Satan Speaks on U.S. Online Poker Ban
April 30, 2008
The chief architect of the Internet gambling ban on Tuesday said he is losing patience with the Federal Reserve and the Department of Treasury as they struggle to craft regulations to enforce the ban.
Senator Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said the regulations are a year overdue, according to the 2006 prohibition statute. Kyle is quoted as mumbling:
“The longer it goes the less certainty there is. I mean, the people who are violating the law need to know that they’re not going to be able the get away with it, and I think that the failure to get these regulations promulgated on time has perhaps given some hope, and it’s given life even to an idea over in the House of Representatives to put a moratorium on the regulations.”
Kyl was referring to a bill introduced April 11 by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. The Frank-Paul bill would block the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department from completing regulations to enforce the ban.
The legislation followed a financial services subcommittee hearing April 2 in which Federal Reserve and Treasury Department officials said the regulations are difficult to complete, partly because the 2006 ban does not define unlawful Internet gambling.
Louise Roseman, director of bank operations and payment systems for the Federal Reserve, also testified that the prohibition of Internet gambling cannot be “ironclad.”
Another bill, which Frank introduced last year, would repeal the Internet gambling ban and require the Treasury Department to regulate Internet gambling in the United States .
Despite his frustration with the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, Kyl said he is not worried about efforts to block the regulations and roll back the online wagering ban.
“I would be concerned if something like that were to be adopted by the House … I’m not sure that the momentum is there to actually get it done.”
Jay Lakin, vice president of Poker Source Online and an opponent of the Internet gambling ban, said he reluctantly agrees.
“While many efforts have been made on behalf of overturning (the ban), so far it’s just been bills and words on paper,” Lakin said. “Nothing has moved forward. Until there’s a change in Washington , I don’t think we’ll see much of a change.”
PokerStars pays player to win World Series package
April 30, 2008
It was a comfortable Sunday afternnoon in Germany and PokerStars player SanchoHH decided to play a 1000 Frequent Player Point buy-in VIP Club satellite. The top 200 players in the event were slated to receive a World Series Step 4…
NBC Heads-Up Success Proves Poker Popularity
April 30, 2008
NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship series continues to pull bigger numbers than last year, a very good sign for the poker industry. Of course, viewers are watching the best poker show on TV. A cast of A-list poker pros, sports figures and celebrities combined in a single elimination format modeled after college basketball has proven to be a winning combination. Now, bring in a sports entertainment giant, NBC, to produce the shows and viewers are assured of top quality poker.
More good news for poker? Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) have teamed up to introduce legislation that would remove the stigma cast on Internet poker by the Port Security Bill (Frist Folly). The Frist legislation (UIEGA) was to be enforced by the banking industry thru a credit/debit card transaction filter “thingy” with the ability to discern right from wrong and cancel all illegal transactions. Moving money to your Internet Race Book, that’s legal and right, keep betting. Moving money into your player account located in the cage of an Internet poker room, that’s illegal and wrong, stop, go directly to jail, don’t pass go.
The banking industry, after a year of seeking a solution to this mandate (remember, these are the very same people that have to solve the sub-prime mortgage debacle), sent a letter to all members of Congress declaring the bill to be impossible to enforce. Barney Frank’s bill will instruct the banking industry to ignore UIEGA. Mission accomplished.
What a strange, convoluted world we live in. The 9/11 inspired Port Security bill gets harpooned by the Frist anti-poker UIEGA bill, something conceived in such hast it contained an overlooked fatal flaw, it is impossible to enforce. Now we need new legislation that says, “Never Mind.” In the future we really should give our full attention when deciding which people we will grant the honor of leadership and the right to serve our collective trust. Click here for a list of supporters for the Barney Frank bill. Check for your politician on the list and what to do if they are not there.
For those poker players watching the Sunday Noon Heads-Up Poker series on NBC and have decided they must play in the next championship I’ve included a list of criteria that will earn an automatic invitation to the card dance, after the jump…
Party Poker Millions VI Cruise Set to Sail
April 29, 2008
The PartyPoker Millions Cruise is set to sail this Saturday with the sixth edition of the tournament. The cruise will leave from Venice, Italy, and stops off in Greece, Turkey and Croatia before turning back to historic Venice. The ship, the MSC Poesia, is a state of the art cruise liner packed with facilities and the cabins are now full. On board there will be restaurants, bars, tennis courts, mini golf, pools, spas, discos, a cinema, shopping and more…and not forgetting a massive 24/7 card room.
The PPM tournament will be a $8,200 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event which will also be recorded for worldwide broadcast. Mike Sexton will be host and MC, Matt Savage and Dave Lamb are tournament directors and the highly respected Card Player Cruises team that includes Linda Johnson, Mark Tenner and Jan Fisher will be onboard running the poker room.
30 countries will be represented in the main event and amongst those fancied to make an impact include Canada’s history-making Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald, Sweden’s 2008 Late Night Poker winner Andreas Jorbeck, Brazil’s Christian Kruel, Danish sensation Soeren Kongsgaard, Germany’s Florian Langmann and Alexander Jung and Finland’s Mika Paasonen. The line-up is a united nations of next generation poker talent.
Battle of the Planets awards first Triple Shootout winner
April 29, 2008
The stars of the Sit & Go community aligned for the inaugural Battle of the Planets $50,000 Triple Shootout on Sunday. To gain entry to this prestigious tournament, a player had to finish in the top ten of one of…
London
April 28, 2008
I took off, hurriedly, from the office at shortly past 11am on Friday. The plan was to pick up Lori, go for a quick lunch, and then drive to Stockholm/Arlanda airport, a 2.5 hour drive. The flight to London City Airport was to leave at 4:20, so we had time - but not loads […]
Norwegian Poker Championship Begins in Nottingham, UK
April 28, 2008
The Norwegian Poker Championship begins today in Nottingham, England. The Norwegian government has banned poker. The state governed monopoly “Norsk Tipping” does not offer poker and anyone playing poker with money could face criminal prosecution. So, the Norwegian Championship is held outside of Norway at the Dusk Till Dawn casino in Nottingham.
The Norwegian Poker Championship is Norway’s largest poker tournament and is expected to attract over 500 Norwegian players. Since the event was launched in 2002, the tournament has experienced rapid growth, this is the 7th running of the event.
With a total estimated prize pool of £350 000, the winner of the Main Event will also receive a complete 2008 WSOP package. The tournament will be covered with live video blogs and full scale TV production of the Main Event final table. A special poker documentary is also planned for the whole 8 day poker festival.
Below is the complete schedule: