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The American Gaming Association on Monday issued a press release about their launch of a campaign to get the U.S. Congress to pass an online poker bill as soon as possible.
The release indicates that it “supports the general provisions” of the joint proposal of Sens. Harry Reid of Nevada and Jon Kyl of Arizona. This means that online poker would be in, and all other casino game online versions such as slots or baccarat, etc would be out (UPDATE: although the likelihood of this bill’s passage is lame-duck session seems to be dwindling).
That would stifle New Jersey’s efforts to offer a much broader menu of online gaming options.
Here’s the text of the release:
“Without Congressional action, the U.S. is poised to see widespread legalization of all types of online gambling and a state-by-state patchwork of regulations that puts gaming patrons, problem gamblers and minors at unnecessary risk. The AGA effort encourages Congress to introduce and pass a bill and includes the release of an informational video, an outreach campaign to educate lawmakers and other stakeholders, and a combination of earned and social media to increase awareness of the issue.
Last December, the Department of Justice released an opinion on the 1961 Federal Wire Act stating that it bans only sports betting and not other forms of online wagering. Since that time, individual states across the country have moved quickly to advance various forms of online gambling. According to the AGA, states should have the choice of whether to license and regulate online poker, but without a set of federal minimum standards, gaming patrons, problem gamblers and minors are put at an unnecessary risk. Passing this bill would eliminate that risk by establishing a set of federal guidelines for regulated, licensed, and legal online poker—a game of skill—in those states that choose to offer it.
“Without swift congressional action, the U.S. will soon see the largest expansion of legal gambling in its history,” said Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., president and CEO of the AGA. “And without any federal guidelines in place, the result will almost certainly be inadequate oversight that creates a world of unnecessary risk and problems for law enforcement and U.S. consumers.”
The informational video, titled “Stop the Clock,” can be viewed on the AGA’s YouTube channel at Stop the Clock - YouTube. Further information on the pending legislation, as well as more background on online poker and the AGA’s stance on the issue, can be found on the AGA’s Online Poker Headquarters at AGA Online Poker Headquarters | American Gaming Association.
The AGA has seen a draft version of the bill, entitled “The Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2012,” that reportedly may be introduced in the remaining days of the current session of Congress. While the AGA does not know if this represents a final version of legislation to be proposed, it supports the general provisions outlined therein.
“Congress must establish federal minimum standards that address consumer protection, prevent underage gambling, promote responsible gaming and provide help for those with gambling problems,” Fahrenkopf said. “It must also provide a regulatory structure allowing for Native American casino operators—who will never agree to be regulated by the states—to be involved, and clarify and restore federal law so that law enforcement communities have the tools necessary to prosecute illegal online gambling operators.”
Throughout the remainder of the current session of Congress, the AGA is reaching out to lawmakers to increase support for legislation and ensure that members of Congress have all the facts about the threat posed by inaction at the federal level. Also, through social media and traditional Capitol Hill news outlets, the AGA plans to maximize awareness of the need for Congress to act.
breaking: American Gaming Association ups the ante on online poker | Meadowlands Matters | NorthJersey-com
The release indicates that it “supports the general provisions” of the joint proposal of Sens. Harry Reid of Nevada and Jon Kyl of Arizona. This means that online poker would be in, and all other casino game online versions such as slots or baccarat, etc would be out (UPDATE: although the likelihood of this bill’s passage is lame-duck session seems to be dwindling).
That would stifle New Jersey’s efforts to offer a much broader menu of online gaming options.
Here’s the text of the release:
“Without Congressional action, the U.S. is poised to see widespread legalization of all types of online gambling and a state-by-state patchwork of regulations that puts gaming patrons, problem gamblers and minors at unnecessary risk. The AGA effort encourages Congress to introduce and pass a bill and includes the release of an informational video, an outreach campaign to educate lawmakers and other stakeholders, and a combination of earned and social media to increase awareness of the issue.
Last December, the Department of Justice released an opinion on the 1961 Federal Wire Act stating that it bans only sports betting and not other forms of online wagering. Since that time, individual states across the country have moved quickly to advance various forms of online gambling. According to the AGA, states should have the choice of whether to license and regulate online poker, but without a set of federal minimum standards, gaming patrons, problem gamblers and minors are put at an unnecessary risk. Passing this bill would eliminate that risk by establishing a set of federal guidelines for regulated, licensed, and legal online poker—a game of skill—in those states that choose to offer it.
“Without swift congressional action, the U.S. will soon see the largest expansion of legal gambling in its history,” said Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., president and CEO of the AGA. “And without any federal guidelines in place, the result will almost certainly be inadequate oversight that creates a world of unnecessary risk and problems for law enforcement and U.S. consumers.”
The informational video, titled “Stop the Clock,” can be viewed on the AGA’s YouTube channel at Stop the Clock - YouTube. Further information on the pending legislation, as well as more background on online poker and the AGA’s stance on the issue, can be found on the AGA’s Online Poker Headquarters at AGA Online Poker Headquarters | American Gaming Association.
The AGA has seen a draft version of the bill, entitled “The Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2012,” that reportedly may be introduced in the remaining days of the current session of Congress. While the AGA does not know if this represents a final version of legislation to be proposed, it supports the general provisions outlined therein.
“Congress must establish federal minimum standards that address consumer protection, prevent underage gambling, promote responsible gaming and provide help for those with gambling problems,” Fahrenkopf said. “It must also provide a regulatory structure allowing for Native American casino operators—who will never agree to be regulated by the states—to be involved, and clarify and restore federal law so that law enforcement communities have the tools necessary to prosecute illegal online gambling operators.”
Throughout the remainder of the current session of Congress, the AGA is reaching out to lawmakers to increase support for legislation and ensure that members of Congress have all the facts about the threat posed by inaction at the federal level. Also, through social media and traditional Capitol Hill news outlets, the AGA plans to maximize awareness of the need for Congress to act.
breaking: American Gaming Association ups the ante on online poker | Meadowlands Matters | NorthJersey-com
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2006/12/07
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Legislation to legalize online poker has driven a wedge between lottery providers and the convenience stores that have long been the primary seller of their tickets, reported The Hill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) push to ban all forms of online gambling except for poker has led to a split between the two major trade associations for each industry. Lotteries want to bury the bill, while c-stores are pushing for passage, said the report.
Both sides have upped their lobbying in Washington and say the future of their business is at stake.
Next week, about a half-dozen state lottery officials are flying to Washington on a trip organized by the North American Association of State & Provincial Lotteries (NASPL). They will meet with lawmakers to lobby against Reid's legislation, which could come up for a vote during the final weeks of the lame-duck session. "There is a sense of urgency. If this attached to legislation, this can have a negative impact on state lotteries and how their funds are raised for public benefit," Arch Gleason, president and CEO of the Kentucky Lottery Corp., told the news outlet.
In letters to lawmakers obtained by The Hill, senior lottery officials such as Gleason and others from Iowa, Massachusetts and Michigan have voiced their opposition to the poker bill.
NACS, meanwhile, is trying to round up support in Washington, the report said. In October, the group's board voted unanimously to support the online poker bill, Lyle Beckwith, NACS's senior vice president of government relations, told the news outlet.
Beckwith said lottery officials have tried to sway c-stores to their side, but to no avail.
"The lotteries have tried to come to us on numerous occasions saying that this wouldn't hurt us. They just want to expand their base of customers to people who don't play these games already," Beckwith said. "From our perspective, this could hurt our business."
Without the restrictions of Reid's bill, c-stores believe fewer people will come to buy scratchoff cards and other lottery products and opt instead to gamble online, said the report.
"They just don't buy lottery tickets when they're in a store. They buy a cup of coffee. They fill up their tank," Beckwith said. "I would prefer that they ban everything but this bill is far, far better than nothing being banned. If Reid's bill doesn't pass, the lotteries will try to put a casino in everyone's living room."
C-stores have warned lawmakers that their sales could fall if the poker bill doesn't pass. The average c-store customer who comes to buy a lottery ticket spends $10.35 in the store, compared to $6.29 for those who don't, according to NACS.
More than 2,000 NACS members have sent letters to lawmakers saying, "The legislation NACS is advocating sets guard rails that are essential to ensure that the convenience store industry is not cut out of the lottery business."
Gleason disagrees, and said business would grow for stores. He noted that when lottery tickets were first sold online in the United Kingdom, sales continued to go up in stores.
"They have been able to increase their revenues in their traditional brick-and-mortar locations," Gleason told The Hill. "It begins modestly, measured at 2%to 5% of the total business, and then it begins to grow over a number of years."
The push on online gaming comes after a Justice Department ruling last year found that the Wire Act only prohibits online gambling on sports, the report said. Since then, several states have either legalized or introduced legislation to legalize Internet gambling.
"What they did is really open up what I think will be the largest expansion of gambling in the United States ever unless Congress acts," Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, told the news outlet.
NACS joins the gaming trade group, which represents the country's biggest casinos, in support of the online poker bill. Fahrenkopf said the c-stores were a welcome partner, calling them "very active, very knowledgeable and very smart."
The lotteries have their own allies in the National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures, which both argue that Reid's bill would infringe on states' rights, The Hill said.
The online poker bill has a tough road ahead, said the report. Reid has been working with Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) on the legislation but needs more GOP votes.
"Only Senators Dean Heller [R-Nev.] and Kyl have indicated their support for the bill," a Senate Democratic aide told The Hill.
Kyl is retiring from the Senate, and with more states expected to move into online gambling, Washington may be too late to the game by next year.
"The best chance would be clearly the lame-duck," Fahrenkopf said. "If nothing happens, we will have to regroup and prepare for the next Congress, but we are hopeful something will get done now."
C-Stores Want Online Poker Bill to Pass
Both sides have upped their lobbying in Washington and say the future of their business is at stake.
Next week, about a half-dozen state lottery officials are flying to Washington on a trip organized by the North American Association of State & Provincial Lotteries (NASPL). They will meet with lawmakers to lobby against Reid's legislation, which could come up for a vote during the final weeks of the lame-duck session. "There is a sense of urgency. If this attached to legislation, this can have a negative impact on state lotteries and how their funds are raised for public benefit," Arch Gleason, president and CEO of the Kentucky Lottery Corp., told the news outlet.
In letters to lawmakers obtained by The Hill, senior lottery officials such as Gleason and others from Iowa, Massachusetts and Michigan have voiced their opposition to the poker bill.
NACS, meanwhile, is trying to round up support in Washington, the report said. In October, the group's board voted unanimously to support the online poker bill, Lyle Beckwith, NACS's senior vice president of government relations, told the news outlet.
Beckwith said lottery officials have tried to sway c-stores to their side, but to no avail.
"The lotteries have tried to come to us on numerous occasions saying that this wouldn't hurt us. They just want to expand their base of customers to people who don't play these games already," Beckwith said. "From our perspective, this could hurt our business."
Without the restrictions of Reid's bill, c-stores believe fewer people will come to buy scratchoff cards and other lottery products and opt instead to gamble online, said the report.
"They just don't buy lottery tickets when they're in a store. They buy a cup of coffee. They fill up their tank," Beckwith said. "I would prefer that they ban everything but this bill is far, far better than nothing being banned. If Reid's bill doesn't pass, the lotteries will try to put a casino in everyone's living room."
C-stores have warned lawmakers that their sales could fall if the poker bill doesn't pass. The average c-store customer who comes to buy a lottery ticket spends $10.35 in the store, compared to $6.29 for those who don't, according to NACS.
More than 2,000 NACS members have sent letters to lawmakers saying, "The legislation NACS is advocating sets guard rails that are essential to ensure that the convenience store industry is not cut out of the lottery business."
Gleason disagrees, and said business would grow for stores. He noted that when lottery tickets were first sold online in the United Kingdom, sales continued to go up in stores.
"They have been able to increase their revenues in their traditional brick-and-mortar locations," Gleason told The Hill. "It begins modestly, measured at 2%to 5% of the total business, and then it begins to grow over a number of years."
