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The passing of online poker legislation in the USA sounds more like fiction than reality at times. The recent release of a draft bill that would if passed will create regulated and licensed online poker yet it will ban other activities involving internet wagering.

The Executive Director of The Poker Players Alliance, John Pappas, is going to post the organizations concerns on the proposal and send them to the offices of Senators Harry Reid and Jon Kyl. Pappas spoke about the requirement for all states to opt in by a legislative vote, "I think we have the obligation to let them know we're concerned about it," continuing, "They had language in previous bills that was marginally better, automatically opting in I think 15 states that had commercial poker. We'd like to see them go back to that previous language. I don't think we have much hope they will, but I think we have the obligation to advocate for it."

Regarding tribal casino interests Pappas was also critical of wording in the draft bill, "They feel that is an affront to their tribal sovereignty, that decisions made by the state should not affect decisions they make for their own tribal lands," Pappas was quoted as saying., "As much as that may be a sticking point for tribes, we'd like to see it removed. Certain tribes will oppose it even with this change, but I think the tribes who would normally be supportive could once again say this is a good bill if that change is made."

Powerful state lotteries could prove to be a major problem in passing of the bill, as state lotteries have a great deal of influence over the federal legislators who will be doing the voting. The Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection, and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2012, may not see the light of day if the election on November 6th swings towards the Republicans as the party platform revealed they are not in favour of online gambling.


Online Poker Bill Fine Tuning Needed says PPA Director

Roberto Luongo's evolution is on display in a 6: 42 clip on YouTube.

In it, Luongo does a real interview about a fake season. He is cheeky, using innuendo to describe how he knows Eddie Lack is adept with both hands. He's sharp, mildly chiding Kevin Bieksa with a quick one-liner. He's approachable, game, witty and uncommon.

How only 7,500 people have seen it, is beyond us. But so is this: How did Luon-go become one of the most unusual, interesting, and flat-out funniest athletes we've ever seen slide through Vancouver?

Take one of the more loosely guarded secrets in hockey, his Twitter account.

When blogger Dave Wells, who evinces an impressively flippant attitude on Twitter (@browntobure), ignited an online meme about "David Booth pickup lines," it was the infamous @strombone1 who set it ablaze.

On Booth, @strombone1 brought the sauce, playing on the forward's love of hunting with this tweet: "'Can I hide in your bush?' #DavidBoothPickupLines."

He didn't close there, instead turning the joke on himself, with this self-deprecating neck snapper: "'Are you into choking?' #strombonepickuplines'"

Now, I've written maybe 1,000 stories with Luongo. I've been around him for seven years. For six of them, with some notable exceptions, he was carefully guarded. It's not like he was humourless. More like, often he went out of his way in public to be humour-free.

"I think I tried a little bit early on," Luon-go said from River Rock Casino, where he's participating in couple of World Series of Poker events.

"But some things didn't go over well. Sometimes you just have to be coy and politically correct like everyone says, so you don't ruffle any feathers."

Luongo has been accused of being sensitive and aloof, but there is nothing coy or defensive about @strombone1. Instead, Luongo connects with hockey fans in a way few stars have ever contemplated; in a way most people can't grasp. He's in a fantasy football league with some. He charms critics. He chirps those who toss around forged rumours. He makes fun of himself. And he engages in off-colour, locker-room-like bar-stool shenanigans that can make Twitter so damn fun.

"You have to love a guy who can laugh at himself and teammates, even if most of the media still can't figure out his humour," Wells said. "I thought it was awesome."

And it was awesome.

"It's funny," Luongo explained. "I feel more comfortable doing it that way than in person. I guess in that way, it's because I still have my distance, but I can be myself.

"I don't even know how it makes any sense in reality." It does, and the fact Luongo will never publicly cop to being @strombone1 gets to the root of it. It's being semi-anonymous, and keeping a finger on the plausible deniability button, which free him to be himself.

Hopefully, that dynamic never changes.

Sponsored by PlayNow, Luongo is back in the Lower Mainland to scratch an itch that has been left unattended since he moved back to Florida, where he can't play online poker.

