Posts Tagged ‘legal’
Poker News in Brief: March 1-7, 2010
Between the LAPC and WPT Invitational winners, Isildur1 getting busy online and the start of the NBC National Heads-Up Championship there was nary a dull moment for poker fans.
As usual, we’re going to list some of the poker stories you might have missed as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature.
This week we’re going to take a look at online gambling in Iowa, a WSOP all-star game, Roland de Wolfe winning a London tournament and more.
Legal Online Gambling in Iowa?
Iowa is the latest U.S. state apparently looking at legalizing online gambling.
Rep. Doug Struyk of Council Bluffs told the Quad City Times that 50,000 people in Iowa already participate in online gambling and the government could provide better protection for them if the industry was legalized and regulated.
Struyk’s proposal would regulate the practice through the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
If the proposal goes through Iowa would become the first state in the country to allow online gambling.
Tiger Woods Turns Down Paddy Poker Deal
Many of Tiger Woods major sponsors have dropped him since his sex scandal broke but at least one online poker room seems to have no problem with the golfer.
Ireland-based Paddy Power Poker reportedly offered the disgraced sports star a five-year deal worth $75 million to represent the site.
Although Woods has already turned the offer down, Paddy Power Poker has claimed it is planning on coming back with an even better offer in the future.
It’s not the first time a poker organization has offered a deal to a fallen sports star. Last summer the Asian Poker Tour invited Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps to its Macau event.
A picture of Phelps holding a bong surfaced on the internet in early 2009, which led to several sponsors dropping the multiple gold-medalist.
Check Paddy Power Poker for more.
Roland de Wolfe Wins London Open
Full Tilt pro Roland de Wolfe outlasted 110 players to win the 2010 Mansion Poker Les A London Open last week.
De Wolfe overcame a final table of mostly unknown players to win the £77,000 first place prize. The Hendon Mob’s Ross Boatman came in eighth place for £6,600.
The inaugural £2,000+£200 buy-in Mansion Poker Les A London Open ran February 23-24.
WSOP to Introduce All-Star Tournament?
It appears Harrah’s is interested in hosting some form of an all-star tournament at the 2010 WSOP.
Harrah’s released a cryptic message via the WSOP Twitter account this week that read:
“Which 20 WSOP Bracelet-Holders would you like to see compete in an All-Star game? Stay tuned…”
Last summer the WSOP held the 40th Anniversary Champions Invitational, which was open to every player that had won the Main Event. The tournament was won by 1983 World Champion Tom McEvoy.
In previous years, Harrah’s held a Tournament of Champions that featured a large number of notable pros. Annie Duke, Mike Matusow, and Mike Sexton were all winners of that event.
More Gold for Cake Poker Players in March
Cake Poker is giving its players two exclusive promotions during the month of March.
The first is the Cake Poker Turbo Gold Cards March Madness event that features Gold Cards dropping four times more often.
Gold Cards randomly appear in your account when you are playing ring games on Cake Poker. The cards are redeemable for cash or tournament entries depending on what card you receive.
Cake Poker will also be offering more satellites to the 2010 Irish Open, starting March 14.
"Dublin is a wonderful town and when you bring a major tournament there with the accompanying insane side action, it's hard to beat,” said Cake Poker room manager Lee Jones.
To learn more visit the Cake Poker website.
Visit PokerListings.com
Tags: 2009, 2010, aced, Annie Duke, cake poker, legal, legalizing, Mansion Poker, Online Poker, poker player, tournament, WSOP
Poker Predictions for 2010 by Mike Sexton
2009 was an amazing poker year. The first thing that jumps out at me is the continuing trend of young guys doing so well in live events. The two biggest events of the year were won by 21 year-olds. Yevgeniy Timoshenko captured the World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship and Joe Cada won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. They were the youngest players to ever win those events. By now, you must recognize that internet poker has developed a tremendous crux of terrific poker players and they continue to prove themselves in the biggest live events in the world.
I carried the torch for the old guys in 2009, the highlight being my induction into the Poker Hall of Fame on November 7th. The Poker Hall of Fame is the one area in poker that old guys have a big edge.
I am happy to point out that two well-known, experienced, high-stakes players had the best WSOP in 2009. Three bracelets and the best all-around player award went to Jeff Lisandro and poker superstar Phil Ivey won two bracelets and made the final table of the Main Event. You have to salute both those guys.
A real buzz was created in 2009 by the nosebleed high-stakes games online. It's difficult to follow the swings these guys take, which amounted to millions of dollars per week. These guys have moxy (a polite way of saying “balls”) that is hard to believe.
It's always exciting to think about what's ahead for the poker world. Here are some things I believe will happen in 2010:
1. The young guys will continue to dominate the big events in poker. I say that because the big events take at least four or five days to play and I believe the younger guys can handle those long, tough, consecutive sessions better than the older guys. Generally speaking, when stamina plays a role in something, young guys fare better.
2. The direction of online poker will finally come out of the "gray area." I believe that legislation will finally come forth in some fashion, so we'll know whether or not online poker will become regulated. If it's not on the federal level, I believe you'll see individual states, starting with California, attempt to legislate and regulate online poker.
3. More countries around the world will individually regulate online poker like Italy and France are doing. For those who may not know, those countries are legalizing online poker, but you can only play against players from your own country. This is the model I believe that individual U.S. states will follow.
4. The WPT will expand its brand worldwide with more live tournaments in more countries around the world. Party Gaming purchased the WPT, which bodes well for poker players around the world. Players can qualify online for these events at PartyPoker.com and, hopefully, other sites as well.
5. The enforcement of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) will come to an end.
6. Here's a good thing: Far more money will be raised through poker charity events than has been in the past. PokerGives.org is designating September "Poker Charity Month," where numerous live casinos as well as online sites will hold charity events for PokerGives.org. In my mind, benefiting worthwhile charities is a big plus for the entire poker industry and players, management, and casinos should all do more to support charity events.
7. Two players will win two bracelets at the 2010 WSOP and no one will win three. I don't know who they will be, but I know who I'd bet on to do it.
8. I'm afraid that the trend will continue for women on the WPT. They won't win a $10,000 buy-in or higher event in 2010. There just aren't enough aggressive women in poker to favor them winning a WPT event. Incidentally, I hope I'm wrong about this prediction. Go ladies!
9. Two people will be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2010. The top candidates are Erik Seidel, Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, and Tom McEvoy. Who do you like?
10. Championship poker events will continue to thrive and television will continue to play a major role in bringing more players into the poker world.
Best of luck to everyone in 2010!
Tags: 2009, 2010, Barry Greenstein, charity, Daniel Negreanu, ladies, legal, legalizing, Online Poker, Phil Ivey, poker player, tournament, women, WSOP
EPT Berlin Interrupted After Armed Robbery
When the final 24 players of the European Poker Tour (EPT) Berlin Main Event met today to play down to the final table, players were ready for action. After a couple of hours, however, the EPT Main Event was paused and players were ordered to leave the room. The tournament was stopped at approximately 2:00pm local time and players were not immediately informed of the reason why, although information has now come to light as to what happened to cause the suspension of play.
Apparently, the Grand Hyatt Hotel's casino was attacked in an armed robbery while the tournament was in action. An announcement by Kristy Thompson, a spokesperson for the EPT, stated, “An armed robbery by six men took place today at EPT Berlin. Nobody was seriously injured. We hope to restart all events at 4PM local time. A police investigation is underway. If you have video footage or photographs that could help the police, please contact the EPT organizers as soon as possible.” Video of players streaming out of the venue has appeared on YouTube, possibly even showing the attempted robbery as it was occurring.
Other reports outside of the EPT have speculated that the attackers carried various, but unconfirmed, weaponry. One report by German venues stated that the attackers were armed with pump-action shotguns, while witnesses said to another German outlet that the attackers were armed with Soviet era Kalashnikovs semi-automatic assault rifles and hand grenades. Of the various reports, a woman named Claudia Sommerey witnessed the event and stated, “I then went into the hall and saw three masked men, armed with rifles… security tried to keep the men at bay. I heard someone shout, ‘down, down,’ then I (got) under one of the tables. In the hall, there were still sounds of conflict.”
The happenings at the EPT Berlin are almost unheard of in the world of tournament poker. Last year, a Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) event in Mexico, another PokerStars live tournament, was suspended due to conflicts with local police over whether the venue held the proper legal documents. The event picked up its play months later at another LAPT event, but the occurrence of a robbery to suspend play has rarely been seen in tournament poker history.
Although there was about a four-hour delay, play resumed in EPT Berlin with 20 players remaining, although there were disputes as to chip counts and how to continue with play of hands that were in action prior to the disruption. Also suspended for the day were any live online video webcast updates. Nevertheless, by the end of the day, the eight-handed final table was determined. Here are the chip counts:
1. Kevin MacPhee - 6,070,000
2. Ketul Nathwani - 4,685,000
3. Ilari Tahkokallio - 3,940,000
4. Marc Inizan - 3,655,000
5. Marcel Koller - 3,590,000
6. Artur Wasek - 3,530,000
7. Marko Neumann - 2,185,000
8. Nico Behling - 960,00
Poker Industry Reacts to Senate Internet Gambling Legislation S 3018
Last month, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) introduced S 3018, the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act. The measure includes language legalizing and regulating internet gambling in the United States. Now, the industry has had a chance to react.
