Portugal to Host World Poker Congress
The fourth annual World Poker Congress (WPC) will take place in Porto, Portugal on the 24th and 25th of June 2009. Poker representatives like Jim Ryan and Steven Lipscomb will be attending.
Next month will see the gathering of the major players in both online and casino poker as they come together to discuss all things poker. From the latest online advancements to the current situation regarding online legislation, all will be up for debate and discussion.
The World Poker Congress is an opportunity for those who work in the poker industry to meet like-minded people, discuss possible deals, seek out new ventures and weigh up the competition over networking events, refreshment breaks and lunches.
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Friday, May 08, 2009
Jim McDermott Introduces Internet Gambling Tax Act, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 7th May 2009
Shortly after Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced comprehensive internet gambling legislation on Wednesday, Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act, HR 2268.
The companion legislation to Frank’s bill will allow the United States Government to extract tax revenue from the internet gambling industry. The bill’s text notes, “Each licensee… shall be required to pay an internet gambling license fee by the end of each calendar month in an amount equal to two percent of all funds deposited by customers during the preceding month.” In terms of how the costs can be passed onto the end consumer, HR 2268 states that the 2% fee “may not be deducted from the amounts available as deposits by the person placing a bet.” Individuals are expected to pay income tax on any internet gambling winnings.
Unauthorized bets or wagers are taxed at a hefty 50% and all money is sent to the United States Treasury. Full disclosure of the names and addresses of licensees, the gross wins and losses by each person wagering, the total of “net internet gambling winnings,” the amount of tax paid, and account balances are required once per year. In terms of bookkeeping under McDermott’s proposed bill, “Each person liable for fees… shall keep a daily record showing deposits… in addition to all other records required.”
In a press statement released on Wednesday, McDermott explained his rationale for once again championing internet gambling tax legislation: “We are losing billions of dollars in federal and state taxes every year because a prior Administration and its supporters drove legitimate U.S. online gambling off-shore by passing an ill-conceived late-night amendment in Congress that has done nothing except make Americans more vulnerable to scams when they wager online and cost us billions in lost revenue.” During the last Congress, McDermott’s legislation came in the form of HR 2607, which also prescribed that 2% of deposits would be taxed.
McDermott added, “These are merely the rightful collection of taxes where applicable. The billions of revenue that will be collected by the U.S. Treasury under my bill can be dedicated to pay for critically un-funded social safety net programs in America that could improve the lives of vulnerable children and others who deserve our help.” Also introduced during the last Congressional session by McDermott was HR 6501, which would have used revenue derived from internet gambling to fund programs for those currently or formerly in foster care as well as workers in declining industries. Although controversial in nature, HR 6501 was one of the first attempts to demonstrate what internet gambling tax revenue could potentially be used for.
HR 6501 was introduced last July and dubbed the Investing in our Human Resources Act. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV) spoke out sharply against the bill. The author of the Internet Gambling Study Act called it “a classic case of putting the cart before the horse.” Fellow Nevada Congressman Jon Porter, who was not re-elected in 2008, called HR 6501 “a frivolous attack on the gaming community to pay for services that local governments, states, and the federal government should already be providing.” In the end, neither HR 2607 nor HR 6501 was acted upon during the 110th Congress.
A study by U.S.-based PricewaterhouseCoopers that was released this year revealed up to $52 billion could be derived from internet gambling over a 10 year period. The report used a bill similar to McDermott’s HR 2268 as well as Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. However, the potential revenue was largely based on professional sports leagues allowing online wagering on their games. At the time of writing, the number of co-sponsors for HR 2266, HR 2267, and HR 2268 were not available on the Library of Congress website. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Shortly after Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced comprehensive internet gambling legislation on Wednesday, Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act, HR 2268.
The companion legislation to Frank’s bill will allow the United States Government to extract tax revenue from the internet gambling industry. The bill’s text notes, “Each licensee… shall be required to pay an internet gambling license fee by the end of each calendar month in an amount equal to two percent of all funds deposited by customers during the preceding month.” In terms of how the costs can be passed onto the end consumer, HR 2268 states that the 2% fee “may not be deducted from the amounts available as deposits by the person placing a bet.” Individuals are expected to pay income tax on any internet gambling winnings.
Unauthorized bets or wagers are taxed at a hefty 50% and all money is sent to the United States Treasury. Full disclosure of the names and addresses of licensees, the gross wins and losses by each person wagering, the total of “net internet gambling winnings,” the amount of tax paid, and account balances are required once per year. In terms of bookkeeping under McDermott’s proposed bill, “Each person liable for fees… shall keep a daily record showing deposits… in addition to all other records required.”
In a press statement released on Wednesday, McDermott explained his rationale for once again championing internet gambling tax legislation: “We are losing billions of dollars in federal and state taxes every year because a prior Administration and its supporters drove legitimate U.S. online gambling off-shore by passing an ill-conceived late-night amendment in Congress that has done nothing except make Americans more vulnerable to scams when they wager online and cost us billions in lost revenue.” During the last Congress, McDermott’s legislation came in the form of HR 2607, which also prescribed that 2% of deposits would be taxed.
McDermott added, “These are merely the rightful collection of taxes where applicable. The billions of revenue that will be collected by the U.S. Treasury under my bill can be dedicated to pay for critically un-funded social safety net programs in America that could improve the lives of vulnerable children and others who deserve our help.” Also introduced during the last Congressional session by McDermott was HR 6501, which would have used revenue derived from internet gambling to fund programs for those currently or formerly in foster care as well as workers in declining industries. Although controversial in nature, HR 6501 was one of the first attempts to demonstrate what internet gambling tax revenue could potentially be used for.
HR 6501 was introduced last July and dubbed the Investing in our Human Resources Act. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV) spoke out sharply against the bill. The author of the Internet Gambling Study Act called it “a classic case of putting the cart before the horse.” Fellow Nevada Congressman Jon Porter, who was not re-elected in 2008, called HR 6501 “a frivolous attack on the gaming community to pay for services that local governments, states, and the federal government should already be providing.” In the end, neither HR 2607 nor HR 6501 was acted upon during the 110th Congress.
A study by U.S.-based PricewaterhouseCoopers that was released this year revealed up to $52 billion could be derived from internet gambling over a 10 year period. The report used a bill similar to McDermott’s HR 2268 as well as Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. However, the potential revenue was largely based on professional sports leagues allowing online wagering on their games. At the time of writing, the number of co-sponsors for HR 2266, HR 2267, and HR 2268 were not available on the Library of Congress website. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Spencer Bachus Responds To Frank Bill, by Earl Burton - Poker News Daily - 7th May 2009
After the announcement on Wednesday of Massachusetts’ Democratic Representative Barney Frank’s bill to curb the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, reaction has been quick. The ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee - of which Frank is the Chairman – has issued a negative response that should come as no surprise as he was one of the key players in the creation of the UIGEA.
Republican Representative Spencer Bachus of Alabama issued a statement after Rep. Frank’s announcement yesterday that insinuates that he will fight any legislation that Frank attempts to put into law. Rep. Bachus’ website trumpets proudly that he, “…is an author of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, which banned the use of credit cards and other financial instruments from being used for illegal on-line gambling.”
Rep. Bachus’ statement touches on many of the reasons that the Republican-led Congress used in 2006 for pushing the UIGEA through. “Illegal off-shore Internet gambling sites are a criminal enterprise and allowing them to operate unfettered in the United States would present a clear danger to our youth, who are subject to becoming addicted to gambling at an early age”, he states. He also offers that the passage of the UIGEA in 2006 was, “…commonsense, bipartisan legislation aimed at combating criminals from preying upon American’s youth. That legislation was supported by a broad coalition that included college presidents, the American Bankers Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and major sports organizations.”