"Since that main event in Vegas, I haven't been playing. Instead, I've been at home, working out and being a dad," Luongo said. What he hasn't been doing is overreacting when he hears reports, like the one which claims a trade that would send him to Toronto is a done deal. "I don't want to assume anything until I hear from (GM Mike Gillis) or my agent," Luongo said. "Every week, it seems there is a new rumour. I'll wait to hear it from one of the people involved, and go from there." Gillis has denied the deal is done, but one to Toronto has been close.

Luongo didn't answer a question on whether he'd waive his no-trade clause for Toronto. He did say it's a "great place to play hockey."

He is well-informed on the trade market. He understands the chance he'll be traded to Florida is remote while Edmonton is a possibility. The Oilers joined the Luongo sweepstakes late.

Some don't believe he'd ever waive the NTC for Edmonton, but there aren't many situations he has ruled out.

This is what he said in an interview with TEAM 1040, when asked about where he wants to go:

"You want to go somewhere where there is a chance to win. You don't want to go somewhere where there is absolutely no light at the end of the tunnel. There's not a lot of teams like that in the league, to begin with anyways.

"I think there are a lot of good young teams, up and coming teams, that have a bright future. Or teams that are established now.

"It's a tough decision to make, but I haven't been approached yet."

Luongo appreciates the reality the Canucks didn't wait this long to give him away - say, by trading him to Toronto straight up for Tyler Bozak. The Canucks considered dealing the goalie quickly after the season, but took the long, patient route instead. To make it work, they needed Luongo on board. He needed to be open to the possibility he could come back. He's come around on that one.

"At the end of the season, when I had my exit meetings, and in June during the draft, I didn't really see the possibility of me maybe coming back," Luongo said. "The more the summer went on and things developed, I could see there might be a chance I'd be back.

"That's why I was different at the (Jake Milford Charity golf tournament).

"All the things I said there, came from me. I got into August and I saw nothing had happened, and I'd maybe have to come back. You start to embrace certain things and wrap your head around certain things." And it's from that head space that came this tweet Friday from @strombone1:

Read more: Luongo's wit shines online

The tiny Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda is pushing back against legislation by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that would legalize online poker.

Antigua's government is saying the bill, drafted by Reid and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), mischaracterizes a long-running trade dispute between Antigua and the United States. They argue the legislation takes specific aim at offshore online gambling operators to favor U.S. companies, hurting Antigua's Internet gaming industry in the process.

Mark Mendel, a legal adviser to Antigua, said passage of the online poker bill would worsen trade relations with the United States.

“If they pass this legislation, we can go back to the [World Trade Organization (WTO)] and embarrass them even further,” Mendel said. “Work with us before this thing becomes law and figure this out and reach a settlement. … We want to work with you, we want to have a fair and reasonable settlement, and this is the perfect time to get it done.”

In 2003, Antigua filed a complaint with the WTO against the United States for not allowing the Antiguans to provide Internet gaming services to U.S. citizens. Antigua alleged that the U.S. was not abiding by its commitments under the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services, or GATS.

The WTO later ruled in Antigua’s favor but the trade dispute still rages to this day as Antigua pushes for a settlement.

Antigua has estimated that they are owed $3.4 billion per year in damages for being denied access to the U.S. market for Internet gaming services. The WTO has authorized Antigua to violate $21 million per year in U.S. intellectual property to retaliate, but both sides have agreed to seek a fair settlement.

The United States says it disagrees with the WTO ruling. In a draft copy of the online poker bill obtained by The Hill, the WTO decision is called “erroneous” in a finding. Another one of the bill’s findings states that the United States might never allow WTO members to provide online gambling services.

“The United States never intended to include Internet gaming of any kind within the scope of its commitments under the General Agreement for Trade in Services, and therefore, no World Trade Organization Member had any competitive expectation of access to the United States Internet gaming market,” the draft legislation says.

Antigua disagrees with that conclusion.

“The wording of Sen. Kyl's legislation misrepresents the facts,” Harold Lovell, Antigua’s Minister of Finance and the Economy, said in a statement on Thursday. “Given that the U.S. has been immersed in a trade dispute for the last decade with Antigua and Barbuda, the evidence is there for all to see that remote gaming was always at issue. This is nothing short of legislating historical fiction.”

A spokeswoman for Reid said the legislation is still being worked on, and cautioned that draft of the bill that has circulated in Washington isn’t finazlied.

