iMEGA asks Ky Supreme Court to Review "Secret Proceedings" in Domain Name Seizure Case

The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) asked the Kentucky Supreme Court to review a video tape of the secret proceeding Gov. Beshear’s attorneys used to get property seizure orders for 141 Internet domain names without notifying the property owners or giving them an opportunity for representation.

In a 2-to-1 decision from the commonwealth’s Court of Appeals in January 2009, iMEGA prevailed over Gov. Beshear when a lower court’s seizure orders were blocked. Gov. Beshear wanted to seize these domain names in order to force online gaming firms to block Kentucky residents from using their sites. The not-so-hidden agenda was that this would protect Kentucky’s in-state gambling operations from competition (Can you say Churchill Downs?).

“We’re very confident the State Supreme Court will reach the same conclusion as the Court of Appeals,” said Joe Brennan Jr., chairman of iMEGA. “It’s too bad Gov. Beshear wants to keep fighting, but since he’s not paying for his attorneys, I guess he doesn’t care how long this takes or how much he ties up Kentucky’s courts with this doomed campaign.”

WSOP Event No. 2, the $40,000 buy-in Event, is Up and Running

Well, just in case you've been trapped on a desert island, the World Series of Poker is underway and Event No. 2, the one-off $40,000 buy-in tournament offered this year to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the WSOP is up and running. The event attracted 201 entrants, and many of the game's heavy hitters are here.

The net prize pool is $7,718,400, and first place takes home $1,891,012. Twenty-seven spots will be paid.

Just in case you want to look for your favorite player, here's an alaphebetical list of all 201 runners.

