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Nevada's main gambling regulatory body on approved regulations Thursday that could make Nevada the first state to allow Internet-poker games within its borders.

The new rules are the first comprehensive regulatory standards drawn up for online gambling in the U.S and are likely to become an important test case as states and the federal government consider new laws allowing online poker.

They were designed to position the state to move quickly to become the center of a lucrative new sector of the gambling industry should Congress pass one of several laws overturning the ban on Internet wagering, making the state the de-facto national licensing body.

In the meantime, Nevada's new regulations could allow the state's casino companies to operate gambling websites limited to players within Nevada's borders.

Such websites could be up and running before the end of next year as long as they adhere to the state's standards, said Mark Lipparelli, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The control board drew up the rules, which were approved Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Commission in a unanimous vote.

"I think this is an important big step," Mr. Lipparelli said. "This establishes a U.S. foundation for online gaming regulation."

The move comes as online-gambling laws have been debated recently in other statehouses and in Congress but still face hurdles in passing.

The approved regulations amend Nevada gambling laws to include online poker and create a number of technical requirements around the processing of money for the players and other areas. Under the regulations, operators must verify the age and location of every gambler who registers within 30 days of registration and cannot extend credit to gamblers.

The regulations also address several problems that have come up at other poker sites that have been licensed by regulatory bodies outside the U.S. prior to a crackdown in April by the Justice Department, including trouble finding funds to play back players owed money. Under the new Nevada regulations, operators must hold a reserve of cash or a letter of credit to cover the money held for players in their accounts, verified by an independent accountant.

Similarly, the regulations limit the profits available to celebrity poker players employed by the site, which addresses problems that arose at the poker site Full Tilt Poker that is owned by a number of celebrity poker players.

"We tried to address each of the issues that have been a part of the maturation of the business," Mr. Lipparelli said.

The regulations came out of a state law that was passed earlier this year.

The regulations state that the operations be limited to bets placed within Nevada until federal law changes or the Justice Department says it will allow bets between states.

The main operator of the websites must be a Nevada casino company, but others can apply under a separate category to partner with casino companies in providing software or other services.

Mr. Lipparelli said technology is available to allow companies to limit the bets to people within state borders but that the systems would have to be vetted by regulators and state attorneys to ensure they comply with rules.

A year ago, Washington, D.C., became the first U.S. jurisdiction to pass a law allowing online poker within city limits, operated by the district's lottery, but its implementation has been delayed. The law provoked controversy and council hearings on the issue are set to be held next month, said Buddy Roogow, executive director of the D.C. Lottery. If the law isn't repealed, websites would be up next year, he said.

Some proponents say other states, seeking new sources of revenue, will follow Nevada and Washington, D.C. In the event laws pass at the state or federal level, a variety of interested parties including Indian tribes, software companies, state lotteries, slot-machine manufacturers, overseas online-gambling operators and casino companies are already positioning themselves to share in the windfall.

Yet in Nevada some industry players question whether the state's population of about 2.6 million is big enough to support a thriving online-poker sector.

Many of the largest casino companies, such as Caesars Entertainment Corp. and MGM Resorts International, are lobbying instead for a federal law to legalize online poker at the national level.

Caesars is among the companies that have already applied for the Nevada online gambling license. A spokesman there said the company isn't sure yet whether or not it will try to operate a website in Nevada right away or just wait for federal legislation to pass allowing a national network.

Brent Beckley, one of the founders of Costa Rica-based Absolute Poker, has plead guilty to charges of bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to violate a U.S. ban on Internet gambling. BECKLEY disguised Absolute Poker transactions so that they would appear to be from other, non-gambling online merchants, such as online flower shops or pet supply stores that
would be approved despite credit card company policy. To accomplish this deceit, BECKLEY relied on co-conspirators who allegedly created shell companies, complete with phony websites, to use as covers for Absolute Poker transactions.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that BRENT BECKLEY, the director of payment processing for Absolute Poker, pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court to conspiracy to engage in unlawful internet gambling and conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, in connection with a scheme to deceive U.S. banks and financial institutions, using them to process tens of millions of dollars in payments for Absolute Poker.

“I knew it was illegal to accept credit cards from players to gamble on the Internet,” Beckley said at a hearing in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday. “I knew it was illegal to deceive the banks in this way.”