“The bill that has been leaked is just a draft and is a premature version of the online poker legislation. We continue to work with all stakeholders, including states, to address concerns,” said Kristen Orthman, the Reid spokeswoman.

Mendel said the online poker bill would further squeeze Antigua out of the lucrative market in the U.S. for online gambling.

“The way that they designed the bill is to get a license, you have to be a land-based casino operator already. There's no way the Antiguans would able to get a license under this bill,” Mendel said. “What the bill says is that your servers and whatever else you need to physically run the business, it has to be located in the United States.”

Reid and Kyl’s bill would legalize online poker, but ban playing other games of chances over the Internet. Supporters say the bill is needed to protect consumers from fraud by offshore operators and to keep minors from gambling.

Lawmakers may need to act quickly since a 2011 Justice Department finding that the Wire Act doesn't ban online gambling except for on sports has sent several states to move forward on legalizing some forms of Internet gaming.

Antigua jumped into online gaming as the Internet began to take off in the 1990s. Mendel said the Caribbean island wanted to diversify its economy and not be dependent on tourism.

“They wanted to diversify. They were smart enough to know that and the government really pushed it and set up a regulatory framework for it,” Mendel said. “By basically being the first entrant, they were able to get a leg up on others.”

Another provision in the Reid-Kyl bill would require the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to find a settlement with Antigua within 180 days after the bill passes. Otherwise the U.S. would move into arbitration with the WTO under the provision, according to Mendel.

In his statement, Lovell said a timeframe is encouraging, but a settlement should be reached before the bill passes.

Antigua is serious about its rights under the trade dispute. The Caribbean nation has hired a public relations firm, Levick Strategic Communications, to a six-month, $240,000 contract to help with its campaign against the bill, according to Justice Department records.

Reid’s bill has other critics as well. State legislatures and governors oppose the draft version and are worried about its impact on state rights.

In a letter to congressional leaders on Thursday, the National Governors Association said the bill’s draft “would preempt emerging state regulatory authority recently established by the U.S. Justice Department under a reinterpretation of the federal Wire Act, which could restrict state revenues derived from gaming. We oppose the draft Senate legislation in its current form as an unnecessary preemption of state authority.”

Reid is expected to try to move the online poker bill this coming lame-duck session after the election.


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The online poker site based in the United States, Hollywood Poker, has been re-launched. Online poker players will once again have the chance to interact with the celebrities that play poker on this website.

After the online poker site had been operating for eight years, Hollywood Poker abruptly closed its doors earlier this year in June. The site transferred over to RedKings-com. The online poker site has now returned and has been launched as a free-to-play online poker site.

Hollywood Poker is owned by PLAOR. The PLAOR Chief Executive Officer, Mark Caldwell, explained a bit about the re-launched online poker site, saying: “Now we’re moving into social entertainment where we want to help connect users to celebrities by using poker and tournaments and other ways to drive revenue for charities.”

Hollywood Poker aims to give online poker players the chance to interact with celebrities while playing poker with them. The celebrities are sometimes A-list celebrities and sometimes more minor celebrities, including those that are well known in the poker world. Players play online poker with these celebrities and a large portion of the proceeds from the games go to various charities.

There are already more than 160 celebrities that have signed up with the Hollywood Poker site. The celebrities include some original Hollywood Poker stars, James Woods, and others such as Kelly Hu, Peter Facinelli, Dennis Quaid, and Scott Baio. The actor-comedian, Kevin Pollak, will also be playing on the site. Pollak played in the WSOP Main Event this year, and finished 134th out of 6,598 players, winning over $50,000.

Pollak spoke about Hollywood Poker’s re-launch, saying: “I’m trying to help them [Hollywood Poker] also make that huge connection in the real-time communication between fans and so-called celebrities, as well as having the potential of being the largest distribution route for charitable funds on Facebook.”

For now, the traffic at Hollywood Poker is fairly low, with around 8,000 players signed up for the online poker site. It is expected to grow and expand over the next few weeks and months. Those that have signed up with the site early on are being offered a number of online poker promotions that include discounts and other perks.



Hollywood Poker Re-Launches

This is a great chance to player to meet their Hollywood poker celebs.

With online poker set to roll out in Nevada over the next few months, industry experts are predicting other states will follow suit and create a new online gambling advertising boom.