Rep. Bachus does not comment, however, on how the UIGEA was tacked on to a piece of legislation that was viewed as a “must pass” portion of national security, the Port Act. He also fails to address that there was no debate over the UIGEA, either in committee or on either floor of Congress; in an important difference, Rep. Frank’s bill is being put to committee for discussion on its own merits and freely debated in the halls of Congress.
The bill that Rep. Frank is proposing is the H.R. 2267 - the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act of 2009 - and it would be a significant change to current views of Washington regarding the regulation of online gaming and poker. Language of the bill states, “Internet gambling in the United States should be controlled by a strict Federal licensing and regulatory framework to protect underage and otherwise vulnerable individuals, to ensure the games are fair, to address the concerns of law enforcement, and to enforce any limitations on the activity established by the States and Indian tribes.”
The federal government – and in particular the Secretary of the Treasury – would be in charge of licensing and regulating the online gaming industry under the Frank proposal. Companies that pursue licensing would have to provide in-depth detail as to their personal backgrounds and the solidity of their companies. It also includes a proviso that ensures the potential licensee would vigorously work against, “fraud, money laundering, and terrorist finance.” The licenses would last for a five year period and would not allow the holder of the license to partake of any actions that are covered by the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which explicitly prohibits sports betting.
With Rep. Frank finally proposing his bill to curb the UIGEA, the debate can now begin. It is thought, with a Democratic-controlled Congress as well as the current Obama Administration in the White House, that the possibilities for change regarding the online gaming and poker industry can be achieved. Poker News Daily will continue to monitor the situation in Washington and report on any new developments. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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After the announcement on Wednesday of Massachusetts’ Democratic Representative Barney Frank’s bill to curb the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, reaction has been quick. The ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee - of which Frank is the Chairman – has issued a negative response that should come as no surprise as he was one of the key players in the creation of the UIGEA.
Republican Representative Spencer Bachus of Alabama issued a statement after Rep. Frank’s announcement yesterday that insinuates that he will fight any legislation that Frank attempts to put into law. Rep. Bachus’ website trumpets proudly that he, “…is an author of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, which banned the use of credit cards and other financial instruments from being used for illegal on-line gambling.”
Rep. Bachus’ statement touches on many of the reasons that the Republican-led Congress used in 2006 for pushing the UIGEA through. “Illegal off-shore Internet gambling sites are a criminal enterprise and allowing them to operate unfettered in the United States would present a clear danger to our youth, who are subject to becoming addicted to gambling at an early age”, he states. He also offers that the passage of the UIGEA in 2006 was, “…commonsense, bipartisan legislation aimed at combating criminals from preying upon American’s youth. That legislation was supported by a broad coalition that included college presidents, the American Bankers Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and major sports organizations.”
Rep. Bachus does not comment, however, on how the UIGEA was tacked on to a piece of legislation that was viewed as a “must pass” portion of national security, the Port Act. He also fails to address that there was no debate over the UIGEA, either in committee or on either floor of Congress; in an important difference, Rep. Frank’s bill is being put to committee for discussion on its own merits and freely debated in the halls of Congress.
The bill that Rep. Frank is proposing is the H.R. 2267 - the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act of 2009 - and it would be a significant change to current views of Washington regarding the regulation of online gaming and poker. Language of the bill states, “Internet gambling in the United States should be controlled by a strict Federal licensing and regulatory framework to protect underage and otherwise vulnerable individuals, to ensure the games are fair, to address the concerns of law enforcement, and to enforce any limitations on the activity established by the States and Indian tribes.”
The federal government – and in particular the Secretary of the Treasury – would be in charge of licensing and regulating the online gaming industry under the Frank proposal. Companies that pursue licensing would have to provide in-depth detail as to their personal backgrounds and the solidity of their companies. It also includes a proviso that ensures the potential licensee would vigorously work against, “fraud, money laundering, and terrorist finance.” The licenses would last for a five year period and would not allow the holder of the license to partake of any actions that are covered by the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which explicitly prohibits sports betting.
With Rep. Frank finally proposing his bill to curb the UIGEA, the debate can now begin. It is thought, with a Democratic-controlled Congress as well as the current Obama Administration in the White House, that the possibilities for change regarding the online gaming and poker industry can be achieved. Poker News Daily will continue to monitor the situation in Washington and report on any new developments. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Party Poker Releases Dates for Sports Stars Challenge IV, by Brett Collson - Poker News Daily - 7th May 2009
Party Poker has released the dates for its PartyPoker.com Sports Stars Challenge IV, one of the most popular televised poker tournaments in Europe. The event will run from May 29-June 1 and will feature some of the world’s biggest sports stars, both past and present, taking their seats at the table in hopes of becoming a poker champion.
The Sports Stars Challenge IV will include some of the world’s best in motorsports, golf, boxing, rugby and darts. There will also be an online qualifier added to the field for the first time ever. The number of heats will increase from six to seven, with the winner of each of the seven heats advancing to the final table to battle it out until one of them walks away with the title. The overall winner receives £20,000 with second getting £10,000 and third receiving £5,000.
The motorsport table will feature Italian F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella, while the golf heat will include both 2008 European Ryder Cup team member Graeme McDowell and Jean Van Der Velde. European football’s list of legends includes former Holland captain Frank De Boer, French World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf, Germany’s European Championship winner Thomas Helmer, Romania’s Florin Radiciou and Denmark and Liverpool legend Jan Molby.
Germany’s former unbeaten World Champion Sven Ottke will headline the boxing heat. He will be joined by Northern Ireland’s Commonwealth heavyweight and Prizefighter champion Martin Rogan and Poland’s female boxing champ Agnieska Rylik. The rugby heat will feature union’s former France and Wasps captain Raphael Ibanez and Australian league star Brad Drew, while the darts heat will pit legend Phil Taylor against Russia’s ladies champ Anastasia Dobromyslova.
PartyPoker.com players also had the chance to win a seat through a freeroll in the sports heat of their choice. The sports are European football (two heats), rugby (union and league combined), motorsport, boxing, darts and golf. Two online qualifiers will join each heat.
“We offered freerolls to win a seat in the event on the site”, a spokesperson for Party Poker said, “but the places were snapped up so quickly that we were loath to promote it too much to save the disappointment of players. This is a once in a lifetime experience for a select group to take to the felt with their sporting heroes. The overall lineup is the most diverse and international in the event’s history and more star participant names will be released in the near future.”
For the fourth consecutive year the event will be run by Matchroom Sport, a promotions company founded by English entrepreneur Barry Hearn. Matchroom Sport is typically involved in snooker and boxing events for the most part, but Hearn is thrilled to be involved in the Sports Stars challenge again.
“This is the poker event that the sporting world looks forward to and we have some great international names and great poker players competing for the trophy, big prize money and the ultimate bragging rights”, Hearn said. “We’re particularly excited to introduce the online element and the motorsport and golf heats this year.”
Past winners of Sports Stars Challenge are rugby union star Austin Healey, Irish snooker champion Ken Doherty, and television presenter Kara Scott, who won £20,000 last year after defeating Manchester United football legend Norman Whiteside heads-up. There is no presenter heat in the new format this year.
Coverage of the event will be aired in the UK later this year on Sky Sports and then distributed internationally. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Party Poker has released the dates for its PartyPoker.com Sports Stars Challenge IV, one of the most popular televised poker tournaments in Europe. The event will run from May 29-June 1 and will feature some of the world’s biggest sports stars, both past and present, taking their seats at the table in hopes of becoming a poker champion.
