo.
• Paul Leggett’s defense (pdf)
• Video explaining Texas Hold’em — as in how to play … they clearly see poker as a fun skill game, not a dangerously addictive vice; if the investigation were about shady drug runners, after all, you wouldn’t see a similar vid on how to make good meth.

• Also: a video about David Paredes going from intelligent amateur to uber-skilled pro.
• A timeline about how the AP/UB/Cereus cheats got caught.
• And another timeline of the scandal, complete with cool Web 2.5-ish document pop-ups.
• “Reporter’s notebook” about The Mohawk Connection.
• And shoot, wish I had seen this one before linking to the above — an everything page chronicling the entire investigation, complete with fun little numbers about (taxable) online poker revenues.

So there you have it. It would hard to expect anything more thorough. Kudos to “special correspondent Gary Wise“, too, for playing poker-biz fixer for the WP investigative team turning over rocks.

Part 1 of the WaPo investigative report

They’re running the story over 2 days, Sunday covers the AP/UB situation. Monday asks the question: Should Internet Gambling Be Legal?

The Reporters Notebook by Gilbert M. Gaul helps answer the question as to how the Kahnawake Nation became a leader in online gambling.

While most of the poker community will anxiously be awaiting the 60 Minutes piece on the Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet incidents at around 7pm ET Sunday; the Washington Post, who were investigating the story along with CBS News, will have their own story available in their Sunday edition. Their piece, which will also be found on their website, may be a better indicator as to how the 60 Minutes story will be covered later that night. Also, it’s figured that the Washington Post won’t be as limited in trying to tell the complete story, since 60 Minutes has to try and explain the situation along with discussing the legality of online gambling in a 12-15 minute piece. . There will also be an online chat on Monday with WaPo investigative reporter Gilbert M. Gaul and Serge Ravitch, an online player who was also involved in the investigation.