The push on online gaming comes after a Justice Department ruling last year found that the Wire Act only prohibits online gambling on sports, the report said. Since then, several states have either legalized or introduced legislation to legalize Internet gambling.
"What they did is really open up what I think will be the largest expansion of gambling in the United States ever unless Congress acts," Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, told the news outlet.
NACS joins the gaming trade group, which represents the country's biggest casinos, in support of the online poker bill. Fahrenkopf said the c-stores were a welcome partner, calling them "very active, very knowledgeable and very smart."
The lotteries have their own allies in the National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures, which both argue that Reid's bill would infringe on states' rights, The Hill said.
The online poker bill has a tough road ahead, said the report. Reid has been working with Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) on the legislation but needs more GOP votes.
"Only Senators Dean Heller [R-Nev.] and Kyl have indicated their support for the bill," a Senate Democratic aide told The Hill.
Kyl is retiring from the Senate, and with more states expected to move into online gambling, Washington may be too late to the game by next year.
"The best chance would be clearly the lame-duck," Fahrenkopf said. "If nothing happens, we will have to regroup and prepare for the next Congress, but we are hopeful something will get done now."
C-Stores Want Online Poker Bill to Pass
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2006/12/07
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He may only be 23-years-old, but Drumlish native, Padriag O’Neill has taken the on-line poker scene by storm in recent months and is beginning to earn himself an esteemed reputation on the circuit, after bagging $10,000 and winning two top tournaments this year.
The local lad, who is the son of Paddy and Eileen, Monaduff has a primary degree in history and geography from NUI, Maynooth, but is happy “for the moment” to focus his energies in, on-line poker, and is seriously considering the game as a full time career option.
“I’ve seen it all,” he said. “There is no point in getting upset if you get sucked out on, it’s only a game isn’t it?”
With $10,000 under his belt, O’Neill points to the fact that “making the final table” is one of his greatest personal achievements when participating in the game. “I first got involved through playing in a home game, so I’m playing now for around three and a half years and I mix playing online tournaments with live cash. I hadn’t much of an interest in poker until the weekly house game was started in Drumlish on a Friday night back in the summer of 2008, and then I started to play online regularly from 2010.”
Away from the excitement of poker, the Drumlish native who attended Drumlish NS and Moyne Community School says he is a keen Gaelic football fan, and if he wins big bucks on the poker circuit, he will probably “go to Las Vegas”. “I’ve been in over 5000 online tournaments, with live events less than 100,” the poker ace added.
O’Neill competes in tournaments that consist of between 100 and 300 players, with entry varying form $11 to $215. “It averages out at about $80 per entry for me, as I normally play eight at a time,” he explained further. “The number of people in each tournament varies greatly, and in any given night I could play up to 50 different tournaments, all of which are extremely competitive.”
So, with his game on the up, the chips are down for the 23-year-old Longford man – what got him to this point?
“I’ve worked a lot on my game - reading different articles and watching different videos on poker,” the champ explained further. “I’ve learned the maths and, I have been very lucky as well, because I was coached by some brilliant players from England and Ireland.”
Results are what matter at the end of the day and, so winning two major tournaments has certainly enhanced O’Neill’s reputation on the poker circuit. “Yes, winning the tournaments has helped me and in the short term the next big event for me is in Prague,” he added. Then the WPT comes to Ireland in January and I plan to play in that. Long term I just want to continue to improve and the results will look after themselves.”
The poker ace from Drumlish - Your Life - Longford Leader
The local lad, who is the son of Paddy and Eileen, Monaduff has a primary degree in history and geography from NUI, Maynooth, but is happy “for the moment” to focus his energies in, on-line poker, and is seriously considering the game as a full time career option.
“I’ve seen it all,” he said. “There is no point in getting upset if you get sucked out on, it’s only a game isn’t it?”
With $10,000 under his belt, O’Neill points to the fact that “making the final table” is one of his greatest personal achievements when participating in the game. “I first got involved through playing in a home game, so I’m playing now for around three and a half years and I mix playing online tournaments with live cash. I hadn’t much of an interest in poker until the weekly house game was started in Drumlish on a Friday night back in the summer of 2008, and then I started to play online regularly from 2010.”
Away from the excitement of poker, the Drumlish native who attended Drumlish NS and Moyne Community School says he is a keen Gaelic football fan, and if he wins big bucks on the poker circuit, he will probably “go to Las Vegas”. “I’ve been in over 5000 online tournaments, with live events less than 100,” the poker ace added.
O’Neill competes in tournaments that consist of between 100 and 300 players, with entry varying form $11 to $215. “It averages out at about $80 per entry for me, as I normally play eight at a time,” he explained further. “The number of people in each tournament varies greatly, and in any given night I could play up to 50 different tournaments, all of which are extremely competitive.”
So, with his game on the up, the chips are down for the 23-year-old Longford man – what got him to this point?
“I’ve worked a lot on my game - reading different articles and watching different videos on poker,” the champ explained further. “I’ve learned the maths and, I have been very lucky as well, because I was coached by some brilliant players from England and Ireland.”
Results are what matter at the end of the day and, so winning two major tournaments has certainly enhanced O’Neill’s reputation on the poker circuit. “Yes, winning the tournaments has helped me and in the short term the next big event for me is in Prague,” he added. Then the WPT comes to Ireland in January and I plan to play in that. Long term I just want to continue to improve and the results will look after themselves.”
The poker ace from Drumlish - Your Life - Longford Leader
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2006/12/07
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All eyes are on the fiscal cliff during this lame duck, but a variety of groups hope Congress will also move on online gambling legislation before the last days of the 112th.
The latest effort comes from Catholic and conservative-leaning groups, who sent a letter today to House and Senate leadership urging Congress to move on a draft bill crafted by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and retiring Republican Sen. Jon Kyl.
Catholic Advocate, American Majority Action and 60 Plus Association sent the letter, which calls upon Congress to move the legislation which they say will “protect our seniors, our children, and give law enforcement the tools they need to protect the vulnerable from illegal predatory gambling interests.”
The Reid-Kyl effort would legalize online poker and ban other kinds of online gambling, and came in response to a 2011 Justice Department decision that essentially allowed for new kinds of online gambling at the state level.
The latest letter follows similar efforts this month from the Fraternal Order of Police and National Association of Convenience Stores, which both back the Reid-Kyl effort.
Opponents of the legislation include the National Governors Association, who sent a letter of its own to leadership before the election.
Groups Push For Reid-Kyl Online Gambling Bill
The latest effort comes from Catholic and conservative-leaning groups, who sent a letter today to House and Senate leadership urging Congress to move on a draft bill crafted by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and retiring Republican Sen. Jon Kyl.
Catholic Advocate, American Majority Action and 60 Plus Association sent the letter, which calls upon Congress to move the legislation which they say will “protect our seniors, our children, and give law enforcement the tools they need to protect the vulnerable from illegal predatory gambling interests.”
The Reid-Kyl effort would legalize online poker and ban other kinds of online gambling, and came in response to a 2011 Justice Department decision that essentially allowed for new kinds of online gambling at the state level.
The latest letter follows similar efforts this month from the Fraternal Order of Police and National Association of Convenience Stores, which both back the Reid-Kyl effort.
Opponents of the legislation include the National Governors Association, who sent a letter of its own to leadership before the election.
Groups Push For Reid-Kyl Online Gambling Bill
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2006/12/07
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As Congress debates the federal budget, a Democratic senator strongly backed by Nevada casino interests and a Republican senator staunchly opposed to betting are working together to push an online-gambling bill into the mix. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl are seeking language in a legislative package during the lame-duck session that could expand some forms of online wagering and would limit others. Among other things, the bill would create an Office of Online Poker Oversight under the Department of Commerce.
The initiative has long been discussed behind closed doors but never publicly introduced. It would create a federal system for online poker, something casino operators have pushed for in recent years. At the same time, it would prevent states from legalizing nearly every other type of online gambling, including sites run by state lotteries. Even the measure's proponents say the bill is a long shot. At a news conference on unrelated issues last week, Mr. Reid suggested he needed more Republican support. But advisers for Messrs. Reid and Kyl say the legislation remains at the top of their agenda, even if its path forward is unclear. Most likely, people familiar with the matter say, the senators would try to attach the language to a piece of "must-pass" legislation before the end of the year.
State-lottery directors are worried enough about the measure that they have descended on Washington this week to advocate against it. Their efforts represent the first coordinated D.C. action for lottery directors, participants say.Helping to coordinate the visit are lottery-technology companies such as GTech, a unit of Italy's Lottomatica Group SpA, LTO.MI +0.12% which likely would lose a huge potential business running online gambling sites for lotteries if the federal bill passes. "All of the lotteries in the country agree this is a matter of states' rights," said Arch Gleason, president of Kentucky's lottery. An informal draft bill asks state legislatures to decide whether they want Internet poker to be offered in their states. For the first two years, sites would be operated only by casino companies, card clubs, slot-machine manufacturers, Indian tribes and race tracks. The Commerce Department's online poker office would oversee state regulatory bodies, which would license online poker companies.
Revenues would be taxed at 16%, most of which would go to states. Whether or not states opt in to the federal poker system, other online gambling would be restricted to horse-race betting and limited lottery ticket sales.
The bill has its roots in a 2010 version that Mssrs. Reid and Kyl created but never introduced. In his re-election campaign that year, Mr. Reid received strong support from struggling Nevada companies such as Caesars Entertainment Corp. CZR -1.34% and MGM Resorts International, MGM -2.46% who want to run national online poker sites.
Until a 2011 federal crackdown, there were around 1.9 million poker accounts in the U.S. that supported revenues for offshore sites of around $1.3 billion, according to H2 Gambling Capital, which tracks the data. The accounts since have dropped to about 350,000, representing around $223 million in revenues from U.S. play this year.
Earlier this year, Mr. Reid said Internet poker "may be the most important issue facing Nevada since Yucca Mountain," referring to the proposed storage site for radioactive material that has spurred years of disagreement.
Mr. Kyl, retiring this year from the Senate, was involved in bills dating to the 1990s that sought to ban online gambling. One passed, a 2006 bill that targeted financial transactions for unlawful online gambling.
That bill didn't define unlawful gambling, but at the time the Justice Department believed a separate, much older bill, the Wire Act of 1961 outlawed most forms of online gambling. A year ago, however, the Justice Department reversed its position, and states began implementing plans to allow or operate various forms of online gambling.
The states of Illinois and Georgia began selling individual lottery draw tickets over the Internet. Delaware's lottery is preparing to oversee a potentially broader set of games while other state lotteries also have plans.
Legislators in 10 states this year introduced bills to introduce online gambling or study the issue. Nevada began licensing companies to offer online poker within the state.
Given the state activity,Mr. Kyl is trying to convince fellow anti-gambling Republicans that the federal poker bill is a good compromise that would reduce gambling overall.
Mr. Kyl "just doesn't like gambling," a person familiar with his thinking said. "With this effort he just wants to try to add to what he did before and limit gambling as much as possible."
Mr. Kyl's unlikely ally, the casino industry's trade group, has talked with 240 federal lawmakers in the past year on the topic, said American Gaming Association executive director Frank Fahrenkopf.
"We try to explain that the legislation is in fact a restriction of gambling rather than an expansion of gambling," Mr. Fahrenkopf said.
Several governors and state groups such as the National Conference of State Legislatures have pushed concerns that the bill pre-empts states' authority over gambling. Convenience-store owners, meanwhile, recently began aggressively advocating in favor of the bill because they don't want lotteries to expand online, which they say could hurt sales in their stores.
People involved with efforts to push the bill say that many of Mr. Kyl's fellow conservatives don't appear to be buying his argument that the bill is a good compromise to reduce gambling.