As its name implies, S 3018 is primarily a financial bill whose mandates include abolishing the Alternative Minimum Tax and slashing the number of individual tax brackets in half from six to three. Among those keeping a watchful eye on Capitol Hill is Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan, who told Poker News Daily, “It’s encouraging to see two people in the Senate who are as serious as Wyden and Gregg, particularly Gregg, who is as respected more than anyone in the Republican caucus when it comes to the economy. To see him offer internet gambling in the bill is encouraging for what may happen down the road as Republicans take a look at paying for things.”
The legalization and taxation of internet gambling appears as Subtitle C of the bill on page 126. Wyden and Gregg’s piece of legislation borrows language from Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which was introduced last May and currently carries 66 co-sponsors. The bill is numbered HR 2267 and was discussed in the House Financial Services Committee in December. However, no markup has been scheduled.
Gregg nearly became the Secretary of Commerce for the Obama administration. According to CNN, “irresolvable conflicts” led to Gregg withdrawing his bid to join Obama’s Cabinet last month. Gregg told reporters at the time, "I realize that to withdraw at this point is really unfair in many ways, but to go forward and take this position and then find myself sitting there and not being able to do the job the way it should be done on behalf of the President, 100%, that would have been an even bigger mistake." Now, Gary Locke holds down the Secretary of Commerce position.
To Brennan, Wyden and Gregg’s inclusion of internet gambling may signal a changing of the guard of sorts in the Senate: “While it’s not necessarily a victory, it’s something that shows that there are now people every bit as serious as Congressman Frank in the financial sector in the Senate.” Wyden had previously offered a proposal to use funds derived from taxing internet gambling to pay for health care reform.
The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has made no official comment on the bill. In fact, there is no mention of S 3018 on the organization’s website. PPA Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily in a prior interview that the lobbying group was still assessing the bill's merits.
Contrastingly, the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative (SSIGI) has thrown its full support behind the measure. SSIGI spokesperson Michael Waxman commented in a press release, “With so much media focus on the differences between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, this bipartisan initiative highlights the growing support on both ends of Capitol Hill for replacing the failed prohibition on internet gambling with a system to regulate the industry, protect consumers and generate billions in new revenue.” Whether S 3018 will be addressed in Committee is not yet known. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance, whose Chairman is Max Baucus (D-MT).
Despite several promising bills on Capitol Hill, several posters on the online poker forum TwoPlusTwo were not overly optimistic. “grdred944” explained, “Do you realize the Senate is sitting on 209 bills already passed by the House during this Congress? Overturning UIGEA and coming up with an online gaming bill is so far off the radar right now.”
Other members questioned the bill’s language, which includes a 50% tax on deposits for residents of states that opt out of the legislation. Pappas posted on TwoPlusTwo, “We have provided language to relevant staff about removing the 50% tax for opt out states. We hope that it will be part of a change to the base bill in what is called a ‘manager's amendment.’ If they do not accept it, we will seek a sponsor of a regular amendment to the bill.” Licensed operators are subject to a 2% tax on deposits under S 3018.
We’ll keep you posted right here on Poker News Daily.
The Nightly Turbo: Dennis Rodman the Poker Player, Florida’s Online Poker Plan, and Who’s Dating Who
Poker as an Olympic Sport
The International Federation of Poker will be accepted into the International Mind Sports Association in April. This means that poker will join a list of games including Chess, Bridge, and Go as an official game of skill, according to Bluff Magazine Europe. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognizes the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), meaning poker will be considered an official game of skill for the Olympics
This development may not mean that we’ll be seeing poker in the Olympics in the near future, but it is certainly a first step in the right direction. Acceptance into the IMSA and recognition from the IOC gives poker another strong argument in court. The nature of online gambling might be in question, but courts have been pretty lenient in allowing games of skill. Will this IOC distinction assist in the efforts to legalize online poker in the United States?
“I am encouraged that the IOC has recognized what we poker players have always known. Poker is an honorable game of skill,” commented Rich Muny, a board member for the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). “Many states have already legally codified recognition of the fact that competitions based on skill are different from wagering on dice or other events based on chance. I believe this decision will encourage more states to recognize this distinction legally.”
Anthony Holden, author of such poker books as “Big Deal” and “Bigger Deal: A Year Inside the Poker Boom,” is the current head of the International Federation of Poker. He told Bluff Europe, “Poker is not like other casino games. It’s a social game where people are playing against each other, not the house, and a game where skill plays a bigger role than luck. There are 120 to 150 million poker players in the world and we deserve this recognition.”
Poker is the only card game to be accepted by the IMSA besides Bridge. This organization is a non-profit association and has over 400 national entities and close to 100 million players within its jurisdiction. As listed on the IMSA website, current headquarters are located in Lausanne, Switzerland and Paris, France.
The IMSA held its first “IMSA Cup” competition back in 2008 in Russia. The final day of that event was dedicated to friendly matches between masters of mind games and honorary guests of the competition, mainly diplomats.
Given that mind games are recognized as games of skill by the IOC, could poker ever make it into the Olympics? While that remains to be seen, many poker sites including PokerStars have competitions like the World Cup of Poker, which matches players from various countries against each other.
Team PokerStars USA includes players such as Chris Moneymaker, Vanessa Rousso, Greg Raymer, Joe Cada, Barry Greenstein, Chad Brown, Gavin Griffin, Dennis Phillips, Tom McEvoy, Hevad Khan, Victor Ramdin, and Jason Mercier. Popular online player Randy “nanonoko” Lew also hails from the United States. Full Tilt Pros hailing from the United States include Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Mike Matusow, and Allen Cunningham. Full Tilt Poker also boasts a well known online prodigy of its own in Tom “durrrr” Dwan.
While we know the United States would field a dream team of poker players, there are plenty of other countries that would challenge for the gold medal. Canada, which just hosted the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, would have Daniel Negreanu along with players like Darus Suharto and Wade Ackerman leading the charge. The United Kingdom would have players like Vicky Coren, David “Devilfish” Ulliott, Roland De Wolfe, and James Akenhead at the helm. Australia would have Joe and Tony Hachem, Grant Levy, Eric Assadourian, as well as Billy “The Croc” Argyros representing their homeland.
The IOC has outlined that a game or sport must be practiced by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents and by women in at least 40 countries and on three continents in order to be recognized. Although we can all agree that poker is not a traditional sport that requires physical skill and toughness like pole vaulting and Greco-Roman wrestling, there might be a place for games of skill at the Olympics. Is it really out of the question to think of a “total package” decathlon that would combine physical and mental sports?
Think about a physical and mental event where participants would have to do their best in running, swimming, jumping, throwing, and then competing in mental games such as chess, poker, and bridge. It’s not too far-fetched to pitch that idea to an Olympic committee or get it aired on the likes of ESPN2 with a celebrity cast.
While we dream of Raymer competing against former Navy SEAL Dan Blizerian in a swimming race before heading to a poker tournament, having poker accepted as an official game of skill by the IMSA and the IOC is already a huge step in the right direction for the industry.
Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling Bill Gains 66th Co-Sponsor
Last week, Congressman Barney Frank (D–MA) garnered another co-sponsor to his internet gambling bill, bringing the total number of co-sponsors, including Frank himself, to 66. HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, would establish the regulatory and licensing framework for online gambling in the United States, moving internet poker out of the gray legal area that it has long been in and into the light of complete legality.
The new co-sponsor is Charles Wilson, a Democrat from Ohio's 6th Congressional district, which starts in the Mahoning Valley in the north and runs 325 miles down the Ohio River. Cities in the district include Bridgeport, Canfield, Wellsville, Ironton, and Ohio's first city, Marietta. National Journal Magazine released its "Voting Ratings" issue last week, labeling Wilson as a centrist. Out of the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, he ranks as the 192nd most liberal and the 239th most conservative. Wilson is the third Congressman from Ohio to co-sponsor HR 2267, joining fellow Democrats Steve Driehaus and Tim Ryan.