Beckley is a U.S. citizen, and served as Absolute Poker’s director of payment processing. He faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison, although the sentence guidelines in his plea agreement recommend 12 to 18 months in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for April 19, 2012.

The U.S. government is seeking $3 billion from the poker companies as part of a separate, but related civil lawsuit.

In 2006, the United States’ Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act prohibited businesses from accepting bets or wagers via the Internet. The law had an immediate impact, with most publicly-traded overseas online gambling sites ceasing to accept U.S. players. Online gambling companies cannot operate legally in the United States: although some states specifically bar online gambling, any online gambling operation would require a state license to operate, and currently no states offer such licenses.

A lawyer for Absolute Poker declined comment Tuessday, while a lawyer for PokerStars didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday.

The Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that 2010 World Series of Poker Champion Jonathan Duhamel is recovering in the hospital after being the victim of a brutal home invasion at his house near Montreal. Police in Longueuil confirmed that a pair of men forced their way into a Boucherville home on Wednesday morning but wouldn't confirm the name of the victim. Duhamel's agent Yves Bouchard, however, issued a release saying that it was his client.

The police say that the robbers rang the doorbell of Duhamel's home and pushed their way in when it was opened. After they left, an injured Duhamel called 9-1-1- and police responded swiftly. His mother told The Canadian Press that the 2010 WSOP champ is "doing well." As the first Canadian to win the WSOP Main Event, he helped galvanize a national scene that had been running a distant second to America's, bringing more and more Canadian players out to international events.

Last January, he won the high roller event at the European Poker Tour, taking home more than $270,000 and later won more than $40,000 at this year's World Series of Poker, bringing his total tournament winnings so far to over $9.5 million.

Police released a description of one of the suspects but wouldn't give any more details. They are also trying to determine whether or not Duhamel was specifically targeted by the robbers.

Nevada is gearing up to become the first US state to legalize and regulate online poker and offer online poker services within its territory even as the issue of regulating the industry is being hotly debated at Congress hearings and statehouses throughout the country. On Thursday, the gambling regulator of Nevada will pass rules regarding the application of licenses to offer online poker services within Nevada. Caesars, the owner of the internationally acclaimed World Series of Poker (WSOP), wants to expand the brand online pending legislation.

Nevada has designed new gambling rules so that it can quickly grab a lucrative share of the online poker market if the federal government legalizes the industry. Meanwhile, the new regulations in Nevada will allow its licensed casino operator to provide online gaming services to the people of Nevada. According to Mark Lipparelli, the Nevada Gaming Control Board chairman, these gaming sites will be available by the end of 2012 if the Nevada Gaming Commission Okays the newly framed gaming rules on Thursday. Nevada’s move to regulate its online poker industry is aimed at creating a source of revenue to solve its financial problems.

A number of software companies, Indian tribes, manufacturers of slot machine games, lotteries, foreign gambling companies, and others are just waiting to cash in once the US federal government legalizes the online gaming industry. Many companies have already formed strategic alliances to facilitate their smooth movement into the US online poker market once it is legalized. For instance, MGM Resorts International signed a deal with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Plc. recently.

Last year, Washington DC became the first jurisdiction within America to legalize online poker within its territory; however, the new law has not yet been implemented simply because it became the source of controversies. The issue is scheduled to be heard next month, and according to DC Lottery Executive Directory Buddy Roogow, online gaming sites will be launched in Washington DC next year if this law is not repealed.

Meanwhile, skeptics have pointed out that the population of Nevada is too low to ensure the success of its online poker industry, if and when the Nevada Gaming Commission votes in favor of the state’s new online gaming rules. Large gaming companies MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment Corp have never ceased to exert pressure on the US federal government to legalize and regulate the industry at the federal level precisely for this reason.

