Fantastic Casino Glen

The latest news in online poker circles is that an amendment to legalize online poker in the United States is likely to be attached to the upcoming Payroll Tax Extension legislation. It was reported that Nevada Governor Sandoval called the top executives of casinos to inform them of the agreement between Senate Majority Leader Democrat Harry Reid and Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl for adding online poker to the payroll tax bill. It was public knowledge that these two powerful Senators had been in discussion over the past few months over the development of draft legislation that would add more clarity to the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The objective was that poker be defined as a game of skill and therefore be exempted from the purview of the UIGEA.

If this actually happens it will be just one more step towards American players playing poker at online websites licensed by an American regulatory authority without fears of being ripped off by unscrupulous operators or of the Department of Justice impounding the poker site’s bank accounts. Therefore celebrations at this stage are premature. There is no guarantee that the Payroll Tax Extension bill will pass over the next few weeks. Though, experts say that the chance of this happening right now appears to be better than 50%. If online poker is no longer covered by the UIGEA, it will be a big relief because the Department of Justice has already opined that the Wire Act will no longer be applied to online poker.

Online poker players will never forget that Kyl (in picture) was the co-author of the UIGEA. The UIGEA specifically exempts horse racing and state lotteries. Kyl had stated in an interview that there was a need to look at each online gambling vertical individually with respect to the UIGEA and that is what he would be doing. He also said that Reid had supporters in Nevada who wanted to deal with online poker and that is why the two of them were talking. If this effort succeeds then possibly the online poker community may forget the hardships that Kyl has wrought on them since 2006.

Ace investigative reporter, Wendeen H. Eolis, has once again returned from the quagmire that is online poker with another breaking story.  This time shes the first to tell the world that PokerStars CEO Gabriel Campos Woslovsky would be leaving the troubled online poker company after a two year hitch.

Read all the details of this latest turn of events in Eolis article, Poker stars Too Big to Hide Internal News, now appearing on Poker Player Newspaper.  Use this handy direct link listed above to go to the latest must read chapter of whats happening in the online poker, yet another clue in the online poker players dilemma, “Wheres my money and will I ever get it back?”

If you missed the first installment of the Gabi Campos Departure, Poker stars CEO Gabi Campos is off the Grid: A Parade of Unsung Departures, click the link.  

After this weeks paltry press release by the site, Full Tilt Poker is looking more and more like a Ponzi scheme gone amok. In fact, when you examine every online Poker Room that has ever run into some sort of trouble, only PokerStars has turned out to be a credible player in the online poker market -the rest, like Full Tilt Poker, have turned out to be Ponzi schemes.

For those of you unfamiliar with what a Ponzi scheme, its basically a company using funds they take in to pay off previous obligations. So while Full Tilt Poker and the other online poker rooms sans PokerStars were using player deposits for marketing and operational costs, as well as to pay their founders and investors, they would then use new player deposits to handle any withdrawal requests from their existing clientele!

As more and more evidence leaks out to the poker playing public, these unregulated sites are really showing their true colors; not only were we sold a safe and secure online poker environment but as it turns out there were illegal practices taking place involving shell corporations; shady accounting practices such as the Full Tilt Poker E-Checks debacle; and millions of dollars of loans handed out to employees and owners of the company; all the while the site is operating with only a small percentage of player funds available at any time!

While the poker world has been outraged at the US DOJs actions on Black Friday, we should also be somewhat thankful that his house of cards has been brought crashing down, and even though many players are out a lot of money, it could have been far worse had the Ponzi scheme been allowed to continue.

For now at least, we no longer have to worry about online poker sites paying their current players with the new deposits they are taking in, while at the same time they are using player deposits for all sorts of operating expenses.

Unfortunately, the only way to prevent Ponzi schemes is through regulation. And even though the damage has already been done, we must insure that this never happens again; its time for poker players around the world to unite and demand a regulated online poker world. Until poker is regulated in the United States there will be very little chance of things changing in the future.

Foreign online gambling companies have been positioning themselves over the past couple of years for a move into the US market. After Black Friday several months ago, many companies backed off their aggression in the US, but not 888 Holdings. Reports surfaced last week of how 888 was in advanced stages of negotiations with Caesars Entertainment to form a partnership. The two gaming giants would be positioned perfectly if and when online gambling became regulated in the US. The Gibraltar-based gaming company has been receiving good news from many different areas in recent months. The second quarter revenue figures were released and they were up nearly thirty percent. The company also acknowledged that they were considering applying for an online poker license in Nevada. The company may need to have secured funds in the future for expansion into major markets such as Spain and the US, although for the time being they are financially sound. The company understands that certain expansion efforts may be necessary to compete on a worldwide level. “It’s just we don’t want to miss no-brainer opportunities as they arise,” said Deputy Chairman of 888, Brian Mattingley. The US move would certainly be classified by many analysts as a “no-brainer.” With the countries online gambling laws in flux, the first companies to gain licenses in a newly regulated market could be in for a big payday. Several US-based companies have started to partner with foreign companies that have the platforms to immediately open up shop in the US should the laws change. Nevada legislators have already authorized online gambling, with the stipulation that no sites would be opened until the federal laws are changed. Currently there are three bills that have been proposed federally that would regulate online poker if passed. William Hill is perhaps the most successful of the foreign gaming companies, and they already have agreed to buy three sports books in Las Vegas. The company could then use the sports books and their good standing to gain an Internet gambling license when they are offered by Nevada regulators.