The Sports Stars Challenge IV will include some of the world’s best in motorsports, golf, boxing, rugby and darts. There will also be an online qualifier added to the field for the first time ever. The number of heats will increase from six to seven, with the winner of each of the seven heats advancing to the final table to battle it out until one of them walks away with the title. The overall winner receives £20,000 with second getting £10,000 and third receiving £5,000.
The motorsport table will feature Italian F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella, while the golf heat will include both 2008 European Ryder Cup team member Graeme McDowell and Jean Van Der Velde. European football’s list of legends includes former Holland captain Frank De Boer, French World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf, Germany’s European Championship winner Thomas Helmer, Romania’s Florin Radiciou and Denmark and Liverpool legend Jan Molby.
Germany’s former unbeaten World Champion Sven Ottke will headline the boxing heat. He will be joined by Northern Ireland’s Commonwealth heavyweight and Prizefighter champion Martin Rogan and Poland’s female boxing champ Agnieska Rylik. The rugby heat will feature union’s former France and Wasps captain Raphael Ibanez and Australian league star Brad Drew, while the darts heat will pit legend Phil Taylor against Russia’s ladies champ Anastasia Dobromyslova.
PartyPoker.com players also had the chance to win a seat through a freeroll in the sports heat of their choice. The sports are European football (two heats), rugby (union and league combined), motorsport, boxing, darts and golf. Two online qualifiers will join each heat.
“We offered freerolls to win a seat in the event on the site”, a spokesperson for Party Poker said, “but the places were snapped up so quickly that we were loath to promote it too much to save the disappointment of players. This is a once in a lifetime experience for a select group to take to the felt with their sporting heroes. The overall lineup is the most diverse and international in the event’s history and more star participant names will be released in the near future.”
For the fourth consecutive year the event will be run by Matchroom Sport, a promotions company founded by English entrepreneur Barry Hearn. Matchroom Sport is typically involved in snooker and boxing events for the most part, but Hearn is thrilled to be involved in the Sports Stars challenge again.
“This is the poker event that the sporting world looks forward to and we have some great international names and great poker players competing for the trophy, big prize money and the ultimate bragging rights”, Hearn said. “We’re particularly excited to introduce the online element and the motorsport and golf heats this year.”
Past winners of Sports Stars Challenge are rugby union star Austin Healey, Irish snooker champion Ken Doherty, and television presenter Kara Scott, who won £20,000 last year after defeating Manchester United football legend Norman Whiteside heads-up. There is no presenter heat in the new format this year.
Coverage of the event will be aired in the UK later this year on Sky Sports and then distributed internationally. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Thursday, May 07, 2009
Online gaming gains Harrah's as supporter, by Arnold Knightly - Las Vegas Review-Journal - 6th May 2009
Casino giant Harrah's Entertainment has thrown its support behind legislation introduced today that would allow Internet gambling by individuals in the United States, something that could open a whole new market for the owner of the World Series of Poker brand.
The proposed Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act of 2009, which was introduced today by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., would establish a framework to permit licensed gambling operators to accept wagers from inside the United States.
The legislation provides safeguards against compulsive and underage gambling, money laundering, fraud and identity theft.
"We really believe this industry already exists," said Jan Jones, Harrah's Entertainment's senior vice president of communications and government relations. "It just exists in a wild west setting. If you say you care about protecting children and fraud and money laundering, then the only way you can put those protections in place is to put in a strong regulatory frame."
The casino company spent $405,087 in the first quarter and registered as a lobbyist to try to build support for the new proposal.
Harrah's Entertainment has also hired Tony Podesta, a long-time Democratic fundraiser who has lobbied for Wal-Mart and Sallie Mae, and his brother John Podesta, an adviser to President Obama.
Jones said Americans are already spending $6 billion annually gambling in an unregulated online environment.
The bill would establish regulations that would be enforced by the U.S. Treasury Department. The federal department would also issue licenses to Internet gambling operators.
Frank's bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Shelley Berkley, D.-Nev., whose district includes Clark County.
It would repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which made it a crime for banks or other institutions to process financial transactions used to place illegal bets online.
The Bush administration implemented regulations, which are set to go into effect on Dec. 1, to enforce the banking ban.
Separate legislation introduced by Frank today would delay those regulations from taking effect.
"What we have now is an unworkable law passed by those opposed to all gaming, whether it's done by adults in Las Vegas or on the Internet," Berkley said in a statement. "So there is no question we must act to correct the problems caused by this failed crusade to ban Internet gaming."
Similar legislation failed in the last Congress. MGM Mirage today expressed support for the idea of legalizing, regulating and taxing Internet gambling, but cautioned that company executives have not read Frank's new bill to know if it is the right bill to support.
Alan Feldman, MGM Mirage's senior vice president of public affairs, called the 2006 law bad legislation, which was passed without any hearings.
"The original ban was absolutely ridiculous, just absurd," Feldman said.
Youbet.com and the Poker Players Alliance, which is headed by former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, are also lobbying for the legalization of online gambling.
Not every supporter of online gaming expressed blanket support for the new bill.
David G. Schwartz, director of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' Gaming Research Center, expressed concern about having the federal government oversee the industry. He said the new proposal would basically set up what he described as a federal Gaming Control Board.
"It would have the federal government regulating gambling, which goes against 220 years of how we've interpreted the Constitution, which is that states have the right to regulate gaming," Schwartz said. "This seems to hoist an overly complicated bureaucracy on the gaming industry."
Jones said Harrah's supports a federal oversight role because regulating online gambling at the state level would be nearly impossible.
"The whole nature of Internet gaming is that people can be on all over the world," Jones said. "It makes much more sense to have a federal regulatory oversight, with an opt out by the states, which this bill provides."
Contact reporter Arnold M. Knightly at aknightly@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Bloomberg News Service contributed to this report. (Credit: Las Vegas Review-Journal)
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Casino giant Harrah's Entertainment has thrown its support behind legislation introduced today that would allow Internet gambling by individuals in the United States, something that could open a whole new market for the owner of the World Series of Poker brand.
The proposed Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act of 2009, which was introduced today by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., would establish a framework to permit licensed gambling operators to accept wagers from inside the United States.
The legislation provides safeguards against compulsive and underage gambling, money laundering, fraud and identity theft.
"We really believe this industry already exists," said Jan Jones, Harrah's Entertainment's senior vice president of communications and government relations. "It just exists in a wild west setting. If you say you care about protecting children and fraud and money laundering, then the only way you can put those protections in place is to put in a strong regulatory frame."
The casino company spent $405,087 in the first quarter and registered as a lobbyist to try to build support for the new proposal.
Harrah's Entertainment has also hired Tony Podesta, a long-time Democratic fundraiser who has lobbied for Wal-Mart and Sallie Mae, and his brother John Podesta, an adviser to President Obama.
Jones said Americans are already spending $6 billion annually gambling in an unregulated online environment.
The bill would establish regulations that would be enforced by the U.S. Treasury Department. The federal department would also issue licenses to Internet gambling operators.
Frank's bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Shelley Berkley, D.-Nev., whose district includes Clark County.
It would repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which made it a crime for banks or other institutions to process financial transactions used to place illegal bets online.
The Bush administration implemented regulations, which are set to go into effect on Dec. 1, to enforce the banking ban.
Separate legislation introduced by Frank today would delay those regulations from taking effect.
"What we have now is an unworkable law passed by those opposed to all gaming, whether it's done by adults in Las Vegas or on the Internet," Berkley said in a statement. "So there is no question we must act to correct the problems caused by this failed crusade to ban Internet gaming."
Similar legislation failed in the last Congress. MGM Mirage today expressed support for the idea of legalizing, regulating and taxing Internet gambling, but cautioned that company executives have not read Frank's new bill to know if it is the right bill to support.
