Nevada Gaming Control Board Set to Release Study Supporting Online Poker

According to a report in the Las Vegas Sun, the Nevada Gaming Control Board is ready to release a study by the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) that measures how many Nevadans gamble online and their attitudes toward legal Internet gambling. They hope this study will be viewed as another step toward the legalization and regulation of online gaming.

The survey, commissioned by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, is intended to inform lawmakers about the pros and cons of regulating online gaming—a business considered illegal by the Department of Justice and the current administration.

Nevada approved legislation in 2003 to allow regulators to study whether Internet gambling could be regulated. Since 2003, technology that locates and identifies online players through satellite signals, as well as procedures supporting online background checks, has been developed.

“It's historically been the policy of the state of Nevada to regulate gaming so that we can protect patrons and make sure they get paid when they win,” said Las Vegas gaming attorney Tony Cabot. He also pointed out that the UNLV study may show sufficient gambling dollars going offshore to warrant state efforts to tap into that revenue.

A (Belated) Thought of Thanksgiving

This is belated, to be sure, but I awakened this morning thinking about Thanksgiving and all the things, big and small, that I’m thankful for. One thing I tend to take for granted, but really shouldn’t, is the weather. And if the price is a lot of snowbirds who clog the roads in the Coachella Valley every winter, it’s a small price to pay.

Yesterday we had 16 people—family, friends, and neighbors—for Thanksgiving dinner, and because we live in a warm climate, we were able to eat outdoors. It was a gorgeous day, and I wore shorts and was barefoot—we’re not really formal at my house—and thought how fortunate I was to live where I do, and not have to suffer real winters unless I choose to go to the snow.

I’m also thankful that my commute to work is no further than a jaunt to a home office, or a trip to a nearby cardroom.

All the cycling magazines that find their way to my door are filled with articles this time of year about maintaining fitness by cycling indoors on a trainer or on rollers, because the weather is too harsh in most places for all but the most dedicated to want to ride on the roads. But not here. If I ride mid-day, I can usually get by in a short-sleeved cycling jersey and shorts. If I decide to ride early, when it’s a lot colder, all I need do is add arm and leg warmers and maybe a vest over my jersey and I’m good to go.

The sun is shining here as it usually does. The temperature is in the low 70s, and I’m stuffed full of turkey and all the fixings. And for all of this, I’m thankful.

Congressional Hearing Points Out Need to Legalize Online Gaming

Experts testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary last week, calling for the U.S. to reverse policies related to Internet gambling and arguing that prohibition of Internet gambling activities violates the American principles of personal freedom and individual liberty.

They explained how the ban on Internet gambling violates U.S. treaty obligations with other countries and exposes U.S. businesses to potential criminal retaliation overseas. Additionally, Internet verification software technology was described that successfully protects against underage and compulsive gambling, further eliminating the rationale for banning online gambling activity.

"Today's hearing made clear the arguments why Congress needs to reverse its current policies related to Internet gambling," said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesman for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative.
Expert testimony at the hearing was provided by Representative Shelley Berkley (D-NV), professional poker player Annie Duke, New York University Law School professor Joseph Weiler and Michael Colopy, a representative of Aristotle Inc., a leading provider of verification services for child protection online.

Reversing U.S. Policies on Internet Gambling
Representative Shelley Berkeley (pictured far right) provided testimony on the need for Congress to change its policies related to Internet gambling and protect the million of Americans that continue to gamble online despite passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

"According to Berkeley "The UIGEA actually made things even more confusing by targeting the financial sector rather than gamblers, and further memorializing the carve-out for horseracing. Although some Internet gaming executives have been arrested and some of the more reputable operators have stopped doing business in the U.S., an estimated 10 million Americans are still wagering online on poker alone, and they are doing so without the benefit of the protections afforded by effective regulatory oversight...I applaud this committee for attempting to lay the groundwork for a legislative solution that ideally would legalize online gaming, subject it to some sort of regulation, and protect underage and problem gamblers."

Preserving American Freedoms
Professional poker player Annie Duke (pictured right) testified that Americans deserve the right to determine whether to gamble online without government intrusion.