Last Name, First Name
ADAMS, GEORGE
ALAEI, DANIEL
ARIEH, JOSHUA
BAILEY, TERRY
BAKER, DAVID
BARON, ISAAC
BARTA, BALINT
BATISTA, CHAD
BECHTEL, JAMES
BEEN, AARON
BENEFIELD, DAVID
BENYAMINE, DAVID
BILLIRAKIS, STEVE
BINGER, MICHAEL
BLACK, ANDREW
BLOCH, ANDREW
BONOMO, JUSTIN
BOUCHER, PHILIPPE
BRENES, JOSE
BRUNSON, DOYLE
BUCHANAN, SHAWN
CAHAIL, BLAKE
CALDERARO, JAMES
CASILLAS, ERIK
CHAN, TERRENCE
CHAN, JON
CHANG, WEIKAI
CHANNING, NEIL
CHEN, WILLIAM
CHIU, DAVID
CHRISS, NEIL
COLE, CORWIN
COLIN, BRYAN
CORKINS, HOYLT
DEEB, SHAUN
DEEB, KASSEM "FREDDY"
DEMICHELE, MICHAEL
DEMIDOV, IVAN
DEMJAN, SANDOR
DICKSTEIN, MARK
DORFMAN, RANDY
DOSHI, SURESH
DUKE, ANNIE
DUTHIE, JOHN
DWAN, THOMAS
EASTGATE, PETER
EDLER, WILLIAM
EINHORN, DAVID
ELEZRA, ELIAHU
ESFANDIARI, ANTONIO
ESLAMI, SHAHRYAR
EVDAKOV, NIKOLAY
FALTINSKY, RAYMOND
FERGUSON, CHRISTOPHER
FITOUSSI, BRUNO
FORREST, WILLIAM
GALFOND, PHILIP
GARZA, JEFFREY
GASPARD, JEAN
GERASIMOV, KIRILL
GEYER, RICHARD
GIANG, CHAU
GIANNETTI, MATTHEW
GLANTZ, MATTHEW
GOULD, PETER
GREENSTEIN, BARRY
GRIFFIN, GAVIN
GROSPELLIER, BERTRAND
GROSS, STEVEN
GUOGA, ANTANAS "TONY G"
HABIB, HASAN
HACHEM, JOSEPH
HAMAGAMI, CLARK
HARDER, CHRISTIAN'
HARMAN, JENNIFER
HARMETZ, DANIEL
HAXTON, ISAAC BLUM
HELLMUTH, PHILLIP
HOOD, DANIEL
HOUSHIAR, HOMAN
IVEY, PHILLIP
JACOB, ALEX
JETTEN, PETER C
JOHNSON, MARCO
JUANDA, JOHNSON
JUNGLEN, ADAM
KAGAWA, MASAAKI
KASSELA, FRANK
KEATING, ALEXANDER
KELOPURO, SAMI
KESSELMAN, ERIC
KINKADE, JAY
KOSTRITSYN, ALEXANDER
KUCINSKI, MICHAEL
LAAK, PHILIP
LACAY, LUDOVIC
LANGMANN, FLORIAN
LAWSON, TED
LE, NAMTHIEN
LEDERER, HOWARD
LEE, DOUGLAS
LEHMANN, MARKUS
LEHR, CHARLES
LEVI, NICOLAS
LICHTENBERGER, A
LIEBERT, KATHLEEN
LINDGREN, ERICK
LISANDRO, JEFFREY
LITTLE, JONATHAN
LIU, ERIC
LUNKIN, VITALY
MACKEY, JAMES
MACKINNON, DOUGLAS
MAKHIJA, AMIT
MAO, JAMES
MARAFIOTI, MATTHEW
MARCHESE, THOMAS
MARKHOLT, LEE
MATUSOW, MICHAEL
MCNIFF, EVAN
MEDIC, NENAD
MERCER, HEATHER
MERCIER, JASON
MERRIFIELD, STEVEN
MINIERI, DARIO
MIZZI, SOREL
MOLSON, WILLIAM
MONEYMAKER, CHRISTOPHER
MONRO, JOSEF
MONTGOMERY, SCOTT
MOORE, CHRISTOPHER
MOORMAN, CHRISTOPHER
MUELLER, GREG
NEGREANU, DANIEL
NGUYEN, SCOTTY
PATEL, EMIL
PERRY, RAFAEL
PHAM, DAVID
PHAM, THANG
PHAN, THIEN
PHILLIPS, DENNIS
PILGRIM, DWYTE
PINCHOT, DALE
POWELL, BRIAN
RAFALOWICZ, JEREMY
RAJKUMAR, VIVEK
RAST, BRIAN
RAYMER, GREGORY
REINKEMEIER, TOBIAS
RICHEY, BRETT
ROBERTS, BRIAN
ROBL, ANDREW
ROSEN, STEPHEN
ROSENBLUM, RUSSELL
ROSENKRANTZ, JASON
ROUAS, PHILIPPE
ROUSSO, VANESSA
RYBACHENKO, SERGEY
SASS, ALAN
SCHNELLER, ARIEL
SCHWARTZ, NOAH
SCHWARTZ, BARRY
SCOTT, ANDREW
SEED, HUCKLEBERRY
SEIF, MARK
SEIVER, SCOTT
SHAK, DANIEL
SHAKERCHI, TALAL
SHORR, SHANNON
SINGER, DAVID
SIPPL, ROGER
SMITH, GAVIN
SMITH, JUSTIN
STAUDENMAIER, LUKE
STEICKE, DAVID
STERN, DANIEL
STRASSMANN, JOHANNES
SUER, ROBERT
SUNG, SUK
THURITZ, MIKAEL
TIMOSHENKO, YEVGENIY
TOM, PHILIP
TORELLI, ALEC
TOWNSEND, BRIAN
TRAN, JUSTIN
TRAN, KENNY
TRANIELLO, MARCO
ULLIOTT, DAVID
UMMER, PER MAGNUS
VELDHUIS, ALEXANDER
WAHLBECK, VILLE
WALKER, REID
WATSON, MICHAEL
WEINSTEIN, STEVEN
WILLIAMS, DAVID
WILSON, KYLE
WOODWAARD, MATTHEW
YAWITZ, JESS
ZAICHENKO, ANDREY
ZEIDMAN, CORY
ZOLOTOW, STEPHEN

Former PartyGaming Chief Mitch Garber Named CEO of Harrah's Interactive Entertainment

Poker's Worst-Kept Secret a Secret No More

Now it’s official: Mitch Garber (pictured right) was hired as CEO of Harrah's Interactive Entertainment. News of this hiring leaked out weeks ago in a Times of London story. I blogged about news of Garber’s hiring on April 15, when I wrote, “In what can only be called a show of confidence that change is afoot for online poker in the USA, the Times of London reported that Harrah’s hired former PartyGaming chief Mitch Garber.

