Frist quits the game

Ironic, isn't it? Bill Frist announced that he is no longer a presidential candidate.

This is the same guy who tacked the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enf0rcement Act onto the Safe Ports Act in the middle of the night, so it could come to a vote immediately prior to congressional adjournment, with no discussion of the issue, and no recorded vote, just so he could secure the support of the religious right. He figured he needed their backing to sustain his presidential bid, so he twisted the legislative process to pander to them, and now decides he doesn't want to run, which is , of course, another way of saying that he can't win with their support or without it.

I personally don't think Bill Frist cares about online poker one way or the other; he only pushed this bill into law by attaching it to the Safe Ports Act, a piece of legislation no one could or would vote against in, in order to further his own ends. And these ends come crashing down a scant month-and-a-half afterwards.

You think he might have done a better job of counting his supporters before he ramrodded this legislation through. But then again, I'm a poker player; I'm used to counting my outs. He's a politician who's believed his own hollow words for far too long to be taken seriously.

In a syndicated column in may of this nation's daily newspapers yesterday, the Washington Post's David Broeder, wrote about how the poker players of America along with the Poker Player's Alliance were instrumental in the defeat of Representative Jim Leach (R - IA).

The head honchos behind efforts to put the kibbosh on online poker are running headfirst into walls in very short order. Congressman Leach was voted out of office. Bill Frist, who was eager to secure the Republican nomination for the presidency has painted himself into a corner from which the only means of extrication was to quit the game.

The two ramining four horsemen, John Kyl of Arizona and Bob Goodlatte of Virginia are still in power. But Kyl won reelection by a smaller margin than the thought he would and might have to zip his lip about online gaming in the future.

Goodlatte, who represents a safe district in Virginia won't suffer any ill effects from this law, but the next time he stops and looks around, he's likely to find himself all alone, with precious few allies and no one around who is willing to support any further repressive legislation.

The handwriting is on the wall, and it's clear for all to see.

Is Canada about to follow the USA down the prohibition road?

A proposed bill in the Canadian province of Ontario would prevent advertising illegal online gaming sites in the province.

Online gaming is not regulated at the provincial level in Canada, and current enforcement of existing regulations has not been a priority. The proposed legislation would ban advertisements that promote online gaming sites. More importantly, enforcing this new law would take place at the provincial level, allowing Ontario to step up enforcement.

Passage of this bill will move Canada away from the British approach of regulating online gambling, and toward the U.S. philosophy of prohibition.

For a long time there’s been a concern among Canadians that their country is becoming too Americanized. For all of my poker playing friends north of the border, this would be a nice place to take a stand and model provincial policies after the British model than follow our ill-conceived attempt at prohibition.

Dallas SWAT teams raid local poker rooms

The Dallas, Texas police department has apparently come up with a unique and innovative way to keep their SWAT teams trained for real combat situations. For the second time in two months, Dallas SWAT teams, in simultaneous raids, busted some local poker rooms.

To keep in practice, the SWAT teams broke windows, kicked down doors, and swept into the poker rooms with assault weapons drawn just as they would if they suspected that the rooms were filled with nests of terrorists cooking up weapons of mass destruction and planning to use them on innocent civilians.

Instead, they busted a bunch of people playing poker — folks like you and me — and no more a danger to anyone else than a bowling league.

Why the overkill? Estimates I've read suggest that approximately 60 SWAT team members were used to conduct these raids. If poker is illegal and the Dallas PD’s top brass feel they have to use vital and scarce law enforcement resources on this sort of crap, why not just send two officers there to knock quietly on the door, tell the players that the jig is up, and get on with whatever processing procedures they engage in once the raid is complete.

Did they expect every poker player in the room to come out shooting? Were they thinking they were going to confront Jesse James and the Younger brothers?

Why the need for SWAT teams? Their use should be reserved for really dangerous situations — where suspects are barricaded and have hostages and weapons they intend to use. A SWAT team is not for rousting poker players engaged in what’s at worst a victimless crime that’s the result of a stupid law.

