Archive for the 'Poker' Category
The companies charged in the Black Friday case are arguing that operating an online poker firm for money doesn’t violate any laws. The Justice Department is preparing a counterargument. On November 4, prosecutors from the Department of Justice filed a highly detailed defense, which may highlight the strategy they intend to use in their case.
The case has finally gone to court as John Campos has stood by the movement to protect online poker. Campos is the former director of SunFirst Bank. Campos has been charged, alongside Chad Ellie, the founder of a payment processing firm. Campos and Elie are under indictment after refusing to cooperate with Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney overseeing the case.
Campos and Elie’s refusal to cooperate has provoked the DOJ to indict Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars. So far, 11 people have been indicted.
There are a few challenges that Bharara and the other prosecutors on the case will have to contend with. Most importantly, they will need to convince a federal judge that online poker is not actually a form of online gambling. Prosecutors are claiming that advocates of online poker are incorrect in their assertion that the game is based on skill rather than chance.
While these issues are still being sorted out, prosecutors have introduced a few new facts to the case. They are ready to show that the founders of PokerStars pursued Elie on allegations that he stole several million dollars from a payment processing account. Elie reportedly gave some of the money back, but some remains unaccounted for. Elie’s charges may make it more difficult for the defense to make its case.
The government has also mentioned a few other issues related to Elie’s involvement in the case. However, it may be difficult for them to find a clear statute or precedent to show that those particular actions were in violation of any law in the United States.
Despite the attack on his credibility, Elie is willing to argue that the nine key elements of the Illegal Gambling Business Act do not have anything to do with online gambling. Prosecutors disagree with their analysis, arguing that they are neglecting to take into account the similarities between online poker and other activities such as sports betting.
Prosecutors are clearly giving the online poker firms a sampling of the arguments they are going to make when they go to trial.
It is nice to see Of late, Bodog Poker has launched a sort of campaign against data mining by online gaming sites. Bodog Poker is beginning to intervene when online poker sites collect data regarding general and player statistics. Bodog is putting into action a plan they had come up with earlier this year; they have planned to end data mining by the end of the year.
The sites that have been banned from collecting such data are PokerTablingRatings.com, PokerScout.com, and SharkScope.com. Bodog has mentioned that they intend to protect and increase upon their existing casual player base, and for that anonymity is important.
These mining sites provide an advantage to those players who are professionals and those who are serious amateurs and hence players who want to indulge in online gambling for recreation are unable to do so.
Casual players make more re-deposits than other players and hence online poker sites want them to have the advantage. Depositing players are more important to the online poker industry and hence this is a good move on the part of Bodog. This is part of Bodog’s Recreational Poker Model that helps the casual players enjoy the game over all others. And, as far as Bodog is concerned this is the just the first step.
Land-based casinos MGM Resorts and Boyd Gaming Corp. are now working closely with bwin.party. In the event online poker is legalized in the United States, the three organizations will create a joint venture that would bring online poker to U.S. citizens.
Bwin.party was formed earlier this year when bwin Interactive Entertainment and Party Gaming merged together. After the merger at the beginning of this year, bwin.party was the largest online gambling company in the world.
Bwin.party stopped proving online poker in the United States in 2006 when lawmakers passed a bill making it illegal for banks to process payments for online poker. Jim Ryan is one of the CEO’s for Bwin.party. Ryan says the company has been trying to get back into the United States for the past five years. Before the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 was signed, the company had half the share of the United States gaming market in the United States.
The joint venture with MBM and Boyd may be just what Bwin.party needs to get back into the market. Together, the three companies expect to generate many customers. The joint venture is expected to be highly profitable.
However, Ryan anticipates regulators are going to be highly scrutinized by regulators at the state and federal level, even though Bwin.party has abided by Congress’s mandate to stop providing services in the United States in the past. Ryan is proud that Bwin.party followed the law, even as other companies thumbed their nose at it and flourished.
MGM Resorts’ CEO Jim Murren said that laws will need to be much stricter if poker is legalized in the United States. A few bad apples like Full Tilt Poker have blemished the reputation of the entire industry. Regulations will need to be tougher for consumers and politicians to feel comfortable with online poker firms operating in the United States.