“Although the Times report says that Garber’s role is unconfirmed, he is rumored to be heading a new Harrah’s division that will focus on the internet gaming operations as well as operations related to the World Series of Poker. Party Poker, you may recall, was a WSOP sponsor before being forced out of the US market by UIGEA.”

Harrah's Positions Itself to Offer Online Poker
Late last week Harrah's Entertainment confirmed these rumors—it was really more an open secret than a rumor—when it announced Garber’s hiring as chief executive officer of Harrah's Interactive Entertainment, a new subsidiary launched to oversee the international and online expansion of its World Series of Poker brand. Harrah's Entertainment Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Loveman issued a statement saying, "Harrah's is taking a proactive approach toward international and interactive expansion. It is important we position ourselves to explore new markets as well as new technologies with our best in class brands."

Garber, who resigned his post as PartyGaming’s CEO last year, is expected to help Harrah’s launch a World Series of Poker-branded site in European countries where online poker is legal and expand into other countries as online gaming is legalized in new jurisdictions.

Betting On the Come: Harrah's Announces Its Support for Barney Frank's Proposed Legislation
Harrah’s also announced its support for Barney Frank’s (D-MA) legislation in the United States to allow licensed gambling operators to accept wagers from inside the United States.

Harrah's "Free Site" Will Help Them Get Their Feet Wet Until Online Poker Wagering is Licenced and Regulated in the USA

Loveman said, "I do think the time has come, particularly for online poker." Until that time, Harrah's plans to develop a free World Series of Poker-branded online poker site to run in the United States and other countries that ban online gambling.

A free site would position Harrah’s to quickly capitalize enter the market once online poker is legalized. According to Loveman, "There are lots of ways to make it meaningful even though it wouldn't be a rake (real money) poker game. Then in the event that others are successful in liberalizing online poker here, then we'd have an infrastructure ready to go."

Garber will work closely with current World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack, who will retain his current position and serve as president of the new interactive subsidiary.

Harrah's Begins Lobbying Efforts on Behalf of Online Gaming

Harrah's Entertainment has gotten behind the push for online gaming in a big way,and has registered to lobby for its legality. Harrah’s reportedly spent more than $400,000 during the first quarter of 2009 on lobbying efforts.

Reports say that Harrah's has online sites ready to go active when laws are changed. The impact of Harrah’s political influence and well-regarded brand provides some added lobbying thrust in support of efforts by the Poker Players Alliance.

It's Mainly the Main Event on ESPN's 2009 WSOP TV Schedule

Only four events are scheduled to be televised by ESPN at the 2009 World Series of Poker, and two of them don’t even award the winner a bracelet.

The $10,000 buy-in WSOP main event gets most of the play, with 25 one-hour episodes slated for TV coverage. There’s also a final table preview episode to provide viewers with an up-close-and-personal look at this year’s November Nine, who will probably be anonymous to most of the TV audience until they make the final table.

The $50K HORSE event will not be shown this year, which is too bad because it’s guaranteed to have any number of name players at the final table, and—Scotty Nguyen’s meltdown notwithstanding—made for compelling television. Taking its place will the 40th anniversary $40,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event, a WSOP Champions Invitational, and the Ante Up For Africa charity tournament.

Last year seven bracelet events were shown by ESPN, but the main event was shown in 10 episodes, not the 25 episodes that are planned for 2009. In addition to the $50,000 HORSE tournament, last year’s TV coverage included the $10,000 pot-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha events, along with a few lower buy-in tourneys. This year, by comparison, it’s the main event, the 40th Anniversary tournament, and two non-bracelet events that are guaranteed to showcase well known players as well as celebs and glitterati who are probably better known outside the poker world.

The Champions Invitational and Ante Up for Africa are not bracelet events. The Invitational is limited to main event winners and will award the winner a new car and the newly created Binion Cup. Ante Up for Africa, headed by Don Cheadle and Annie Duke, provides aid to war-ravaged Darfur.