"You're just allowing poker into every house or home in the states that are going to allow this," said Chad Hills, a gambling analyst for the conservative- Christian organization Focus on the Family. "That's a huge expansion of gambling. This is a hill we consider
The initiative has long been discussed behind closed doors but never publicly introduced. It would create a federal system for online poker, something casino operators have pushed for in recent years. At the same time, it would prevent states from legalizing nearly every other type of online gambling, including sites run by state lotteries. Even the measure's proponents say the bill is a long shot. At a news conference on unrelated issues last week, Mr. Reid suggested he needed more Republican support. But advisers for Messrs. Reid and Kyl say the legislation remains at the top of their agenda, even if its path forward is unclear. Most likely, people familiar with the matter say, the senators would try to attach the language to a piece of "must-pass" legislation before the end of the year.
State-lottery directors are worried enough about the measure that they have descended on Washington this week to advocate against it. Their efforts represent the first coordinated D.C. action for lottery directors, participants say.Helping to coordinate the visit are lottery-technology companies such as GTech, a unit of Italy's Lottomatica Group SpA, LTO.MI +0.12% which likely would lose a huge potential business running online gambling sites for lotteries if the federal bill passes. "All of the lotteries in the country agree this is a matter of states' rights," said Arch Gleason, president of Kentucky's lottery. An informal draft bill asks state legislatures to decide whether they want Internet poker to be offered in their states. For the first two years, sites would be operated only by casino companies, card clubs, slot-machine manufacturers, Indian tribes and race tracks. The Commerce Department's online poker office would oversee state regulatory bodies, which would license online poker companies.
Revenues would be taxed at 16%, most of which would go to states. Whether or not states opt in to the federal poker system, other online gambling would be restricted to horse-race betting and limited lottery ticket sales.
The bill has its roots in a 2010 version that Mssrs. Reid and Kyl created but never introduced. In his re-election campaign that year, Mr. Reid received strong support from struggling Nevada companies such as Caesars Entertainment Corp. CZR -1.34% and MGM Resorts International, MGM -2.46% who want to run national online poker sites.
Until a 2011 federal crackdown, there were around 1.9 million poker accounts in the U.S. that supported revenues for offshore sites of around $1.3 billion, according to H2 Gambling Capital, which tracks the data. The accounts since have dropped to about 350,000, representing around $223 million in revenues from U.S. play this year.
Earlier this year, Mr. Reid said Internet poker "may be the most important issue facing Nevada since Yucca Mountain," referring to the proposed storage site for radioactive material that has spurred years of disagreement.
Mr. Kyl, retiring this year from the Senate, was involved in bills dating to the 1990s that sought to ban online gambling. One passed, a 2006 bill that targeted financial transactions for unlawful online gambling.
That bill didn't define unlawful gambling, but at the time the Justice Department believed a separate, much older bill, the Wire Act of 1961 outlawed most forms of online gambling. A year ago, however, the Justice Department reversed its position, and states began implementing plans to allow or operate various forms of online gambling.
The states of Illinois and Georgia began selling individual lottery draw tickets over the Internet. Delaware's lottery is preparing to oversee a potentially broader set of games while other state lotteries also have plans.
Legislators in 10 states this year introduced bills to introduce online gambling or study the issue. Nevada began licensing companies to offer online poker within the state.
Given the state activity,Mr. Kyl is trying to convince fellow anti-gambling Republicans that the federal poker bill is a good compromise that would reduce gambling overall.
Mr. Kyl "just doesn't like gambling," a person familiar with his thinking said. "With this effort he just wants to try to add to what he did before and limit gambling as much as possible."
Mr. Kyl's unlikely ally, the casino industry's trade group, has talked with 240 federal lawmakers in the past year on the topic, said American Gaming Association executive director Frank Fahrenkopf.
"We try to explain that the legislation is in fact a restriction of gambling rather than an expansion of gambling," Mr. Fahrenkopf said.
Several governors and state groups such as the National Conference of State Legislatures have pushed concerns that the bill pre-empts states' authority over gambling. Convenience-store owners, meanwhile, recently began aggressively advocating in favor of the bill because they don't want lotteries to expand online, which they say could hurt sales in their stores.
People involved with efforts to push the bill say that many of Mr. Kyl's fellow conservatives don't appear to be buying his argument that the bill is a good compromise to reduce gambling.
"You're just allowing poker into every house or home in the states that are going to allow this," said Chad Hills, a gambling analyst for the conservative- Christian organization Focus on the Family. "That's a huge expansion of gambling. This is a hill we consider
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Northern Nevada casino operators are working feverishly to usher online gaming into Nevada despite working under a regulatory environment that’s still defining how the whole process will work.
Most of the large casino operators in northern Nevada have applied for interactive operator’s licenses, says AG Burnett, recently appointed commissioner of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
The license is required for casino operators, who in turn are either partnering with technology companies or executing in-house strategies to develop poker software and Web sites that are expected to go live late next year pending regulatory approval of their products.
The Eldorado, Atlantis and Siena are among early leaders working through the challenges of bringing online poker to Nevada-based players.
Play is limited to gamblers within the Silver State, though most operators expect to have a much wider jurisdictional reach in coming years. Currently, only online poker has been legalized in Nevada by the Gaming Control Board.
David Farahi, chief operating officer for Monarch Casino & Resort, says the executive team at the Atlantis has looked at this new approach to gaming for the past several years.
Monarch was among the first casino operators in state to get its interactive operators license, which allows Monarch to run a online wagering poker site. The license is separate from the gaming license required to operate the Atlantis.
Licensure for online gaming depends on a company’s level of involvement, Burnett says.
“There is a license for operator of the interactive gaming website; there is a license for a manufacturer of the interactive system itself; and there is a license for those who make products associated with the Web site,” he says.
Monarch seeks to partner with a technology provider to develop software and run the back-end operations of a new web site for poker wagering, much like the joint venture announced by the Eldorado and Reno’s 3G Studios. Farahi says Monarch is being courted by companies seeking to license their gaming software to the company and to provide IT services for the new site.
“We are doing our due diligence and researching potential partners. As we learn more we are developing our plan on how we are going to get into this industry.”
The new Web site likely would tie into the Atlantis’ current site in some fashion, Farahi says, in part to capitalize on the strength of the Atlantis brand and also to leverage its strong relationship with northern Nevada customers. Because gaming sites currently can only be accessed by Nevada-based players, the property would use some form of geo-location software to ensure compliance, Farahi says.
Tech companies, software development firms or Internet service providers can’t run for-money poker sites themselves because they don’t have the required interactive operator’s license. The bucks stop with brick-and-mortar institutions such as the Atlantis, Eldorado and Siena because those businesses already have the financial controls in place — monitoring, compliance, auditing — to ensure that each process conforms with Gaming Control Board standards.
David Colvin, majority owner of the Siena Hotel Casino, is taking a much different approach to the concept of online gaming.
The Las Vegas-based gaming mogul also owns bingo and keno giant Gaming Arts, and he’s spun off a new company, Z4 Poker, to handle all three aspects of online gaming. He’s got about a dozen employees working for Z4 Poker, and another 20 Gaming Arts staffers sharing time on the venture as well.
The Siena would be the operator, Gaming Arts would be the service provider, and Z4 Poker would be the interactive content provider to have everything under one umbrella. Colvin says once all the wrinkles are ironed out that he would bring in other casino properties as either fully licensed operators or affiliates.
Colvin expects to go live with a free-to-play site in the second quarter of 2013 and could transition the site to a revenue model pending regulatory approval. The landscape of how online gaming will actually work still is a little muddled, he says.
“It is a foggy now as it has ever been.”
Like 3G Studios, which already has developed a host of additional games in anticipation of a much broader scope of gaming options than just poker, Z4 Poker has nearly 100 games already developed, including a full suite of keno and bingo games.
On the other side of the coin, staff at the Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission have been working diligently to encompass the myriad aspects of legalized online gaming in the state. Burnett says the board and commission had to become experts in the field on the fly.
“I can’t stress enough the level of understanding our staff in every division has reached on these matters,” he says. “We really ramped up for this and made a hard push to keep Nevada at the forefront of this emerging industry.”
The biggest obstacles overcome so far have been reviewing a host of competing products in house and from independent test labs to ensure that each company’s software complies with newly developed regulations. Once that process is complete, Burnett says, the operators will be free to get their sites up and running.
A separate regulatory structure has been established for online service providers. Those companies will have to be vetted by the Gaming Control Board and contract their services to casino operators. Revenue models will work differently depending on how deals are structured.
For instance, the Atlantis is looking at a revenue-share model in which a portion of the revenue goes to the technology provider and the casino’s revenue is generated from the poker rake, or the money taken from each pot for the house, Farahi says.
The Siena, on the other hand, would likely participate in a similar revenue-share scenario with larger casinos that get an operator’s license from the state. However, sma
Most of the large casino operators in northern Nevada have applied for interactive operator’s licenses, says AG Burnett, recently appointed commissioner of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
The license is required for casino operators, who in turn are either partnering with technology companies or executing in-house strategies to develop poker software and Web sites that are expected to go live late next year pending regulatory approval of their products.
The Eldorado, Atlantis and Siena are among early leaders working through the challenges of bringing online poker to Nevada-based players.
Play is limited to gamblers within the Silver State, though most operators expect to have a much wider jurisdictional reach in coming years. Currently, only online poker has been legalized in Nevada by the Gaming Control Board.
David Farahi, chief operating officer for Monarch Casino & Resort, says the executive team at the Atlantis has looked at this new approach to gaming for the past several years.
Monarch was among the first casino operators in state to get its interactive operators license, which allows Monarch to run a online wagering poker site. The license is separate from the gaming license required to operate the Atlantis.
Licensure for online gaming depends on a company’s level of involvement, Burnett says.
“There is a license for operator of the interactive gaming website; there is a license for a manufacturer of the interactive system itself; and there is a license for those who make products associated with the Web site,” he says.
Monarch seeks to partner with a technology provider to develop software and run the back-end operations of a new web site for poker wagering, much like the joint venture announced by the Eldorado and Reno’s 3G Studios. Farahi says Monarch is being courted by companies seeking to license their gaming software to the company and to provide IT services for the new site.
“We are doing our due diligence and researching potential partners. As we learn more we are developing our plan on how we are going to get into this industry.”
The new Web site likely would tie into the Atlantis’ current site in some fashion, Farahi says, in part to capitalize on the strength of the Atlantis brand and also to leverage its strong relationship with northern Nevada customers. Because gaming sites currently can only be accessed by Nevada-based players, the property would use some form of geo-location software to ensure compliance, Farahi says.
Tech companies, software development firms or Internet service providers can’t run for-money poker sites themselves because they don’t have the required interactive operator’s license. The bucks stop with brick-and-mortar institutions such as the Atlantis, Eldorado and Siena because those businesses already have the financial controls in place — monitoring, compliance, auditing — to ensure that each process conforms with Gaming Control Board standards.
David Colvin, majority owner of the Siena Hotel Casino, is taking a much different approach to the concept of online gaming.
The Las Vegas-based gaming mogul also owns bingo and keno giant Gaming Arts, and he’s spun off a new company, Z4 Poker, to handle all three aspects of online gaming. He’s got about a dozen employees working for Z4 Poker, and another 20 Gaming Arts staffers sharing time on the venture as well.
The Siena would be the operator, Gaming Arts would be the service provider, and Z4 Poker would be the interactive content provider to have everything under one umbrella. Colvin says once all the wrinkles are ironed out that he would bring in other casino properties as either fully licensed operators or affiliates.
Colvin expects to go live with a free-to-play site in the second quarter of 2013 and could transition the site to a revenue model pending regulatory approval. The landscape of how online gaming will actually work still is a little muddled, he says.
“It is a foggy now as it has ever been.”
Like 3G Studios, which already has developed a host of additional games in anticipation of a much broader scope of gaming options than just poker, Z4 Poker has nearly 100 games already developed, including a full suite of keno and bingo games.
On the other side of the coin, staff at the Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission have been working diligently to encompass the myriad aspects of legalized online gaming in the state. Burnett says the board and commission had to become experts in the field on the fly.
