Sometimes I just don’t understand the offline casino world. Another casino executive is saying publicly that they do not support online gambling legislation. Anthony Marnell of the M Resort in Vegas feels legalizing online poker won’t provide structure to the industry it will increase the number of underage gamblers.
Marnell explained that with “real” casinos it is much easier to regulate play than you can online. Legal online gambling will produce more gambling addictions according to Marnell. The logic is hard to determine in Marnell’s case. Addicts don’t need help feeding an addiction and to presume anyone under age will succumb to a problem simply because of their age is silly. Perhaps instead of focusing on what can’t be controlled (and currently isn’t controlled) Marnell and people like him should use their press time to promote gambler education and addiction assistance. Online poker did not invent gambling addiction.
As the push for online gaming legislation and intrastate [...]
Yes its that time of year when everyone likes to predict what is going to happen in the coming months. 2011 was quite a year full of scandal, gossip, unexpected wins and newly created poker tournaments. If you were paying attention last year to the poker news then the predictions below make sense. I’m just not sure if I want to be proved right in every case.
Predictions
The Black Friday saga will continue to fill up poker chat forums for most of the year.
The increased pressure for federal online poker registration will get some preliminary ideas passed through the house. More governors will get on board as the national economy struggles to get back on its feet.
There will be an explosion of new online sites to play poker including sister sites to some of the physical casinos in Vegas and New Jersey.
At least five more states will pass some form of intrastate gambling law to increase [...]
Pokerstars has been in the spotlight lately because of some of their choices in regards to the Black Friday affair but this week Pokerstars has a bit of positive spin to share. The online poker giant is one of only three sites that will offer real money gambling in Belgium. Belgium, like the United States, is attempting to crack down on illegal websites. Their new Gambling Act has enough stipulations to keep casinos kosher.
Pokerstars established a relationship with a Belgium gaming group almost two years ago possibly in preparation for this new legislation. The Pokerstars.be site will be blocked to any player who is not authorized to play real money poker in their physical location.
Pokerstars is Belgium’s largest poker site. It provides the country and surrounding area with the majority of its poker tournaments. Having a recognizable name on the books is always good for business.
As Pokerstars.be gets underway John Duthie, an established member of [...]
Last week the poker forums were buzzing with the news of the break in at former WSOP champion Jonathan Duhamel’s residence. His WSOP gold bracelet, a WSOP watch and a large sum of cash were taken. Duhamel suffered a physical attack during the break in. Authorities acted quickly and now PokerNews.com is reporting that four suspects are being held in custody in connection with the home invasion.
In his first statement to the press Duhamel offered a reward for information leading to the arrest of his attackers. Calls to the local police in Quebec, Canada (where Duhamel resides) ended in the arrest of Bianca Rojas-Latraverse last Saturday. She has been charged with conspiracy to commit a criminal act. After being questioned by police Rojas-Latraverse offered up two more names: John Stephan Clark Lemay and Andre Robert Perron. The suspects ages are 20, 22 and 26 respectively. A fourth individual went into custody Friday morning although police [...]
In 2006 the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) passed through Congress on the back of another bill. Its goal was to stop banks from processing monies earned through online gambling sites. Of course with the Black Friday affair we know this wasn’t very successful. Online casinos found other ways to get around the process or blatantly broke the law hoping they wouldn’t get caught. This week the 1961 Wire Act was reinterpreted and many think the UIGEA is next.
After the UIGEA the number of violations actually increased rather than decreased showing the law was in effective. With the new clarification of the Wire Act it no longer appears to apply in the Black Friday cases. Prosecutors are holding on to the violation of the UIGEA not to mention money laundering and fraud. But do they have the right?
The UIGEA is an American law applying to businesses operated in America. The Big Three poker sites [...]
As 2011 draws to a close we start looking at the ranks of poker professionals and where everyone stands before going into the new year. There are a number of different ranking systems out there but most folks accept the WSOP point system. The newly formed Global Poker Index (GPI) website provides a weekly look at the amount of points players from across the globe have earned. Both systems have provided a top ten this week with a few similarities but also a few differences.
The WSOP point system is based on success or failure within their organized events. Only tournaments that offer WSOP bracelets count towards a player’s score. Here are the results so far:
1. Ben Lamb 909.05
2. Phil Hellmuth 755.25
3. Chris Moorman 753.95
4. Shawn Buchanan 631.74
5. Pius Heinz 570.00
6. Brian Rast 550.00
7. Bertrand Grospellier 545.75
8. Jason Mercier 449.08
9. Martin Staszko 446.00
10. Jake Cody 445.23
Despite having won the WSOP Main Event Pius Heinz did not have enough accumulated points to lead the board. In fact Main event finalist Ben Lamb has a great year [...]
Jonathan Duhamel known to poker fans at the Canadian poker professional that snagged the 2010 WSOP Main event title was a victim of crime this week at his home I Quebec. Apparently two men entered his home, threatened his life, beat him up and stole his possessions. Duhamel is not seriously injured and no arrests have been made.
Among the items stolen from Duhamel’s home were his 2010 WSOP bracelet and a Rolex watch custom engraved with his WSOP win. Although his entire poker winnings were not just sitting around his house a few 500 Euro bills were. The police are hoping the robbers attempt to catch in the rare Euro money to give them a lead.
There has been no official statement that Duhamel was targeted because of his 2010 championship win but the fact they stole his bracelet and watch is a good indication they knew who they were robbing. The incident occurred on Wednesday [...]
Okay so we all know what happened on Black Friday back in April right? Well when the big three poker sites made an exit from the online market, other poker sites that had not been indicted but did hold a domain name in the U.S. started to worry. Bodog Poker was one of these smaller poker sites. They voluntarily withdrew from the American market in the summer but it seems they are making a return.
The problem for Bodog and other online sites was having an American domain with assets attached to it. If they didn’t have an American domain name the U.S. Department of Justice could not go in and seize their assets. Many poker sites, including Bodog, ended play for American players and moved their site to a European domain name. Now Bodog has returned to the U.S. Market offering cash money games through a new website Bovada.lv.
The domain “lv” is reserved for the [...]
Before there was TV poker, online poker and gaming software there was Doyle Brunson and players like him that made the world pay attention to the skill game that is poker. The Epic Poker League, still new on the poker tournament scene, has decided to celebrate both the old and the new. Doyle Brunson receives a lifetime membership that qualifies him for all future EPL tournaments.
The Epic Poker League was created by Annie Duke and a few other professional poker players who wanted a player oriented tournament that would offer a few new twists and celebrate a larger number of players. The EPL has unfortunately dealt with a few scandals already including having to place one of their champions on probation. Despite setbacks they do seem to keep up a positive front.
According to news sources Brunson found the gesture of lifetime membership very nice but he doesn’t expect to play a lot of tournaments in [...]
Its been a long time coming but it looks as though the Full Tilt Poker operation is being sold to Groupe Bernard Taipe (GBT). The agreement was decided between Full Tilt, Bernard Taipe and the U.S. Department of Justice. It was a two thirds majority vote and comes almost a month after the idea of asset transfer became viable. GBT takes on Full Tilt’s assets and its debts, including the paying back of American players.
Of course GBT also takes on all of Full Tilt’s other debts whether related to the American portion of their company or not. Pokerlistings.com reports a $150 million in debt owed to players outside of the United States. The American player debt will be “facilitated” by the Department of Justice. Who knows if this is some sort of loan to GBT or the use of public funds. At the moment that isn’t clear. There is a long way to go for [...]