Here’s ESPN’s full schedule:

· July 28, 8 p.m. Eastern Time - Special 40th Annual $40,000 no-limit hold'em
· July 28, 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Special 40th Annual $40,000 no-limit hold'em

· August 4, 8 p.m. Eastern Time - WSOP Champions Invitational
· August 4, 9 p.m. Eastern Time - WSOP Champions Invitational
· August 11, 8 p.m. Eastern Time - Ante Up For Africa Celebrity-Charity Event
· August 11, 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Ante Up For Africa Celebrity-Charity Event
· August 18, 8 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 1A
· August 18, 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 1A
· August 25, 8 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 1B
· August 25, 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 1B
· September, 1 8 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 1C
· September, 1 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 1C
· September, 8 8 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 1D
· September, 8 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 1D
· September, 15 8 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 2A
· September, 15 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 2A
· September, 22 8 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 2B
· September, 22 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 2B
· September, 29 8 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 3
· September, 29 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 3
· October 6, 8 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 4
· October 6, 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 4
· October 13, 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 5
· October 13, 10 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 5
· October 20, 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 6
· October 20, 10 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 6
· October 27, 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 7
· October 27, 10 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 7
· November 3, 9 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 8
· November 3, 10 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Day 8
· November 10, 8 p.m. Eastern Time - Final Table Preview Show
· November 10, 9-11 p.m. Eastern Time - Main Event Final Table

DESPITE BRUTAL CONDITIONS, COMMERCIAL CASINOS REMAIN VITAL ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTORS

Despite 2008’s economic recession the U.S. commercial casino industry recorded its second highest revenue on record according to a report released today from the American Gaming Association (AGA). Gross gaming revenues topped $32.5 billion in 2008, a 4.7 percent drop from 2007’s record-breaking total.

State of the States: The AGA Survey of Casino Entertainment reveals that commercial casinos returned more than $5.6 billion in tax revenues to gaming communities across the country last year, funding local public services, such as transportation, infrastructure and education. The industry also remained a major U.S. employer, providing jobs to more than 357,000 people who earned $14 billion in wages, salaries and benefits.

This year’s report also takes a close look at the economic impact of the gaming equipment manufacturing sector, showing that the total direct economic output of this sector was $12.7 billion in 2008, a 6.7 percent increase over 2007 figures. Direct employment within the sector continued to grow steadily, reaching 29,600 people in 2008. Those employees earned $2 billion in wages and salaries last year.

The 2009 State of the States also examines the impact of casinos on domestic travel and tourism. Findings from two surveys—a recent national public opinion poll, and a new survey of tourism industry professionals—demonstrate that casinos play a crucial role in the $740 billion U.S. travel and tourism industry.

According to the report, nearly two thirds (65 percent) of Americans and a whopping 84 percent of travel professionals say casinos are an important part of the broader tourism industry. Additionally, more than eight in ten travel professionals from gaming states say local casinos encourage leisure travel to the region, and 76 percent agree there is a positive spillover effect from casino customers visiting other attractions in the area. Similarly, an overwhelming 90 percent of travel professionals who don’t live in gaming states say their states could attract more visitors if casinos were opened.

The report also indicates that overall acceptability of the industry remained high in 2008, as 81 percent of Americans think casino gaming is an acceptable activity for themselves or others. Poll results also show that 59 percent of Americans view casino gaming as a form of recreation similar to concerts, plays and sporting events, and they agree that casinos bring many different benefits to the communities in which they operate.

“The U.S. is grappling with the most severe economic downturn in more than a half-century, and—like nearly every industry—the commercial casino industry has been hit hard,” said Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., (pictured above) president and CEO of the AGA. “However, it continues to be an important provider of jobs and direct gaming taxes, helping states, communities and families weather the economic storm.”

A full copy of the 2009 State of the States can be downloaded at http://www.americangaming.org/.

Mike "the Mouth" Matusow on my radio show this Thursday, May 14

Mike “the Mouth” Matusow, Dr. Tim Lavalli, and possibly Amy Calistri—co-authors of Check Raising the Devil, a book about the life and times, and days and nights of Mike Matusow—will be my guests on Keep Flopping Aces this Thursday night.

Keep Flopping Aces webcasts on http://www.roundersradio.com/, live and worldwide, every Thursday at 6 p.m. Pacific Time (9 p.m. Eastern Time), and can be heard again as a rebroadcast on Friday. It's also be available for on-demand listening via podcast and can be found by going to http://www.roundersradio.com/ and nosing around the show archives.