Below is the list of HR 2267's co-sponsors, organized by state:
Alaska
Don Young (R)
Arizona
Raul Grijalva (D)
California
Michael Thompson (D)
George Miller (D)
Michael Honda (D)
Linda Sanchez (D)
Bob Filner (D)
Adam Schiff (D)
Lynn Woolsey (D)
Colorado
Jared Polis (D)
Ed Perlmutter (D)
Betsy Markey (D)
Connecticut
Joe Courtney (D)
John Larson (D)
Christopher Murphy (D)
Florida
Robert Wexler (D)
Alcee Hastings (D)
Hawaii
Neil Abercrombie (D)
Idaho
Walt Minnick (D)
Illinois
Luis Gutierrez (D)
Bill Foster (D)
Indiana
Andre Carson (D)
Louisiana
Charlie Melancon (D)
Massachusetts
James McGovern (D)
Barney Frank (D)
Michael Capuano (D)
William Delahunt (D)
Michigan
John Conyers (D)
Missouri
Russ Carnahan (D)
William Lacy Clay (D)
Nevada
Shelley Berkley (D)
New Hampshire
Paul Hodes (D)
New Jersey
Robert Andrews (D)
Frank LoBiondo (R)
John Adler (D)
Steven Rothman (D)
Bill Pascrell (D)
New York
Tim Bishop (D)
Steve Israel (D)
Peter King (R)
Carolyn McCarthy (D)
Gary Ackerman (D)
Joseph Crowley (D)
Jerrold Nadler (D)
Edolphus Towns (D)
Mike McMahon (D)
Charles Rangel (D)
Paul Tonko (D)
Eliot Engel (D)
Daniel Maffei (D)
Anthony Weiner (D)
North Carolina
Melvin Watt (D)
Northern Mariana Islands
Gregorio Sablan (D)
Ohio
Steve Driehaus (D)
Tim Ryan (D)
Charles Wilson (D)
Oregon
Earl Blumenauer (D)
Tennessee
Steve Cohen (D)
Texas
Ron Paul (R)
Ciro Rodriguez (D)
Vermont
Peter Welch (D)
Virginia
Bobby Scott (D)
Tom Perriello (D)
James Moran (D)
Washington
Jim McDermott (D)
Adam Smith (D)
While Wilson has not issued a statement regarding the online gambling bill, he likely feels that one major positive aspect of regulation and legalization is the potential tax revenue to be collected. In a recent article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Rep. William Lacy Clay (D–MO) gave part of his reasoning for supporting Frank's bill. "We should not be so naive to think that we are going to do away with gambling by passing that law (the UIGEA in 2006)," he said. "I think $42 billion (the amount of tax revenue estimated from online gambling over the next ten years) is a significant sum that the federal government needs to fund some of the programs that are worthy and that Americans benefit from."
Added his colleague, Russ Carnahan (D–MO), "It's the kind of thing that requires clear rules and regulations so that it functions well."
Iowa Looking at Online Poker
German Man Arrested for Illegal Online Poker Payment Processing
Kentucky House Passes Bill Taxing Online and Phone Horse Racing Wagers
Despite an ongoing court battle to rid the state of 141 internet gambling sites, Kentucky’s House passed a bill taxing online and phone “advanced deposit wagers” on horse racing by an 85-8 margin. Now, the measure will be discussed in the Kentucky Senate.
Sites like TwinSpires.com, which is owned by the parent company of the Churchill Downs racetrack, operate legally in the state and allow residents to wager on the ponies online and over the phone. On Friday, Kentucky House Bill 368 passed by a 10:1 margin after Democratic Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark brought the legislation to life. According to an article that appeared on Friday in the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper, Clark asserts that up to $400,000 per year could be pulled down as a result of taxing online and phone bets just 0.5%.
One-third of the tax would go to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, one-third would go to the track the bet was placed with, and the final portion would supplement the track’s cash prizes. Clark told the Louisville media outlet, “I think that it's a way for us to advance the tracks as far as adding more purse money… so I think it's something the Senate would look at. They talked about last session, when they did not want to do slots, finding more revenue for (tracks). This is one avenue that would find more revenue for them.”
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is two months away from hosting the annual Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville. The “Fastest Two Minutes in Sports” plays out on the first Saturday in May every year and attracts celebrities and high rollers from around the world. In the past, online poker rooms like UB.com have held promotions in conjunction with the gala.
TwinSpires.com caps online and phone bets at $2,500 per transaction and a minimum deposit of $25 is required. The site has a mailing address in Kentucky, but is licensed in Oregon. Last year, the Kentucky legislature ultimately failed to approve a similar measure, which would have taxed internet and phone bets at a rate of 3.5%, or seven times the amount of the current version of the bill.
The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, led by J. Michael Brown, has been on an 18-month witch hunt against the owners of 141 internet gambling domain names, including those belonging to industry giants PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. In September 2008, the State seized the rights to the domain names and sought their forfeiture before members of the internet gambling industry stepped in. The Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) has led the charge on behalf of the 141 sites in jeopardy.
In October 2009, lawyers representing iMEGA, the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC), and several of the sites at risk pleaded their case in front of the Kentucky Supreme Court. A ruling cannot be handed down until March 18th at the earliest. Other possible release dates for the Supreme Court’s verdict are April 22nd, May 20th, June 17th, August 26th, September 23rd, October 21st, November 18th, and December 16th.
The Commonwealth charged that the 141 domains constituted “gambling devices,” a term that is traditionally reserved for physical objects like slot machines and roulette wheels that you’d find in an illegal underground casino. Judge Thomas Wingate upheld the State’s actions in an October 2008 ruling before the Kentucky Court of Appeals overturned it by a two-to-one margin in January 2009. During October’s Supreme Court hearing, State officials repeatedly noted that Kentucky’s legislature had not yet acted on the legality of internet gambling outside of horse racing.
The Courier-Journal added that Illinois and Virginia had taken similar approaches to taxing online wagers on horse racing.
Moneymaker Boom Babies Instill Fear
In fact, as a crew of barely legal pros turned on to the game by Chris Moneymaker's 2003 World Series win when they were just teens dominate poker tournaments across the globe, you are more likely to hear a player at the L.A. Poker Classic this week complaining about the difficulty of his table draw if it includes half a dozen 21 to 23-year-old online pros than a stable of veteran gamblers.
"I think even I would fear the youngsters more, to be perfectly honest with you," said Hoyt Corkins, a 50-year-old veteran of the game who just won his second WPT title at the Southern Poker Championships in Biloxi last month.
"I mean, I just made a final table and everyone was in their 20's and here I am 50 years old. I think these kids are going to dominate in the years to come.
"It's a different style. The kids are tough. Their technique is good."
At just 23-years-old, Jason Mercier already has more than $4 million in live tournament earnings.
But the South Florida native says his success has very little to do with youthful exuberance.
For a young man who watched Moneymaker win the World Series of Poker Main Event when he was just 16 and has dedicated his life to the game ever since, it's all about the valuable experience of an adolescence spent grinding online.
"That kind of experience you will never get live," the Team PokerStars Pro said. "You just can't play millions of hands live. I think that definitely contributed to my success. In 2007, I played over two million hands online. You just can't do that live."
But is the experience gained playing online poker the same as playing live? Corkin's doesn't think so.
"You can't discount 32 years of watching people's faces and watching the way they put their money in the pot," said the Alabama born Corkins. "When you've played that much online you may be more experienced as far as the technical side goes, but poker is more than just that. It's got a human element to it."
Mercier sees his point.
"Of course experience helps and playing tons and tons of hands online helps," he said. "But the more you play live, the more you pick up on as well. That's why so many of these big online guys have yet to have a big score live. A lot of it has to do with variance, but a lot of them also haven't grasped how live poker is played.
"There's just so much more to it. It's so much more complex. There's only so many things that you can learn online and there are so many more things you get live that you don't get playing online."
At just 21-years old, Yevgeniy Timoshenko won the WPT Championship last season. Like Mercier, he is another baby of the Moneymaker boom.
However, the Ukranian-born Timoshenko says what makes a table full of young online players something to fear isn't just youth, or the number of hands they've played online.
It's the studious approach to the game taken by a group of players who seem to have grown up treating poker like another subject in high school as much as a form of entertainment.
"I don't think being young necessarily makes you good at poker," he said. "And I think even though you play more hands online it doesn't necessarily give you the same amount of experience as you would get playing in a casino.
"But for me, it's not just about hands. What's more important is reviewing your sessions. If you don't do that, it doesn't matter if you play a million hands. If you don't study and try to improve, you are not necessarily going to get a lot of experience out of those million hands."
According to Timoshenko, a player that takes the right approach and studies the game as much as he plays online can gain experience about four times as fast as one playing strictly live.
And that's just what the kids from this era have done to make them seasoned veterans of the game at such a young age.
"It's hard to quantify," he said. "The biggest factor is how many tables you play and how many hours a day that you play. But you can get better at poker online in like one fourth of the time it would take you strictly playing live. It's like a factor of three or four I would say."
Do the math and it's no wonder fresh faced young players born from the Moneymaker boom are having so much success.
They have almost the same experience as 30-year pros like Corkins.
"I mean, I definitely don't feel like a guy who has been sitting here for 20 years," Timoshenko said. "But I feel comfortable enough."
The World Poker Tour's L.A. Poker Classic continues through March 4. For comprehensive coverage, tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.
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FTOPS Main Event Winner JackQKA Denies Being Underage, Backed
The winner of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) Main Event, JackQKA, has denied being 16 years-old and having a backer, according to a thread on the popular forum TwoPlusTwo. JackQKA remains atop the FTOPS XV Main Event leaderboard.
In a thread posted on Tuesday afternoon on TwoPlusTwo, JMaverick, who had joined on the same day, lashed out at the FTOPS XV Main Event winner. He explained that last December, he noticed JackQKA playing on ESPN’s poker site. JMaverick decided to let his new pet project have a go at a few MTTs and the student racked up $1,000 in just three events. JMaverick promptly staked JackQKA until the latter had built his own bankroll and then the two parted ways.
In October, JackQKA requested additional backing and JMaverick purportedly transferred $2,500. He wrote, “I had 50% of him on all of his tournaments though until he paid me back.” JackQKA took home $237,000 for winning the FTOPS XV Main Event and JMaverick demanded $115,000, or roughly 50% of the haul. JackQKA allegedly said no, which prompted the following rant from JMaverick: “JackQKA first of all is only 16 Years Old, his parents have no clue he plays online poker... Jack I am telling you I will personally call them and tell them there gonna need legal representation because if I dont see $115,000 in my account by 12AM this will turn into a legal issue!”