According to Ad Age, a trade publication that focusing on marketing and media data and analysis, online gambling companies will spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.5 to $4 billion over the next five years.

To put that number in perspective, Ad Age points out that $4 billion is more than General Motors spent in U.S. advertising in 2011. According to this Word Stream infographic, that’s equal to what the entire finance and insurance industry spent on Google ads in 2011, and twice that of the computers and consumer electronics industry.

However, a significant roadblock to this boom is Google’s current rules in place regarding casinos and gambling. In the U.S., Google advertising policy “doesn’t allow advertising for Internet-based games where money or other items of value are paid or wagered in order to win a greater sum of money or other item of value.” Google’s total advertising revenue for full year 2011, according to its income statement, totaled $36.5 billion.

Simon Holliday, Director at H2 Gambling Capital, believes that the online gambling market will be worth $1 billion in 2014 and more than $13 billion in ten years. Holliday was also quick to point out just how much advertising spending will eat into the industry.

“It is probable that 25 percent to 30 percent of company net revenues will be spent on advertising and marketing budgets in the initial years, as there is a land grab,” said Holliday.

Though Delaware remains as the only other state to legalize online poker, some experts believe that others are waiting to see how successful Nevada is with their product before jumping on board. Other states that have looked at online poker include California, New Jersey and Iowa.


Ad Age Speculates On Online Poker Advertising Boom - Poker News

Every time I begin reading an article about Calvin Ayre I get this strange feeling of being in a room full of Hollywood writers and execs foaming at the mouth over the next blockbuster crime drama/adventure movie.

Ayre’s has to be one of the most talked about execs in the online gambling industry and the fascination or need to know more about his next move is like the US’s fascination with MTV’s The Jersey Shore.
“Gamblin’ Drinkin’ and Carryin’ On”

Raised in Lloydminster, Sask., Calvin Edward Ayre is the son of grain and pig farmers, so why the lure and fuss about the guy that just wants to be “Gamblin’ Drinkin’ and Carryin’ On”?

I guess the answer is simple, because the need for human nature must be fed and in an industry hungry to find the next big thing, we seem to follow Ayre’s breadcrumbs to feast at his table.

Calvin Ayre sold Bodog in 2006, leaving the U.S. market, he then retired in 2008, opening a brand new chapter for the “Billionaire Outlaw.”

Fast forward to 2012, Ayre is indicted by the US Attorney in Baltimore, Maryland for activities relating to Bodog, the regulated UK markets never seemed to work out just right for Bodog’s needs and now it looks as though the new beginnings is Bodog88, the Asian market and the potential riches on offer.

So where does Ayre fit into all this? Well, according to news blogs, magazines and reports, insiders claim Ayre can be seen as often as three times a week in the company’s main office in the Makati central business district of Manila.

But news sources claim Bodog88 CEO Robert Gustafsson will deny it…


Read More: Bodog88's Move to Asia, Is the Future Bright Enough for Shades? | CS Report

They certainly had noble intentions, but the ride is over for the California Online Poker Association after several million dollars spend and a handful of failed legislative bills caused the organisation to cease its lobbying efforts.

COPA had poured a lot of money into ensuring that online poker was both legalised and regulated in the state, but after spending $1.2 million on its efforts in the first half of 2012 alone without making any headway, it was decided that the group must fold.

Despite outspending companies like Chevron and the California Teachers Association, COPA’s two-year run saw a handful of proposed bills fall through the legislative cracks as interest dissipated or the state could not agree on the financial rewards for those who were involved.

COPA’s operating agreement had stated that the organisation would dissolve if significant progress had not been made by January 2013, but the decision was made to pull the plug ahead of schedule earlier this month, with Ryan Hightower, the group’s spokesman, confirming: “The decision was based upon insufficient progress within the legislature towards the passage of an online poker bill.”

The San Manuel and Morongo tribe who had affiliated themselves with COPA, however, are not giving up the fight just yet and have stated that they believe it is only a matter of time before online gambling happens in California. If legislation does change after 2013’s proceedings, don’t be surprised to see the efforts of COPA and its partners reassessed in light of the new online climate.


Poker News - California Online Poker Association Collapses

When October first began, PokerStars announced that Full Tilt Poker, non-United States players, would be repaid by November 6th, when the site relaunches. However, players in France may be able to see their money back into their account sooner rather than later.