This figures to be a terrific show. Both Tim and Amy have been frequent guests in the past, and one of the topics of conversation has always been, “How’s the Matusow book coming along?” Well, it’s done, was released this week, and is available for purchase at Amazon.com, and is most likely at your favorite bookstore now.

I’ve never had Mike as a guest on my show and I’m really looking forward to his appearance. Amy Calistri may or may not be able to join us. If she is able to come on the show, that will tie up all the phone lines. If Amy can’t make it, that will leave one free line for listener phone calls.

I’ll have Mike and Tim on for the entire hour, so there’ll be plenty of time to talk about anything that comes up. If you want to talk to Mike the Mouth, or Dr. Tim, or even me, here are the call-in numbers:

US 810.496.3428
Canada 519.913.2250
UK 0207.993.6143

Hope you can join us this Thursday for Mike the Mouth, Tim Lavalli, and maybe Amy Calistri on Keep Flopping Aces, at http://www.roundersradio.com/.

Poker Poised to Expand in Florida

The State of Florida is poised to expand poker offerings in the Sunshine State after lawmakers passed a bill on Friday that would allow casinos and cardrooms located at horse tracks, dog tracks, and jai alai frontons to offer no-limit poker and remove the $100 maximum buy-in and the $5 maximum bet per betting round in limit games. Poker tournament buy-ins limits will also be removed, making Florida an appealing destination for big-money poker tournaments.

The bill, expected to be signed by Governor Charlie Crist, is dependent on the Seminole tribe approving a new deal with the state, and the state and the Seminole tribe will have until August 31 to work out a new deal. After that, the Florida Legislature will have to approve the compact for the bill to go into effect.

Under the new law, cardrooms will be permitted to operate 18 hours a day Mondays through Fridays, and 24 hours on the weekends. The gambling age in Seminole casinos will also be increased from 18 to 21, matching the minimum age found elsewhere.

I’ll continue to report on new developments in Florida as they occur.

New Internet Gambling Legislation Would Protect Consumers and Generate Billions in New Revenue

Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) pictured right,, Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, and Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), pictured left, introduced two bills on May 6 to regulate Internet gambling and ensure that taxes are collected from online wagers. Frank also introduced the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act of 2009, a bill to delay compliance for one year with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA)—the law that sought to limit Americans’ ability to gamble online.

Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act of 2009, would establish a licensing and enforcement framework that permits licensed operators to accept wagers from individuals in the U.S. The legislation also mandates a number of significant consumer protections, including safeguards against compulsive and underage gambling, money laundering, fraud, and identify theft.

McDermott’s bill seeks to ensure that individual and corporate taxes owed on regulated Internet gambling activities are collected. According to a recent analysis, collecting taxes on regulated Internet gambling would allow the US to capture an amount estimated to range from $48.6 billion to $62.7 billion over the next decade. Without this legislation, this revenue will remain uncollected while millions of Americans gamble online without consumer protections.

“The government should not interfere with people's liberty unless there is a good reason,” Frank said. “This is, I believe, the single biggest example of an intrusion into the principle that people should be free to do things on the Internet. It's clearly the case that gambling is an activity that can be done offline but not online.”

The legislation also grants the Treasury Department authority to license and revoke licenses of Internet gambling web sites, assess license holders for the costs of background checks and investigations of web sites applying for the license, and repeals language passed in 2006 and signed into law by President Bush that made it illegal for banks and credit card companies to process bets made on the Internet.

Most of Clonie's Lawsuit Against Full Tilt Dismissed

In court action taken last week in the United States District Court in Las Vegas, most of Clonie Gowen's lawsuit against Full Tilt Poker was dismissed.

On April 27, the Court ruled that claims against several of the players named in her previous complaint—including Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Jennifer Harman, and Andy Bloch—lacked merit and were dismissed with prejudice, meaning that she cannot re-file them.

Three defendants in Gowen’s case that were separated from the others. They include Tiltware LLC, Tiltware Owner Ray Bitar, and Howard Lederer, and they were dismissed without prejudice. That gives Gowen’s the ability to re-file against them.