On Wednesday, JackQKA responded on TwoPlusTwo, claiming that he’s 24 years-old and has never been backed during his poker career. The winner, whose real name is Jack, added, “I have been playing poker seriously for about 2 and a half years, mainly on pstars under sn jackellwood but also on ftp as jackqka and on absolute as ellwoodinho. For most of this time ive been a low-mid stakes mtt grinder with reasonable success. On Sunday I had by a long way the best results ive ever had and for some reason someone has decided to post a load of bs about me.”
About an hour after his original post, the accuser seemed to rescind his desire to seek legal recourse. After talking to his lawyer, JMaverick confessed, “I made a mistake outing him and there was no official legal agreement in place. This is now a private matter. I made a mistake posting on here! I may have screwed myself out of getting my money and if I do not get it I know the time will come when I will ship one of these.” JackQKA goes by the name “Ellwoodinho” on TwoPlusTwo and claimed that instead of arguing whether or not he owed JMaverick $115,000, he was out partying to celebrate his FTOPS Main Event win.
Meanwhile, JMaverick continues his search for $115,000. Yesterday around 4:00pm ET, he wrote, “I will try to talk to the kid when they come on either myspace or facebook tonight,” but JMaverick has not provided any further update as of 1:30pm ET on Thursday. The tournament had a $535 buy-in and was the largest FTOPS Main Event ever held, weighing in at 5,645 players.
Some posters cleverly responded with clips from “Bad Boys,” while TwoPlusTwo posters tried to squash rumors that JMaverick had actually played in the FTOPS Main Event and was merely seeking to move up the pay ladder as a result of a disqualification. TwoPlusTwo poster “zeppy” explained, “The original poster JMaverick of this thread is one of the higher place finishers in the FTOPS and started this thread to try to get FullTilt to escalate its normal procedures into an investigation and subsequent disqualification of JackQKA in order to move up one place in the payout award for the FTOPS tournament.” No user named JMaverick appears on the FTOPS XV leaderboard and zeppy later retracted his claims.
A source close to Full Tilt told Poker News Daily that following the FTOPS XV Main Event, site officials checked for multi-accounting and verified JackQKA’s ID. He passed with flying colors.
Ontario Follows Quebec in Potential Bid to Enact Provincial Online Gaming and Poker
Following the lead of the province of Quebec, the leaders of the province of Ontario are now examining the possibility of starting their own provincial online gaming and poker outlets.
Facing a deficit of $24.7 billion this fiscal year, the government of Ontario, headed by Premier Dalton McGuinty, is attempting to find ways to make up that shortfall. McGuinty has previously shot down the idea of increasing taxes on alcohol sales in the province, but seems to be willing to discuss the province opening up its own online gaming and poker portals. With the appointment of a new director for Ontario Lottery and Gaming in Paul Godfrey, the discussion of an online operation is moving forward.
Godfrey, who is currently the president and CEO of the National Post newspaper, has stated that he believes that the implementation of a provincial online gaming and poker outlet would benefit Ontario as a whole. It is estimated that Ontario’s citizens are responsible for approximately $1.9 billion per year in action on online gaming sites and Godfrey believes that Ontario is losing out in taxes and other revenue through not having an outlet for its citizens. “Money is going out of this province to other provinces as well as offshore sites,” Godfrey stated.
The opposition to legalization and regulation of any Ontario-based online gaming outlet is pointing out many issues that concern them. In an interview at TheStar.com, Jeff Derevensky, who heads McGill University’s International Center for Youth Gambling Problems and High Risk Behaviors, weighed the pros and cons of Ontario’s ideas. With more than 2,000 online gaming sites available worldwide, Derevensky stated, “If they can recoup a slice of it, then that (money) could be better used in government-run programs.”
The downside of opening up a provincial gaming operation is that Ontario’s youth haven’t been prepared for such activity, Derevensky notes. While the Ontario school system has instruction in other possible problematic areas such as alcohol, drug usage, and underage sex, there is nothing that deals with the potential pitfalls of online gaming. If the Ontario provincial government were to open up a government run online poker site, “It puts more young people at risk,” Derevensky said in TheStar.com article.
Ontario already has an active lottery and gaming establishment, but, according to TheStar.com, the operation has faced several problems. Revenues have been declining because of a loss of previously seen American action. Because of stricter border controls, fewer Americans are crossing to take part in Ontario’s gaming options. While Ontario Lottery and Gaming pulls in approximately $6.5 billion per year, the company has had several problems that have made the news, including lawsuits from people who say their product made them gambling addicts, according to TheStar.com.
Canadians are free to participate in online gaming and poker, but the moves by Ontario and Quebec are a grab at getting their share of the money made by these sites as well as being able to enact governmental controls on such activities. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), located outside of Montreal, is the hub of the online gaming industry, licensing and managing many of the top sites in the world. Because the KGC is a private company under the Mohawk Nation’s control, however, provincial governments see no revenue from the venture.
Earlier this month, Quebec announced that it would be opening its own state-run online gaming and poker site later this year. Quebec’s Finance Minister Raymond Bachand has predicted that the new operation will generate $50 million in dividends within three years of activity. With its budget shortfall, this could be what Ontario is looking at as a way of cutting into the deficit without raising taxes in other areas.
Senators Ron Wyden and Judd Gregg Introduce Internet Gambling Legislation
On Tuesday, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) introduced S 3018, the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act. Among other topics, the bill establishes a framework to tax and regulate internet gambling in the United States.
One of the first entities to report that major legislation had emerged in the Senate was the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. The organization’s spokesman, Michael Waxman, commented in a press release, “With so much media focus on the differences between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, this bipartisan initiative highlights the growing support on both ends of Capitol Hill for replacing the failed prohibition on internet gambling with a system to regulate the industry, protect consumers, and generate billions in new revenue. We applaud Senators Wyden and Gregg for taking the initiative to address and drive this issue.”
The bill is focused primarily on mainstream tax breaks, including eliminating the Alternative Minimum Tax and reducing the number of individual income tax brackets from six to three: 15%, 25%, and 35%. Under the bill, the standard tax deduction would triple. Text found on Gregg’s Senate website notes, “These simplifications alone will make it possible for most taxpayers to file a simple one-page 1040 form and in an effort to make paying taxes even simpler, individuals and families can request that the IRS prepare a tax return for them to review and sign.”
Other provisions of the bill include allowing a large percentage of small businesses to allocate capital and inventory expenses to a single accounting year. In addition, a flat tax rate of 24% would be imposed on all businesses as opposed to the current tiered system. According to the Senator’s website, corporate tax rates would tumble by about 30% as a result, putting American companies at a competitive advantage over their overseas counterparts.
Subtitle C of S 3018 focuses on internet gambling and borrows language from Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. The measure, which boasts 65 co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle, was discussed in the House Financial Services Committee in December. Additionally, S 3018 incorporates Congressman Jim McDermott’s (D-WA) HR 2268, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act. HR 2268 boasts five co-sponsors and taxes licensed internet gambling outfits at a rate of 2% of deposits. S 3018 adopts the same rate.
In August, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced S 1597, which up until today had been the central rallying point for the online poker industry in the Senate. The bill, dubbed the Internet Poker and Game of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, specifically calls out online poker as a legal activity. Menendez’s bill has yet to procure any co-sponsors in the Senate and was not discussed in committee.
In October, the Joint Committee on Taxation revealed that over $40 billion could be raised from taxing and regulating the internet gambling industry over a 10-year period. Previous estimates from third-party companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers had pinned the number above $50 billion. The move to license internet gambling in S 3018 may be meant to offset the downturn in government revenue associated with other provisions of the bill.
Wyden had previously introduced an amendment calling for revenue derived from internet gambling to be used to fund sweeping health care reform. Ultimately, the Senator withdrew his proposal and the health care initiative failed to materialize. At the time, the reform had a price tag of nearly $1 trillion. Wyden and Gregg’s S 3018 mirrors the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which was passed during the Reagan Administration. The duo expects to reach “most families” with under $200,000 in annual household income.
John Pappas, Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), told Poker News Daily that while the organization was still digesting the tax implications of S 3018, seeing internet gambling addressed was refreshing: “We're pleased with it. The prospects of this legislation are unclear. This is a sign of things to come, perhaps seeing internet gambling being added as pay-for in other bills.”
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from Capitol Hill.
European Court of Justice Opinions Question National Monopolies On Online Poker
The landscape of the European online poker and casino gaming world continues to get murkier as two recent opinions from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) question the legalities of the Austrian and Swedish gaming laws.
In the first opinion, Advocate General Jan Mazak ruled on a case involving Ernst Engelmann, a German citizen who operates two online casinos in Austria. Engelmann was found guilty of unlawfully organizing games of chance in Austria and the case was appealed to the regional court of Linz. This regional court sought the opinion of the ECJ on three points of Austrian gaming laws and whether they violated the European Union (EU) treaty that allows for freedom of trade across national boundaries.