"What's at stake here is the right of individual Americans to do what they want in the privacy of their homes without the intrusion of the government," said Duke. "This country was among the first to embrace the idea that there should be distinct limits on the ability of the government to control or direct the private affairs of its citizens. More than any other value, America is supposed to be about freedom. Except where one's actions directly harm another person's life, liberty or property, our government is supposed to leave citizenry alone. Examples of Congress straying from this principle are legion, but few are as egregious as The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006."

Duke hammered these points home during her appearance on Keep Flopping Aces, the internet radio show that Amy Calistri and I host each Thursday night at 9 p.m. EST. You can listen to this show in the http://www.holdemradio.com/ archives, or by downloading it as an i-Tunes podcast.

Resolving the WTO Internet Gambling Dispute
Joseph Weiler, a professor of law at the New York University School of Law and an expert in the law of the WTO, provided testimony that the U.S. is in violation of its WTO trade agreements around Internet gambling and should seek to bring itself into compliance.

"The U.S. bans online gambling offered by overseas operators even though it made treaty commitments to allow it and even though it allows online wagering domestically, including for horse racing," said Weiler. "We should bring our law and conduct into compliance with our international legal obligations. Our country is the trendsetter and leader in so many international arenas. Whether we like it or not, we lead by example. As our economy moves increasingly towards a high tech, knowledge based service oriented model and as we realize that our future prosperity will depend increasingly of tapping into export markets, notably the huge emerging markets such as China and India, is it really in our self interest to teach this particular example? How we would we feel if China prosecuted and imprisoned American businessman for engaging in commerce in China that the government there decided to ban despite its treaty obligations?"

Combating Compulsive and Underage Gambling
Michael Colopy, a representative of Aristotle Inc., a leading provider of verification services for child protection online, provided testimony on the opportunity to use technology and controls available on the Internet to combat compulsive and underage gambling.

"Online age and ID verification has matured as a needed solution such that any merchant may do online what is routinely done at stores every day across America," said Colopy. "In fact, as ever more efficient technologies and databases have been developed, online transactions have become in many instances faster and less risky than the visual driver's license scans that suffice for alcohol or cigarette purchases in America's neighborhood convenience stores, restaurants and bars."

Here’s my take on this: There’s not a point made here that I disagree with. It’s our money. We earned it. And if we want to spend some of it playing online poker, the government had no right to tell us what we can do in the privacy of our own homes.

Sean Sheikan Dealt Better Hand in Deportation Hearing

As I reported on September 25, Poker player Shahram “Sean” Sheikhan, a regular on High Stakes Poker, was facing deportation to Iran because of a 1995 conviction for misdemeanor sexual battery charges that involved a 17-year-old girl. Sheikhan was in his early 20s at the time and served nine months for his offense.

Sheikhan, now 38, came to the United States when he was nine years old. He is married to an American-born woman and the couple has a young child.Pushing this case were the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), which seeks out foreign nationals convicted of sexual crimes against children and works to get them deported.

According to Sheikhan’s lawyer, David Chesnoff, “It’s not allegations involving a child in the actual meaning of the word; it’s a legal definition,” adding, “There’s a lot of work to be done on his behalf that’s going to be done. He’s a good husband and a good father, and a lot of people have problems when they’re young that shouldn’t follow them for the rest of their lives.”

Last week Harry Gastley, a U.S. Immigrations Court Judge, ruled that the Department of Homeland Security did not provide enough proof to decide if Sheikhan committed a deportable offense. This decision halted all deportation proceedings against the Nevada poker pro, although he is not completely safe from deportation as of yet. The Department of Homeland Security has until December 17 to appeal Gastley’s decision.

Here's my take on this: While I’m no friend of Sean Sheikhan, ICE’s efforts to deport him amounted to piling on. After all, he served time for his offense. If deportation was deemed to be the thing to do, it should have been part of his original sentence. Sheikhan is no threat to repeat this kind of behavior.

He’s married, a family man, and has not repeated this kind of behavior in the nearly 20 years since his arrest and conviction.