Gowen's suit alleged that in 2004 she accepted a one percent stake in Tiltware and Full Tilt Poker in exchange for serving as a celebrity endorser and a “member of Team Full Tilt.” She claimed she received no compensation beyond her ownership stake for wearing Full Tilt merchandise and for representing the Full Tilt brand as a celebrity poker player.

Gowen alleged that fellow Team Full Tilt members received distribution checks from the companies, but she did not.According to Gowen, Lederer offered to pay her approximately $250,000 on November 6, 2007 for “past performance,” but she rejected the offer because it was only a fraction of what was owed to her.

Gowen continued working as a member of Team Full Tilt until November 11, 2008, when she was told that Full Tilt planned to issue a press release informing the public that she was no longer a member of the team. Her lawsuit followed a few days later.

Antonius Up Nearly $500,000 in durrrr Challenge

I’ve been reporting periodically on the durrrr challenge, and Patrik Antonius’ recent winning session took another $328,000 from Dwan during the course of slightly less than 300 hands. That puts Antonius up $488,133, with 13,250 hands played. With a total of 50,000 hands to be played, this gives Antonius a nice lead at the end of the first quarter.

Because the two players typically sit down with $40,000 in front of them at each of their four tables—and have played pots in excess of $200,000—a half million dollar deficit is not insurmountable.

Still, it’s my opinion that Dwan made a bad bet when he offered 3-to-1 odds to any player willing to go 50,000 hands of either no-limit hold’em or pot-limit Omaha on four tables simultaneously. According to the terms of the wager, if Dwan comes out ahead even as little as a dollar after 50,000 hands, he wins an additional $500,000 on top of his winnings. If an opponents wins, Dwan will pay him $1.5 million.

Antonius, Phil Ivey, and David Benyamine all accepted. But to come out a winner, at the end of the day Dwan will have to beat all three opponents to do so. Given the quality of their play, that’s a tough task, even if Dwan handles multitabling better than most poker players.

New Internet Gambling Legislation to Be Introduced Tomorrow

Barney Frank (D-MA), Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, announced plans earlier today to introduce legislation tomorrow that seeks to establish an enforcement framework for licensed gambling operators to accept wagers from individuals in the U.S.

Frank’s bill will include safeguards against compulsive and underage gambling, money laundering, fraud and identity theft.

Last year Frank introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007. Rep. Jim McDermott’s (D-WA) Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2008, a companion bill, was designed to capture revenues that are currently lost to offshore gambling operators.

Millions of Americans wager more than $100 billion annually with offshore Internet gambling operators despite the current prohibition imposed under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA). According to a recent analysis, collecting taxes on regulated Internet gambling would allow the U.S. to capture from $48.6 billion to $62.7 billion in new revenue over the next decade, a 21 percent increase from previous estimates. Without this legislation, this revenue will remain uncollected.

Representatives of the financial services industry, including the Chamber of Commerce and Financial Services Roundtable, have expressed concerns about the burden and ambiguity in the rules to implement UIGEA which require the financial services sector to identify and block unlawful Internet gambling transactions.

"We applaud Chairman Frank's strong leadership to advance a common sense approach to regulate Internet gambling and reverse the intrusive, ineffective and burdensome prohibition," said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, https://ssl.capwiz.com/safeandsecure/home/.

Annie Jennings on Keep Flopping Aces, Thursday, May 7

Annie Jennings will be my guest on my radio show, Keep Flopping Aces, this Thursday, May 7.
Actually, although it’s my show and I’m the host, I’ll be Annie’s guest. If that sounds a little off centered, I’ll explain. Keep Flopping Aces’ usual format involves me interviewing a guest, usually a well know poker player, an author, or someone involved in one or more of the current political battles involving the status of online poker.

But once a month—on the first Thursday of each month—we’ve been turning the tables. The guys back at the Rounder’s Radio studio, where the show emanates from, have been taking turns interviewing me about poker strategy. But this week I’ve asked Annie to come on as the show’s guest interviewer.

We’ve done this before … well, sort of. Annie has produced a series of terrific poker podcasts, and has interviewed me countless times, usually about one or more of my books, and I thought it would be a good idea to have Annie be my guest interviewer.