Was this a training exercise? Was it simply a game of “cops and robbers” played with real guns, real cops, but nary a robber in site?

Law enforcement officials look like overbearing, brutish thugs in this situation. But I suppose they can sleep soundly knowing that residents of Dallas are safe from the specter of poker players and the dreaded dangers of a card game.

How incredibly stupid.

TV Ratings Run Amok: The O.J.Simpson Book Deal

This post has no poker content at all, but I’ve been infuriated by O.J. Simpson book deal/TV special story for days, and decided to post about it.

Thank goodness some people have a modicum of common sense, or perhaps the firestorm of adverse publicity and criticism caused News Corp. to pull the plug on the disgusting O.J. Simpson (pictured left) book and TV special "If I Did It." In the book and show, Simpson speaks hypothetically about how he would have committed the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman (pictured right).

Publisher Judith Regan (pictured right) said she considered the book to be Simpson's confession, a statement as transparently false as Simpson’s assertion that he’s still out there looking for the real killers. I think Regan was simply eyeing revenue from books sales and looking for another feather in her publishing cap rather than wringing a confession out of Simpson, who now — even 10 years after the killings of Ron and Nicole — is one of the most reviled men in America.

This entire affair was a moral compass spinning mindlessly out of control, driven by the need to generate ratings during the November sweeps period. If you have any doubts, just follow the money. “If I Did It” was published by ReganBooks, a subsidiary of publishing giant HarperCollins, which is owned — like the Fox network — by News Corp. The television special would have aired on two of the final three nights of the November sweeps, when ratings are used to set advertising rates.

News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch said, "I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project. We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."

Sounds to me like News Corp, Fox, HarperCollins, ReganBooks and publishing maven Judith Regan had no qualms whatsoever about foisting this disgusting crap on the viewing public until enough people were sufficiently angry to force them to reconsider their plans. One can only hope the involved parties will learn from this fiasco, and that anyone with a moneymaking scheme involving O.J. Simpson will think better of it.

I’m expecting to find the book in Border’s remainder bins sometime soon, but even then I won’t buy it.

UIGEA doomed to fail according to AGA chief Frank Fahrenkopf

Frank Fahrenkopf, who heads the American Gaming Association, doubts that the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) will stop U.S. gamblers. "They will continue to bet,” he said, adding “They'll find other means to get their money to these offshore sites."

The American Gaming Association, which represents casino operators, believes demand will force Congress to eventually permit regulated online gambling.

According to Fahrenkopf, "Money always has a way of finding its way to where it wants to go, so that's why I'm hopeful that the legislators, even those legislators who are opposed to all forms of gambling, will realize, number one, they're not going to stop it. Prohibition has never worked in this country. It's better to regulate it. It's better to control it, it's better to tax it."

While government officials charged with writing the regulations in support of UIGEA, the American Gaming Association estimates $5 billion is still being bet online by U.S. residents.

By comparison, other countries are easing restrictions. Instead of prohibition, the U.K. is about to regulate online gaming in order to generate tax revenues, jobs, capital formation and provide protection to online players. British authorities are worried that that UIGEA could drive the industry underground.

Bowmans Poker announces Chinese and Russian language cyberpoker

Bowmans Poker brand, supported by payment processor WebMoney, announced product launches in both Chinese and Russian languages.

Bowmans has an existing Chinese customer base, while their Russian expansion is supported by a brick-and-motar Bowmans Poker Club in Lviv, Ukraine.

Many of the new congressional leadership have ties to legal gaming

When Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), was chosen U.S. Senate majority leader for the 110th Congress that will convene in January, he was just one of a number of influential leaders with a connection to casino gaming.

Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is expected to be the Republican leader in the senate, and Kentucky is a state with land based casinos.

Dick Durbin (D-IL) assistant majority leader is from a state that 's filled with casinos.

Trent Lott, (R-MS) Minority whip, is from a state that has numerous land based casinos.

