Rep. McDermott’s New Internet Gambling Legislation Would Increase Projected Revenue to Up To $72 Billion Over Ten Years

Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), pictured left, introduced an updated version of the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2010 that would apportion 25 percent of the federal revenue, estimated by the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation at nearly $42 billion over 10 years, to provide assistance for those in foster care.

“This legislation is a win-win for federal and state leaders, providing an opportunity to regulate a currently off-shore and underground industry, protect consumers and put to good use tens of billions in otherwise lost revenue,” said Michael Waxman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. “At a time when many policy makers are faced with significant budget shortfalls, it is only common sense to choose regulation that will generate new revenues and create new jobs currently offshore as an alternative to layoffs, program cuts or imposing broad-sweeping taxes that may further depress struggling families and businesses.”

With all but six states facing anticipated budget shortfalls for the 2011 fiscal year, many states, including California, New Jersey, Florida, and Iowa are exploring options to bring regulated Internet gambling to their jurisdictions in the absence of federal movement on this issue.

Representative McDermott’s legislation is meant to serve as a companion to the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act of 2009 (H.R. 2267), legislation introduced by Chairman Frank that would permit licensed operators to accept wagers from individuals in the U.S. In addition, Chairman Frank’s legislation would mandate a number of significant consumer protections and reinforce the rights of each State and Tribal Government to determine whether to allow online gambling activity for people accessing the Internet within their borders and to apply other restrictions on the activity as necessary. More than 65 co-sponsors have announced their support for Chairman Frank’s bill.

American Gaming Association Modifies its Position; Gambling's Largest Trade Association Now Favors Online Gaming

In a recent interview American Gaming Association head Frank Fahrenkopf (pictured right) indicated the trade association modified its previously neutral stance on online gaming. "We are open to the concept of legalized Internet gambling, so long as there is a regulatory regime that is put in place that protects the consumer and protects the integrity of the game."

He added, “We’re at this point in time open to the question of whether it’s a federal or state regulatory regime, although I must tell you I think a majority of the board would favor the states. But until we have something that we’re really going to look at, we can’t get to that question.

When asked why the AGA’s regulatory preference would be for state rather than federal involvement, Fahrenkopf said, “Anyone who has been in the gaming industry for the last 30 years, we have an old saying, ‘We don’t want the camel’s nose under the tent,’ in terms of the federal government and their regulatory regimes and taxes.

“There’s the fear that the federal government, if it starts regulating and taxing internet gambling, they’re going to say let’s just make it a federal system and tax everything.”

This change in stance by the influential AGA may cause me to modify my opinion on whether I think UIGEA will be overturned this year. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has long been opposed to online gambling. But he’s very far down in the polls in his own state and his chances of re-election are looking slim right now. Since he’ll need plenty of campaign funds to mount a winning campaign, he’s very likely to modify his own stance regarding online gaming to bring it in line with the state’s deepest pockets: the big Las Vegas land-based casinos that make up AGA’s membership.

That helps the chances of passage, but doesn’t guarantee it, especially since Nancy Pelosi is adamantly opposed to online gaming and has no compelling reason to modify her views. Things, however, are looking up. But they’re still not as bright as they could be. Stay tuned. And expect a lot more twists and turns down this rocky road to regulated online gaming.

That Sound You Hear is Me ... Exhaling

Yesterday was a banner day. After two years of false starts, laziness, and a general inability to get things done, Mark Tenner and I finally finished the manuscript for the second edition of Winning Omaha/8 Poker, which will be retitled when it appears in the book stores as Mastering Omaha/8 Poker.

We added a bunch of new material, including chapters on pot-limit Omaha/8, split pot games, tournament play, short-handed games, and high-stakes Omaha/8. Much of this wasn’t really needed when we initially wrote Winning Omaha/8 poker in 2003, but the Internet moved the game along into a new era and seven years later it was really necessary to deal with all these issues in order to keep our book as comprehensive as possible.

We tried to incorporate the thinking of some of the world’s best Omaha/8 players, and lengthy discussions were held with Linda Johnson, Brent Carter, Mark Gregorich, Annie Duke and Mike Caro to insure they had a chance to comment and correct our ideas and add some of their own.

It took time, but the end product will be well worth it. While there have been a plethora of hold’em books in the years since Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP main event and stood the poker world on its head, and Internet poker grew from being a quaint little in-groupy kind of thing to a burgeoning phenomenon that shows no signs of abating, there hasn’t been much written about Omaha/8.

So we think we’re gonna fill a real gap in the Omaha/8 knowledge base when this book is released sometime this summer. It will be published by ConJelCo, and I’ll keep you all updated as we progress to a firm publication date.

Idaho State Legislature Changes Law After Police Bust Senior Center Poker Game

On March 1 I reported the story of a police raid at Idaho’s Twin Falls Senior Center where a weekly senior citizens poker game was broken-up up by Idaho police officers in what I referred to as “…rampant stupidity.” State legislators obviously saw the light and moved to amend the law that led to the raid.