The popular online poker room's holiday season activities include a Christmas Day tournament and a donation to a major international charity organization.Leading online poker room in Europe, Titanpoker-com will stage a $10,000 Christmas Poker Charity Freeroll on December 25, 2011. The freeroll will distribute $5,000 in prizes to the top players and an additional $5,000 will be donated to an international charity organization on behalf of the tournament winner. Entries to the Christmas Charity Freeroll are available to all players for 10,000 Titan Poker Points, but players can win their seats at Titan Poker's satellite tournaments which will run on Christmas evening and Christmas day with buy-ins of as little as 25 Points.The $5,000 donation will be made to one of five major charity organizations: World Health Organization; International HIV / AIDS Alliance; the World Food Programme; MedShare; or the Carter Center. The winner of the Christmas Charity Freeroll will select which of these organizations will be recipient of the tournament donation.The Christmas Charity Freeroll will be staged in the Titan Poker software on Sunday, December 25, 2011, at 16:00 GMT. Players will begin with a starting stack of 5,000 chips. Re-buys and an add-on of additional chips will be available to the players.Poker novices and veteran poker players alike are invited to try out the free poker download at Titan Poker and participate in the Christmas Charity Freeroll for a chance of winning cash and making a donation to a worthy cause at the same time.About Titanpoker-com:Titanpoker-com is the number one online poker room in Europe and part of the iPoker Network. Titan Poker's software is developed and maintained by Playtech, a public company and leading gaming software developer. With tens of thousands of online players at peak hours, Titan Poker guarantees millions of dollars in monthly prizes, offers an easily redeemed first deposit bonus, features special sit 'n' go tournaments with progressive jackpots as high as $300,000, and awards players with entries to major worldwide poker tournaments. The Titan Poker brand is promoted exclusively by Euro Partners.SOURCE Titanpoker-com

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The Congress has held a number of hearings on the subject of legalizing and regulating the US online poker industry, but lawmakers still haven’t reached a consensus on the matter. The focus is actually on figuring out ways to deal with the country’s deficit budget, and legalizing and regulating the online poker industry will go a long way in solving this problem. Despite this, the US federal government hasn’t decided how exactly it should regulate the industry in the best interests of all concerned. According to Melissa Riahei, the vice president of Digital Gaming, coming to a consensus on online poker regulations in the US is not as easy as it sounds. Explaining her statement with special reference to the state of California, she said that this state has casinos owned by tribes, lotteries, and card clubs, and the interests of all these three need to be considered before creating a regulatory framework.

Leaving the matter of regulating the online poker industry to each state might not work because it can lead to small player fields and poor profits. Dan Walsh, the Greeberg Traurig director of governmental affairs, said that the major concern should be liquidity, particularly because only a formal federal legalization can make state licensing successful.

In the meanwhile, individual states are making considerable progress with regulating the online poker industry within their states, on their own. The states of California, Iowa, and Nevada have already implemented plans to regulate the online poker industry within their jurisdiction. Nevada is now processing applications to provide online gaming services from five gambling companies. 888 Holdings and Bally Technologies, two of the applicants, intend to be the first gaming companies to offer online poker gaming services within the US as soon as the federal government legalizes the industry. Regulating the industry state-wise, however, has one major downside in that the Department of Justice (DoJ) can interfere at any time and prohibit such regulations through the Wire Act.

One of the biggest advocates of online poker legalization in the US is the Poker Players’ Alliance (PPA), which has been pressing for federal legalization and regulation of the game for a long time. Simultaneously, it has not given up the idea that state-wise regulations might also work. PPA Executive Director John Pappas said that, although PPA opposes state-wise regulation, it will not create any problems for Florida and California if they successfully create regulatory frameworks for online poker.

New Nevada regulations allow for poker website licenses if Congress approves Internet gambling

(AP) -- Nevada gambling regulators on Thursday unanimously approved rules that allow companies in the state apply for licenses to operate poker websites, a move that puts Nevada in a position to capitalize if Congress reverses its ban on Internet gambling.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports (Online poker site rules approved - Business - ReviewJournal-com) that the regulations would let casino companies operate Internet poker sites..

The 31 year old co-founder of Absolute Poker, Brent Beckley has become the first online poker executive among the eleven who were indicted in April this year in the United States, to plead guilty to charges brought against him. Beckley reportedly reached a plea deal with the US Department of Justice, which could see him sitting behind bars for up to a year and a half on charges relating to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, as well as breaking online gambling laws in the US.

A hearing in Manhattan earlier this week saw Beckley admitting that he knew what he was doing was wrong, and he was aware that he was breaking online gambling laws relating to the poker industry. He said that he had received credit card payments from real money US poker players who sought to play poker at Absolute Poker, and he admitted to alternating records so that the money he received appeared to be earmarked for other purposes.

Beckley’s colleague from Absolute Poker and a payment processor, Ira Rubin, is also expected to accept the plea deal offered by the Department of Justice.

Beckley is among a group of poker executives from top online poker groups, who were indicted on Black Friday by the DOJ, including the owner of Full Tilt Poker, Isai Scheinbger, as well as the owners of Poker Stars.