MGM, Boyd and bwin.party are working hard to legalize online poker at the federal level. They are willing to work closely together on this new venture. Also, MGM and Boyd intend to use bwin.party’s software to operate their own casinos as well.
Epic Poker League has announced the television broadcast schedule for its first season.
The schedule includes 20 hours of original programming; the bulk of the programming will be shown on the Velocity Network but seven of the program hours will be on CBS Television Network.
Epic Poker League play will begin showing on Oct. 7 at 10 p.m. ET on the Velocity Network. The first CBS telecast will air at 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 8.
Velocity is a new network that is owned by Discovery Communications. It replaces the HD Theater cable network and is described as an upscale network targeting men. It will share coverage with CBS; all coverage will originate from the Palms Casino Resort, where all Epic Poker League games are played.
“Epic Poker offers an innovative take on America’s favorite card game and our telecasts put an entirely new spotlight on many of the world’s finest players,” said Jeffrey Pollack, executive chair of the EPL.
Each episode featuring Epic Poker League play will be hosted by Emmy award-winning sports anchor Pat O’Brien; he will be joined by poker personality Ali Nejad, who will offer expert analysis.
Fair Play USA has upped the ante again on its ability to get big names behind its initiatives. This week, the poker group announced that former FBI director Louis Freeh joined the organization.
Fair Play USA describes its mission as being dedicated to lobbying those in power in Washington to understand the benefits of legalized and regulated online poker. The group currently consists of consumer protection experts, poker players, law enforcement officials and others who have come together to lobby for legal online poker.
Freeh’s addition to the lineup gives the group a bit more credence in the eyes of some.
“Current federal laws fail to provide U.S. law enforcement vital tools to address illegal internet gambling, enabling a ‘wild west’ atmosphere,” Freeh said in a statement this week. “I am joining Fair Play USA to improve this environment by clarifying these laws, better empowering law enforcement agencies to crack down on violators and using licensing and regulation to ensure safe and legal online poker.”
The primary backers of Fair Play USA are Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International.
Americans might have a hard time playing online poker these days, but they are doing well in live poker play.
Matthew Waxman this week became the first American poker player to win the World Poker Tour’s Grand Prix de Paris. This puts Waxman into the club of players who belong to the prestigious WPT Champions Club.
The event marked Waxman’s 11th WPT event, but this was his first final table and he played it well, taking home the more than $729,000 cash prize.
Entrance into the WPT Champions Club affords all WPT champions exclusive benefits, VIP treatment at WPT events and a WPT personal concierge. Waxman has also automatically won a seat to the Season X WPT World Championship at the Bellagio Casino Resort in Las Vegas in 2012.
Waxman, a 26-year-old player from Florida, outlasted an international field of 312 players, many of whom are former WPT champions.
Aside from Waxman, the other four top finishers included Hugo Lemaire, Fred Magen, Byron Kaverman and Mikko Sundell.
Players and casino affiliates haven’t heard anything from employees at rakeupdate and rakereduction. The lack of communication over the past few weeks has made them nervous. Most unsettling is that the poker software provider of the two sites discontinued services because the company wouldn’t pay up.
This has poker players wondering if the founder of the company has disappeared with the money he owes them. To date, it is thought that the companies owe over $1 million.
The company has been around for over six years. Concerns have been mounting over the past year:
Earlier this year, the company claimed to have issues with its payment processors. These issues seem to have stemmed from the changes in the employees running the firm. Players had to turn to other sites like Full Tilt Poker to get their money out of their accounts. Unfortunately, players had a number of issues with these real money poker sites as well.
The sites also had to keep paying back players even after Full Tilt Poker and other sites were shut down the FBI.
They were also stuck paying Full Tilt and Cereus Network for referrals they never received.
Rakeupdate.com and rakereduction.com are clearly being hammered by the financial woes they have experienced over the past five months. The potential scandal is likely to extend to other sites as well. Players on sites like Merge and Bodog are also likely to have trouble getting their money back. The issues facing Rakeupdate.com and Rakereduction.com could spread through the entire industry and its hard to know how far it will go.
The most successful affiliates have reason to be concerned. Some of them have earned tens of thousands of dollars. Affiliates are already concerned they won’t see their money back from Full Tilt Poker. Full Tilt has amassed a considerable amount of debt. Should the company ever open up again, it might not be able to pay back the money owed to players and affiliates.