Jon Conyers (D-MI), expected to head the House Judiciary Committee, has seen the business brought by casinos to Detroit.

Barney Frank (D-MA), expected to chair the Financial Services Committee, is opposed to UIGEA on libertarian grounds.

Could this mark a sea change in Congress regarding its approach to online gaming? At this point it’s anyone’s guess.

My opinion is that the American Gaming Association will succeed in commissioning a study to determine whether online gaming can be successfully regulated in the US.

Once those results come in, look for the major land-based casino brands in the US to partner up with online sites that will allow them to provide well-regarded and trusted brand identity with tried and true software, online marketing, and back room expertise in support of regulated online gaming within the USA.

It won’t happen overnight, and I hope I’m not being overly optimistic in my assessment, but I can’t see prohibition ever succeeding — it never has — and a regulated industry is the next best thing.

Will the American Gaming Association lobby Congress for legal online gaming?

Should the American Gaming Association — the group that represents the nation’s biggest land-based casinos — lobby the incoming, Democrat dominated Congress to study Internet gambling and determine whether it can be properly regulated, controlled, taxed and licensed? "My guess is that they are going to say let's go ahead and do it," said AGA President Frank Fahrenkopf.

Though AGA once stood in opposition to legalized Internet gambling, they have changed their tune in recent months, and last April their board, which contains senior executives from major land gaming companies such as MGM Mirage, Wynn Resorts, Harrah's Entertainment and Boyd Gaming, decided to urge the formation of an independent commission to conduct a full study.

The last time the issue was discussed by AGA, a study by the National Academy of Sciences was the consensus choice.
If a study found that online could be controlled and regulated, the AGA, along with Nevada Representatives Jon Porter and Shelly Berkely, could make another push to legalize online gaming in the USA.

Tribeca Poker Network to Cease Serving U.S. Customers

The consolidations and tribulations keep on coming in the post UIGEA world of online poker, as Tribeca Poker Network announced that it will cease serving poker customers in the US, Israel, and Hong Kong.

The company said that it will now focus on established non US territories and new markets.

Tribeca will retain its European brands such as Sporting Index, Paddy Power, Blue Sq, Victor Chandler, and Expekt, but is expected to sell-off those within their network that still plan to target the US market.

The most well known of Tribeca’s US-facing sites is DoylesRoom.Com. Doyle Brunson recently sent a personal e-mail to his customers saying:

"We at Doyle’s Room have taken extensive legal advice and believe that it is far too early to fully understand the implications of this bill on our industry. Based on the legal advice we have received, the new bill does not make internet poker expressly illegal nor does it take aim at players who enjoy online poker. However, there are some U.S. States that have existing regulations in place that may prohibit online gaming, so we encourage all of our U.S. players to review the laws of the State in which they reside. Until such time as the law becomes clearer, Doyle’s Room will operate as normal with our full exciting range of games and tournaments at all limits......And finally, please rest assured your money is completely secure at Doyle's Room. I personally guarantee it."

Still an open question is whether this action makes Doyle Brunson a law enforcement target who could be charged with violations of The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 and Nevada state laws.

Rep Leach's Political Epitaph

While the majority of poker players are fiercly independent, and many don'e even take the time to vote, that all seemed to change in last week's election. Long time Representative Jim Leach -- a 30-year member of the House of Representatives -- was removed from Congress power by Iowa voters Tuesday.

Leach was one of the driving forces who who came up with the plan to prevent banks and other financial channels from funding online gaming. This plan led to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA).

It's ironic in a way, but during his re-election campaign, Leach called the Internet gambling legislation he originated one of his proudest accomplishments during his 30 years in Congress.

Now that proud accomplishment can serve as both a political epitaph for Leach himself as well as a reminder to other elected officials who want to pander to the religious right, that poker players are organized: We vote, and we're bound and determined to send packing any other legislator with plans to enact nanny-state legislation telling us what we can and can't do with our own money, on our own time, and in the privacy of our own homes.