Alan Feldman, MGM Mirage's senior vice president of public affairs, called the 2006 law bad legislation, which was passed without any hearings.
"The original ban was absolutely ridiculous, just absurd," Feldman said.
Youbet.com and the Poker Players Alliance, which is headed by former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, are also lobbying for the legalization of online gambling.
Not every supporter of online gaming expressed blanket support for the new bill.
David G. Schwartz, director of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' Gaming Research Center, expressed concern about having the federal government oversee the industry. He said the new proposal would basically set up what he described as a federal Gaming Control Board.
"It would have the federal government regulating gambling, which goes against 220 years of how we've interpreted the Constitution, which is that states have the right to regulate gaming," Schwartz said. "This seems to hoist an overly complicated bureaucracy on the gaming industry."
Jones said Harrah's supports a federal oversight role because regulating online gambling at the state level would be nearly impossible.
"The whole nature of Internet gaming is that people can be on all over the world," Jones said. "It makes much more sense to have a federal regulatory oversight, with an opt out by the states, which this bill provides."
Contact reporter Arnold M. Knightly at aknightly@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Bloomberg News Service contributed to this report. (Credit: Las Vegas Review-Journal)
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Barney Frank Introduces Comprehensive Internet Gambling Legislation, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 6th May 2009
On Wednesday morning, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) unveiled the Internet Gambling Regulation Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act, which establishes a comprehensive licensing and regulatory framework for the industry in the United States. Legislation to delay the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by one year was also introduced.
Although the bill has not yet been formally assigned a number, Frank’s licensing measure focuses squarely on protecting consumers when they gamble online. The bill states, “Internet gambling in the United States should be controlled by a strict Federal licensing and regulatory framework to protect underage and otherwise vulnerable individuals, to ensure the games are fair, to address the concerns of law enforcement, and to enforce any limitations on the activity established by the States and Indian tribes.” Operators must be in good legal and financial standing, utilize proper safeguards to thwart underage and problem gambling, and have systems in place to prevent money laundering. These concerns have been brought up repeatedly in markup hearings of past internet gambling bills introduced by Frank.
The Secretary of the United States Treasury is charged with overseeing the industry and licensing the companies that would be allowed to accept U.S. customers. Applicants may be asked to provide criminal records, credit histories, comprehensive financial statements, an outline of the corporation’s structure, and their methodologies to combat underage, compulsive, and problem gambling. Licensees must also protect against “fraud, money laundering, and terrorist finance.” Licenses last for five years each and may be renewed at the end of that time period. The bill also calls for the establishment of a “program to alert the public to the existence, consequences, and availability of the self-exclusion list, and shall prepare and promulgate written materials to be used in such a program.”
Sports betting or any wager that would be considered a violation of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) is not allowed under Frank’s legislation. However, fantasy sports and other “simulation games” are exempted. The bill does not overturn the UIGEA, which was passed in 2006. Instead, it exempts licensees from the three year-old law.
The bill appears to require a companion measure to provide for taxation of the industry. During the last Congress, that piece of the puzzle came in the form of HR 2607, which prescribed that 2% of the funds deposited online be taxed. PricewaterhouseCoopers released a study utilizing a similar bill along with Frank’s HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, to reveal that up to $52 billion could be raised over a 10 year period by taxing and regulating the industry. However, that figure relied heavily on the involvement of professional sports leagues.
A separate bill introduced by Frank on Wednesday, dubbed the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act, called for the regulations of the UIGEA to be enacted on December 1st, 2010, one year after the scheduled date. The House Financial Services Committee website explains, “The legislation will stop Federal regulators from enforcing the UIGEA until Congress has had a chance to decide national policy.” In essence, lawmakers on Capitol Hill will have an extra year under Frank’s second bill in order to pass legislation concerning internet gambling. The regulations of the UIGEA were approved in November as midnight rules and implemented on January 19th, one day prior to U.S. President Barack Obama taking office. As it currently stands, the financial services industry must come into full compliance by December 1st, 2009.
Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Chairman and former three-term Senator from New York Alfonse D’Amato commented in a press release, “Online poker is a legal, thriving industry and poker players deserve the consumer protections and the freedom to play that are provided for in this legislation. We are grateful for Chairman Frank’s leadership and will be activating our grassroots army made up of over one million members to help him drive legislation.” In an article published by the Associated Press last month, it was revealed that the PPA is planning to sink $3 million into lobbying efforts during the current Congressional session. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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On Wednesday morning, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) unveiled the Internet Gambling Regulation Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act, which establishes a comprehensive licensing and regulatory framework for the industry in the United States. Legislation to delay the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by one year was also introduced.
Although the bill has not yet been formally assigned a number, Frank’s licensing measure focuses squarely on protecting consumers when they gamble online. The bill states, “Internet gambling in the United States should be controlled by a strict Federal licensing and regulatory framework to protect underage and otherwise vulnerable individuals, to ensure the games are fair, to address the concerns of law enforcement, and to enforce any limitations on the activity established by the States and Indian tribes.” Operators must be in good legal and financial standing, utilize proper safeguards to thwart underage and problem gambling, and have systems in place to prevent money laundering. These concerns have been brought up repeatedly in markup hearings of past internet gambling bills introduced by Frank.
The Secretary of the United States Treasury is charged with overseeing the industry and licensing the companies that would be allowed to accept U.S. customers. Applicants may be asked to provide criminal records, credit histories, comprehensive financial statements, an outline of the corporation’s structure, and their methodologies to combat underage, compulsive, and problem gambling. Licensees must also protect against “fraud, money laundering, and terrorist finance.” Licenses last for five years each and may be renewed at the end of that time period. The bill also calls for the establishment of a “program to alert the public to the existence, consequences, and availability of the self-exclusion list, and shall prepare and promulgate written materials to be used in such a program.”
Sports betting or any wager that would be considered a violation of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) is not allowed under Frank’s legislation. However, fantasy sports and other “simulation games” are exempted. The bill does not overturn the UIGEA, which was passed in 2006. Instead, it exempts licensees from the three year-old law.
The bill appears to require a companion measure to provide for taxation of the industry. During the last Congress, that piece of the puzzle came in the form of HR 2607, which prescribed that 2% of the funds deposited online be taxed. PricewaterhouseCoopers released a study utilizing a similar bill along with Frank’s HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, to reveal that up to $52 billion could be raised over a 10 year period by taxing and regulating the industry. However, that figure relied heavily on the involvement of professional sports leagues.
A separate bill introduced by Frank on Wednesday, dubbed the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act, called for the regulations of the UIGEA to be enacted on December 1st, 2010, one year after the scheduled date. The House Financial Services Committee website explains, “The legislation will stop Federal regulators from enforcing the UIGEA until Congress has had a chance to decide national policy.” In essence, lawmakers on Capitol Hill will have an extra year under Frank’s second bill in order to pass legislation concerning internet gambling. The regulations of the UIGEA were approved in November as midnight rules and implemented on January 19th, one day prior to U.S. President Barack Obama taking office. As it currently stands, the financial services industry must come into full compliance by December 1st, 2009.
Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Chairman and former three-term Senator from New York Alfonse D’Amato commented in a press release, “Online poker is a legal, thriving industry and poker players deserve the consumer protections and the freedom to play that are provided for in this legislation. We are grateful for Chairman Frank’s leadership and will be activating our grassroots army made up of over one million members to help him drive legislation.” In an article published by the Associated Press last month, it was revealed that the PPA is planning to sink $3 million into lobbying efforts during the current Congressional session. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Russian tycoon loses yacht in poker - 6th May 2009
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has lost one of the yachts in his sizeable personal fleet in a game of poker, a Russian newspaper reported.