Mazak, after reviewing the case history, ruled on the three points that the regional court had requested clarification on. Mazak stated that the requirement that companies needing to be physically located in Austria is a restriction on freedom of establishment and is a violation of the EU treaty. Mazak ruled that this direct discrimination prohibits companies with their seat in another Member State from being holders of a license to operate a casino.
Part of the reason for that segment of the Austrian law – that Austria was looking to protect its citizens through having gaming operations located in the country and bound by its laws – was unfounded in Mazak’s opinion. Mazak ruled that companies that are a part of the EU are bound by the laws of the EU treaty. The decision stated, “In fact, any undertaking established in a Member State can be supervised and penalties imposed on it, regardless of the place of residence of its managers.” Thus, Mazak ruled against the location of operations argument used by the Austrian government.
In the other opinion, Advocate General Yves Bot was asked by the Stockholm Court of Appeals to rule on the case of two editors of national newspapers. Otto Sjöberg and Anders Gerdin were the editors-in-chief and publishers of two Swedish newspapers who accepted advertising from gaming companies located outside of Sweden. In late 2003 and 2004, they published advertisements for lotteries offered on such gaming sites as Expekt, Unibet, Ladbrokes, and Centrebet, all of which are established in Malta and the United Kingdom. They were convicted of violating Swedish gaming laws through promotion of companies not located in Sweden and were fined SEK 1,000 (approximately $137).
While Bot opinion stated that the punishment for the violation was appropriate as to the Swedish law, he did question the decision in the Swedish courts. At issue is a question of discrimination, according to Bot. In his opinion, Bot stated, “In the present case, although Swedish legislation prohibits, without distinction, the promotion of gambling organized abroad and the promotion of gambling organized in Sweden without a license, the penalties laid down for infringement of that prohibition are different. Thus, whereas penalties of a fine and imprisonment for up to six months are laid down for persons who advertise gaming organized abroad, those who advertise gaming organized in Sweden without a license do not incur equivalent criminal penalties, but only administrative penalties.”
The opinions laid out by Mazak and Bot are not binding, however. They are simply opinions and must go in front of the full ECJ before a decision is rendered on either case. At this time, there has been no date set for a final decision on the two cases.
The European Betting and Gaming Association (EGBA), which has been battling the movement towards the nationalization of online gaming in Europe, has hailed the opinions of the two Advocates General as potentially groundbreaking in the online gaming industry. Sigrid Ligné, the Secretary General of the EGBA, was especially pleased with the Austrian ruling when she said, “(With AG Mazak’s opinion) In this context, there is no acceptable justification to prevent reputable European competitors from offering online poker and casino games to Austrian players.”
Ligné appealed to free market economic theory when she said about the Swedish opinion, “It is remarkable that leading national newspapers, which are financed through and very much dependent on the sale of advertising, are unfairly deprived of substantial sources of revenue.” Ligné also noted that the two Swedish companies that conduct the country’s online gaming operations, Svenska Spel and ATG, advertise heavily inside Swedish borders and also use other EU member states in advertising on television to draw customers.
GPSTS Backing Massachusetts Poker Bill
On Tuesday, a hearing in Massachusetts will feature a discussion of whether poker should legally be considered a game of skill. Supporting the measure is the Harvard-based Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society (GPSTS).
The bill in question would, according to Andrew Woods of the GPSTS, remove poker legally from its stigma as a game of chance. Woods told Poker News Daily in the days leading up to the hearing, “What this recognition would do is move poker out of that legislative regime. Right now, poker is classified as a lottery in Massachusetts, which any poker player knows is something of a joke. This is explicit recognition that poker is a game of skill.”
Massachusetts State Representative Brian Wallace proposed the bill, which is numbered 4069. The measure is quite succinct in its language and signals out poker as a game of skill. It reads, “Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit, limit, criminalize, regulate, or require a license to operate, set up, promote, aid, play, or otherwise participate in games of skill played peer-to-peer, including but not limited to poker.” Wallace, a Democrat, has served in the Massachusetts legislature since 2003.
With its home chapter at Harvard, the GPSTS has become heavily involved in supporting Wallace’s legislation. On the organization’s interests, Woods told Poker News Daily, “We’re interested in being involved because the bill follows our goals and interests. The bill very precisely states that poker is a game of skill. Across the country, you’re seeing a lot of states coming up against the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and instead looking at intrastate poker. They can’t get around the federal law, but they can allow it within their own state.” The UIGEA was passed in 2006 at the urging of then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN).
The GPSTS is focused on defining how skills derived from poker can be applied to the real world. Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson founded the organization, which, according to its website, uses “poker to teach strategic thinking, geopolitical analysis, risk assessment, and money management. We see poker as a metaphor for skills of life, business, politics, and international relations.” GPSTS chapters can be found coast-to-coast, including at Dartmouth, New York University, UCLA, the University of Michigan, and Stanford.
The fall session of the GPSTS featured the annual Harvard versus Yale poker tournament on the eve of the schools’ match-up on the gridiron. Harvard bested Yale in 2009 and other GPSTS rivalries include UCLA versus USC and Princeton versus Penn. Woods explained that the organization has continued to grow leaps and bounds after two-and-a-half years: “We’ve been evolving our course work and activities to be in line with our mission be an institution that helps develops a skill set in poker that is applicable and fun to use. We’ve had success and are continuing to expand operations.”
A member of the GPSTS or poker community may testify at Tuesday’s hearing in the Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee. On the federal level, Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) leads the charge on behalf of the internet gambling industry, having introduced HR 2267. The bill provides a complete framework for licensing and regulating internet gambling in the United States. Woods gave his take on federal legislation already on the books: “People’s views on internet poker are founded on archaic concerns around gambling in general. There are legitimate concerns about people playing it too much and those should be dealt with, but to prohibit it because it’s dangerous is kind of ludicrous.”
Visit the official website of the GPSTS for more information on this burgeoning organization.
Poker.org Domain Sold For Record-Breaking $1 Million
Internet platform Sedo, a leading online domain marketplace and monetization provider, announced Thursday that it had overseen the sale of Poker.org for $1 million, easily the largest .org domain sale to date. The domain was sold by National A1 Advertising.
The buyer of the domain was PokerCompany.com, a self-titled “Super Affiliate” that works in conjunction with online casinos, poker rooms, and websites. The company also operates a number of sites, such as EveryPoker.com, BlackJack.org, Craps.net, and Rakeback.org. Right now, there is no indication of what the site plans on doing with the Poker.org domain.
“Poker.org is an integral part of our growth strategy, and will provide great dividends now and into the future,” said a spokesperson from PokerCompany.com.
Prior to the sale of Poker.org, the highest .org sale was $198,000 for Engineering.org, followed by Sexe.org, which sold for $151,400. The sale price of Poker.org is smaller than those of some of the largest .com sales, which include $14 million paid for Sex.com, $10 million for Fund.com, $5.1 million for Toys.com, and $3 million for Candy.com.
The Poker.org sale corresponds with a trend in .org domain registrations, which saw an 11% increase in 2009. The .org top level domain is now the third largest generic domain, after .com and .net, Sedo said, with eight million registered names.
"We expect to see growing demand for .org domains, as organizations and individual investors are recognizing their full value and potential," said Kathy Nielsen, director of sales at Sedo. "We reckon it has more to do with making sure that no other company recognizes the full value and potential of an applicable name, but that might just be us."
A plethora of poker-related domain names are for sale across the internet, ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. Some of the domains for sale on PokerDomainNames.com, for example, include LeisureOoker.com, pkrseries.com, poker-nations.com, and monsterpoker.org.
The importance of the unique identity of a domain name is often overlooked. You might recall Bodog, a company that had already branded its name in poker, losing control of its flagship domain name Bodog.com in September 2007. Bodog owner Calvin Ayre was forced to launch a new gambling and poker web site due to a legal order in a patent infringement dispute with 1st Technology LLC of Las Vegas. Ayre lost most of his Bodog.com domain names and poker players had to go to NewBodog.com to play.
Ayre changed the domain name to BodogLife.com before recovering the Bodog.com domain name in June 2009. The NewBodog.com and BodogLife.com domain names now redirect to Bodog.com.
UIGEA Proponent Jon Kyl Drops Blockage of Obama Treasury Nominees
Recently, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, a Republican who has been a longtime proponent of making online gaming and poker illegal and a staunch supporter of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), dropped his opposition to several of President Barack Obama’s nominees to the Treasury Department.
With the end of the hold by Kyl, three key nominees to the Treasury Department - Marisa Lago, Mary John Miller, and Charles Collins - passed through Senate confirmation hearings. Kyl’s ending of his opposition was not entirely related to online gaming, however.
Kyl, who wanted the UIGEA to take effect late last year and blocked Treasury appointments due to its delay, was a part of what some would consider to be a keen poker move by the Obama administration. Earlier in the week, Obama notified Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that he would use the Congressional recess period, which started today and ends on Friday, to make recess appointments of many of the nominees that currently face Senate approval.
This move, which has been used by the Oval Office to bypass Senate approval for nominees who were log-jammed by the opposition party, would in effect remove the Senate from having any voice in the matter. Facing a strong bet by the Obama administration, several Republican senators, including Kyl, folded their hands, dropped their opposition, and allowed the nominees to go through.