The game had been going on about five years. Approximately twenty retirees gathered at the Twin Falls Senior Center every Friday to play Texas hold’em. Each player ponied up $20, with the prize money shared by the first few finishers. The local police took a dim view of what the seniors saw as an innocent social evening and busted the game based on an outdated law enacted when when Idaho was a territory. The law held that a prosecutor was committing a misdemeanor if he failed to investigate or prosecute a gambling allegation.

After the bust, local police were subjected to heavy criticism and the state legislature decided that a new law was needed, and State Senator Kate Kelly (D-Boise) sponsored a measure to place discretion for investigating any gambling reports back in the hands of the prosecutors.

Kelly explained, “We have elected prosecutors in Idaho, and they make decisions every day about whether or not to pursue a particular defendant or whether or not to pursue a particular act. And I think we can support that rather than exposing them to be subject to a crime for failing to prosecute.”

Kelly’s measure passed sailed through the Idaho Senate by a vote of 34-1, and through the House with a 69-1 majority.

The legislation takes effect July 1. Seniors, shuffle up and deal!

Isildur1 is back ... Or is He?

Isildur’s back. He returned from that disastrous night during the winter when he lost his entire bankroll to Brian Hastings at the nosebleed stakes tables on Full Tilt Poker. In the aftermath of that bloodletting, most observers wondered whether the enigmatic Swede would ever be seen again at the high stakes tables. But in the past month Isildur1 returned to rack up a profit of $1.4 million after reportedly being staked by online presence Tony G.

But it was easy come-easy go all over again as Brian Hastings beat Isildur1 for $1.5 million—busting him right back to where he started. In a nearly 3,000 hand-long $500-$1,000 pot-limit Omaha match, Isildur1—who racked up some serious losses at the hands of Phil “OMG Clay Aiken” Galfond and some serious wins over Ilhari “Ziigmund” Sahamies and Patrik Antonius—decided to confront Hastings again.

The match bounced around at the start, with each player up and down during the session. Then Hastings built a lead he never relinquished, and although there were no million-dollar pots, Hastings won most of the big hands, and when they called it quits, conventional wisdom held that Isildur1 was busted again.

But that wasn’t the case and the Swede played some $500-$1,000 pot-limit Omaha against Sahamies. Isildur1 in hopes of getting even, but he proceeded to lose another $300,000, which leads us to wonder whether he is broke or not. And if he’s playing on Tony G’s dime instead of his own, you have to wonder whether Tony will continue to invest in a horse who hasn’t proven he can do more than demonstrate just how much variance can be found at the highest of stakes.

Mike Sexton Predicts Online Poker Regulation in 2010

Writing in Poker News Daily, Mike Sexton predicted, "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."

I'm hoping that states such as New Jersey, Iowa, and California will opt for online poker within their borders, but I don't think Congress will act to overturn UIGEA and regulate online gaming at the federal level this year.

I hope he's right and I'm wrong, but with the Democrats staring at an uphill battle in coming elections, I just don't think they have the political will to take action.

Annie Duke Wins National Heads-Up Poker Championship

Annie Duke won the The National Heads-Up Poker Championship's to claim the $500,000 first-place prize and becomes the first woman champion. Duke defeated Erik Seidel, who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets and ranks 9th all-time money list, in the tournament’s best-of-three finals. Seidel won $250,000 as the second-place finisher. The National Heads-Up Poker Championship is taped for broadcast on NBC over six consecutive Sundays beginning April 18 (Noon - 1 p.m. ET).

"I'm so excited to win such a prestigious event and join the likes of Huck Seed, Chris Ferguson and Phil Hellmuth as Heads-Up Champion," said Duke, who became the first-ever woman to win the National Heads-Up Poker Championship. "I came into this tournament really focused and it feels great to finally break through in this event."

In five previous NHUPC events, Duke never made it past the second round and had only advanced out of the first round once. On her way to the finals, she defeated Andy Bloch, Darvin Moon, Paul Wasicka, Jerry Yang and Dennis Phillips.

NBC's television coverage:

April 18 - Noon - 1PM ET/9:00-10:00 AM PT
April 25 - Noon - 2PM ET/9:00-11:00AM PT
May 2 - Noon - 2PM ET/9:00-11:00 AM PT
May 9 - Noon - 2PM ET/9:00-11:00 AM PT
May 16 - Noon - 2PM ET/9:00-11:00 AM PT
May 23 - Noon - 3PM ET/9:00-Noon AM PT

Heads-Up Championship Starts Today

NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship gets underway today, and will be contested through March 7.