The popular daily Moskovsky Komsomelets said the oligarch lost the $US500,000 ($A674,627) yacht while playing poker in Barcelona, which he was visiting to watch the London football team he owns, Chelsea, in action.
Abramovich's yacht collection, thought to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, has been dubbed The Roman Navy by Britain's press.
The Russian newspaper said his poker habit had become a sore point between him and girlfriend Daria Zhukova and that the billionaire, who made his fortune in Russia's sell-off of state assets in the 1990s, had instead turned to gambling online.
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Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has lost one of the yachts in his sizeable personal fleet in a game of poker, a Russian newspaper reported.
The popular daily Moskovsky Komsomelets said the oligarch lost the $US500,000 ($A674,627) yacht while playing poker in Barcelona, which he was visiting to watch the London football team he owns, Chelsea, in action.
Abramovich's yacht collection, thought to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, has been dubbed The Roman Navy by Britain's press.
The Russian newspaper said his poker habit had become a sore point between him and girlfriend Daria Zhukova and that the billionaire, who made his fortune in Russia's sell-off of state assets in the 1990s, had instead turned to gambling online.
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Online poker: Five card clicks, by Rob Sharp - The Independent - 6th May 2009
Virtual casinos bring the game right to your laptop. As The Independent launches its own poker league, Rob Sharp discovers why online gambling is becoming an even bigger deal
In a dusty room that has never seen the light of day, a concerned-looking man sits nervously behind a computer screen. He takes a moment to assess another man, who sits at a terminal nearby. They are locked into an anxious battle of wills. The first man looks his opponent slowly up and down, before quietly clicking on the computer mouse beside him.The two men are showcasing Virgin Poker, Virgin’s online poker gaming website, at Aspers, a casino in central Newcastle.
There are few things that would tempt out journalists on such a drab day in the North East, but online poker is big business. One million people gamble using the controversial card game in the UK each year, part of a global industry worth over £1bn. By logging on to virgingames.com or PokerStars.com competitors can emulate their poker-playing heroes from the comfort of their bedrooms. An increase in the tax on poker profits from 15 to 50 per cent, announced in last month’s Budget, will clip the wings of traditional poker operators. But many online poker companies, including Virgin Poker, are based offshore and are thus exempt.
While encouraging people to gamble responsibly, today The Independent, in a joint venture with Virgin Poker, launches its own poker league via independent.co.uk. “Nowadays there are over half a million regular online poker players logging on and playing,” says Joe Legge, poker product manager at Virgin Games. “For some, it’s their profession but for most it’s a form of entertainment that is mentally stimulating and doesn’t have to involve risking a lot of money. The Independent’s poker league is a great extension of our commitment to the social side of poker playing. ”Steph Boyd, from Darvel near Glasgow, known simply by the gaming moniker of “mole man”, is one of the people who relies on poker playing online for his entire income, not just for entertainment.
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In 2006, his first year of professional play, he claims to have made £1.5m. “It’s a great lifestyle, it’s a great job,” he says, sat at a traditional poker table close to the online gamers in Newcastle. “To be honest, there are not a lot of other jobs I could do. Before I turned professional I worked as a fitness instructor, but then I made a serious amount of money in a very short space of time.” Three years ago, he created a bank account and deposited into it £1,000 to fund his poker. Soon he was able to regularly withdraw a monthly salary of £200. Before long he gave up his job to turn to poker full-time. Needless to say, for every poker tale of rags to riches there is another ending in ruin.
Former mayor Jayne Yeomans was jailed last month for stealing almost £65,000 to fund her online poker addiction. In an effort to cover her tracks, the 49-year-old forged her husband’s signature and remortgaged their house to raise £25,000 to pay some of it back. Kara Scott, who hosts the television coverage online of the PokerStars European Poker tour, plays at least three hours of online poker a day. She thinks cases such as Yeomans’ are not representative and give a misleading impression of the world of online poker players. “I think there are people out there with really addictive personalities who get addicted to anything,” she says. “Some people are always going to take it too far.
Thankfully, there are organisations out there [such as GamCare.org.uk] you can get in touch with. And with most online poker sites you can select the option to deny yourself. You effectively tell the site about your problem and they will block you for six months or a year so that you can’t get back on.” As a condition of handing out poker licenses, the British government’s Gambling Commission insists poker companies encourage socially responsible gambling. Operators must verify people’s ages before allowing them to play (in the UK players must be 18 or over) and provide as much information about socially responsible gambling on their websites as possible.
Players are encouraged to contact a charity such as GamCare if they feel they have an unhealthy interest in online gambling (or are using it to escape from their problems, become restless when they are not playing, or continually try to stop but can’t). Virgin Games is licenced and regulated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, the Channel Islands’ own regulatory body for poker. Boyd is confident that for him, gambling is only a positive thing, and that he has found a way of making his online habit work for him. “My priorities are my wife and three kids. I have luckily been able to buy a new house and that is a great thing to have at my stage in life. My online poker playing is a wee bit of fun.
So far, it has been very good to me. It just seems to be common sense for me to keep going. My wife went to university three years ago and hopes to start a new job in finance. All in all, she has been very supportive.” Playing at home also has advantages for Scott. “I can see how coming to somewhere like Newcastle to compete in a traditional poker tournament with lots of burly men might be intimidating to some women,” she says. “That fear is definitely circumnavigated by playing online. And you do get a few men who do some really inappropriate things. Yesterday there was a drunk man among the crowd of people asking for my autograph. He asked me to autograph his penis. I said no. What I should have said is, ‘Do you want me to initial it?’”
Poker people: Winners and losers
* Chris Moneymaker, an American accountant, won a seat at the 2003 World Series of Poker after playing a satellite tournament in the PokerStars online poker room. It cost him $39 to enter the first game; he ended up netting the $2.5m first prize at the global tournament. “It's a contentious issue whether poker is actually gambling,” he says.
* Zachary Gruneberg, a 19-year-old player from Pennsylvania, dropped out of university last month to pursue a career as a professional poker player. In January he won $250,000 at Australia’s 2009 Aussie Millions Poker Championship. He’s too young to gamble legally in the US, so instead, he spends his time playing online. “There'd be days where I'd play 10-plus hours of poker online at school,” he says. “While you're playing, you can do so much other stuff. You can watch a TV show, talk to your friends, be on Facebook. It's all about multi-tasking.”
* Roy ‘the Boy’ Brindley, born in Dorking, Surrey, left a career training greyhounds to win £1m in online poker over an eight-year period. In his autobiography, ‘Life’s a Gamble’, he admits that gambling addiction has rendered him homeless at points in his life. Nevertheless: “To me, it’s massively satisfying. I was never good at sports and was 30 when I discovered a game that I could win at,” he says.
* Christopher Proudfoot, a finance controller, siphoned £1m of his employer’s money into his bank account between December 2004 and January 2008 to fund his habit. The 28-year-old fraudster, who now lives with his parents in Inverness, pleaded guilty in February to embezzling the cash. “The problem with some of these sites is when you win big they have their own way of getting it back,” he says. “When you’ve won a fair amount of money you can’t easily get it back. They don’t let you withdraw without letting everyone you are playing with no, so you carry on competing.” (Credit: The Independent)
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Virtual casinos bring the game right to your laptop. As The Independent launches its own poker league, Rob Sharp discovers why online gambling is becoming an even bigger deal
In a dusty room that has never seen the light of day, a concerned-looking man sits nervously behind a computer screen. He takes a moment to assess another man, who sits at a terminal nearby. They are locked into an anxious battle of wills. The first man looks his opponent slowly up and down, before quietly clicking on the computer mouse beside him.The two men are showcasing Virgin Poker, Virgin’s online poker gaming website, at Aspers, a casino in central Newcastle.