According to Dan Friedman, a writer with Congress Daily, the UIGEA might have had some effect on Kyl’s decisions. “My understanding is that Kyl placed the hold because he was upset at the delayed implementation of UIGEA,” Friedman told Poker News Daily.
Kyl has maintained his objections to online gaming since he was elected Senator from Arizona in 1994. Prior to 2006, Kyl frequently introduced legislation that would make it a criminal act to participate in online gambling and poker. While his efforts were never passed into law, in 2006 he was one of the chief proponents of a bill introduced by fellow Republican Representative Jim Leach of Iowa to make it illegal for financial institutions to process online gaming transactions. That bill would become the UIGEA and was passed as a rider on a critical piece of national security legislation in a final late night session in September 2006.
Although House of Representatives member Barney Frank (D-MA) has introduced legislation that looks to overturn the UIGEA and tax and regulate the internet gambling industry, the measure has not yet cleared committee. Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act (HR 2267) has been held up by other pressing issues facing Congress and the Obama administration. It is also thought that many elected officials don’t want to take a stance on such a divisive issue during an election year.
European Internal Market Commissioner Comments on bwin/Santa Casa Case
European gambling companies received some positive comments from the new European Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier this week. Speaking for the first time since taking over the role in January, Barnier told the European Parliament Thursday that last year’s bwin/Santa Casa ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has little bearing on the Commission’s approach to infringement procedures against member states.
In September, Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa claimed that bwin's sponsorship agreement with the Portuguese professional football league and accompanying advertising activities were illegal because of Santa Casa’s monopoly in providing online and offline lottery and betting services in Portugal. Under Portuguese law, Santa Casa was exclusively entitled to run lotteries and sports betting in the country. In 2003, that exclusive right was extended to include games offered by electronic means, in particular the internet, essentially prohibiting all other operators from offering online gaming services in Portugal.
The ECJ ruled that the Portuguese monopoly on the internet may comply with community law under certain conditions, but restrictions imposed by a Member State “must be suitable for achieving the objective or objectives invoked by the Member State concerned, and they must not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives. Lastly, in any event, those restrictions must be applied without discrimination.”
Barnier told parliamentarians on Thursday that the Santa Casa ruling was based on considerations specific to Portugal and its national monopoly operator, Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa. The Commission will therefore continue to examine the compliance of national legislation with European Union law on a case-by-case basis.
The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), which represents Europe’s leading regulated operators, voiced its strong support for the Commissioner and his plans to engage in broad discussion with stakeholders. The EGBA particularly welcomed the prospect of a Commission Green Paper on gambling, a document intended to stimulate debate and launch a process of consultation directed toward changing law. The Association believes the move could offer a real opportunity to test the interest and support of the European Parliament and Member States for future European Union synchronization in the sector.
Said EGBA Secretary General, Sigrid Ligné: “With several Member States currently reforming their gaming and betting legislation, this is an important confirmation that the Commission will not stand by while Member States introduce restrictions that go against fundamental principles of the EU.”
Barnier took over the role of Internal Market Commissioner in January from Charlie McCreevy, a proponent of European Union harmonization in the gaming sector who was criticized during his tenure by the gambling industry for failing to follow through on infringement procedures against member states with restrictive gaming legislation.
Gowen’s Full Tilt Lawsuit Dismissed
The lawsuit, filed Nov. 14, 2008, sought $40 million in damages from Full Tilt Poker, Tiltware, a series of related companies, Tiltware CEO Raymond Bitar and a group of Team Full Tilt players, claiming, among other things, breach of contract.
Gowen alleged that in 2004 she was offered a 1% stake in the site in exchange for her services as a celebrity endorser, but never received compensation.
Concluding that her claim of an agreement with the site lacked detail and that she was never offered a legal partnership with Full Tilt because she was never held responsible for the site's losses prior to becoming profitable, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jones dismissed the case for a third and final time this week.
"Nowhere in the allegations does Plaintiff allege, consistent with a general partnership, that the agreement made her liable for 1% of Full Tilt Poker's losses before it became profitable," the decision reads. "Therefore, it is not plausible that a partnership, limited or general, was offered."
Judge Jones granted a motion to dismiss the case back in April of 2009, but the lawsuit was not thrown out in its entirety.
Gowen was given leave to amend the complaint to include just Full Tilt Poker, Tiltware, the related companies, Bitar and Howard Lederer as defendants and appeal the decision to dismiss the case.
In a decision released in October 2009, Judge Jones both denied Gowen's appeal and granted Full Tilt's latest motion to dismiss the newly amended complaint.
However, the suit was not dead yet. Judge Jones granted Gowen leave to amend the complaint a third time to include only Tiltware.
Lawyers for the former Oklahoma teen beauty queen re-filed, but this week's decision put an end to the suit.
Gowen, who has over $1.6 million in career tournament earnings, is currently in Adelaide, Australia playing as a PokerStars sponsored player in the ANZPT event there.
Visit PokerListings.com
New Jersey Committee Approves Sports Betting, Internet Gambling May Be Next
The New Jersey State Senate Committee on Government, Wagering, Tourism, and Historic Preservation approved a bill calling for a referendum on sports wagering by a 4-0 margin on Monday. A measure authorizing intrastate internet gambling may be next on the docket.
The measure’s sponsor, Raymond Lesniak, “said legalized sports betting would raise $100 million in new state revenues and generate $500 million for the casinos and racetracks.” The figures are according to the Press of Atlantic City, which is one of a tidal wave of media outlets trumpeting the bill’s passage out of committee. Speaking at a hearing on Monday was Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan, who told Poker News Daily that legalized intrastate online gaming may soon follow: “If they’re moving sports betting, there will be much less resistance for internet gambling. Internet poker is expected to be relatively easier.” Lesniak also introduced an internet gambling bill.
Debate rages on in New Jersey as to where sports betting should be allowed and whether wagering on horse racing would be included. Another hurdle is the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which iMEGA is seeking to overturn by proving that it is unconstitutional. Once PASPA is overturned, states around the country would be able to adopt sports betting, which is limited to only a handful of jurisdictions right now.
While Lesniak’s sports wagering bill requires a constitutional amendment in New Jersey, the internet gambling piece does not, according to Brennan: “Now, the plan is to move the internet bill. That one doesn’t require a constitutional amendment. With the sports one, even though it’s had a higher profile, it still has a long way to go.” The sports bill received the majority of the attention due to last weekend’s Super Bowl between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts. Originally, officials were calling for a vote on the measure last week. However, new committee members asked for more time in order to digest the issue.
If successful, sports wagering would be put to a public referendum in November. Also possible is a review by the New Jersey Senate Budget Committee, although the likelihood of that happening is not yet clear. Brennan told Poker News Daily, “The Budget Committee may take a look at it since it would impact the budget. However, because that’s on the other side of the referendum and laws have to be crafted first, they might decline further action at this time.” Monday’s hearing that paved the way for a possible referendum lasted 90 minutes.
Casino giant Harrah’s opposes Lesniak’s sports betting and internet gambling bills, according to Brennan, and instead seeks a federal solution. The Press of Atlantic City notes that a version of the sports betting bill in the New Jersey Assembly was supposed to be discussed concurrently on Monday, “but was pulled from the agenda at the last minute.” Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) has been championing a federal solution on Capitol Hill, as a bill to legalize and regulate the internet gambling industry in the United States (HR 2267) boasts 65 co-sponsors and may be marked up this month in the House Financial Services Committee.
In 2009, iMEGA was unsuccessful in overturning the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The Third Circuit Court of Appeals instead ruled that the legality of internet gambling depends on the jurisdictions of the customer and website. In addition, the Court noted that the UIGEA made no activity like online poker illegal. The bill’s passage in 2006 caused a multitude of publicly traded companies like Party Gaming, 888, and bwin to vacate the U.S. market in deference to shareholder interests.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest poker legislation headlines from New Jersey and around the world.
Online Poker Visa and MasterCard Deposit Woes Explained
In recent days, online poker players trying to use Visa and MasterCard credit cards to deposit funds into their accounts have experienced major setbacks. Due to what eGaming Review dubbed an “overnight tightening of restrictions,” deposits are now down sharply on some of the industry’s largest sites. Poker News Daily sat down with an insider in the world of payment processing to break down what happened.
Poker News Daily: Do you believe that it was ever acceptable for MasterCard to process an online poker transaction after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in the United States in 2006?
It hasn't been legal for MasterCard or Visa for over 10 years now, so this is nothing new to U.S.-facing companies in particular. What is new is the way they have caught people who were circumventing their rules.
PND: Are all transactions related to internet gambling blocked or just credit card deposits?
They are not blocked everywhere. Some seem to be operating MasterCard with no issues.
PND: Are daily transaction counts down as a result or are online poker players finding other ways to get money online?
From what I have been told, cash in is down significantly. Obviously, if you take a credit card channel as big as MasterCard away from your portfolio, there will be a big hit.
PND: Do players realize that their funds aren’t being deposited using credit cards?
The players are not notified. The deposits go through and they will still be billed for the transaction. The issue is that the gaming company never receives the funds, as they are "intercepted." The processor the gaming company used then has their account with MasterCard closed and they are fined; this is usually passed on to the gaming company directly.