Al D'Amato says Online Poker Will Be Back in the US in 18 Months

Former Senator Alfonse D'Amato, chairman of the Poker Players' Alliance, expects online poker to be back in the United States within 18 months. He was speaking in Las Vegas at last week's Global Gaming Expo, attended by more than 28,000 industry professionals.

Other panelists at the Internet Gambling at the Crossroads session opined that sanctions by the World Trade Organization (WTO) stemming from current US policy on Internet gambling could be the major driver for legalization.

Panelists also agreed that online gaming can be regulated to prevent underage gambling and ensure player protection. With the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) banning financial transactions online and keeping reputable companies out of the marketplace, panelists were concerned about player protection in an environment dominated by unregulated.

According to Terry Lanni of MGM Mirage, existing technology can ascertain where a player lives, while verifying his age and detecting “problem gambling.” Gary Loveman stated that Harrah's is exploring the possibility of expanding its World Series of Poker brand by creating Internet gambling sites in countries where it is legal to do so.

Here’s my take on this: I agree with D’Amato. I believe that UIGEA will either be overturned, held in legal limbo, or otherwise rendered toothless, though I’d be (pleasantly) surprised if this occurred before the next presidential election.

That allows time for Representative Shelley Berkley's (D-NV) study bill (See May 25 blog entry for a full description of Berkley's bill) to be passed and a study brought back to congress that says what we all know: All the voiced concerns about online gaming can be addressed by existing technology, and that the US is losing out on billions in revenue as a result of UIGEA. It also allows a new administration in the White House to step back from positions taken by the Bush administration and set new, forward-looking policy.

John Pappas of the Poker Players Alliance Shines on Radio

Amy Calistri and I had John Pappas, of the Poker Players Alliance as a guest on our internet radio show, Keep Flopping Aces, last night. It was an incredible show, and if you are interested in a quick lesson on all of the issue confronting poker players in this country, go to the http://www.holdemradio.com/ show archives and tune in to a rebroadcast of last night's show.

The show should be posted there within a few days, and by then you'll also be able to listen to it as an i-Tunes podcast.

In fact, if you listen to last night's show and also listen to the show from last week, which aired originally on November 8, you'll be able to hear John Pappas and Annie Duke discuss many of the same issues.

It was incredibly informative, and it all boils down to the fact that every vote counts. If you haven't registered to vote, do so now. If you have registered, be sure to vote for candidates that will protect your right to play poker in the privacy of your own home without someone else imposing their particular view of morality on you.

I'd also advise you to write to your congressional representative, or even better yet, phone them and make your feelings known.

If you go to http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/ you'll find a list of talking points that will help when you call or write to your representative to express your opinion about online poker and your right to play it.

Next Thursday is Thanksgiving, so we'll air a rerun in our 6:00 p.m. PST time slot, but the following Thursday, November 29, we'll be back with the only woman elected to the Poker Hall of Fame, Barbara Enright. You'll be in for a treat if you tune in.

Harrah's Ready to Enter UK and European Online Poker Market

Gary Loveman, CEO of Harrah’s Entertainment, said he's looking at taking the World Series of Poker brand into the Internet poker in the U.K. and Europe. He made that comment at the Global Gaming Expo, the largest trade show of the year for the North American casino industry.

Although banks and payment processors are prohibited from handling cash transactions from US based players to and from online poker sites under the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) that President Bush signed into law last year, Internet gambling businesses are treated differently around the world.

"If you take a look at the legal landscape in continental Europe and the United Kingdom, there are countries where it's demonstrably legal and there's absolutely no encumbrance," Loveman said. "Those are areas that are very attractive to us."

Tournament spokesman Gary Thompson said Harrah's is studying the market and legal conditions before deciding whether to continue. It would not enter the online poker market "where there are any gray areas," he said.

If Harrah’s is able to make a go of online poker in the UK and Europe, they will be poised to capture a large market share once UIGEA is repealed or legislation is passed that allows US based players full access to online poker and the cash transfers in and out of online sites that are part and parcel of the game.