“I can’t stress enough the level of understanding our staff in every division has reached on these matters,” he says. “We really ramped up for this and made a hard push to keep Nevada at the forefront of this emerging industry.”
The biggest obstacles overcome so far have been reviewing a host of competing products in house and from independent test labs to ensure that each company’s software complies with newly developed regulations. Once that process is complete, Burnett says, the operators will be free to get their sites up and running.
A separate regulatory structure has been established for online service providers. Those companies will have to be vetted by the Gaming Control Board and contract their services to casino operators. Revenue models will work differently depending on how deals are structured.
For instance, the Atlantis is looking at a revenue-share model in which a portion of the revenue goes to the technology provider and the casino’s revenue is generated from the poker rake, or the money taken from each pot for the house, Farahi says.
The Siena, on the other hand, would likely participate in a similar revenue-share scenario with larger casinos that get an operator’s license from the state. However, sma
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2006/12/07
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Time to get the party started this December as Bovada invites you to celebrate its one year anniversary where it will reward players with 10 days of giveaways and a chance to win a 10 day trip of a lifetime, you don’t want to miss out.
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Bovada Casino
Bovada is the exclusive destination for the experienced to novice player looking for the ultimate online casino experience, with the celebration players are given a fantastic bonus to kick off the anniversary bash by offering you a sweet 10% Reload Bonus on all deposits you make today.
The 10% Reload Bonus is calculated on every deposit made on December 4, 2012 from 9:00:00AM ET until 11:59:59PM ET.
Standard rollover applies (3X sports, 20X casino, 3 Poker Points per bonus dollar).
With 10 days of giveaways, you’ll earn an entry into the draw for your chance to win a luxury trip to Super Bowl XLVII, along with an opportunity to party New Orleans’ style during the city’s legendary Mardi Gras celebrations.
The Best 10 Days of My Life Grand Prize Package includes:
First Class round trip flight to New Orleans and 11 nights hotel accommodations for two.
Two tickets to the Super Bowl.
Two grand stand tickets to the Mardi Gras parade.
$2,500 spending cash.
Limo pick-up and drop off at the New Orleans airport.
Bovada Casino
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2006/12/07
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29893
State lottery directors are urging Congress to block online gambling legislation that they say would unnecessarily steer funds to Nevada.
Meanwhile Catholic activists and conservatives offered their support for the bill that would legalize online poker while banning other forms of Internet gambling.
Interest groups have heightened their lobbying efforts as the 112th Congress closes in on adjournment at the end of the year. Proponents hope - and opponents worry - that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will attach the bill to must-pass legislation during the lame-duck session.
No bill has been officially introduced but Reid and Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., have drafted a version that surfaced publicly.
Seven lottery chiefs making the rounds on Capitol Hill this week are pointing to provisions in the draft bill that would effectively guarantee the Nevada Gaming Control Board licensing duties bringing the state about a quarter of all the "poker activity fees" set aside for state and federal governments.
"Only one state is currently set up to license poker operators and that state is Nevada," said Mark Hichar, a lawyer speaking for the North American State and Provincial Lotteries.
The lottery chiefs are using that as a key argument in their discussions with lawmakers from their own states. They also argue that state lotteries are capable of regulating and managing online gaming without the need for federal intervention.
"Lotteries have a very high degree of social responsibility," said Arch Gleason, president of the Kentucky Lottery.
The lottery chiefs from Idaho, New Hampshire, Georgia, Washington, Iowa, Missouri and Kentucky have scheduled meetings with lawmakers from their states. None are meeting with Reid, Kyl or their staffs.
Kristen Orthman, a spokeswoman for Reid, downplayed the criticism of the online poker legislation.
"There is a lot of misunderstanding about the leaked bill, which is just a draft. Our door remains open to discussing the bill with anyone who would like to discuss," Orthman said.
Meanwhile, Catholic Advocates joined with 60 Plus Association and American Majority Action to support the Reid/Kyl bill as a way to limit online gaming.
The organizations, which tend to be socially conservative, wrote letters to congressional leaders this week urging federal action to limit an impending "online gambling explosion" in 2013.
Several states have approved online gambling statutes since a Department of Justice ruling a year ago gave them the green light.
The department decided last year that the 1961 Wire Act, which bans wagering over telecommunications lines, applies only to sports betting.
"Federal restriction of online gambling is vital, urgent, and consistent with recent congressional intent. They legislation proposed by Senator Kyl and Senator Reid is a sensible solution," they wrote.
The group has also set up a website - Federal restriction of online gambling is vital. - to generate grass-roots support for the bill.
The American Gaming Association is also lobbying for passage of the Reid/Kyl bill.
"Congress must establish federal minimum standards that address consumer protection, prevent underage gambling, promote responsible gaming and provide help for those with gambling problems," association President and CEO Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. said.
Interest groups clash over online poker - Business - ReviewJournal-com
Meanwhile Catholic activists and conservatives offered their support for the bill that would legalize online poker while banning other forms of Internet gambling.
Interest groups have heightened their lobbying efforts as the 112th Congress closes in on adjournment at the end of the year. Proponents hope - and opponents worry - that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will attach the bill to must-pass legislation during the lame-duck session.
No bill has been officially introduced but Reid and Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., have drafted a version that surfaced publicly.
Seven lottery chiefs making the rounds on Capitol Hill this week are pointing to provisions in the draft bill that would effectively guarantee the Nevada Gaming Control Board licensing duties bringing the state about a quarter of all the "poker activity fees" set aside for state and federal governments.
"Only one state is currently set up to license poker operators and that state is Nevada," said Mark Hichar, a lawyer speaking for the North American State and Provincial Lotteries.
The lottery chiefs are using that as a key argument in their discussions with lawmakers from their own states. They also argue that state lotteries are capable of regulating and managing online gaming without the need for federal intervention.
"Lotteries have a very high degree of social responsibility," said Arch Gleason, president of the Kentucky Lottery.
The lottery chiefs from Idaho, New Hampshire, Georgia, Washington, Iowa, Missouri and Kentucky have scheduled meetings with lawmakers from their states. None are meeting with Reid, Kyl or their staffs.
Kristen Orthman, a spokeswoman for Reid, downplayed the criticism of the online poker legislation.
"There is a lot of misunderstanding about the leaked bill, which is just a draft. Our door remains open to discussing the bill with anyone who would like to discuss," Orthman said.
Meanwhile, Catholic Advocates joined with 60 Plus Association and American Majority Action to support the Reid/Kyl bill as a way to limit online gaming.
The organizations, which tend to be socially conservative, wrote letters to congressional leaders this week urging federal action to limit an impending "online gambling explosion" in 2013.
Several states have approved online gambling statutes since a Department of Justice ruling a year ago gave them the green light.
The department decided last year that the 1961 Wire Act, which bans wagering over telecommunications lines, applies only to sports betting.
"Federal restriction of online gambling is vital, urgent, and consistent with recent congressional intent. They legislation proposed by Senator Kyl and Senator Reid is a sensible solution," they wrote.
The group has also set up a website - Federal restriction of online gambling is vital. - to generate grass-roots support for the bill.
The American Gaming Association is also lobbying for passage of the Reid/Kyl bill.
"Congress must establish federal minimum standards that address consumer protection, prevent underage gambling, promote responsible gaming and provide help for those with gambling problems," association President and CEO Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. said.
Interest groups clash over online poker - Business - ReviewJournal-com
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2006/12/07
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Multi Action Poker, an attempt to carry the increased action of online games into the live scene, makes its casino debut in the Aria poker room today.
Players are skeptical. Dealers are skeptical. But inventor Timothy Frazin, a poker player himself, is confident the game will be a hit.
In Multi Action Poker, each player is dealt two separate hands, placed over a red spot and a blue spot, separated by a wooden slat, for the respective hole cards and chip stacks.
There are nine players, two dealers facing each other in the center of the table, four decks (two being shuffled, two in play), and ideally two different colored chip stacks. At Aria today, however, the colors of the chip stacks will not be distinguishable. The table itself is busy to say the least — a green and blue felt, with white lines marking off the locations for the seats, the wooden dividers, the colored spots, two chip trays, two shuffle machines, and two rake boxes with different table numbers.
“It’s like a football field,” a player observed.
The specifics of what denomination games would be played were not revealed before the action started. But on Tuesday ARIAPoker tweeted: “Going to start with some limit hold’em, but will expand to anything demand dictates.”
Frazin said that in trial runs he has already worked out many of the kinks and concerns being batted around on the poker forums.
In the days leading up to the debut, players and dealers around the room speculated about the new game.
“There are probably few places that could pull it off, but I think we can,” one dealer told me.
Another said: “I don’t know how you can focus on this table. There’s so much going on.”
A player chimed in: “They’re probably going to call the floor every other hand.”
In each round of play, dealers will pitch hands from a red deck and a blue deck, cards that will be distinguishable on the front and back, Frazin said.
If a player takes a long time to make a decision on one hand, stopping the action, the other hand continues and the rest of the table is not left waiting on that one player.
“Any time there’s a long decision, the action (for the rest of the table) is going to be a lot quicker,” Frazin said.
Even the player who tanks on a tough decision will receive a new hand, but Frazin doesn’t expect that to slow down the play.
“If you’re going to stop and you can’t even look at those other cards, then you shouldn’t play this game,” he said. “You can do all those things and still go back and forth.”
Clearly, no limit might slow the game down more than fixed limit. “For speed, it’s definitely better suited for limit games,” Frazin said. “But it’s not called multi speed poker, it’s called Multi Action Poker. If you want action, it’s built for action.”
Any variant of the game can be played at the table.
“It’s limitless depending on the skill of the player,” according to the site mappoker-com.
Frazin said he first thought of the idea for the game in 2007, but temporarily shelved it. He has played a little bit online, but he’s mostly a live player.
“I like action,” he said. The two dealers at the table won’t necessarily be pitching cards at exactly the same moment, Frazin said.
“It’s just like you’re pitching around someone’s coke can or chips,” he said.
In test runs, he said, dealers instinctively paused when faced with an impediment.
You might recognize Frazin as the pizza parlor-owning, Magic 8 Ball questioning World Poker Tour player from a few years back.
He insists he didn’t consult the 8 Ball about Multi Action Poker, but he knows that a lot of players are turned away from live poker because it can become boring.
“I love the action,” he said. “And if you’re a casual player, this could draw you in.”
Multi Action Poker Debuts at Aria Today | Pokerfuse Online Poker News
Players are skeptical. Dealers are skeptical. But inventor Timothy Frazin, a poker player himself, is confident the game will be a hit.
In Multi Action Poker, each player is dealt two separate hands, placed over a red spot and a blue spot, separated by a wooden slat, for the respective hole cards and chip stacks.
There are nine players, two dealers facing each other in the center of the table, four decks (two being shuffled, two in play), and ideally two different colored chip stacks. At Aria today, however, the colors of the chip stacks will not be distinguishable. The table itself is busy to say the least — a green and blue felt, with white lines marking off the locations for the seats, the wooden dividers, the colored spots, two chip trays, two shuffle machines, and two rake boxes with different table numbers.
“It’s like a football field,” a player observed.
The specifics of what denomination games would be played were not revealed before the action started. But on Tuesday ARIAPoker tweeted: “Going to start with some limit hold’em, but will expand to anything demand dictates.”
Frazin said that in trial runs he has already worked out many of the kinks and concerns being batted around on the poker forums.
In the days leading up to the debut, players and dealers around the room speculated about the new game.
“There are probably few places that could pull it off, but I think we can,” one dealer told me.
Another said: “I don’t know how you can focus on this table. There’s so much going on.”
A player chimed in: “They’re probably going to call the floor every other hand.”
In each round of play, dealers will pitch hands from a red deck and a blue deck, cards that will be distinguishable on the front and back, Frazin said.
If a player takes a long time to make a decision on one hand, stopping the action, the other hand continues and the rest of the table is not left waiting on that one player.
“Any time there’s a long decision, the action (for the rest of the table) is going to be a lot quicker,” Frazin said.