By night Annie is a dedicated poker player. By day, she does publicity for authors, experts, CEO's, national speakers, and corporations, and her firm, Annie Jennings PR, is a major provider of book authors and experts to the media on a daily basis. Her goal is get publicity for an author’s book in order to sell more books using radio and magazine interviews.

As an author, that’s one of my goals too, and Annie and I have been friends for a couple of years, ever since we were introduced by my literary agent.

You can listen to Keep Flopping Aces live, in real time, world wide at http://www.roundersradio.com/ every Thursday night at 9 p.m. Eastern Time (6 p.m. Pacific Time), and you can call in and talk poker with Annie and me.

Here are the call in numbers:
United States 810.496.3428
Canada 519.913.2250
United Kingdom 0207.9983.6143

Free Poker Seminar in Las Vegas During the WSOP

Before I forget, Rounder's Radio is planning a free poker seminar which will be held at the Golden Nugget sometime during the four day period of June 25 – 28, during the World Series of Poker. I’ll be there to talk about poker and meet Rounder’s Radio listeners. More information will be posted about this seminar as we get closer to June, but for now, just mark that weekend on your calendar and make your way down to the Golden Nugget to say hello.

Will You Be Able to Play Legal and Regulated Online Poker in California Soon?

A bill called the California Online Poker Law Enforcement Compliance and Consumer Protection Act will go to the state legislature soon.

It's a bill that draws a distinction between intrastate gaming within California’s borders and the federal Unlawful Interstate Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), and notes that intrastate wagering is not considered “illegal internet gambling” under UIGEA. In other words, if enacted, this bill would establish legal, regulated online gaming within California's borders.

In fact, the bill’s language states that it would “… protect the millions of Californians who play poker online, and allow state law enforcement to license, regulate internet poker sites that can ensure these consumer protections…” Section 1 of the bill goes on to state, “Leading gaming consultants estimate that in 2008 United States citizens wagered more than ten billion dollars ($10,000,000,000) online at off-shore, non-United States Internet gambling Web sites, that this amount is likely to grow steadily over the next decade and that every week more than 1,000,000 California citizens play poker on the Internet.”

Internet poker licenses would be issued to California tribes and gaming establishments currently holding gaming licenses in California, and license holders would be regulated within California.

With California’s financial difficulties, revenue raised through online gaming is an important attribute of this bill. Since California already regulates and taxes gaming activities, adding online poker to the mix is actually nothing more than a logical extension of current state gaming regulatory activities.

While state sanctioned intrastate online poker in California won’t have the same impact as rolling back UIGEA and regulating online gaming across the United States, California’s population and potential market gives it a sufficient critical mass to succeed as a market by itself. While there probably aren’t enough online players in states like Montana, Vermont, and Idaho to serve as stand-alone intrastate poker markets, California’s population exceeds that of many nations, and the state is filled with poker players too.

I’d like to see this bill enacted into law. Then, for me and other Golden State residents, it will be all California poker, all the time—a nice diversion while we wait for the eventual demise of UIGEA.

I Got the HORSE Right Here

Because the Kentucky Derby will be run today, it seems appropriate to talk HORSE. Not the thoroughbreds running at Churchill Downs, but the poker game.

I’m going to be contributing a column on HORSE to Poker News that will appear every Saturday, and my first column, introducing me and the column itself, ought to be posted to http://www.pokernews.com/strategy/ later today.

Since HORSE involves alternating rounds of fixed-limit hold’em, Omaha/8, razz, 7-card stud, and 7-stud/8, HORSE really tests a person’s all-around skills as a poker player. You don’t have to be a world beater at any one of HORSE’s component games to be a winner, but you should play all of them reasonably well. And if you do, you’ll see many of your opponents, who might play some games quite well, making big errors in others.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. For now, I’m hoping you’ll check out my HORSE column later today, and give it a read each and every week. I’ll be talking about each of HORSE’s component games as well as those global concepts that transcend the individual component parts of a HORSE game. And I plan to cover cash games as well as tournaments.

I also want to respond to reader questions and concerns, so if you’ve got a question about HORSE send it to me at loukrieger@aol.com. I’ll try to be prompt in answering all of them, and the best questions will be answered in print too.