Euro Trade Rep Tells Washsington that UIGEA Should be Repealed

Reuters news agency reported that the European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, told Washington that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is unfair to foreign firms and should be repealed.

Mandelson came to the US to negotiate compensation for the 27-nation EU following the unilateral withdrawal of the US from World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations after UIGEA was declared discriminatory.

“It's not in the interest of American consumers to have good responsible competitors in this market excluded by regulatory mechanisms,” said Mandelson. “What we need to see is a change in US legislation that removes that discrimination against EU operators.”

European gambling firms asked the EU to pursue claims of up to $100 billion in compensatory sanctions and Mandelson has indicated that he supports these claims.

"When a member of the WTO defaults on its commitments, compensation is due,' continued Mandelson. 'That's the case of online gambling."

Mandelson also met with Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) and to discuss the legislator’s proposed Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (IGREA) that would regulate online gambling and bring the US into compliance with WTO rules.

“I think Frank takes a fair-minded, common sense approach to this and we look forward to that being effective legislation,” said Mandelson.

Big Doings on High Stakes Poker

If you didn’t watch in real time, you need to look for a rerun of last Monday’s episode of High Stakes Poker to see an amazing hand. Patrik Antonius raised to $4,000 with As-Jd and Jamie Gold (pictured right) reraised to $14,000 with pocket kings. Antonius called. Everyone else folded.

The flop was 3s-Qd-Th. Antonius checked his gut-shot straight draw and Gold bet $15,000 with his kings. Antonius called.

The turn was a card both players had hoped for, the Kh. It gave Gold top set, while Antonius had an ace-high straight, the best possible hand.

Antonius bet $45,000. Gold, never putting Antonius on a gut-shot straight draw, moved all-in for $341,500. Antonius called without hesitation and viewers were treated to the biggest pot in the show's history: $743,800 was on the table.

Gold and Antonius decided to run the river card three times, so there was nearly a quarter-million riding on each card.

Gold was a big underdog, but on the first run-through he caught the Qh, which paired the board and Jamie’s full-house was the best hand. Gold shouted “Yes!” sounding like Marv Albert does as he escaped at least once.

The second time they ran the river card, Gold caught the 3d for another full house. Antonius sat stunned and silent, having just lost $500,000 on two cards.

By the third run-through, there weren’t many cards left for Gold to catch and Antonius’ hand held up when the 8s fell on the river, allowing him to collect one-third of the pot. Had he lost that final encounter, he would have dropped nearly three-quarters of a million on that hand. As it was, he only lost $250,000.

When the hand was over, show host A.J. Benza said drolly, "I tell you one thing: Patrik can take a punch. Imagine if that was Phil Hellmuth.”

Antigua's Prime Minister Meets With US Congressmen Over Online Gaming Dispute

"I think my country is wrong in trying to change the rules of the World trade Organization (WTO)," said New York Democrat Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, to local Caribbean reporters, following a meeting with Antiguan Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer.

The meeting was a sidebar to a regional business conference that was attended by a number of congressional representatives. Rangel added, "Your great nation and ours will have to negotiate those differences in terms of equity and fairness."

Antigua accuses the U.S. of crippling its gaming industry by effectively banning Americans from placing online bets with gambling operators in the Caribbean nation.

The tiny Caribbean nation with a population of approximately 70,000 sees online gaming as a means of easing its dependence on tourism. They filed a complaint with the WTO, won their case, and now seek $3.4 billion in trade sanctions against the U.S.

Spencer said that he’s hopeful that the US congressional delegation attending the conference would come away with a better and greater appreciation of Antigua’s position, and that this weekend’s meetings would help resolve their trade battle with the United States over.

Congressman Rangel, who oversees tax legislation as chair of the Ways and Means Committee, said he worries Washington may have overstepped its authority in the long-running dispute.

US Congressional Delegation to Meet With Antigua Over Online Gambling Trade Dispute

Antigua’s Finance Minister, Dr. Errol Cort, plans to use a Caribbean business conference that will include some US legislators among its attendees, as a forum to push its case about America’s discriminatory online gambling legislation.