PND: Does a player lose the intercepted funds?
If MasterCard closes the middleman down, they keep all funds frozen until they ascertain what happened. The player gets billed and knows nothing. The player gets his money in his gaming account and has his credit card billed. We basically just gave him free money. These companies do not settle instantly with the poker rooms and that is where the big risk comes. MasterCard doesn’t settle with the processor instantly either.
PND: How did MasterCard block internet gambling transactions?
Rumor has it that they audited thousands upon thousands of transactions manually. They looked at coded declines and then at subsequent approved transactions. This would tell them that they were being "bounced" to another uncoded source. They deemed that these transactions were illegal and closed down the processing account attached to them.
PND: Is the recent MasterCard blocking due to the UIGEA, charge backs, or some combination of both?
I'm not sure about their motives. MasterCard has always been more aggressive than others with this. We have been warned for many months that this was coming, but there is no way of knowing until it actually happens. As always, this industry is resilient and will bounce back. It always has and it always will.
PND: What has been the reaction of players you've talked to at your site?
Players are used to cards being declined fairly regularly. Obviously, some want to know why, so we try to direct them to other trusted methods such as e-wallets wherever possible.
PND: Can online poker players use debit cards to deposit?
MasterCard does not run debit cards. Visa or the bank runs them usually. I know that Canada shut off most debit cards to poker companies last year. TD, Scotia Bank, and RBC all stopped too.
Quebec to Enter Online Poker Market
The world of internet gaming and online poker continues to become more convoluted, as it was announced earlier this week that the Canadian province of Quebec has entered into a deal to open a State-authorized online gaming operation.
It was announced on Wednesday that Loto-Quebec, who holds the monopoly on the online lottery in the Canadian province, was authorized by the provincial government to begin operating an internet gambling and online poker portal for its citizens. The new site would compete against other online casino and poker sites and would not, officials state, monopolize the industry in the province. Despite the fact that online gaming is legal in Canada, the move by the provincial government has been painted as a way to eliminate unregulated operations that currently are in existence and increase revenue for the province.
According to reports from CTV Montreal, Loto-Quebec, along with the operators the British Columbia and Atlantic Lottery Corporations, will set up a singular site in the second half of 2010 that will cater to citizens of Quebec. CTV Montreal reports that over $600 million in revenue is pulled in by over 2000 operations, many of them outside of the government’s jurisdiction or the “black market,” as the government believes. CTV Montreal quotes the Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand as saying, “Our citizens are not protected and the money goes to illegal channels.”
Loto-Quebec states that, beyond the money side of the equation, the company and the government are looking to expand protections for consumers. According to Loto-Quebec, the new site will feature several preventative measures that will help to thwart the occurrence of difficult issues such as age verification, deposit limits, and problem gambling. “(Other) online gambling sites obviously do not offer an assistance program for vulnerable players and it is left to the (government) to pick up the costs of problem gaming,” according to Loto-Quebec Chief Executive Officer Alain Cousineau as saying.
Loto-Quebec has said it is looking to a European nation that has nationalized its gaming, Sweden, as a template. The Swedish site Svenska Spel offers internet gaming and online poker and is the only legal outlet for Swedes to pursue such activities. Svenska Spel was founded in 1997 and opened its online poker operations in 2006; it is currently the 13th largest online poker site in the online poker industry, according to PokerScout.com.
This latest move by Quebec follows other efforts in the United States, where jurisdictions are looking to take the online gaming industry out of the hands of the federal government. Three states - California, Florida, and New Jersey - may open their own state-run sites.
A thread on the online forum TwoPlusTwo is debating the issue, with opinions landing on both sides. Poster “defactocrippler” states in a post, “I assume they did some investigating and it is pretty likely that some money is going to illegal channels… Citizens are in fact not protected because there is no regulation.” Others point out that the move by Quebec could be seen as an attack on the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Indians, who operate the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and are responsible for the licensing and operation of hundreds of online casino and poker sites.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on Quebec legalizing internet gambling.
Quebec to Enter Online Poker Market
The world of internet gaming and online poker continues to become more convoluted, as it was announced earlier this week that the Canadian province of Quebec has entered into a deal to open a State-authorized online gaming operation.
It was announced on Wednesday that Loto-Quebec, who holds the monopoly on the online lottery in the Canadian province, was authorized by the provincial government to begin operating an internet gambling and online poker portal for its citizens. The new site would compete against other online casino and poker sites and would not, officials state, monopolize the industry in the province. Despite the fact that online gaming is legal in Canada, the move by the provincial government has been painted as a way to eliminate unregulated operations that currently are in existence and increase revenue for the province.
According to reports from CTV Montreal, Loto-Quebec, along with the operators the British Columbia and Atlantic Lottery Corporations, will set up a singular site in the second half of 2010 that will cater to citizens of Quebec. CTV Montreal reports that over $600 million in revenue is pulled in by over 2000 operations, many of them outside of the government’s jurisdiction or the “black market,” as the government believes. CTV Montreal quotes the Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand as saying, “Our citizens are not protected and the money goes to illegal channels.”
Loto-Quebec states that, beyond the money side of the equation, the company and the government are looking to expand protections for consumers. According to Loto-Quebec, the new site will feature several preventative measures that will help to thwart the occurrence of difficult issues such as age verification, deposit limits, and problem gambling. “(Other) online gambling sites obviously do not offer an assistance program for vulnerable players and it is left to the (government) to pick up the costs of problem gaming,” according to Loto-Quebec Chief Executive Officer Alain Cousineau as saying.
Loto-Quebec has said it is looking to a European nation that has nationalized its gaming, Sweden, as a template. The Swedish site Svenska Spel offers internet gaming and online poker and is the only legal outlet for Swedes to pursue such activities. Svenska Spel was founded in 1997 and opened its online poker operations in 2006; it is currently the 13th largest online poker site in the online poker industry, according to PokerScout.com.
This latest move by Quebec follows other efforts in the United States, where jurisdictions are looking to take the online gaming industry out of the hands of the federal government. Three states - California, Florida, and New Jersey - may open their own state-run sites.
A thread on the online forum TwoPlusTwo is debating the issue, with opinions landing on both sides. Poster “defactocrippler” states in a post, “I assume they did some investigating and it is pretty likely that some money is going to illegal channels… Citizens are in fact not protected because there is no regulation.” Others point out that the move by Quebec could be seen as an attack on the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Indians, who operate the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and are responsible for the licensing and operation of hundreds of online casino and poker sites.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on Quebec legalizing internet gambling.
Quebec to Enter Online Poker Market
The world of internet gaming and online poker continues to become more convoluted, as it was announced earlier this week that the Canadian province of Quebec has entered into a deal to open a State-authorized online gaming operation.
It was announced on Wednesday that Loto-Quebec, who holds the monopoly on the online lottery in the Canadian province, was authorized by the provincial government to begin operating an internet gambling and online poker portal for its citizens. The new site would compete against other online casino and poker sites and would not, officials state, monopolize the industry in the province. Despite the fact that online gaming is legal in Canada, the move by the provincial government has been painted as a way to eliminate unregulated operations that currently are in existence and increase revenue for the province.
According to reports from CTV Montreal, Loto-Quebec, along with the operators the British Columbia and Atlantic Lottery Corporations, will set up a singular site in the second half of 2010 that will cater to citizens of Quebec. CTV Montreal reports that over $600 million in revenue is pulled in by over 2000 operations, many of them outside of the government’s jurisdiction or the “black market,” as the government believes. CTV Montreal quotes the Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand as saying, “Our citizens are not protected and the money goes to illegal channels.”
Loto-Quebec states that, beyond the money side of the equation, the company and the government are looking to expand protections for consumers. According to Loto-Quebec, the new site will feature several preventative measures that will help to thwart the occurrence of difficult issues such as age verification, deposit limits, and problem gambling. “(Other) online gambling sites obviously do not offer an assistance program for vulnerable players and it is left to the (government) to pick up the costs of problem gaming,” according to Loto-Quebec Chief Executive Officer Alain Cousineau as saying.
Loto-Quebec has said it is looking to a European nation that has nationalized its gaming, Sweden, as a template. The Swedish site Svenska Spel offers internet gaming and online poker and is the only legal outlet for Swedes to pursue such activities. Svenska Spel was founded in 1997 and opened its online poker operations in 2006; it is currently the 13th largest online poker site in the online poker industry, according to PokerScout.com.
This latest move by Quebec follows other efforts in the United States, where jurisdictions are looking to take the online gaming industry out of the hands of the federal government. Three states - California, Florida, and New Jersey - may open their own state-run sites.
A thread on the online forum TwoPlusTwo is debating the issue, with opinions landing on both sides. Poster “defactocrippler” states in a post, “I assume they did some investigating and it is pretty likely that some money is going to illegal channels… Citizens are in fact not protected because there is no regulation.” Others point out that the move by Quebec could be seen as an attack on the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Indians, who operate the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and are responsible for the licensing and operation of hundreds of online casino and poker sites.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on Quebec legalizing internet gambling.
Uproar Continues Over PartyPoker Play Chips Decision
The uproar over online poker site PartyPoker’s decision earlier this week to limit the maximum amount a person can have in their play money account continues to dominate discussion in the online poker community.