There are few things that would tempt out journalists on such a drab day in the North East, but online poker is big business. One million people gamble using the controversial card game in the UK each year, part of a global industry worth over £1bn. By logging on to virgingames.com or PokerStars.com competitors can emulate their poker-playing heroes from the comfort of their bedrooms. An increase in the tax on poker profits from 15 to 50 per cent, announced in last month’s Budget, will clip the wings of traditional poker operators. But many online poker companies, including Virgin Poker, are based offshore and are thus exempt.
While encouraging people to gamble responsibly, today The Independent, in a joint venture with Virgin Poker, launches its own poker league via independent.co.uk. “Nowadays there are over half a million regular online poker players logging on and playing,” says Joe Legge, poker product manager at Virgin Games. “For some, it’s their profession but for most it’s a form of entertainment that is mentally stimulating and doesn’t have to involve risking a lot of money. The Independent’s poker league is a great extension of our commitment to the social side of poker playing. ”Steph Boyd, from Darvel near Glasgow, known simply by the gaming moniker of “mole man”, is one of the people who relies on poker playing online for his entire income, not just for entertainment.
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In 2006, his first year of professional play, he claims to have made £1.5m. “It’s a great lifestyle, it’s a great job,” he says, sat at a traditional poker table close to the online gamers in Newcastle. “To be honest, there are not a lot of other jobs I could do. Before I turned professional I worked as a fitness instructor, but then I made a serious amount of money in a very short space of time.” Three years ago, he created a bank account and deposited into it £1,000 to fund his poker. Soon he was able to regularly withdraw a monthly salary of £200. Before long he gave up his job to turn to poker full-time. Needless to say, for every poker tale of rags to riches there is another ending in ruin.
Former mayor Jayne Yeomans was jailed last month for stealing almost £65,000 to fund her online poker addiction. In an effort to cover her tracks, the 49-year-old forged her husband’s signature and remortgaged their house to raise £25,000 to pay some of it back. Kara Scott, who hosts the television coverage online of the PokerStars European Poker tour, plays at least three hours of online poker a day. She thinks cases such as Yeomans’ are not representative and give a misleading impression of the world of online poker players. “I think there are people out there with really addictive personalities who get addicted to anything,” she says. “Some people are always going to take it too far.
Thankfully, there are organisations out there [such as GamCare.org.uk] you can get in touch with. And with most online poker sites you can select the option to deny yourself. You effectively tell the site about your problem and they will block you for six months or a year so that you can’t get back on.” As a condition of handing out poker licenses, the British government’s Gambling Commission insists poker companies encourage socially responsible gambling. Operators must verify people’s ages before allowing them to play (in the UK players must be 18 or over) and provide as much information about socially responsible gambling on their websites as possible.
Players are encouraged to contact a charity such as GamCare if they feel they have an unhealthy interest in online gambling (or are using it to escape from their problems, become restless when they are not playing, or continually try to stop but can’t). Virgin Games is licenced and regulated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, the Channel Islands’ own regulatory body for poker. Boyd is confident that for him, gambling is only a positive thing, and that he has found a way of making his online habit work for him. “My priorities are my wife and three kids. I have luckily been able to buy a new house and that is a great thing to have at my stage in life. My online poker playing is a wee bit of fun.
So far, it has been very good to me. It just seems to be common sense for me to keep going. My wife went to university three years ago and hopes to start a new job in finance. All in all, she has been very supportive.” Playing at home also has advantages for Scott. “I can see how coming to somewhere like Newcastle to compete in a traditional poker tournament with lots of burly men might be intimidating to some women,” she says. “That fear is definitely circumnavigated by playing online. And you do get a few men who do some really inappropriate things. Yesterday there was a drunk man among the crowd of people asking for my autograph. He asked me to autograph his penis. I said no. What I should have said is, ‘Do you want me to initial it?’”
Poker people: Winners and losers
* Chris Moneymaker, an American accountant, won a seat at the 2003 World Series of Poker after playing a satellite tournament in the PokerStars online poker room. It cost him $39 to enter the first game; he ended up netting the $2.5m first prize at the global tournament. “It's a contentious issue whether poker is actually gambling,” he says.
* Zachary Gruneberg, a 19-year-old player from Pennsylvania, dropped out of university last month to pursue a career as a professional poker player. In January he won $250,000 at Australia’s 2009 Aussie Millions Poker Championship. He’s too young to gamble legally in the US, so instead, he spends his time playing online. “There'd be days where I'd play 10-plus hours of poker online at school,” he says. “While you're playing, you can do so much other stuff. You can watch a TV show, talk to your friends, be on Facebook. It's all about multi-tasking.”
* Roy ‘the Boy’ Brindley, born in Dorking, Surrey, left a career training greyhounds to win £1m in online poker over an eight-year period. In his autobiography, ‘Life’s a Gamble’, he admits that gambling addiction has rendered him homeless at points in his life. Nevertheless: “To me, it’s massively satisfying. I was never good at sports and was 30 when I discovered a game that I could win at,” he says.
* Christopher Proudfoot, a finance controller, siphoned £1m of his employer’s money into his bank account between December 2004 and January 2008 to fund his habit. The 28-year-old fraudster, who now lives with his parents in Inverness, pleaded guilty in February to embezzling the cash. “The problem with some of these sites is when you win big they have their own way of getting it back,” he says. “When you’ve won a fair amount of money you can’t easily get it back. They don’t let you withdraw without letting everyone you are playing with no, so you carry on competing.” (Credit: The Independent)
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State plays its hand in targeting online gambling websites, by Paul Walsh - Star Tribune - 1st May 2009
Users may be finding ways around Minnesota's attempt to cut off access to the 200 Internet game sites.
The state of Minnesota on Friday released the names of 200 online gambling websites it is trying to prevent Minnesotans from using, warning that Internet wagering is illegal.
The specific sites being targeted will be of interest to Minnesotans who use them and are concerned that any balances they have with those operations could be lost if the state succeeds in blocking access.
Fulltime online poker player and instructor Chris Wallace of St. Paul scoffed at the list built by the state, however.
"I'm certain they didn't do a whole lot of research," Wallace said. "The largest poker site in the world [Poker Stars] is not listed."
Wallace also said he's confident that he won't lose any money because of the state's block. "I do have money in many of these sites," he said. "The worst is that I will drive over to Wisconsin and request a cashout."
He said he has already shifted his computer to a server in the Cayman Islands and was back on his favorite site within 20 minutes at no expense, thereby getting around any block that Minnesota wants put in place.
On Wednesday, a division of the state Department of Public Safety that enforces gambling and alcohol laws said it has instructed 11 national and regional telephone and Internet service providers (ISPs) to block access by all Minnesota-based computers to the websites on the list.
Minnesota says all online gambling within its borders is illegal, even if the games are hosted outside the United States.
Operators of these types of sites are spread around the world, most commonly in the United Kingdom and the Caribbean, as some of their names suggest: Casino Euro, English Harbour and Virgin Games, among others.
Written notices from the division were served Monday to AT&T Internet Services, Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, DirecTV, Dish Network, Embarq and Sprint/Nextel, Frontier Communications, Qwest, Verizon Wireless and Wildblue Communications. (Credit: Star Tribune)
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Users may be finding ways around Minnesota's attempt to cut off access to the 200 Internet game sites.
The state of Minnesota on Friday released the names of 200 online gambling websites it is trying to prevent Minnesotans from using, warning that Internet wagering is illegal.
The specific sites being targeted will be of interest to Minnesotans who use them and are concerned that any balances they have with those operations could be lost if the state succeeds in blocking access.