Besides an indictment against these men, the US government has also filed a civil complaint against Full Tilt owners and some of its top pros, including Chris Ferguson, who are accused of cheating players out of nearly $450 million and not paying them their money back.

A unanimous vote by the Nevada Gambling Commission has seen this state become the first to approve regulations for intrastate online poker, it was reported this week. As such, Nevada is expected to start licensing gambling companies who are seeking to offer quality online poker to players within the state’s borders.

The regulations also position Nevada to become the first state to enter the online gambling market if the federal government overturns the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

Mark Lipparelli, the Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board said: “I think this is an important big step. This establishes a US foundation for online gaming regulation.”

Six companies have already filed applications for online poker operation licenses, namely International Game Technology (IGT), South Point, Caesars Entertainment, Bally’s Technology, Cantor Gaming and Shuffle Master.

If all goes according to plan, and license applicants can prove that they adhere to Nevada’s tough gambling standards, intrastate poker can be up and running in the state by the end of next year.

Among the regulations include the fact that operators have to verify the age and location of all online poker players. In addition, no credit may be extended to players. To avoid problems seen on sites such as Full Tilt Poker, the Nevada regulations also require that all licensees hold a reserve of cash (or a letter of credit by a recognized bank) to cover money held for players in their online poker accounts. Celebrity professionals who are endorsed by the online poker room will have their profits capped.

“You’ll never make money playing video games!” That’s a direct quote from my mother 30 years ago. She was frustrated with my newly-formed addiction to video games and preferred I hit the books instead of playing Atari with my brother. She scoffed at how many hours we wasted playing mindless games.

Flash forward to the early days of the 21st Century. Almost twenty years after I acquired my first Atari video game console, I ventured into the virtual world of gaming and played online poker almost every day for seven years.

When Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 WSOP main event, I caught the poker bug and spent a significant amount of time on the internet researching my newfound passion. I became a denizen of forums like rec.gambling.poker and Two Plus Two, where I brushed up on strategy. Eventually, I started my own poker blog and began reading the new ones that sprung up every day.

I wouldn’t be writing this column today if I didn’t wake up every morning in 2003 with one thing on my mind—poker. My entire life became ensconced in poker; it became the passion that fed my soul. If I wasn’t playing cards in underground rooms in New York City, I was blocking aisles in the “games” section at different Barnes and Noble locations, thumbing through whatever titles they carried in their scant poker section. I spent most of my time in the virtual world jumping around different online rooms trying to get my feel for different types of software. I settled into the cash games on Party Poker, a comfortable room run on palatable software with decent game selection and terrible players. Within a few months of opening my first online poker account, I spent less time making trips to Atlantic City or Foxwoods since online poker gave me the opportunity to play more than one table; thereby maximizing my hourly win rate.

My addiction to online poker was so fierce I even installed the software on my brother’s computer so I could play at his apartment whenever I stopped by to watch a Knicks or Yankees game. I also installed poker software on my girlfriend’s laptop to play cash games while I waited for her to get ready to go out. She was habitually late by at least an hour for everything, so I found a way to get paid while biding my time.

Online poker became my kismet and I diligently worked on my game to cash in on my deft skills. I fondly remember the first check I received from Party Poker and showed it to my mother with a dramatic wise-ass remark, “And you never said I’d make a cent playing video games!”

“Well, I guess I was wrong,” my mother said in a rare acknowledgment that I was actually right about something, “Maybe I should start playing online poker?”

“It’s not your speed,” I assured her. “Stick to Mah Jong.” Once online poker was part of the equation, I stopped playing other video games altogether. Why waste my time playing Tetris or Tiger Woods golf? My win rate in those games was a big, honking goose egg. Zero. Whereas, multi-tabling four or more mid-stakes limit hold’em tables became the equivalent of printing money. All I had to do was put in the hours, analyze hand histories, log notes on my opponents, and make adjustments whenever I faltered. In the mid-2000s, that was a simple formula for grinding out a modest income.

I miss those gravy years. In today’s post-Black Friday world, I’ve found myself playing Scrabble with friends to occasionally kill some time. Video games have always been a part of my life, but online poker prohibition has been tough to stomach. I have an itch that I can’t scratch, and have to get my fix playing heads-up Scrabble matches for $100 a pop.