This weekend: Dick Van Patten Celeb Poker Tournament

This weekend I’ll be playing in the Dick Van Patten Celebrity Poker Tournament at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, located about 20 miles east of Palm Springs. The tournament, now in its second year, raises money to underwrite a holiday party for children of US Marines stationed at nearby Twenty-nine Palms.

Some of the invitees include host Dick Van Patten, his son Vince, Connie Stevens, Eileen Davidson, the Desert Sun’s poker columnist Jill Cohen, aka “The Queen of Hearts,” and yours truly.

The field will be limited to 400 players, with a $300 buy-in. If you can make it, please come by and say hello.

There’s a Registration Cocktail Party at 7:00 PM Friday, November 10, with the tournament scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. You can register by calling 1.800.827.2946, ext 84884.

Here's a link to a Desert Sun story about the tournament: http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061109/LIFESTYLES01/611080355/1050

And here's another link. This one takes you to a piece I wrote for the Desert Sun. http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061109/LIFESTYLES01/611080358/1050

By the way, look for some major improvements in poker at Fantasy Springs. They just hired long-time poker honcho Bee Estes to head up their poker room. Physical improvements are being made in the room right now, and Estes has a number of ideas to improve the ambiance, the games, and the offerings to players at all levels.

Two down, two to go

This week's election had a little something for everyone. For the Dems, it was a chance to recapture both houses of Congress, though their triumph seemed more a case of disenchantment with Bush's policies than a ringing endorsemnt of their own.

For Republicans, it's a chance to stand back and not have to do the heavy lifting any longer. Now that the Dems control Congress, driving the train is their job.

For Libertarians like me, this election showed weaknesses in both major parties and a lot of people who don't want anyone telling them that they shouldn't be playing poker on their own time and money discovered their own libertarian tendencies they might not have even realized.

But the good news in all of this, regardless of what party you support, is this: If you are a poker player, two of your least favorite members of congress won't be around any longer, and that's a good thing.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is leaving the Senate for a run at the Republican nomination for President. If the Republicans are smart, they'll take note of the fact that some of their anti gaming buddies did not do as well as expected in this week's elections, and that's probably due to grass roots efforts aimed at striking back at the late night, no recorded vote, passage of the disingenuous Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act. If the Republicans still nominate Bill Frist, they might just as well hand the White House over to the Dems. Frist is now damaged goods.

Jim Leach was defeated. Here's a guy who is generally a moderate Republican, but couldn't hold his seat when he really should have been able to. I'm not sure of all the factors that led to his stunning defeat, but I've got to believe that his desires to ban online gaming had a lot to do with it.

Jon Kyl keeps his seat. But he won by a much smaller margin than expected. Although he was never in real trouble for reelection, the margin by which he won was a lot smaller than it probably would have been had he not been so virulently anti gambling, and so willing -- if not eager -- to violate the traditional Republican philosophies of small government, personal liberty, and a policy of non-intrusion into people's personal lives. It's actually hard for me to believe that Kyl is from Arizona, the home of Barry Goldwater. Goldwater's book, The Conscience of a Conservative, described a brand of conservatism that is the polar opposite of the kind of "governemnt knows best" conservatism espoused by Mr. Kyl.

Bob Goodlatte is still around, and there's not much we can do about it. His district is so very safe that he can take any position he want to, no matter how absurd it may be, and still keep his seat.

While poker players will simply have to outwait Goodlatte, the saving grace is that for the next two years there will be gridlock in Washington. With a Republican president and both houses of Congress controlled by the Democrats, nothing will get done.

That's why the stock market rallied on the election news. The business community knows that a divided house means fewer restrictive laws passed, less regulation of the business community, and that was reflected in the overall recent market gains.

It means pretty much the same thing for poker players too. Both houses of congress will try to find some way out of the Iraq quagmire, and that will leave little time for the kind of moralistic pandering we saw for the last year or so.

The good news is that Congress might just do for the next two years what they should have done for the past six: Leave us the hell alone.