CasinoChoice has reported that French online poker players at FullTiltPoker.fr may have their money reimbursed by next week. ARJEL, a French regulator, announced in a statement this past Thursday that the date of ‘effective implementation of the reimbursement process of players is Nov. 2, 2012.’

Back in September, ARJEL released a statement which said that PokerStars had created a trust fund which would ensure that all players of France would be repaid smoothly. The ARJEL board members created a procedure which would allow players to verify their identity and quickly be able to transfer funds to their bank accounts. The procedure created by ARJEL will be in place by November 2nd, based on the report.

When the France reimbursement process is ready, players will be able to transfer funds from the Full Tilt Poker website to their account located at PokerStars France. Players of Full Tilt Poker who live in Spain, Denmark, Estonia and Belgium will be repaid through a platform at PokerStars as well and other customers, besides US and Italy, will be given access to their funds at Full Tilt Poker once it relaunches.

The process of repayment in Italy has yet to be determined. PokerStars representatives are continuing to work with Italian regulators and have yet to decide on a repayment option. ARJEL has met with AAMS, the Italian regulator, and discussed many things such as the exchange of market data, player protection practice comparison and more.


PokerStars Working Hard On FTP Payouts

You idea is right..

Following recent inconclusive elections, the Netherland’s Prime Minister Mark Rutte has announced a coalition agreement that includes a commitment to introduce national regulation of online gaming.

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We will modernise gambling policy. Online gambling, sports betting and poker events will be strictly regulated. This way we expect to prevent the offer of illegally operated games of chance in the Dutch market. Compliance with licence conditions will be strictly enforced.
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The new government plans to introduce a gaming tax set at 29% of operators’ gross profits. In June, Kansspelautoriteit, the Dutch Gaming Authority, issued enforcement warnings to what it classified as illegal gaming operators. Those which failed to comply with the warnings will be “actively excluded” from the new regulatory system.

Forty companies received the warnings and approximately half of them took steps to comply, including bwin.party, Unibet and Ladbrokes. The warnings included the incentive that compliant companies would be more likely to be awarded licenses under a future regulatory regime.

Bwin.party will have been particularly sensitive to this as their failure to comply with a similar warning in Belgium has led to the refusal of their license application by the Belgian authorities.

The Liberal VVD party led by Mark Rutte has been a long time supporter of establishing a legal gaming regime in the Netherlands and in this agreement he has managed to secure the support of coalition partners the Labour PvdA.

The agreement also covers plans to privatize state owned Holland Casino (The National Foundation for the Exploitation of Casino Games) which operates 14 brick-and-mortar casinos. The company generates ~€250m in government revenues each year.

The establishment of this national regulation serves to illustrate that an EU wide regulatory framework as envisaged in the EU Commission’s recently published “Action Plan” is still years away from implementation.


The Netherlands Will Regulate Online Poker in 2013 | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

The first legal “real money” online poker site is just weeks away from launching the future of gaming.

The site belongs to the South Point and casino officials tell us they're just waiting for final approval from the state.

News 3’s Sergio Avila has more on when they expect players to ante up.

South Point execs tell us they don't know because the launch falls on the shoulder of gaming regulators.

Southpointpoker-com was a free play site for several months but since then they've shut it down.

Instead they're getting ready to launch the country's first legal real money game.

Chief Operating Officer Lawerence Vaughn said the process is slow going because the state is being extra cautious.

“There's a lot of meticulous details we have had to go through with a fine toothed comb,” Vaughn said.

The site is being tested, retested and then checked again.

The state is making sure only people in Nevada can play and the site is safe from corruption or theft.

All eyes are on Nevada as it needs to maintain the gold standard when it comes to the future of gaming.

“It’s nerve-wracking because it's a lot of pressure, he said. “But I think we have a pretty unique contribution and an interesting perspective to give the people with this product and I think they're going to like it.”

For poker players used to poker rooms the thought of playing legally online is definitely a plus.

“I think it's great,” Mike Hill said. “So many people got burnt in those others and it's nice to know there will actually be something to rely on and play online at home.”

Hill has been playing poker for 45 years and says he'll probably divide his time between online and face-to-face play.