All players know is the two sites are currently unavailable. Their homepages explain that the owner and marketing director of Elite Affiliate Software has discontinued the partnership with the rakeback company. The company have missed the deadline to renew the software.
This leaves players and affiliates what it intends to do. Some speculate the sites might be temporarily unavailable until they can make back some of the money they lost following Full Tilt’s legal battle. Failing to pay their affiliates just for a month might be enough to double their yearly income.
Everyone with a financial interest is wondering whether they will ever see their money again. Are these sites resolving their technical issues or are these the warning signs of a crisis?
California’s Senate Pro Tem announced this week that the state won’t move on approving a California online poker or any online casino gambling bill this year.
In a letter to both gambling interests and those opposed, Steinberg said that “significant, unresolved issues remain” and that “we believe that well thought out, fair solutions to these differences can be reached, but not before the end of this legislative year on September 9.” The letter was signed by Steinberg and Sen. Roderick Wright, a Democrat who chairs the state’s Governmental Organization Committee that oversees gambling regulation.
In general, California’s Indian tribes support online gaming but disagree on the bills that have been introduced so far.
For some time, online gambling proponents have been watching California because its legislation has progressed further than in many other states. The Indian tribes, however, control all of the gaming in the state and are bitterly divided over the bills that have been introduced and moved through the state’s congress.
After the Black Friday shutdown of online poker, there is more pressure for states to approve and move on online gambling of some sort, but California – like many other states – seems resistant to make a decision quickly.
PokerTek, a reputed gaming company known for its poker and blackjack gaming software solutions, recently announced that its blackjack offering Blackjack Pro was seeing much success in the market. It also recorded many blackjack installations last month in several brick and mortar casinos.
Mark Roberson the Chief Executive Officer of PokerTek commented on how well Blackjack Pro was doing. “Blackjack Pro continues to perform exceptionally well in the field, and player feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The successful launch of Blackjack Pro on the ProCore platform opens up tremendous new opportunities as we diversify our product line and expand our installed base,” he said.
“Demand has exceeded our inventory during this initial rollout phase with our available supply now fully absorbed. In response to the favorable product performance and customer demand, production is underway to provide additional inventory for second half installations,” he added.
Blackjack Pro is highly developed gaming software for blackjack players that works on the ProCore hardware created by PokerTek.
PokerTek is currently land based casino software but unlike online casinos they aren’t in the comfort of your own home. If you are looking to play and from the UK one of the best poker & casinos is PartyPoker.com. If you sign up it’s best to use a partypoker bonus code and get 100% on your first deposit up to $500.
The ProCore platform is a fairly new addition to the company’s offerings and launched blackjack as its first game. The blackjack game accepts six players and functions as an automated table game. Players will be able to set limits, bets and rules according tot her requirements
A new organization whose mission is to project poker players who play online announced its formation this week
FairPlayUSA said in a press release that its primary mission is to educate policymakers and the public on policy interests that are raised by current laws in the US that have led Americans to play online but often illegally.
The ambiguous laws also led to the government shutdown of all online poker play in the U.S. on April 15. The coalition intends to support Congress in defining what illegal gambling really is and providing strong law enforcement tools to ban it. In addition, the group supports the formation of a strict regulatory framework for online poker.
On its website, the coalition features a petition that calls on Congress to address the problems associated with offshore internet gambling, among other things.
“The website and online petition will be the focal point for recruiting and organizing supporters who will actively engage and make their voices heard by members of Congress,” said FairPlayUSA Executive Director Marisa McNee. “Outreach will be directed toward law enforcement officials, those who support internet consumer safety, and online poker’s strongest asset – the millions of Americans who enjoy online poker.”
FairPlayUSA is particularly concerned with making sure that Americans who play online poker are playing with law-abiding operators. It therefore supports the formation of licensing and regulation channels that will ensure Americans are protected when playing online.
“Americans are passionate about online poker. I respect their right to play games that are fair and on sites that are strictly regulated,” said professional poker player Greg Raymer. “I’ll do everything I can to support efforts that protect our rights to play this quintessential American game and to make it clear that every adult has the legal right to play poker online.”