This made-for-TV event will air on the following dates:
April 18 - Noon – 1 p.m. ET/9:00-10:00 a.m. PT

April 25 - Noon – 2 p.m. ET/9:00-11:00 a.m. PT

May 2 - Noon – 2 p.m. ET/9:00-11:00 a.m. PT

May 9 - Noon – 2 p.m. ET/9:00-11:00 a.m. PT

May 16 - Noon – 2 p.m. ET/9:00-11:00 a.m. PT

May 23 - Noon – 3 p.m. ET/9:00-Noon a.m. PT

Although this event is invitational and made for television so you’d expect it to be celeb-heavy and laden with some players who are more notable than gifted, the 64-player field is as notable for those who are not playing as it is for those who are.

Three who really should have received invites are Yevgeniy Timoshenko, who won more than $4 million in 2009, Jeffrey Lisandro who won three WSOP titles last year, and Cornel Andrew Cimpan, who won two World Poker Tour events last year.

Maybe they were invited but turned down an opportunity to play. I don’t know. If they did turn an invitation down, that’s their choice. But if they were omitted or overlooked, you can scroll through the list of invitees, and celebs aside, it’s easy to find at least ten players who are not as deserving as these three.

But that’s what happens in invitational events, and it’s why everyone in the United States is spending time debating which teams deserve to be included in the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament and which should be passed over. It makes great water cooler discussion material, but in the case of this poker tournament, passing up these three makes no sense at all.

Here’s a complete list of players:

Patrik Antonius

Eric Baldwin

Andy Bloch

Doyle Brunson

Joe Cada

Johnny Chan

Don Cheadle

Allen Cunningham

Pieter de Korver

Annie Duke
Tom Dwan

Peter Eastgate

Eli Elezra

Antonio Esfandiari

Sam Farha

Chris Ferguson

Ted Forrest

Jamie Gold

Phil Gordon

Barry Greenstein

Bertrand Grospellier

Joe Hachem

Gus Hansen

Jennifer Harman

Phil Hellmuth

Orel Hershiser

Jesper Hougaard
Phil Ivey

John Juanda

Gabe Kaplan

John Paul Kelly

Phil Laak

Howard Lederer

Erick Lindgren
Mike Matusow

Jason Mercier

Dario Minieri

Chris Moneymaker

Darvin Moon

Greg Mueller

Daniel Negreanu

Scotty Nguyen

Annette Obrestad

Brock Parker

Dennis Phillips

Greg Raymer

Vanessa Rousso

Kara Scott

Huck Seed

Erik Seidel

Mike Sexton

Gavin Smith

Jennifer Tilly

Paul Wasicka

David Williams

Leo Wolpert

Jerry Yang
Seven Online Qualifiers

Florida Joins Ranks of States Considering Intrastate Gambling

Florida’s state legislature is considering a bill to legalize intrastate online gambling and regulate it through the Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering. State Representative Joseph Abruzzo authored the Internet Poker Consumer Protection and Revenue Generation Act of 2010.

The bill seeks to create an Internet hub operator to administer online poker rooms that link up Florida players who would register accounts at affiliated card rooms. Those card rooms would be provide patrons to the Internet gaming operator.

The online gambling operator would be charged a $500,000 licensing fee and each participating card room would pay a $1000 license fee. Twenty percent of the rake would go to the state before the remainder is divided between the operator and affiliates.

Licensing requirements would be established to ensure that applicants are incorporated Florida, would require age checking at the time an account is funded, as well as measures designed to affirm identity, guard against money-laundering, and allow for self-exclusion and other problem gambling safeguards.Abruzzo claims his bill would generate over $200 million for the state in the first year of operation.

Cops Bust Poker Game at Idaho Senior Center

This kind of rampant stupidity happens a couple of times each year, gets everyone upset who reads about it, makes the police look like fools, and in an age of fiscal frugality it represents a huge waste of police resources. Last year we blogged about the Dallas TX swat team raiding illegal poker games, bashing in doors, and in general playing cops-and-robbers, while scaring the daylights out of everyday people like you and me—folks just enjoying a friendly poker game.

Last month a group of Idaho pensioners had their friendly poker game raided and shut down by police officers.

The game had been going on about five years. Approximately twenty retirees gathered at the Twin Falls Senior Center every Friday to play Texas hold’em. Each player ponied up $20, with the prize money shared by the first few finishers.

Retiree Norman Pohl was quoted as saying, “I don’t have many things that I can do. I met so many people … I would look for it every week.” Since the bust, players altered the rules of their game and now play without money, and as everyone knows, that can’t be much fun.

With budgets tight everywhere, can busting a $20 buy-in poker tournament at a senior center really be a priority of Twin Falls law enforcement? While I realize the cops are there to enforce the laws—they don’t make them—it makes them look like a bunch of schmucks, while the city fathers who enact such inane laws in the first place never seem to get the blame.

What this country really needs is a constitutional amendment forbidding sumptuary laws. Eliminating laws that regulate personal behavior where no one is hurt in the process, and killing off all the laws that seek to regulate victimless crimes—an oxymoron if there ever was one—is the only way to make this sort of stupidity go away for good.