Paul ‘Dr. Pauly’ McGuire is the author of the upcoming book ‘Lost Vegas’. You can read his poker blog, Tao of Poker, over at Tao of Poker: Dr. Pauly's WSOP Poker Blog and Sports Betting Discourses :thumbsup

Following a surprise reversal of policy by the Department of Justice which ruled that online poker within a state’s borders does not violate the “antiquated” Federal Wire Act, the grassroots poker organization, the Poker Players Alliance, issued a statement on the issue.

“This is a much needed clarification of an antiquated and often confusing law,” said the Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance, John Pappas. “For years, legal scholars and even the courts have debated whether the Wire Act applies to non-sporting activity. Today’s announcement validates the fact that Internet poker does not violate this law.

Pappas said that while the PPA commends Assistant Attorney General Seitz for recognizing this fact, “the ruling makes it even more important that Congress act now to clarify federal law, and to create a licensing and regulation regime for Internet poker, coupled with clear laws and strong enforcement against other forms of gambling deemed to be illegal.”

The policy reversal, written in September and published on Friday, recognizes, for the first time, a 2002 Fifth Circuit Court ruling that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting.

According to Pappas, the new policy ruling will provide policy makers at state and federal level “with the legal confidence to move forward with licensing and regulation of online poker and other non sporting activity within their respective jurisdictions.”

Pappas said that he hoped that the US Federal policy makers see this ruling as an incentive to move quickly towards the enactment of federal licensing and regulation “before various states produce a mix of individual state schemes that may not be the best model to serve consumers.”

A decision by the U.S. Department of Justice could make online lotteries and online poker legal, analysts say.

In reinterpreting the Wire Act of 1961, the department ruled the law's banning of wagers by way of telecommunications that cross state lines or international borders refers only to bets on a "sporting event or contest" and not to lottery tickets sold online, Mashable reported Tuesday.

While the Justice Department's decision does not explicitly mention online poker, experts say it will likely pave the way for it to become legal.

Previously the department has aggressively enforced the prohibition on online poker using the Wire Act, closing down three foreign-based online poker firms -- Absolute Poker, Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker -- saying they had violated the act by serving U.S. residents.

"The United States Department of Justice has given the online gaming community a big, big present," Prof. I. Nelson Rose of Whittier College of Law in California wrote on his blog, Gambling and the Law.

"If the Wire Act is limited to bets on sports events and races, what other federal anti-gambling statutes are left?" Rose wrote.

"There are prohibitions on interstate lotteries, but Powerball and the other multi-state lotteries show how easily these can be gotten around, even before Congress passed an express exemption for state lotteries," he wrote. "And poker is not a lottery under federal law."

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The African continent is getting another visit from the Dakar Poker Tour starting on January 9th and running through the 15th. The event, which takes place at the Terrou-Bi Resort in Senegal, promises to give European poker pros a break from the harshness of winter with temperatures of around 85° in the shade just a mere five hours from the gray skies of Paris. Africa isn't a hotbed of poker right now, but it's easy to see how it could be the next big breakout region with so many areas offering terrific beaches and year-round warmth.

Last year saw 150 players taking part in the event, including Erik Haik, Anas Tadini, Alain Roy and Roger Hairabedian. While the prize pool was a relatively modest €150,000, the winners still got a nice chunk of change and from everything we can find out about the event, it sounds like a really nice time, all told, as Terrou-Bi features the main casino, three restaurants (one of which promises to be a gourmet affair,) a private beach and more. The information we found didn't have a web site or a list of participants up anywhere that we can find, but if you've got a bit of Google-fu, you can probably find out who, what, when, where, why and how.

Mind you, if you can't make it out to Africa on the spur of the moment, you can always play online poker at Bovada. They've got a terrific online poker deposit program and guaranteed tournaments every weekend with up to $100,000 up for grabs!

While the Internet poker world salivates at the prospect of its business coming back to life thanks to an Obama administration ruling, a future president could reverse that decision and send the industry back to drawing board if it is not codified into law.

Late on Friday, the eve of Christmas weekend, the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel issued a legal opinion stating that the 1961 Wire Act prohibited online betting only for sporting events and contests, not Internet games such as poker or lotteries.

That opens the door to online poker and leaves it to each state to decide whether to legalize the multibillion-dollar industry. Pressure likely will mount on the Congress to address the issue too.