Fulltime online poker player and instructor Chris Wallace of St. Paul scoffed at the list built by the state, however.
"I'm certain they didn't do a whole lot of research," Wallace said. "The largest poker site in the world [Poker Stars] is not listed."
Wallace also said he's confident that he won't lose any money because of the state's block. "I do have money in many of these sites," he said. "The worst is that I will drive over to Wisconsin and request a cashout."
He said he has already shifted his computer to a server in the Cayman Islands and was back on his favorite site within 20 minutes at no expense, thereby getting around any block that Minnesota wants put in place.
On Wednesday, a division of the state Department of Public Safety that enforces gambling and alcohol laws said it has instructed 11 national and regional telephone and Internet service providers (ISPs) to block access by all Minnesota-based computers to the websites on the list.
Minnesota says all online gambling within its borders is illegal, even if the games are hosted outside the United States.
Operators of these types of sites are spread around the world, most commonly in the United Kingdom and the Caribbean, as some of their names suggest: Casino Euro, English Harbour and Virgin Games, among others.
Written notices from the division were served Monday to AT&T Internet Services, Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, DirecTV, Dish Network, Embarq and Sprint/Nextel, Frontier Communications, Qwest, Verizon Wireless and Wildblue Communications. (Credit: Star Tribune)
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Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Crown decked by cards shuffle, by Jason Dowling - The Age - 5th May 2009
At least one croupier at Crown Casino is not a big Kenny Rogers fan; or if he is, he doesn't listen. He missed the bit about "know when to fold 'em".
Crown has been fined $7500 after a dealer continued to deal a game of poker knowing the deck was incomplete.
The Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation found "play continued despite the constant display of the red light on the automatic shuffle machine" and after the dealer counted the cards twice and found 51 cards. The commission said "it took the attendance of three supervisors before the game was stopped".
Details of the over-zealous dealer have only been released recently by the commission — the incident occurred in January last year.
It is not the first time Crown has been fined for conducting games with less than 52 cards in the deck. Since 2007 it has been detected using less than 52 cards on at least six occasions. (Credit: The Age)
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At least one croupier at Crown Casino is not a big Kenny Rogers fan; or if he is, he doesn't listen. He missed the bit about "know when to fold 'em".
Crown has been fined $7500 after a dealer continued to deal a game of poker knowing the deck was incomplete.
The Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation found "play continued despite the constant display of the red light on the automatic shuffle machine" and after the dealer counted the cards twice and found 51 cards. The commission said "it took the attendance of three supervisors before the game was stopped".
Details of the over-zealous dealer have only been released recently by the commission — the incident occurred in January last year.
It is not the first time Crown has been fined for conducting games with less than 52 cards in the deck. Since 2007 it has been detected using less than 52 cards on at least six occasions. (Credit: The Age)
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Wrestlers and Arnold Schwarzenegger Gambling, Poker Connection - Gambling911 - 4th May 2009
Ric Flair recently signed a deal to be a spokesperson for the lottery in the Carolinas... The Shelby, NC Star ran a story noting that Ric, David, and Reid Flair are scheduled to appear on Saturday at the Rec Center for a charity show to raise for the Shelby City Parks and Police Department. If he attends this would be Reid's first public appearance since his arrest last weekend.
"This is of course totally the opposite direction to Jesse Ventura's stance on gambling, at least publicly," notes Media Man, Greg Tingle.
Tingle made reference to Ventura's support of an online gambling enterprise, BetUS.com, where he was a paid spokesperson for more than two years. Interestingly enough, the state of Minnesota for which Ventura served as Governor, announced last week it will try to block access to online gambling websites from citizens of that state.
Then there is California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a one time friend of both men, who reportedly would support an initiative in his state to legalize online poker.
In November 2004, an advertisement began airing in California featuring Ventura. In it, Ventura voices his opposition to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's policies regarding Native American casinos, the very casinos that stand in the way of the proposed poker legislation. Schwarzenegger and Ventura have not spoken in years, according to reports.
In September 2005, Ventura announced on The Mike Malloy Show that he was leaving the U.S. and planned to "have an adventure". In late October 2005, he went on the The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch and reiterated that he was leaving the U.S. due to, among other things, censorship. He has since moved to Baja California, Mexico. (Credit: Gambling911).
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Ric Flair recently signed a deal to be a spokesperson for the lottery in the Carolinas... The Shelby, NC Star ran a story noting that Ric, David, and Reid Flair are scheduled to appear on Saturday at the Rec Center for a charity show to raise for the Shelby City Parks and Police Department. If he attends this would be Reid's first public appearance since his arrest last weekend.
"This is of course totally the opposite direction to Jesse Ventura's stance on gambling, at least publicly," notes Media Man, Greg Tingle.
Tingle made reference to Ventura's support of an online gambling enterprise, BetUS.com, where he was a paid spokesperson for more than two years. Interestingly enough, the state of Minnesota for which Ventura served as Governor, announced last week it will try to block access to online gambling websites from citizens of that state.
Then there is California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a one time friend of both men, who reportedly would support an initiative in his state to legalize online poker.
In November 2004, an advertisement began airing in California featuring Ventura. In it, Ventura voices his opposition to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's policies regarding Native American casinos, the very casinos that stand in the way of the proposed poker legislation. Schwarzenegger and Ventura have not spoken in years, according to reports.
In September 2005, Ventura announced on The Mike Malloy Show that he was leaving the U.S. and planned to "have an adventure". In late October 2005, he went on the The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch and reiterated that he was leaving the U.S. due to, among other things, censorship. He has since moved to Baja California, Mexico. (Credit: Gambling911).
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Monday, May 04, 2009
Poker in the Park III Announced for August 13th & 14th
Europe's largest poker festival returns to London's Leicester Square this summer
April 8, 2009 (London, UK) -- Europe's largest free poker festival, Poker in the Park, will return to the middle of Leicester Square Park this summer. The third incarnation of consumer poker fair will take place on Thursday & Friday, August 13th and 14th.
This year promises to be even bigger and better than last year, with plenty of free live poker tournaments on offer, as well as live lectures and autograph signings from big name pros, plus all manner of discounted poker merchandise on sale.
Last year 10,000 people swarmed into the marquees in Leicester Square to play poker for free and listen to talks from the pros, including Devilfish, Neil Channing, Ian Frazer, Marc Goodwin, Paul Jackson and Nik Persaud. This year promises more big name players and exhibitions from some of the most exciting brands in the poker industry.
Bluff Europe's Editor-in-Chief Michael Caselli said, "Poker in the Park is about bringing poker enthusiasts from all over the UK together to meet their poker heroes, improve their play and play poker absolutely free with other lovers of the game from all around the nation."
###
Companies interested in sponsoring the event should contact:
Ed Whittington
Lyceum Publishing
Ed.whittngton@lyceumpublishing.com
+44 (0) 207 828 6988
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Europe's largest poker festival returns to London's Leicester Square this summer
April 8, 2009 (London, UK) -- Europe's largest free poker festival, Poker in the Park, will return to the middle of Leicester Square Park this summer. The third incarnation of consumer poker fair will take place on Thursday & Friday, August 13th and 14th.
This year promises to be even bigger and better than last year, with plenty of free live poker tournaments on offer, as well as live lectures and autograph signings from big name pros, plus all manner of discounted poker merchandise on sale.
Last year 10,000 people swarmed into the marquees in Leicester Square to play poker for free and listen to talks from the pros, including Devilfish, Neil Channing, Ian Frazer, Marc Goodwin, Paul Jackson and Nik Persaud. This year promises more big name players and exhibitions from some of the most exciting brands in the poker industry.