The Crispin Leyser-Jamie Gold lawsuit still unresolved

According to a report in the November 6 Las Vegas Sun, World Series of Poker champion Jamie Gold (pictured left)says he has no intention of sharing half of his $12 million winnings with Crispin Leyser (pictured right), who claims Gold promised him half of his top prize in the World Series of Poker because of Leyser’s role in finding celebrities to wear Bodog-logo clothing during the event.

Leyser has a voice-mail tape in support of his claim, and filed a lawsuit in Clark County District Court when Gold didn't pay up. He claims the voice mail and other facts are evidence of an agreement between them.

Last August, Judge Kathy Hardcastle signed a temporary restraining order freezing six million of Jamie Gold’s 12-million dollar WSOP winnings, based on a pending resolution of this matter.

Gold filed a brief last week in which he claimed that the agreement was not binding, and just "…a promise to make a gift."

The beat goes on. It’s sad to see, but here it is November and Jamie Gold’s reign as poker’s world champion and season in the sun as poker’s poster child is flying by without his reaping all the benefits he might have, if this ugly little lawsuit had been nipped in the bud.

Cindy Margolis signs with Tropical Poker

Tropical Poker signed Cindy Margolis — the most downloaded star on the Internet — to an exclusive poker representation agreement. She’ll represent the Tropical Poker brand in the press, media interviews, poker events and appearances, as well as at the 2007 World Series of Poker. Fans of Cindy will also be available to play poker and chat with her online at Tropical Poker.

In January 2006 Cindy Margolis joined forces with professional poker player Cyndy Violette at cindymargolispoker.com. The site was described at the time as "a poker promoter's dream!"

Poker Royalty, a poker player marketing and representation agency specializing in the poker industry, signed Cindy to a contract at about the same time.

A month or so later, she hosted the kick-off party for Phil Hellmuth’s poker fantasy at PURE Nightclub in Caesar's Palace.
I don’t know what’s become of Cindy Margolis Poker or any of her other poker related relationships, but Cindy can be found at Tropical Poker for the foreseeable future.

Editing, editing, editing

This past year has been amazing for me as a writer -- four books in 12 months. Sheree Bykofsky and I came out with Secrets the Pros Won't Tell You About Winning Hold'em Poker earlier in the year, and since then, we also finished The Rules of Poker: Essentials For Every Game.

Sheree and I, along with Sammy Rosenbaum, are finishing up The Portable Poker Pro. On my own, I'm completing 52 Great Poker Tips, for Anova Books, a British publisher that has a series of 52 Great Tips for other card games and is adding poker to their collection.

All of the books in progress are on what the publishing world calls "the Spring List," which means that these three new books will be elbowing each other for shelf space come February or March. I'm not bragging, but this week was an epiphany of sorts, where I saw myself turning into a typing machine and realized that I haven't played nearly enough poker this year.

Thing all came to a head when I received galleys of 52 Great Poker Tips and The Portable Poker Pro in the mail. Each publisher is eager to get those galleys back ASAP, so I've been busily editing both, and forcing myself to concentrate way beyond the point that my normal concentration usually wavers. My only escape is to play solitare on the computer as a break, and to go for an hour to an hour-and-a-half bike ride once a day.

I'm finally done, and as soon as I finish this post I'll get in my car and head off to Federal Express to send these puppies home, to London and New York, where they will be turned into books. Maybe later this week I can even get out and play some poker -- once I finish up a few magazine articles that have been on the back burner during this editing frenzy.

Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker reported to merge next week

Reports of a buy out of Ultimate Bet by Absolute Poker had been heard in the poker industry over the past few weeks, and as the predicted spate of mergers and aquisitions continues, it appears that Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker will announce their merger early next week, perhaps as early as Monday.

The merger is aimed at increasing liquidity, and will likely propel the merged site into third place. I have no details about how the new entity is to be organized and how they will market to their US customers, nor how it will affect employees of both companies. Both companies are US-facing, and I'm assuming there will be a strong marketing push directed toward US players in the weeks following the announcement.