A Justice Department memorandum can be withdrawn and a controversial decision can be reversed. Courts can intervene and render it void. One way to assure the future of the ruling is for Congress to codify it into law.

"This is just an opinion of the Department of Justice and only reflects what the Obama administration would bring charges on. Future departments of Justice could interpret the Wire Act differently," said Greg Gemignani, a lawyer and expert in Internet gaming with the Las Vegas firm Lionel Sawyer & Collins.

It seems hard to imagine a future U.S. administration pulling back should many states go ahead and approve online poker. But there is precedent for reversing a president.

At the beginning of President Barack Obama's term in 2009, the Justice Department took the rare step of withdrawing opinions that the Office of Legal Counsel issued during the Bush administration related to interrogations of terrorism suspects by the Central Intelligence Agency. "An opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel can be withdrawn or changed, although it is not often done," said Linda Shorey, a partner at K&L Gates LLP in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who focuses on gaming laws and regulations.

"Under the U.S. Constitution, only the courts have the authority to determine whether the Wire Act applies to poker wagers," she said. "The Department of Justice memo is not binding on the courts."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans, has ruled in favor of the poker industry on the Wire Act, saying it only applied to sports betting, but a federal judge in Utah has ruled against it.

That could put pressure on Congress to address the issue. But with elections due in November, lawmakers are typically loathe to do anything controversial that could spark the wrath of their constituents.

"With the (conservative) Tea Party in such a powerful position (in the House of Representatives), that just seems to me impossible" that legislation would pass anytime soon, said I. Nelson Rose, a professor and leading gambling consultant and expert for states and the industry.

The ruling by the Justice Department hands the states the power to make decisions about what forms of online gambling, if any, are legal, he said. If they permit it, then states could reach pacts to allow their residents to play online in each other's jurisdictions as well, Rose said.

Republican Representative Frank Wolf, head of the panel that oversees the Justice Department's annual budget, was puzzled by the decision to reverse the long-standing position and planned to ask for an explanation, his spokesman said.

The casino industry is eager for Congress to pass legislation that would ensure uniformity in regulating the industry.

"If there is not a federal bill then you will see individual states each passing unique sets of rules," Caesars Entertainment Chairman Gary Loveman told Reuters. "It's obviously a far less rational way to proceed and it runs the risk of not addressing the illegal operators in any way." While the Justice Department decision will likely have far-reaching ramifications for the gaming industry, one area it leaves untouched is pending prosecutions against individuals and companies facing charges over online poker businesses.

Federal prosecutors may still come after online gamblers using state laws that prohibit such activity and they could always add federal fraud, conspiracy and other charges.

They did exactly that in New York when prosecutors charged a dozen people and their online poker businesses this year with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, money laundering and violations of a 2006 law banning most Internet gambling.

Because they were not charged under the Wire Act, the new legal memorandum will have no impact on that case, said a Justice Department source who declined to be further identified.

The prosecutors appeared to carefully avoid using the 1961 law in making the charges, knowing that this controversy over the Wire Act was brewing, according to Rose.

"It's actually quite startling that they're charging people with money laundering and illegal gambling and yet never mention the major federal statute," he said, adding that they likely did so "because they knew they were in trouble with the Wire Act."

A Justice Department spokeswoman said online poker did not constitute betting on a sporting event under the Wire Act, but said that other state and federal laws will still apply to online gambling.

"In states that ban various forms of gambling -- including Internet poker -- the department will be able to investigate and prosecute those gambling businesses under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and other sections of the criminal code," said Justice Department spokeswoman Alisa Finelli. In the New York case, last week an executive for Absolute Poker, one of the three largest Internet poker companies, pleaded guilty to deceiving banks over the processing of gambling proceeds and conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud. Another individual pleaded guilty in May to similar charges.

As part of the prosecution, the U.S. government seized the Internet domain names of the three biggest online poker companies: A

OK. Let's talk about Erik Seidel. Last year, the 52-year-old was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and we all know what happens after that, right? He gets his applause and then slowly becomes a player known more for their past than their future. Apparently, nobody told him that's what you're supposed to do. 2011 has been his best year yet at the tables and he's cashed in for over $6,500,000 in tournaments alone so far, putting him at the top of poker's all-time winnings list with almost $17,000,000 in earnings.