Earlier this week, PartyPoker took the step to cap earnings in the play money games to a maximum of 250,000 chips. When players woke up on Tuesday morning, many people who had built up millions of these chips through years of play found that their accounts had been reset. An earlier story on Poker News Daily this week stated that the PartyPoker wanted to “stop the transferring of chips from account-to-account outside of regular hands of poker,” according to the site's blog. In the same posting, PartyPoker was adamant about its decision, saying, “We will not reverse our decision.”
Seemingly behind the decision was the selling of play money chips outside of the playing arena on PartyPoker. As detailed in the story on Poker News Daily, some sites offered one billion chips for $400. This, in PartyPoker’s mind, made for inequities in the play money games.
In an e-mail that Poker News Daily obtained from a PartyPoker player, the site went into greater detail about its decision. “For the benefit of the vast majority of our play money players, we have taken the decision to restrict the maximum number of play chips any single player may earn to (250,000 chips) because a very small minority of poker players have been disrupting games by betting large amounts on any kind of hand,” the e-mail stated. “They may think it’s fun but it’s certainly not for other players who understand fair play and enjoy the fun and excitement of playing poker games for free.”
The e-mail continues with a statement that PartyPoker is looking to keep the games fair for all who participate on the play money tables: “We do not tolerate unfair play in any form, whether on our play money or our real money sites. This is for your benefit. This restriction does not affect Real Money accounts as their play money balance remains unchanged from one login to the next.”
The discussion of the move by PartyPoker has resulted in one of the most commented on stories in the history of Poker News Daily. Players related their experiences of how they had built up millions of chips, only to see them disappear in the move by PartyPoker. Several readers have angrily declared that they will no longer be PartyPoker customers.
Poker News Daily reader Troy stated in his comment, “It’s a shame, I really enjoyed the site. 30 Mil gone. So am I. Fortunately there are other sites. I will check back a few times over the next month to see if they re-think their policy otherwise I will never play there again.” Victoria, another Poker News Daily reader, wrote, “I cannot believe PP had done this without warning, it was a fun site. Now I am broke…(It) took me two years to build up my account. I was a loyal player here, not anymore. What a shame.”
Others involved in the Poker News Daily discussion stated that there could be legal action in the works. Reader Sweet Tee opened up this line of action in saying, “It’s a shame. We had to go to the U. S. Attorney General’s office and they recommended a law firm to file a class action suit again PartyPoker since (they) won’t listen. We will shut them down.” An e-mail sent to Sweet Tee was not returned.
According to Poker News Daily reader Frank Bruehl, the decision to strip play chip accounts down to 250,000 hasn’t affected those that have real money accounts on PartyPoker: “Why the real money accounts still got their play chips? (They) are able to build up more without getting reset to 250k?” A majority of the comments seemed to take PartyPoker to task for seemingly discriminating against U.S. players, who cannot play in the cash game tables on the site. Others detailed their enjoyment of the play money games for their camaraderie and physical inability to enter a live casino.
Poker News Daily has contacted PartyPoker regarding their policy change and were told by a spokesperson, “We have not had any real money players in the U. S. since October 2006, when the law changed. All play money players accounts have been capped. The reasons for the move were clearly stated and explained.” PartyPoker has also stated that this policy will not be reversed despite the backlash.
New Jersey Internet Gambling Hearing Features iMEGA Testimony
On Monday, officials from the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) participated in a hearing of the New Jersey Senate Gaming and Tourism Committee. Taking center stage was whether to legalize online sports betting and internet gambling.
Earlier this month, New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak introduced a bill that would legalize and regulate intrastate internet gambling. Online poker is specifically mentioned in the bill’s text, eliminating any ambiguity as to whether the age-old pastime would be permissible. Lesniak has also introduced a separate measure calling for a referendum to permit sports betting.
On the hearing, iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan told Poker News Daily, “It went pretty well. It leaned more to the sports betting piece, but I think that was due to the timing with the Super Bowl. I spent the rest of the day talking with Republican and Democratic legislators about the intrastate internet gambling bill.” Super Bowl XLIV kicks off on Sunday from Miami.
On Monday, the same Senate Committee will meet to discuss the internet gambling and sports wagering measures and potentially approve one or both of them. As part of Lesniak’s bill, licensed internet gambling outfits in New Jersey are taxed at a rate of 20%. The initial licensing fee is at least $200,000, while an annual renewal fee would be at least $100,000. In addition, a $100,000 yearly fee is charged to online operators to address compulsive gambling. Comparatively, brick-and-mortar casinos are taxed at an 8% rate.
As New Jersey debates the merits of expanded internet gambling, Delaware lawmakers recently approved the introduction of table games in its casinos. Now, poker, blackjack, and other favorites will become commonplace in the state’s gaming establishments. Meanwhile, a news release on Tuesday noted that slot machine revenue in Pennsylvania has mushroomed by 39% in January. Consequently, pressure is mounting on lawmakers in New Jersey to act.
Brennan explained, “Their interest seems to be that they have to do something grave due to the regional pressures. If gaming dollars are going to be a significant source of revenue, then they have to find a way to reverse the trend.” New Jersey gambling “win” dipped 13.2% during the 2009 calendar year compared to 2008. All told, Atlantic City casinos raked in $3.9 billion. In December 2009, revenues tumbled 9.8% year over year to $272.1 million.
Brennan noted that hot topics discussed during this week’s hearing included the legality of internet gambling and sports betting in the United States, why New Jersey should adopt casino-based online gambling, how to mitigate the effects of problem gambling, and why one of the megaliths in the industry, Harrah’s, opposes both bills.
Brennan explained that Harrah’s officials stressed the importance of receiving direction on internet gambling from federal lawmakers before acting on either of Lesniak’s measures. Also testifying were representatives from New Jersey’s horse racing industry. It’s not clear whether iMEGA officials will present during Monday’s Gaming and Tourism Committee follow-up hearing.
iMEGA has been one of the leading organizations on the ground in Kentucky, acting on behalf of 141 internet gambling domain names that were seized by the state’s Justice and Public Safety Cabinet in September 2008. Oral arguments in the case were presented to the Kentucky Supreme Court in October. No decision was passed down in January and the next time the court could rule is March.
Organizations including the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Center for Democracy and Technology, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Internet Commerce Association, eBay, and Network Solutions submitted amicus briefs in the Kentucky case. The squabble centers on whether domain names, which are located in the depths of cyberspace, can be seized as “gambling devices” under Kentucky state law. The two-word phrase traditionally refers to material objects like slot machines and dice that you’d find in an underground casino.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest poker legislation headlines.
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PartyPoker Changes Play Money Policy
Online site PartyPoker made some changes to its play money policies during the past week. The site, which has been in the news with the signing of professional players Kara Scott and Tony G and its purchase of the World Poker Tour, is now putting a clamp down on the dishonest actions taking place at its play money tables.
PartyPoker posted a blog on its site Tuesday briefly explaining the software upgrade and change in play money policies: "We recently implemented a new policy that restricts play money accounts to a maximum number of chips. This decision has the vast majority of our play money players in mind, and is intended to stop the transferring of chips from account-to-account outside of regular hands of poker... Although this may have affected some play money players in the short term, the decision was made in the interest of our play money games and the fair play benefits it will bring. We will not reverse our decision."
Players who create an account on PartyPoker are first credited with 1,000 play chips. Should they lose those chips, they can replenish their account with 1,000 more chips two more times within a 24-hour period. Under the previous guidelines, players could build their accounts to millions – and even billions – of play chips.
Player-to-player play money chip transfers were never allowed on the site, but players found a way around that rule by sitting down at a table and chip dumping to one another. The practice of purchasing play money chips on sites like ChipEmpire also became common. Players could buy up to one billion chips for $400 on Chip Empire. This resulted in millions upon millions of play chips spreading across the site illegitimately and PartyPoker wanted to put a stop to it.
The new maximum players can have in their account is 250,000 play chips and the change has resulted in backlash from the dedicated play money players on the site. "Party Poker has, without notifying any of the players, arbitrarily taken away everyone's play chip bank. All we have been allowed to have is 250,000," said Brigitte Hole, a longtime PartyPoker play money player. "I had almost 82 million in my account; my husband had just over 100 million. All of our chips were not illegally obtained or even purchased, but won over a long time. We took great pride in building up our accounts to this point.
Hole continued, "Now in one fell swoop, in Party Poker’s efforts to get rid of the people who cheat with their chips (get them illegally, etc.), my account is at 250,000. Without warning, I have been 'bankrupted' and made to feel like the bad guy. This is not fair, this is terrible PR. And they will not give my chips back."
Beth Harrington, another regular play money player on PartyPoker, has been less than pleased with the site's unwillingness to listen to its loyal players regarding the rule change. She told Poker News Daily, "People who have built their bankrolls up over the years have had their accounts reset to 250,000 and even now if you win when you leave the table, you will be reset. We have been e-mailing and calling PartyPoker, but to no avail. They say they can do what they want."
While the new changes appear to be final, as a gesture of goodwill to its play money players, PartyPoker is going to run a special $1,000 freeroll plus the chance to win an all-expenses paid trip for two to watch this month’s PartyPoker Premier League in Las Vegas. The site will have more details on the freeroll soon.