Bluff Europe's Editor-in-Chief Michael Caselli said, "Poker in the Park is about bringing poker enthusiasts from all over the UK together to meet their poker heroes, improve their play and play poker absolutely free with other lovers of the game from all around the nation."
###
Companies interested in sponsoring the event should contact:
Ed Whittington
Lyceum Publishing
Ed.whittngton@lyceumpublishing.com
+44 (0) 207 828 6988
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Paren Arzoomanian Wins ANZPT Sydney, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 3rd May 2009
The first ever Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), sponsored by PokerStars, just wrapped up its AUD $2,200 buy-in Main Event from the Star City Casino in Sydney. A 25 year-old local student, Paren “Puzz” Arzoomanian, won the high-stakes tournament.
A field of 493 players turned out for the inaugural ANZPT Sydney festivities, seven short of its official maximum capacity. As a result, Arzoomanian banked AUD $246,000 for his efforts. The cancer survivor battled against Gold Coast mortgage broker Lisa Walsh heads-up, with the latter earning the largest payday ever by a woman in an Australian poker tournament. On the final hand, she shoved low on chips with K-9 and was called by Arzoomanian, who flipped over A-5. The flop came J-8-8, leaving Walsh needing a king, nine, or running cards to make a straight. A five on the turn preserved Arzoomanian’s lead in the hand and an ace on the river sealed the victory for the youngster with aces up.
Here were the top nine finishers in Sydney along with their payouts. All figures given are in Australian Dollars:
1st Place: Paren Arzoomanian - $246,500
2nd Place: Lisa Walsh - $162,690
3rd Place: John Caridid - $93,670
4th Place: Chris Kittos - $69,020
5th Place: Majed Haddad - $55,709
6th Place: Vasilios Argyros - $44,370
7th Place: Joel Dodds - $34,510
8th Place: James Newhan - $24,650
9th Place: Xin Zhao - $16,762
Kittos fell by the wayside in fourth place after coming out on the losing end of a race holding A-K against Walsh’s pocket threes. The flop came 2-4-5, adding a straight draw for Walsh and counterfeiting three of Kittos’ outs. The turn came another five and the river was a jack, sending Kittos home AUD $69,020 richer for his wear. Caridid was also sent packing by Walsh, who held A-K against Caridid’s A-8. The board fell 10-2-3-7-J, sending the final PokerStars qualifier standing out of the tournament in third place. Arzoomanian held a 5.6 million to 4.1 million chip lead entering heads-up play.
Two members of Team PokerStars Australia also finished in the money. Tony Hachem grabbed 17th place for AUD $8,874, while Eric Assadourian took 28th place and saw his bank account grow by AUD $4,930. Hachem now sits atop the overall ANZPT Season 1 leader board with 84.8 points, besting fellow Aussie Karl Krautsschneider by 4.8. At the end of Season 1 of the ANZPT, the overall leader board champion takes home prize packages to every Main Event on the PokerStars-sponsored Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) during Season 4 as well as the 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event. The player will officially be sponsored by PokerStars, which will front airfare, tournament buy-ins, and hotel accommodations as part of the AUD $60,000 prize package. The runner up takes home sponsorship for every event on the second season of the ANZPT (valued at AUD $25,000), while the third place finisher will grab AUD $10,500 in buy-ins and expenses to tournaments in the region sponsored by PokerStars.
Here’s a look at the top ten of the current leader board after the Sydney event:
1. Tony Hachem- 84.8
2. Karl Krautsschneider – 80.0
3. Daniel Noja - 69.2
4. Bill Argyros – 69.0
5. Joel Dodds - 67.6
6. Paren Arzoomanian - 67.4
6. Lisa Walsh - 67.4
6. John Caridad - 67.4
9. Mike Stecker - 65.6
10. Tony Dunst – 64.0
After a three week hiatus, the ANZPT will return on May 25th in Melbourne at the Crown Casino. The AUD $2,700 buy-in Main Event plays down to a winner on May 27th and the tournament is capped at 450 entrants. From July 21st through 25th, the tournament series heads to Queenstown’s SkyCity Casino for an AUD $2,500 buy-in contest. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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The first ever Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), sponsored by PokerStars, just wrapped up its AUD $2,200 buy-in Main Event from the Star City Casino in Sydney. A 25 year-old local student, Paren “Puzz” Arzoomanian, won the high-stakes tournament.
A field of 493 players turned out for the inaugural ANZPT Sydney festivities, seven short of its official maximum capacity. As a result, Arzoomanian banked AUD $246,000 for his efforts. The cancer survivor battled against Gold Coast mortgage broker Lisa Walsh heads-up, with the latter earning the largest payday ever by a woman in an Australian poker tournament. On the final hand, she shoved low on chips with K-9 and was called by Arzoomanian, who flipped over A-5. The flop came J-8-8, leaving Walsh needing a king, nine, or running cards to make a straight. A five on the turn preserved Arzoomanian’s lead in the hand and an ace on the river sealed the victory for the youngster with aces up.
Here were the top nine finishers in Sydney along with their payouts. All figures given are in Australian Dollars:
1st Place: Paren Arzoomanian - $246,500
2nd Place: Lisa Walsh - $162,690
3rd Place: John Caridid - $93,670
4th Place: Chris Kittos - $69,020
5th Place: Majed Haddad - $55,709
6th Place: Vasilios Argyros - $44,370
7th Place: Joel Dodds - $34,510
8th Place: James Newhan - $24,650
9th Place: Xin Zhao - $16,762
Kittos fell by the wayside in fourth place after coming out on the losing end of a race holding A-K against Walsh’s pocket threes. The flop came 2-4-5, adding a straight draw for Walsh and counterfeiting three of Kittos’ outs. The turn came another five and the river was a jack, sending Kittos home AUD $69,020 richer for his wear. Caridid was also sent packing by Walsh, who held A-K against Caridid’s A-8. The board fell 10-2-3-7-J, sending the final PokerStars qualifier standing out of the tournament in third place. Arzoomanian held a 5.6 million to 4.1 million chip lead entering heads-up play.
Two members of Team PokerStars Australia also finished in the money. Tony Hachem grabbed 17th place for AUD $8,874, while Eric Assadourian took 28th place and saw his bank account grow by AUD $4,930. Hachem now sits atop the overall ANZPT Season 1 leader board with 84.8 points, besting fellow Aussie Karl Krautsschneider by 4.8. At the end of Season 1 of the ANZPT, the overall leader board champion takes home prize packages to every Main Event on the PokerStars-sponsored Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) during Season 4 as well as the 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event. The player will officially be sponsored by PokerStars, which will front airfare, tournament buy-ins, and hotel accommodations as part of the AUD $60,000 prize package. The runner up takes home sponsorship for every event on the second season of the ANZPT (valued at AUD $25,000), while the third place finisher will grab AUD $10,500 in buy-ins and expenses to tournaments in the region sponsored by PokerStars.
Here’s a look at the top ten of the current leader board after the Sydney event:
1. Tony Hachem- 84.8
2. Karl Krautsschneider – 80.0
3. Daniel Noja - 69.2
4. Bill Argyros – 69.0
5. Joel Dodds - 67.6
6. Paren Arzoomanian - 67.4
6. Lisa Walsh - 67.4
6. John Caridad - 67.4
9. Mike Stecker - 65.6
10. Tony Dunst – 64.0
After a three week hiatus, the ANZPT will return on May 25th in Melbourne at the Crown Casino. The AUD $2,700 buy-in Main Event plays down to a winner on May 27th and the tournament is capped at 450 entrants. From July 21st through 25th, the tournament series heads to Queenstown’s SkyCity Casino for an AUD $2,500 buy-in contest. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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