Approximately ten members of Congress will hear from Dr. Cort and his colleagues about the long-running trade dispute before the World Trade Organization (WTO), during the annual Caribbean and Latin American Aquaculture Congress in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Cort will press the case Antigua’s case, stating that the US crippled Antigua’s gambling industry by effectively banning Americans from making online wagers. The Antiguans plan to do this in private meetings with members of America’s Congress.

They will also invite US lawmakers to tour the Antigua’s Financial Services Regulatory Commission and some Internet gaming companies to show their visitors that his nation has the capacity to adequately regulate gaming operations.

The US Congress barred American banks and credit card companies from processing online gambling payments last year when it passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which denied access to the American market. As a result, Antigua, has sought $3.4 billion in trade sanctions.

They're Loose!

They’re loose! A few days ago I played in one of the loosest hold’em games I’ve seen in quite a while. Five or more players routinely saw the flop, and on more than a few occasions, all nine were active.

Maybe it’s because it’s November, which marks the beginning of the season in Palm Springs, and the snowbirds have arrived in droves. Some probably haven’t played poker all summer, and this day might have marked the first time they riffled chips through their fingers in five months.

In a hand that saw eight players take the flop, I raised from the cut-off seat with Ah-Jh and all seven of my opponents called. I loved the flop. It was Js-6h-3c, and didn’t look like it helped anyone but me. Still, it didn’t mean no one flopped a set or two pair. In a game in which any two will do, any two can beat you.

The turn card was Ad. Bingo! All the backdoor flush draws were dead and I had top two pair. It was checked around to me and I bet. People began dropping and I was called in only two places. Because I was not checkraised, I knew I wasn’t looking at a set, and certain that I had the best hand. With top two pair and two callers, I found myself wishing we were playing no-limit instead of fixed-limit.

The river was a king, and I still felt very good about it. I bet and was called by one player who then turned up A-K for two bigger pair than mine. I was flabbergasted. He didn’t flop a thing, but stayed to catch two running cards for two bigger pair than mine. Oh well, that’s what happens in a game where everyone calls.

About an hour later I was involved in a pot with nine players. This time I was in the big blind and called a raise with Q-T. I was getting 17-to-1 on my money so it paid to stick around to see if I could catch a miracle, or at least a significant part of the flop.

I caught all of it. The flop was K-J-9 of mixed suits, and I had the nuts. We all checked to the guy who raised before the flop and he did not disappoint. He came right out betting. Everyone, if you can believe it, called. The turn was a six that didn’t appear to help anyone. The preflop raiser, who was third in the betting order, fired another salvo and everyone called. With all those players trapped behind his bet, I raised, dropped a couple of players but still wound up with far more callers than I would have expected.

The river was another blank. This time everyone checked to me. I bet the nuts, was called in three places and won a huge pot. That’s also what happens in a game where everyone calls.

“They’re loose,” I thought, reflecting on the eager snowbirds who were happy to be back in the desert and making ready for a winter of golf and poker. But that phrase, “They’re loose,” also resonated all the way back to my childhood—a tag line of sorts among my cronies whenever we pulled a wacky stunt.

It began innocently enough. Five of us had gone to the zoo one day. We must have been in seventh grade. As we were exiting the zoo, we saw a group of people milling round the lobby waiting to enter. One of my friends noticed the crowd and burst through the door screaming “They’re loose” at the top of his lungs. “They’re loose, they’re loose,” he shouted. I took my cue from the confusion he created, screaming, “blood everywhere … blood all over,” as we exited among the confusion we caused and disappeared into the park that bounded the zoo.

Flash forward a few years. Now we’re 19 and sophomores in college, just kids from the streets in Brooklyn with the barest patina of sophistication, though we thought ourselves uber cool. We had double dated with two girls who lived in Manhattan, a world entirely different from Brooklyn. In Brooklyn we gobbled buckets of popcorn in the movies and sat with our feet up on the seats in front of us. In Manhattan, at least at the art houses, they politely sipped espresso in small cups and talked like characters in a Woody Allen movie—full of pretension and pseudo-intellectual arrogance. The girls we were with fit in with that crowd a lot better than we did.