Even the player who tanks on a tough decision will receive a new hand, but Frazin doesn’t expect that to slow down the play.
“If you’re going to stop and you can’t even look at those other cards, then you shouldn’t play this game,” he said. “You can do all those things and still go back and forth.”
Clearly, no limit might slow the game down more than fixed limit. “For speed, it’s definitely better suited for limit games,” Frazin said. “But it’s not called multi speed poker, it’s called Multi Action Poker. If you want action, it’s built for action.”
Any variant of the game can be played at the table.
“It’s limitless depending on the skill of the player,” according to the site mappoker-com.
Frazin said he first thought of the idea for the game in 2007, but temporarily shelved it. He has played a little bit online, but he’s mostly a live player.
“I like action,” he said. The two dealers at the table won’t necessarily be pitching cards at exactly the same moment, Frazin said.
“It’s just like you’re pitching around someone’s coke can or chips,” he said.
In test runs, he said, dealers instinctively paused when faced with an impediment.
You might recognize Frazin as the pizza parlor-owning, Magic 8 Ball questioning World Poker Tour player from a few years back.
He insists he didn’t consult the 8 Ball about Multi Action Poker, but he knows that a lot of players are turned away from live poker because it can become boring.
“I love the action,” he said. “And if you’re a casual player, this could draw you in.”
Multi Action Poker Debuts at Aria Today | Pokerfuse Online Poker News
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2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
As Washington once again steers the country toward the dreaded "fiscal cliff," we the people are holding black aces and eights. These are the cards Wild Bill Hickok held when in 1876 he was assassinated during a game of five-card draw. The fifth "hole" card in this dead man's hand remains unknown.
It may seem like an odd time to bring up a game of cards, as our pundits and politicians wage a war of attrition with few realistic solutions on the table. However, for a nation in debt, online gambling -- more specifically online poker -- may just be our ace in the hole.
It is essential that Congress pass a federal bill, "The Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection Act," before 2012 ends. This legislation, which would regulate the business and which legitimate online operators in the U.S. are begging for, would allow states and the federal government to benefit from an industry that is estimated to hit $10 billion in revenues within five years. Online gambling will reach these estimates; whether it is regulated, taxed, and policed is up to Washington.
The most recent draft of the federal legislation carries a 16% tax rate: 2% of that $1.6 billion would go to the federal government; 10% (approximately $1 billion) would go to the state of the player; and about 4%, or $400 million, would go to the state of the operator. This would at last give states a hand in beginning to pay back the $26.5 billion in unemployment fund loans they owe the federal government.
Further, it would add an estimated 10,000 jobs, while at the same time stemming an unregulated, corrupt quagmire that no Republican or Democrat wants to see. Barring the passage of a federal solution, revenue-starved states will most certainly devise their own online gaming regulations, which could result in a patchwork of 50 different sets of laws and taxes, more easily infiltrated by international groups that are not interested in playing by any rules.
This scenario is not only impractical, it's reckless. Inaction would open the door for states to implement a full suite of Internet casino-style gaming. Congressional stalling means there soon may be slot machines and roulette wheels spinning on nearly every smart phone, tablet and computer in America.
The slip into chaos is already underway. Since December 2011, when the Department of Justice issued a new interpretation of the Wire Act of 1961 that limits its application to sports wagering, at least 20 states have launched efforts to legalize online gambling and lotteries, with varying gaming regulation standards state to state.
Without the strict regulation now practiced at casinos in Nevada and New Jersey, there is little assurance that incoming operators will employ technology to prohibit minors, detect fraud, or even guarantee that players will receive their winnings. This is the unregulated environment that continues to plague the current U.S. online gaming universe almost exclusively comprised of international shadow organizations that are free to practice as they choose and pay if they choose.
There does exist a win-win scenario for balancing the states' need for deficit relief against the beliefs of those opposed to gaming proliferation and that is to endorse poker, a peer-to-peer social game that is considered America's mind game. Poker has been played by presidents and members of the Supreme Court, and is as much a national pastime as baseball. It also has off-line regulated revenues estimated at over $600 million a year, if the country at large follows the off-line poker/overall gaming revenue model of Nevada.
By legalizing and regulating online poker and forbidding all other online casino-style gaming, Congress will be providing a solution to the dilemma that Solomon would bless. It will produce thousands of technology jobs and create billions in tax revenue by supporting a game of skill while putting a halt to casino-style games popping up online. Law enforcement experts, including Tom Ridge, who has led the Department of Homeland Security, and Louis Freeh, the former director of the FBI, have endorsed this resolution.
Congress must take action.
Column: Congress can't fold online poker
It may seem like an odd time to bring up a game of cards, as our pundits and politicians wage a war of attrition with few realistic solutions on the table. However, for a nation in debt, online gambling -- more specifically online poker -- may just be our ace in the hole.
It is essential that Congress pass a federal bill, "The Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection Act," before 2012 ends. This legislation, which would regulate the business and which legitimate online operators in the U.S. are begging for, would allow states and the federal government to benefit from an industry that is estimated to hit $10 billion in revenues within five years. Online gambling will reach these estimates; whether it is regulated, taxed, and policed is up to Washington.
The most recent draft of the federal legislation carries a 16% tax rate: 2% of that $1.6 billion would go to the federal government; 10% (approximately $1 billion) would go to the state of the player; and about 4%, or $400 million, would go to the state of the operator. This would at last give states a hand in beginning to pay back the $26.5 billion in unemployment fund loans they owe the federal government.
Further, it would add an estimated 10,000 jobs, while at the same time stemming an unregulated, corrupt quagmire that no Republican or Democrat wants to see. Barring the passage of a federal solution, revenue-starved states will most certainly devise their own online gaming regulations, which could result in a patchwork of 50 different sets of laws and taxes, more easily infiltrated by international groups that are not interested in playing by any rules.
This scenario is not only impractical, it's reckless. Inaction would open the door for states to implement a full suite of Internet casino-style gaming. Congressional stalling means there soon may be slot machines and roulette wheels spinning on nearly every smart phone, tablet and computer in America.
The slip into chaos is already underway. Since December 2011, when the Department of Justice issued a new interpretation of the Wire Act of 1961 that limits its application to sports wagering, at least 20 states have launched efforts to legalize online gambling and lotteries, with varying gaming regulation standards state to state.
Without the strict regulation now practiced at casinos in Nevada and New Jersey, there is little assurance that incoming operators will employ technology to prohibit minors, detect fraud, or even guarantee that players will receive their winnings. This is the unregulated environment that continues to plague the current U.S. online gaming universe almost exclusively comprised of international shadow organizations that are free to practice as they choose and pay if they choose.
There does exist a win-win scenario for balancing the states' need for deficit relief against the beliefs of those opposed to gaming proliferation and that is to endorse poker, a peer-to-peer social game that is considered America's mind game. Poker has been played by presidents and members of the Supreme Court, and is as much a national pastime as baseball. It also has off-line regulated revenues estimated at over $600 million a year, if the country at large follows the off-line poker/overall gaming revenue model of Nevada.
By legalizing and regulating online poker and forbidding all other online casino-style gaming, Congress will be providing a solution to the dilemma that Solomon would bless. It will produce thousands of technology jobs and create billions in tax revenue by supporting a game of skill while putting a halt to casino-style games popping up online. Law enforcement experts, including Tom Ridge, who has led the Department of Homeland Security, and Louis Freeh, the former director of the FBI, have endorsed this resolution.
Congress must take action.
Column: Congress can't fold online poker
Join:
2006/12/07
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Back in 2009, Russia passed laws targeting the country’s numerous unauthorized casinos and has since shut down more than 4,000 illegal casinos, as well as 25,000 gambling parlors. The idea was to restrict any gambling activities inside Russia to the country’s four state approved but largely inaccessible gaming zones.
Online gambling, on the other hand, had continued to be a bit of a grey area, especially poker where the skill element differentiates it from other gambling games. Therefore there was no law in place criminalizing simply providing access to online gambling and thus large number of Russian punters are still present on many online gambling sites, including PokerStars.
However, that all seems set to change after Russia’s Supreme Court has overruled an earlier lower court’s ruling, now putting the burden on ISPs to block offending sites. Previously, ISPs took their cues from the Justice Ministry blacklist to determine which sites fell into the ‘offenders’ list. Up until this moment there has been over 1,500 Russian websites banned with most politically inclined and contravening the country’s “extremism law.” Gambling websites, by contrast, had so far been able to avoid the authorities’ attention with many Russian players able to visit European-licensed online gambling sites.
That blacklist has since been broadened to include those sites which simply provide information on gambling portals, and any ISP provider not blocking gambling sites consequently stands the risk of having their license revoked. This could all spell trouble for the local online gambling industry which has benefited greatly from having access to the Russia and its population of 142 million people.
According to Barker & McKenzie lawyer Anton Maltsev:”Although internet service providers used to be able to wait until a site appeared on an official blacklist, the ruling implies that they risk going out of business simply by not blocking illegal content..[the ruling implies] that compliance with content restrictions could be a licensing requirement.”
Are Russian Online Poker Players About To Disappear?
Online gambling, on the other hand, had continued to be a bit of a grey area, especially poker where the skill element differentiates it from other gambling games. Therefore there was no law in place criminalizing simply providing access to online gambling and thus large number of Russian punters are still present on many online gambling sites, including PokerStars.
However, that all seems set to change after Russia’s Supreme Court has overruled an earlier lower court’s ruling, now putting the burden on ISPs to block offending sites. Previously, ISPs took their cues from the Justice Ministry blacklist to determine which sites fell into the ‘offenders’ list. Up until this moment there has been over 1,500 Russian websites banned with most politically inclined and contravening the country’s “extremism law.” Gambling websites, by contrast, had so far been able to avoid the authorities’ attention with many Russian players able to visit European-licensed online gambling sites.
That blacklist has since been broadened to include those sites which simply provide information on gambling portals, and any ISP provider not blocking gambling sites consequently stands the risk of having their license revoked. This could all spell trouble for the local online gambling industry which has benefited greatly from having access to the Russia and its population of 142 million people.
According to Barker & McKenzie lawyer Anton Maltsev:”Although internet service providers used to be able to wait until a site appeared on an official blacklist, the ruling implies that they risk going out of business simply by not blocking illegal content..[the ruling implies] that compliance with content restrictions could be a licensing requirement.”
Are Russian Online Poker Players About To Disappear?
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
Four months after PokerStars spent $731 million to settle a Justice Department lawsuit, it is in advanced talks to buy a casino in the hope that New Jersey gambling regulators will let it run online-poker games legally.
The online-poker giant is discussing a deal to buy the struggling Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, formerly the Atlantic City Hilton, from investment firm Colony Capital, several people familiar with the matter said. One of these people said the purchase price being negotiated is less than $50 million. The deal is still weeks away from coming together and could still fall through, that person said.
A deal could bring about a significant re-entry into the country for a onetime poker giant in the U.S. and much-needed investment for struggling Atlantic City, but it faces significant legal and regulatory hurdles.
This past August, PokerStars agreed to a $731 million settlement with the Justice Department, which had accused the company of bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling. The company, based in the Isle of Man, has denied wrongdoing and settled without admitting to any wrongdoing. The company's founder, Israeli entrepreneur Isai Scheinberg, remains under indictment on related criminal charges.
Mr. Scheinberg has remained out of the country and hasn't been arrested. Under terms of the settlement, he stepped down from management duties but is allowed to remain an adviser. His son is now the chairman of PokerStars and manages the company's operations. The company hasn't disclosed whether the elder Mr. Scheinberg retains equity or other details of its ownership structure, but one person familiar with the matter said the elder Mr. Scheinberg isn't an owner.
People familiar with the deal say it hinges in part on a bill in the New Jersey legislature that would legalize online gambling in that state—but only for gamblers in New Jersey and on sites operated by Atlantic City casinos. Supporters expect both houses of the state legislature to vote on that bill before the end of the year.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a similar bill in 2011. He indicated this year that he is open to signing an Internet gambling bill with proper protections but has also expressed skepticism that it is constitutional without a public vote.