To talk about how good his 2011 has been, we don't have to go very far: he earned nearly $4,000,000 in a single month: January. He hit a pair of final tables at an online poker room's Caribbean tournament, earning $295,960 and then a week later he flew down for the Aussie Millions tournament at the Crown Casino. Over a five-day period, he placed third in the $100,000 high-roller event and first in the $250,000 in the super high roller tournament for over $3,200,000.

Honestly, that's when I would have stopped, but nobody bothered to tell him. He went to the World Poker Tour's L.A. Poker Classic and made two more final tables before beating Daniel Negreanu in the NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship. to feather his nest with an additional $750,000.

After that, he just kept rolling through tournaments like the WPT Hollywood Poker Open and the WPT World Poker Championship along with two Epic Poker League main events to drive his total higher and higher to the point it's at now.

With the end of the year here and a total of $6,530,134 added to Seidel's bankroll, there's just one question on our minds: what's next for the humble pro who actually told one poker news website "I don't get too obsessed with these things but it's nice. I'll enjoy it for the few months that I'm in front?"

You might not be an Erik Seidel, but with Bovada's terrific online poker tournaments, you don't need to be a millionaire to play for big bucks. They've got up to $100,000 guaranteed up for grabs every week!

In what is probably one of the end game moves in the sordid saga that was triggered by Black Friday, thousands of poker players might soon get to see the color of their money from Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. This is certainly good news but it might not be to the entire liking of the affected players.

On April 15, which came to be known as Black Friday for online poker sites in the United States, the Department of Justice (DoJ) cracked down without warning on some of the major online poker sites operating in the country. The DoJ seized the domain names of some of the biggest online gambling sites as well as assets associated with these companies. The assets included bank accounts with millions of dollars of players’ money.

The DoJ has since filed charges of fraud and other crimes on the owners and directors of these sites. The cases are being tried at present with all parties concerned filing numerous petitions and counter petitions on different aspects of the cases.

One of the major bones of contention has been the frozen bank accounts containing vast amounts of money that were associated with the companies. Much of these funds are monies owed to players. After the freeze, the players were left in the lurch since they were unable to get back the amounts that had been credited into their player accounts at the affected sites.

Now, apparently, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for at least the erstwhile players of Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet.

According to some confidential information unearthed by Adam Small of PocketFives, the two sites – Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet – are beginning procedures to officially close operations. As part of these procedures, customers will be finally paid back from the funds available in the frozen bank accounts of these two companies.

There is a catch though – a potentially disappointing one for the players. It seems more than likely that the players will not receive the full amounts that are owed to them. Small revealed that the money received will be significantly lower than the total amount that each player is technically owed. He said that each player might receive only as little as less than 25 cents for each dollar owed.

Absolute Poker’s co-founder, Brent Beckley, has pleaded guilty to the charges leveled against him by the Department of Justice. It is however unclear whether players will have legal avenues to recover all the money that is actually owed to them.

Every week, Bovada hosts thousands of poker tournaments, ranging from single table events to their massive $100,000 guaranteed tournaments - and that includes the holidays! There's just no way we can cover all of them, but we do want to make sure you keep up with who won the biggest of the big games so you know how hot the action is there.

So, who took the top spot in the $100,000 guaranteed online poker tournament held this past Sunday, December 18? Tyler N took first place this week, earning $20,500. he were followed by Pablo F ($14,000) and Robert P , who rounded out the top trifecta while earning $10,200. Here are the rest of the final table results: Tamara T ($7,800.00); Wade T ($5,300); Hien L ($4,100); Nataliia V ($3,100.00); Chris L ($2,000) and Bennie H ($1,400).

In addition to show-stopping Sunday events, Bovada hosts a series of regular big-money weekly tournaments for players, and here are the winners of last week's events!

December 19 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Christopher S ($2,722.56)
December 20 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Naim R ($2,783.01)
December 21 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: John S ($2,734.61)
December 22 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Marnie K ($2,589.41)
December 23 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Jason E ($2,662.00)
December 24 — $10k Guaranteed Turbo Double-Stack: Gordon G ($2,250.61)
December 25 — $15k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Kyle S ($3,450.00)
December 25 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Scott U ($3,000.00)
December 25 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Jorge N ($2,300.00)

Bovada's guaranteed tournaments mean that there's always a big cash pool and with more players getting in on the action every week, that means there's more to be won! Play poker online at Bovada and get your share!

I guess you would have to say that he's the best poker player in the world right now...:thumbsup