As we were coming out of the 8 p.m. show, a crowd of people was lined up for the 10:30 screening. My friend pushed through the doors to the lobby, and as he did, he turnsed back to me as though we had been engaged in a long animated conversation. Grabbing his head in his hands in a classic “woe is me” pose, he says in a loud, animated voice, “But she dies in the end. She dies, she dies.” The last “she dies” crescendo was loud enough to curdle cream in cappuccino.

“Sorry,” he said with wide-eyed innocence, as all eyes glared at him. “But she had to die. It was the only intellectually honest and existentially correct posture the filmmaker could have taken. If she lived it would have been a crime against art and humanity!”

Pinky fingers curled inward from their previously extended position, as every poseur in the lobby paused to consider what my friend might have meant, now that the film’s dénouement was—at least in their minds—exposed for all the world to see.

My mind flashed back to the zoo incident, and I knew it was just another case of “They’re loose,” albeit in a more sophisticated setting. I stifled my laughter until we were outside the theater, then began laughing hysterically. I could almost hear the bursting of pompous balloons in the lobby.

The girls we had taken to the movie were not impressed. I think our behavior mortified them. It was so … gauche, so very déclassé. Whatever they saw in us initially, there was ice in their eyes as we took them home, and we were peasants in their eyes. We never saw them again.

We left them to their small cups of coffee and pretentious intellectual talk. As far as we were concerned, they could have Camus and Sartre all to themselves. Besides, I’d read Being and Nothingness too, though it was not something one readily admitted in my neighborhood, never mind bragged about. And anyway, the night wasn’t dead yet. It was still early and there was a poker game somewhere in Brooklyn we were headed to.

The Amazing Story of Jerry Yang

Sometimes success and wealth can change someone for the worst, almost overnight, or so it seems. But not everyone. Not Jerry Yang.

Amy Calistri and I had Jerry Yang on Keep Flopping Aces, our Internet radio show that is webcast on www.holdemradio.com every Thursday night at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. He became an instant millionaire eight times over when he won the World Series of Poker’s main event last summer, and promised during his victory speech to give a portion of his winning to charity.

He also told us that ten percent of his future winnings will go to charity. Jerry and his wife have both quit their jobs, and when I asked what he plans to do with all his free time, he told us that he plans to spend much more time with his family and plans to do more charity work. It’s not like he is a stranger to helping people. He was a social worker until very recently, and his life’s focus has always been on good work and helping people.

He has six kids and has already set aside money to pay for their college education. He said he doesn’t want his kids to have to do what he did when, as a poor immigrant attending college, he had to sweep out the gym and do other jobs to keep him in books and food while he attended classes.

Some people are quick to deny their roots and forget where they come from once they make it. Others—and it seems like it’s far fewer—reach back and offer a hand up the ladder to those who are facing the same struggles they did.

We spent nearly an hour on the air with Jerry Yang. He is down to earth, humble, grateful for his blessings, and a strong family man with a conscience.

The interview with Jerry Yang will be on the www.holdemRadio.com website in a few days, and will be able to be downloaded as an i-Tunes podcast too.

Jerry Yang is the real deal. He had a very focused strategy in mind for the final table at this year’s WSOP. He followed it and he won. He also has a strategy for his life. And he’s following that too.

Yang is an amazing guy with an immigrant’s story that embodies the American dream. Along with his family he escaped the horrors of Southeast Asia, spent four years in a refugee camp, came to this country with nothing, learned the language, put himself through college and graduate school, and was an American success story. The WSOP win is merely the icing on the cake. All the hard work and heavy lifting was done earlier.

Each of us has an immigrant’s tale in our family history. My great-grandfather walked across Europe to Amsterdam—a journey of three years—at the beginning of the Twentieth Century to sail in steerage to America. The story of poverty, privation, and struggle is similar to Jerry’s. Only the time and locales differ.

Spending an hour talking with Jerry Yang brought it all back home. Maybe each of us needs to be reminded of our family roots every now and then to see our own lives with fresh eyes. It’s nourishment for the soul.