PokerStars developed into the world's biggest poker company in part by continuing to take bets in the U.S. long after most other major online-poker companies cleared out of the country due to the federal government's stance that taking bets was illegal.
The company said it didn't believe federal law prohibited online-poker operations. It has licenses that allows it to operate legally in other countries, such as the U.K.
It built up significant brand recognition in the U.S. by promoting famous poker players and sponsoring poker television programming on a major broadcast network. The company stopped taking bets in the U.S. after it was sued by the Justice Department in April 2011.
The settlement reached this year with the federal government states that nothing in it precludes PokerStars from re-entering the U.S. under a legal online-poker system. PokerStars also now has the ability to operate under another major poker brand—Full Tilt Poker—that it acquired as part of the settlement.
"Those provisions clearly permit PokerStars to offer real-money play under a licensed regulatory scheme provided by a state and participate in New Jersey," Jeff Ifrah, an attorney for PokerStars, said Thursday.
The online gambling bill in the New Jersey legislature was recently amended to allow companies like PokerStars that had recently operated in the U.S. to participate in online gambling, but the company would still have to receive a license from New Jersey gambling regulators.
People involved in the discussions for PokerStars to enter New Jersey say representatives for the company have discussed their interest with state gambling regulators and believe they have gotten an initial indication that the company and its executives could be licensed. These people said they believe that Mr. Scheinberg, the indicted founder, wouldn't have to receive a license.
A spokeswoman from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement wouldn't comment on whether regulators have discussed the plan.
"If a deal is reached and application made by any persons expressing interest in the Atlantic City market and its related activities, a rigorous investigation of any company and all principals will be conducted," said Lisa Spengler, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
A deal enabling PokerStars to offer online poker in New Jersey could disrupt current planning for the online poker market in the U.S. due to PokerStars' status as an established brand for online poker. Several major casino companies, such as Caesars Entertainment Corp. CZR +16.03% that owns the popular World Series of Poker brand, also hope to offer online poker. The outlook for the market, however, is still unclear. So far only Nevada has created a regulated online poker environment, with bets limited to people within the state. Several other states, such as California, are also considering online poker legislation. Some key U.S. senators are also pushing to pass a bill by the end of the year in the U.S. Congress that would allow casinos to operate online poker in states that agree to it, but their efforts are seen as a long shot.
In New Jersey, proponents of a state online gambling system have long argued that the bill would create a shot of much-needed investment into a struggling market and could help save jobs by allowing another business opportunity for those who own casinos.
Atlantic City gambling revenues have declined for the last few years as other states around it have added casinos, and the recent hurricane, which made landfall in Atlantic City, made matters worse despite minimal physical damage.
The Atlantic Club lost $13.6 million on i
The online-poker giant is discussing a deal to buy the struggling Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, formerly the Atlantic City Hilton, from investment firm Colony Capital, several people familiar with the matter said. One of these people said the purchase price being negotiated is less than $50 million. The deal is still weeks away from coming together and could still fall through, that person said.
A deal could bring about a significant re-entry into the country for a onetime poker giant in the U.S. and much-needed investment for struggling Atlantic City, but it faces significant legal and regulatory hurdles.
This past August, PokerStars agreed to a $731 million settlement with the Justice Department, which had accused the company of bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling. The company, based in the Isle of Man, has denied wrongdoing and settled without admitting to any wrongdoing. The company's founder, Israeli entrepreneur Isai Scheinberg, remains under indictment on related criminal charges.
Mr. Scheinberg has remained out of the country and hasn't been arrested. Under terms of the settlement, he stepped down from management duties but is allowed to remain an adviser. His son is now the chairman of PokerStars and manages the company's operations. The company hasn't disclosed whether the elder Mr. Scheinberg retains equity or other details of its ownership structure, but one person familiar with the matter said the elder Mr. Scheinberg isn't an owner.
People familiar with the deal say it hinges in part on a bill in the New Jersey legislature that would legalize online gambling in that state—but only for gamblers in New Jersey and on sites operated by Atlantic City casinos. Supporters expect both houses of the state legislature to vote on that bill before the end of the year.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a similar bill in 2011. He indicated this year that he is open to signing an Internet gambling bill with proper protections but has also expressed skepticism that it is constitutional without a public vote.
PokerStars developed into the world's biggest poker company in part by continuing to take bets in the U.S. long after most other major online-poker companies cleared out of the country due to the federal government's stance that taking bets was illegal.
The company said it didn't believe federal law prohibited online-poker operations. It has licenses that allows it to operate legally in other countries, such as the U.K.
It built up significant brand recognition in the U.S. by promoting famous poker players and sponsoring poker television programming on a major broadcast network. The company stopped taking bets in the U.S. after it was sued by the Justice Department in April 2011.
The settlement reached this year with the federal government states that nothing in it precludes PokerStars from re-entering the U.S. under a legal online-poker system. PokerStars also now has the ability to operate under another major poker brand—Full Tilt Poker—that it acquired as part of the settlement.
"Those provisions clearly permit PokerStars to offer real-money play under a licensed regulatory scheme provided by a state and participate in New Jersey," Jeff Ifrah, an attorney for PokerStars, said Thursday.
The online gambling bill in the New Jersey legislature was recently amended to allow companies like PokerStars that had recently operated in the U.S. to participate in online gambling, but the company would still have to receive a license from New Jersey gambling regulators.
People involved in the discussions for PokerStars to enter New Jersey say representatives for the company have discussed their interest with state gambling regulators and believe they have gotten an initial indication that the company and its executives could be licensed. These people said they believe that Mr. Scheinberg, the indicted founder, wouldn't have to receive a license.
A spokeswoman from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement wouldn't comment on whether regulators have discussed the plan.
"If a deal is reached and application made by any persons expressing interest in the Atlantic City market and its related activities, a rigorous investigation of any company and all principals will be conducted," said Lisa Spengler, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
A deal enabling PokerStars to offer online poker in New Jersey could disrupt current planning for the online poker market in the U.S. due to PokerStars' status as an established brand for online poker. Several major casino companies, such as Caesars Entertainment Corp. CZR +16.03% that owns the popular World Series of Poker brand, also hope to offer online poker. The outlook for the market, however, is still unclear. So far only Nevada has created a regulated online poker environment, with bets limited to people within the state. Several other states, such as California, are also considering online poker legislation. Some key U.S. senators are also pushing to pass a bill by the end of the year in the U.S. Congress that would allow casinos to operate online poker in states that agree to it, but their efforts are seen as a long shot.
In New Jersey, proponents of a state online gambling system have long argued that the bill would create a shot of much-needed investment into a struggling market and could help save jobs by allowing another business opportunity for those who own casinos.
Atlantic City gambling revenues have declined for the last few years as other states around it have added casinos, and the recent hurricane, which made landfall in Atlantic City, made matters worse despite minimal physical damage.
The Atlantic Club lost $13.6 million on i
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
The American Gaming Association (AGA) issued a press release on Monday, announcing that it will launch a campaign to exert pressure on the US Congress to legalize and regulate the US online poker industry at the earliest possible. The AGA has expressed its support for the general provisions in the draft online poker bill recently agreed upon by Senators Jon Kyl and Harry Reid. If the bill is made law, online poker will be legalized in the US while all other forms of online gambling will be rendered illegal. However, the bill’s chances of being passed through the lame duck session are very slim.
The release states, “Without Congressional action, the U.S. is poised to see widespread legalization of all types of online gambling and a state-by-state patchwork of regulations that puts gaming patrons, problem gamblers and minors at unnecessary risk. The AGA effort encourages Congress to introduce and pass a bill and includes the release of an informational video, an outreach campaign to educate lawmakers and other stakeholders, and a combination of earned and social media to increase awareness of the issue.”
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) had, in December, announced that the Federal Wire Act of 1961 has been re-interpreted to mean that only sports betting is considered illegal, not other forms of online gambling such as casino, bingo, and poker. Individual US states grabbed this opportunity to regulate online poker and casino gaming in their respective territories.
The AGA opines that US states ought to be given the freedom to decide if they should legalize and regulate online poker. Simultaneously, it points that a federal regulatory framework is also essential to check various gambling-related problems. The AGA feels that the passage of this bill will lead to the creation of a federal regulatory framework for online poker, which can be referred to by individual states.
AGA CEO and President Frank J. Fahrenkopf said, “Without swift congressional action, the U.S. will soon see the largest expansion of legal gambling in its history. And without any federal guidelines in place, the result will almost certainly be inadequate oversight that creates a world of unnecessary risk and problems for law enforcement and U.S. consumers.”
For the rest of the Congress’ current session, the AGA will urge legislators to support the cause of legalizing and regulating US online poker. The association will also use conventional news outlets and social media to enhance public awareness.
AGA to Launch Campaign for US Poker Regulation
The release states, “Without Congressional action, the U.S. is poised to see widespread legalization of all types of online gambling and a state-by-state patchwork of regulations that puts gaming patrons, problem gamblers and minors at unnecessary risk. The AGA effort encourages Congress to introduce and pass a bill and includes the release of an informational video, an outreach campaign to educate lawmakers and other stakeholders, and a combination of earned and social media to increase awareness of the issue.”
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) had, in December, announced that the Federal Wire Act of 1961 has been re-interpreted to mean that only sports betting is considered illegal, not other forms of online gambling such as casino, bingo, and poker. Individual US states grabbed this opportunity to regulate online poker and casino gaming in their respective territories.
The AGA opines that US states ought to be given the freedom to decide if they should legalize and regulate online poker. Simultaneously, it points that a federal regulatory framework is also essential to check various gambling-related problems. The AGA feels that the passage of this bill will lead to the creation of a federal regulatory framework for online poker, which can be referred to by individual states.
AGA CEO and President Frank J. Fahrenkopf said, “Without swift congressional action, the U.S. will soon see the largest expansion of legal gambling in its history. And without any federal guidelines in place, the result will almost certainly be inadequate oversight that creates a world of unnecessary risk and problems for law enforcement and U.S. consumers.”
For the rest of the Congress’ current session, the AGA will urge legislators to support the cause of legalizing and regulating US online poker. The association will also use conventional news outlets and social media to enhance public awareness.
AGA to Launch Campaign for US Poker Regulation
Join:
2006/12/07
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29893
The regulatory body in Nevada has tentatively approved Caesars Interactive Entertainment’s application to launch online poker services in Nevada. Caesars has plans to establish a real money World Series of Poker (WSOP) room in Nevada. Nevada has already licensed 12 online poker operators to launch online poker sites and 5 companies to offer online poker related services. However, nobody is sure when exactly online poker services will be launched in Nevada.
South Point Poker, which was the first to get an online poker license, was expected to be the first online poker room in Nevada. Unfortunately, this was not to be as there were too many hiccups in negotiations and software testing procedures. South Point Poker, however, is busy making the required preparations to launch its online poker business in Nevada. Recently, the poker operator advertised 17 posts related to its new online poker product in areas such as site operations, security, marketing, and compliance.
South Poker Point had also pulled down the shutter of its old free online poker site and intends to redirect its old free poker players to its new real money online poker site as soon as it is launched. The new South Point Poker site will be run on a different software platform.
According to a report published in the Las Vegas Review Journal, Caesars expects to launch its online poker services early in 2013. Caesars got its preliminary approval two weeks after Treasure Island and Hard Rock Hotel and Casino submitted applications for online poker licenses. Caesars’ legal representative said that the online poker product will run under the name of WSOP.
Just before the incidents of Black Friday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGC😎 had approved Caesar’s partnership deal with 888 Holdings. The two companies already operate real money WSOP rooms in the European market. 888 Holdings recently announced that its relationship with Caesars has been strengthened; and accordingly, Caesars will launch online poker services on 888’s software platform as soon as US online poker is regulated either at the state or federal level.
According to the partnership deal between 888 Holding’s and Caesars Entertainment, 888 Holdings has been supplying required infrastructure and software to enable Caesars to run its real money WSOP sites in the UK for the past 3 years. 888 Holdings Deputy Chairman Brian Mattingley said, “We are delighted to be extending our relationship with [Caesars] into the much-anticipated US market.”
Nevada Approves Caesars
South Point Poker, which was the first to get an online poker license, was expected to be the first online poker room in Nevada. Unfortunately, this was not to be as there were too many hiccups in negotiations and software testing procedures. South Point Poker, however, is busy making the required preparations to launch its online poker business in Nevada. Recently, the poker operator advertised 17 posts related to its new online poker product in areas such as site operations, security, marketing, and compliance.
South Poker Point had also pulled down the shutter of its old free online poker site and intends to redirect its old free poker players to its new real money online poker site as soon as it is launched. The new South Point Poker site will be run on a different software platform.
According to a report published in the Las Vegas Review Journal, Caesars expects to launch its online poker services early in 2013. Caesars got its preliminary approval two weeks after Treasure Island and Hard Rock Hotel and Casino submitted applications for online poker licenses. Caesars’ legal representative said that the online poker product will run under the name of WSOP.
Just before the incidents of Black Friday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGC😎 had approved Caesar’s partnership deal with 888 Holdings. The two companies already operate real money WSOP rooms in the European market. 888 Holdings recently announced that its relationship with Caesars has been strengthened; and accordingly, Caesars will launch online poker services on 888’s software platform as soon as US online poker is regulated either at the state or federal level.
According to the partnership deal between 888 Holding’s and Caesars Entertainment, 888 Holdings has been supplying required infrastructure and software to enable Caesars to run its real money WSOP sites in the UK for the past 3 years. 888 Holdings Deputy Chairman Brian Mattingley said, “We are delighted to be extending our relationship with [Caesars] into the much-anticipated US market.”
Nevada Approves Caesars
Join:
2006/12/07
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29893
Artyem Perlov has won the DeepStacks Poker Tour Mohegan Sun National Championship, after defeating a field of 251 players over four days to lift the title, and collect the $108,864 first place prize (after a deal was struck).
The $2,500 buy-in tournament in Fort Lee, NJ attracted a whole slew of amateurs and pros alike to create a prize pool worth $559,981. Amongst the notable names competing was Vanessa Selbst, Michael Mizrachi, Mike Matusow, Allen Kessler, Tristan Wade, Chip Jett and Vinny Pahuja.
By the time the final table of six had been reached Andrew Sherman-Ash was the short-stack at the table but managed to double up holding Ah-Kh to David Stefanski’s pocket jacks. Soon after, Sherman-Ash (A-7) scored a double elimination in a preflop contest against Nicholas Palma (A-5) and Patrick Chan (A-Q). The board subsequently rolled out 7-5-4-8-9 to eliminate Nicholas Palma in 6th ($25,759) and Patrick Chan in 5th ($33,599), after which the remaining players struck a four-way deal with an extra $38,864 going to the eventual winner.
Next, Adam Bitker (A-7) dispatched a short-stacked David Stefanski (Q-10) to the rail in 4th ($70,000), but was then eliminated himself in 3rd ($70,000) after his pocket jacks ran into the pocket queens of Sherman-Ash.
As the heads-up phase of the competition got underway, the stacks were fairly even but 53 hands later it was all over with Sherman-Ash (Ah-10s) and Artyem Perlov (Ad-8h) all-in preflop. Fortune then favoured Perlov as the board fell 10d-4d-2d-3c-6d to relegate Sherman-Ash to a runner-up finish worth $100,000, while Artyem Perlov was crowned the champion.
The final table payouts were as follows:
1 Artyem Perlov $108,864
2 Andrew Sherman-Ash $100,000
3 Adam Bitker $70,000
4 David Stefanski $70,000
5 Patrick Chan $33,599
6 Nicholas Palma $25,759
Artyem Perlov Wins Mohegan Sun National Championship
The $2,500 buy-in tournament in Fort Lee, NJ attracted a whole slew of amateurs and pros alike to create a prize pool worth $559,981. Amongst the notable names competing was Vanessa Selbst, Michael Mizrachi, Mike Matusow, Allen Kessler, Tristan Wade, Chip Jett and Vinny Pahuja.
By the time the final table of six had been reached Andrew Sherman-Ash was the short-stack at the table but managed to double up holding Ah-Kh to David Stefanski’s pocket jacks. Soon after, Sherman-Ash (A-7) scored a double elimination in a preflop contest against Nicholas Palma (A-5) and Patrick Chan (A-Q). The board subsequently rolled out 7-5-4-8-9 to eliminate Nicholas Palma in 6th ($25,759) and Patrick Chan in 5th ($33,599), after which the remaining players struck a four-way deal with an extra $38,864 going to the eventual winner.
Next, Adam Bitker (A-7) dispatched a short-stacked David Stefanski (Q-10) to the rail in 4th ($70,000), but was then eliminated himself in 3rd ($70,000) after his pocket jacks ran into the pocket queens of Sherman-Ash.
As the heads-up phase of the competition got underway, the stacks were fairly even but 53 hands later it was all over with Sherman-Ash (Ah-10s) and Artyem Perlov (Ad-8h) all-in preflop. Fortune then favoured Perlov as the board fell 10d-4d-2d-3c-6d to relegate Sherman-Ash to a runner-up finish worth $100,000, while Artyem Perlov was crowned the champion.
The final table payouts were as follows:
1 Artyem Perlov $108,864
2 Andrew Sherman-Ash $100,000
3 Adam Bitker $70,000
4 David Stefanski $70,000
5 Patrick Chan $33,599
6 Nicholas Palma $25,759
Artyem Perlov Wins Mohegan Sun National Championship
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
Manne wrote:
Four months after PokerStars spent $731 million to settle a Justice Department lawsuit, it is in advanced talks to buy a casino in the hope that New Jersey gambling regulators will let it run online-poker games legally.
The online-poker giant is discussing a deal to buy the struggling Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, formerly the Atlantic City Hilton, from investment firm Colony Capital, several people familiar with the matter said. One of these people said the purchase price being negotiated is less than $50 million. The deal is still weeks away from coming together and could still fall through, that person said.
A deal could bring about a significant re-entry into the country for a onetime poker giant in the U.S. and much-needed investment for struggling Atlantic City, but it faces significant legal and regulatory hurdles.
This past August, PokerStars agreed to a $731 million settlement with the Justice Department, which had accused the company of bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling. The company, based in the Isle of Man, has denied wrongdoing and settled without admitting to any wrongdoing. The company's founder, Israeli entrepreneur Isai Scheinberg, remains under indictment on related criminal charges.
Mr. Scheinberg has remained out of the country and hasn't been arrested. Under terms of the settlement, he stepped down from management duties but is allowed to remain an adviser. His son is now the chairman of PokerStars and manages the company's operations. The company hasn't disclosed whether the elder Mr. Scheinberg retains equity or other details of its ownership structure, but one person familiar with the matter said the elder Mr. Scheinberg isn't an owner.
People familiar with the deal say it hinges in part on a bill in the New Jersey legislature that would legalize online gambling in that state—but only for gamblers in New Jersey and on sites operated by Atlantic City casinos. Supporters expect both houses of the state legislature to vote on that bill before the end of the year.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a similar bill in 2011. He indicated this year that he is open to signing an Internet gambling bill with proper protections but has also expressed skepticism that it is constitutional without a public vote.
PokerStars developed into the world's biggest poker company in part by continuing to take bets in the U.S. long after most other major online-poker companies cleared out of the country due to the federal government's stance that taking bets was illegal.
The company said it didn't believe federal law prohibited online-poker operations. It has licenses that allows it to operate legally in other countries, such as the U.K.
It built up significant brand recognition in the U.S. by promoting famous poker players and sponsoring poker television programming on a major broadcast network. The company stopped taking bets in the U.S. after it was sued by the Justice Department in April 2011.
The settlement reached this year with the federal government states that nothing in it precludes PokerStars from re-entering the U.S. under a legal online-poker system. PokerStars also now has the ability to operate under another major poker brand—Full Tilt Poker—that it acquired as part of the settlement.
"Those provisions clearly permit PokerStars to offer real-money play under a licensed regulatory scheme provided by a state and participate in New Jersey," Jeff Ifrah, an attorney for PokerStars, said Thursday.
The online gambling bill in the New Jersey legislature was recently amended to allow companies like PokerStars that had recently operated in the U.S. to participate in online gambling, but the company would still have to receive a license from New Jersey gambling regulators.
People involved in the discussions for PokerStars to enter New Jersey say representatives for the company have discussed their interest with state gambling regulators and believe they have gotten an initial indication that the company and its executives could be licensed. These people said they believe that Mr. Scheinberg, the indicted founder, wouldn't have to receive a license.
A spokeswoman from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement wouldn't comment on whether regulators have discussed the plan.
"If a deal is reached and application made by any persons expressing interest in the Atlantic City market and its related activities, a rigorous investigation of any company and all principals will be conducted," said Lisa Spengler, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
A deal enabling PokerStars to offer online poker in New Jersey could disrupt current planning for the online poker market in the U.S. due to PokerStars' status as an established brand for online poker. Several major casino companies, such as Caesars Entertainment Corp. CZR +16.03% that owns the popular World Series of Poker brand, also hope to offer online poker. The outlook for the market, however, is still unclear. So far only Nevada has created a regulated online poker environment, with bets limited to people within the state. Several other states, such as California, are also considering online poker legislation. Some key U.S. senators are also pushing to pass a bill by the end of the year in the U.S. Congress that would allow casinos to operate online poker in states that agree to it, but their efforts are seen as a long shot.
In New Jersey, proponents of a state online gambling system have long argued that the bill would create a shot of much-needed investment into a struggling market and could help save jobs by allowing another business opportunity for those who own casinos.
Atlantic City gambling revenues have declined for the last few years as other states around it have added casinos, and the recent hurricane, which made landfall in Atlantic City, made matters worse despite minimal physical damage.
The Atlantic Club lost $13.6 million on i
That would be very interesting!!
Join:
2006/12/11
Messages:
1758
The “fiscal cliff” debate in Congress could open an opportunity for federal legalization of Internet poker in the United States, supporters say.
The American Gaming Association, a casino industry group, this week renewed its campaign for a bill that would legalize online poker, but restrict other forms of Internet gambling.
“A lot of people are pushing all they can to try to get it done this year,” says John Pappas, executive director of Poker Players Alliance. “For a federal bill, I don’t think this is a last chance, but it’s the best chance we’ve had so far.” The alliance prefers federal regulation but does not oppose a state-by-state approach.
The North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, which represents legal lotteries in the United States and Canada, opposes the restriction on games other than poker. Officials of several state lotteries will go to Washington next week to lobby against the bill. Although no one from the Pennsylvania Lottery will be involved, the delegation will represent the state’s interests, lottery spokesman Gary Miller says.
The action comes almost a year after the federal Justice Department opened the door to legal online gaming in the United States with an opinion that Internet sales of lottery tickets — and other forms of legal gambling within a state, except for sports betting — are permissible under the federal Wire Act. That reversed the department’s previous stance.
A bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Whip John Kyl, R-Ariz., would allow online sales of lottery tickets but prohibit lotteries from expanding into Internet slot machines and table games.
“If Congress doesn’t act in the lame duck session, we will face the largest expansion of gambling in this country in our nation’s history,” American Gaming Association president and CEO Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. tells Player’s Advantage. “You’re going to see state after state, all hungry for revenue, going ahead and trying to license and get involved in online gaming.”
Under the Reid-Kyl bill, the federal Commerce Department would regulate games offered by Native American tribes, and states with long experience in gaming oversight — for example, Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi or Illinois — would regulate offerings by commercial casinos for at least two years. The bill would set minimum standards for consumer protection, prevention of gambling by minors and help for compulsive gamblers.
“The legal gaming industry depends on integrity,” Fahrenkopf says. “The integrity has to be provided by tough regulation with law- enforcement oversight.”
Even if federal regulation of online gambling is passed this session, legal Internet play in the United States still might be a year or two away, he predicts. If not, the online rush could start as soon as January.
Pappas says the 15-month wait proposed in Reid-Kyl is too long. The alliance wants the system up and running sooner and provisions that allow play across jurisdictions, including internationally. The group also wants licensing opened to a variety of operators, including tribes, lotteries and private Internet companies such as Google and Yahoo.
Our feeling is that the more competitors, the better,” Pappas says.
Pappas says the potential expansion of online gaming through lotteries and the states has many in Washington concerned.
Nevada has approved an online-gaming structure, and a Delaware law allows that state lottery to offer online slot machines plus poker, roulette, blackjack and other games.
An October report by GamblingCompliance, a research firm with offices in Washington, D.C., and London, says online-gaming proposals have failed this year in six states, including Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. The Pennsylvania proposal was withdrawn shortly after introduction, the report says.
Fahrenkopf says a state-by-state approach would lead to “a patchwork quilt” of regulations.
“We’re not talking about regulating picking up the ping-pong balls that come out twice a week,” he says. “We’re talking about very sophisticated operations.”
The lottery association says states are “uniquely qualified” to regulate gambling within their borders, and federal regulation would mean a costly and duplicative licensing bureaucracy.
“Each state should continue to determine the games offered as well as the manner in which they are delivered to their players, even if that is on the Internet,” Executive Director David Gale says in an email.
Online scratch-off tickets are a natural evolution, but states would decide whether they could be sold, he says.
“Lotteries have for years offered games that are secure, so there is no reason to think that we couldn’t continue,” he says. “The integrity of lottery games is of the utmost importance and will continue to be. Players must feel that the games bring offered by each state are secure.”
Read more: Online poker bill might get a shot in Congress | TribLIVE
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The American Gaming Association, a casino industry group, this week renewed its campaign for a bill that would legalize online poker, but restrict other forms of Internet gambling.
“A lot of people are pushing all they can to try to get it done this year,” says John Pappas, executive director of Poker Players Alliance. “For a federal bill, I don’t think this is a last chance, but it’s the best chance we’ve had so far.” The alliance prefers federal regulation but does not oppose a state-by-state approach.
The North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, which represents legal lotteries in the United States and Canada, opposes the restriction on games other than poker. Officials of several state lotteries will go to Washington next week to lobby against the bill. Although no one from the Pennsylvania Lottery will be involved, the delegation will represent the state’s interests, lottery spokesman Gary Miller says.
The action comes almost a year after the federal Justice Department opened the door to legal online gaming in the United States with an opinion that Internet sales of lottery tickets — and other forms of legal gambling within a state, except for sports betting — are permissible under the federal Wire Act. That reversed the department’s previous stance.
A bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Whip John Kyl, R-Ariz., would allow online sales of lottery tickets but prohibit lotteries from expanding into Internet slot machines and table games.
“If Congress doesn’t act in the lame duck session, we will face the largest expansion of gambling in this country in our nation’s history,” American Gaming Association president and CEO Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. tells Player’s Advantage. “You’re going to see state after state, all hungry for revenue, going ahead and trying to license and get involved in online gaming.”
Under the Reid-Kyl bill, the federal Commerce Department would regulate games offered by Native American tribes, and states with long experience in gaming oversight — for example, Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi or Illinois — would regulate offerings by commercial casinos for at least two years. The bill would set minimum standards for consumer protection, prevention of gambling by minors and help for compulsive gamblers.
“The legal gaming industry depends on integrity,” Fahrenkopf says. “The integrity has to be provided by tough regulation with law- enforcement oversight.”
Even if federal regulation of online gambling is passed this session, legal Internet play in the United States still might be a year or two away, he predicts. If not, the online rush could start as soon as January.
Pappas says the 15-month wait proposed in Reid-Kyl is too long. The alliance wants the system up and running sooner and provisions that allow play across jurisdictions, including internationally. The group also wants licensing opened to a variety of operators, including tribes, lotteries and private Internet companies such as Google and Yahoo.
Our feeling is that the more competitors, the better,” Pappas says.
Pappas says the potential expansion of online gaming through lotteries and the states has many in Washington concerned.
Nevada has approved an online-gaming structure, and a Delaware law allows that state lottery to offer online slot machines plus poker, roulette, blackjack and other games.
An October report by GamblingCompliance, a research firm with offices in Washington, D.C., and London, says online-gaming proposals have failed this year in six states, including Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. The Pennsylvania proposal was withdrawn shortly after introduction, the report says.
Fahrenkopf says a state-by-state approach would lead to “a patchwork quilt” of regulations.
“We’re not talking about regulating picking up the ping-pong balls that come out twice a week,” he says. “We’re talking about very sophisticated operations.”
The lottery association says states are “uniquely qualified” to regulate gambling within their borders, and federal regulation would mean a costly and duplicative licensing bureaucracy.
“Each state should continue to determine the games offered as well as the manner in which they are delivered to their players, even if that is on the Internet,” Executive Director David Gale says in an email.
Online scratch-off tickets are a natural evolution, but states would decide whether they could be sold, he says.
“Lotteries have for years offered games that are secure, so there is no reason to think that we couldn’t continue,” he says. “The integrity of lottery games is of the utmost importance and will continue to be. Players must feel that the games bring offered by each state are secure.”
Read more: Online poker bill might get a shot in Congress | TribLIVE
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2006/12/07
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29893
Ask any online poker player about the infamous Black Friday of 2011 and I’m pretty sure they can and will have an explanation as to what it is and how it personally has affected them in one way or another.
For PokerStars, Black Friday affected them with legal troubles with the DoJ to say the least, but have since moved past that dire situation and onto the acquisition of the once fallen Full Tilt Poker.
Since the settlement with the DoJ for continuing its prohibited online-poker operations according to U.S. federal law, PokerStars has nothing holding it back from re-entering the U.S. under a legal online-poker system.
In just a short four month period after its settlement, PokerStars is now said to be in talks to acquire the struggling Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, formerly the Atlantic City Hilton, from investment firm Colony Capital for an estimated $50 million.
Although the deal could make it possible for the online poker room to re-enter the U.S. market, nothing is set in stone and those close to this current move still has reservations as to if or win this deal will actually pan through.
New Jersey’s online gambling bill was recently amended to allow online operators such as PokerStars, that had recently operated in the U.S. to participate in online gambling, however before that can happen, PokerStars is required to have a license issued from New Jersey gambling regulators.
“Those provisions clearly permit PokerStars to offer real-money play under a licensed regulatory scheme provided by a state and participate in New Jersey,” Jeff Ifrah, an attorney for PokerStars, said Thursday.
Although PokerStars seems to have a plan to step ahead into the U.S. market once online poker becomes regulated, this latest step might be halted by those who feel strongly against the poker room returning to the states as the company’s founder, Isai Scheinberg, remains under indictment and out of the U.S.
But in the end, I have a feeling that doubters will be hard pressed to derail the full steam roller we know as PokerStars off its current course into the U.S. online poker market.
PokerStars Still on Move into U.S. Online Poker with NJ Casino | CS Report
For PokerStars, Black Friday affected them with legal troubles with the DoJ to say the least, but have since moved past that dire situation and onto the acquisition of the once fallen Full Tilt Poker.
Since the settlement with the DoJ for continuing its prohibited online-poker operations according to U.S. federal law, PokerStars has nothing holding it back from re-entering the U.S. under a legal online-poker system.
In just a short four month period after its settlement, PokerStars is now said to be in talks to acquire the struggling Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, formerly the Atlantic City Hilton, from investment firm Colony Capital for an estimated $50 million.
Although the deal could make it possible for the online poker room to re-enter the U.S. market, nothing is set in stone and those close to this current move still has reservations as to if or win this deal will actually pan through.
New Jersey’s online gambling bill was recently amended to allow online operators such as PokerStars, that had recently operated in the U.S. to participate in online gambling, however before that can happen, PokerStars is required to have a license issued from New Jersey gambling regulators.
“Those provisions clearly permit PokerStars to offer real-money play under a licensed regulatory scheme provided by a state and participate in New Jersey,” Jeff Ifrah, an attorney for PokerStars, said Thursday.
Although PokerStars seems to have a plan to step ahead into the U.S. market once online poker becomes regulated, this latest step might be halted by those who feel strongly against the poker room returning to the states as the company’s founder, Isai Scheinberg, remains under indictment and out of the U.S.
But in the end, I have a feeling that doubters will be hard pressed to derail the full steam roller we know as PokerStars off its current course into the U.S. online poker market.
PokerStars Still on Move into U.S. Online Poker with NJ Casino | CS Report
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2006/12/07
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In April 2011, the U.S. government shut down major online poker operations in the country. Online poker in the U.S. hit rock bottom, with no timetable for return.
But it appears that online poker sites are not ready to give up on the lucrative U.S. market. PokerStars, the largest online poker site, will reportedly purchase the Atlantic Club casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Buying the casino will give PokerStars a path to legal, online poker in the U.S. There are efforts in New Jersey to pass legislation to regulate online poker. But it has been a struggle. In March 2011, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have legalized online gambling in the state. However, PokerStars must believe that online poker is coming, and they want to be in New.
Zynga, the social networking games site, is making a similar move in Nevada. Zynga recently applied for a license with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Zynga is hoping to offer real money games to its 33.7 million online poker players.
If PokerStars or Zynga is successful, the online poker floodgates will open in the U.S. Casinos in Atlantic City have been waiting to flip the switch and go live with online poker. The recent moves by PokerStars and Zynga could mean that online poker in the U.S. is close. Online poker would be legal, and it would become bigger than ever.
Online poker may reenter the U.S. market, legally - Newark Computers | Examiner-com
But it appears that online poker sites are not ready to give up on the lucrative U.S. market. PokerStars, the largest online poker site, will reportedly purchase the Atlantic Club casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Buying the casino will give PokerStars a path to legal, online poker in the U.S. There are efforts in New Jersey to pass legislation to regulate online poker. But it has been a struggle. In March 2011, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have legalized online gambling in the state. However, PokerStars must believe that online poker is coming, and they want to be in New.
Zynga, the social networking games site, is making a similar move in Nevada. Zynga recently applied for a license with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Zynga is hoping to offer real money games to its 33.7 million online poker players.
If PokerStars or Zynga is successful, the online poker floodgates will open in the U.S. Casinos in Atlantic City have been waiting to flip the switch and go live with online poker. The recent moves by PokerStars and Zynga could mean that online poker in the U.S. is close. Online poker would be legal, and it would become bigger than ever.
Online poker may reenter the U.S. market, legally - Newark Computers | Examiner-com
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
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One example of a successful offering in the online poker world is Switch Poker which started giving patrons the option of Bitcoin currency about a year ago. The poker room has stepped it up a notch and will be offering a Bitcoin only sector. This move is in response to those players who are devotees of the virtual currency who wanted to be able to leave there accounts in Bitcoin money to play.
Online gaming sites are not the only business converting to the optional currency. Recently the popular WordPress online publishing service announced it would begin accepting Bitcoin as payment for various upgrades. Andy Skelton a spokesperson for WordPress said, “PayPal alone blocks access from over 60 countries and many credit card companies have similar restrictions … “
The idea that BItcoins are safer because they are not connected to the gold standard currency world is disputed by some who think that Bitcoin is destined to fail. Another online poker operator Infiniti Poker a new start up on the web uses Bitcoin to offer US players a way to get paid. Michael Hajduk Infiniti Poker founder said while speaking to PokerFuse “In the worst case scenario, if [the US Department of Justice] seize our domain name your Bitcoins will be safe because there’s no central authority controlling the currency.” The virtual world needs its own money and the Bitcoin seems to be fitting in nicely.
Bitcoin Virtual Currency Newest Online Poker Payment Option