“I like to look at people I like to get a read on them and so forth,” he said. “It's hard to do that online, so I like to get a vibe from them.”

Although Vaughn can't say when the site will be up they're hoping to take the poker room online by the end of the year.

“We're excited to show what we've been working on,” he said “We're excited to show the things we have planned for the next six to 12 months coming as well. We have a lot more coming than what we have coming on day one.”

Southpointpoker-com is in the final testing phases before gaming regulators give it the final approval.

According to their site there are looking to fill 20 positions to help run the new site.


First legal online poker site about to launch - My News 3 - KSNV, Las Vegas, NV

Phil Ivey has launched a website that he hopes will change the landscape of social media poker.

He has enlisted Greg Merson, who started the 2012 WSOP Main Event final table third in chips, and will return as chipleader when play resumes three-handed. Jennifer Harman and Patrik Antonious have also signed on as Team Ivey coaches.

Currently, iveypoker-com offeres little more than a subscription to a mailing list and a link to Merson’s personal site.

But Ivey told ESPN that he wants to “teach the world how to play better poker.”

The sites slogan: “It’s more fun when you win.”

There is a teaser for “free bonus points for the Phil Ivey poker game” for those who join the mailing list.

The site will offer video instruction with interaction through online games, which Ivey said will be free.

“People aren’t learning how to play,” he told ESPN. “You see people just going on there and playing, but not really learning how to play the right way. What we’re doing here is teaching people how to become a winning poker player. I think a lot of people really don’t know how to play poker, and I think this is going to be an opportunity to play with the best players in the world.”

Ivey said he carefully selected his coaching staff. He considers Antonious the second best player in the world (with the assumption that Ivey is number one).

“He’s one of the best no-limit players in the world. I’ve played a lot of poker with him, and especially if he’s the deep stack, he’s a very tough opponent to play against.”

Merson’s site offers a brief bio, links to his blog and Twitter feed and facebook page. He also offers coaching for $500 per hour.

Just a few hours before the start of the Main Event final table, Merson tweeted: “Team Ivey takeover starts today.”

In a wide-ranging interview with ESPN, Ivey declined to discuss Full Tilt or Howard Lederer, citing “legal ramifications.”

“There’s a lot I’d like to say to all of the poker players who were on that site. ... when the time is right — and it should be soon — I look forward to all the questions.”


Ivey Launches New Social Media Poker Site | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

Today we finished updating the new listing for redkings poker, a poker room operating out of cyprus, with white label license out of Gibraltar and running with a stable record since 2006.

New players are welcomed with either a fixed or incremental bonus for example:

Fixed Bonus - 100% Up To $2500. Code KINGSIZE2500.
Incremental Bonus - For every 900 points earned RedKings add $100 to your account of maximum $1000 and must be earnt within 40 days of triggering the bonus. The bonus will expire if not generated within the required time. Code KINGS1000.

More information concerning the bonuses is detailed at redkings poker.

Traffic towards the online poker industry in Spain has been steadily growing, four months after regulatory registration was introduced. Leading poke website, PokerStars can claim the majority of the credit for the boost in the market. According to the independent tracker, PokerScout, the website now attracts two thirds of Spanish customers in online cash games.

In May of last year the Spanish Gambling Act was fast tracked through legislative procedure and enforced within the country, meaning that it is now illegal for unlicensed companies to provide Spanish residents with online gambling games. In June official regulation and licensing of online operators was put into place. Poker rooms which carry a Spanish license are legally required to segregate Spanish players in separate games and prize pools, using dot.ES websites. Gambling sites must also pay 25% tax on all the revenue generated through gambling.

It has not been an easy process to reach this state of boom in the Spanish online poker market. When websites initially opened their virtual doors, following a peak that followed the introduction of the sites, a significant decline in cash game revenue followed. In the first two weeks of operations, PokerStars Spanish site pokerstars.ES reportedly lost around 15% of traffic.

However, over the last three months the customer base on poker websites has been steadily growing and is now at the highest point it has ever been. PokerStars.ES has recovered from their previous drop, with over 1,500 active cash game customers now registered. This peak puts the site at a 40% increase from June, and an overall 20% increase from the initial surge of players when they first went live.

With this level of success, PokerStars.ES is soon expected to become the largest poker site in a country that has enforced regulations on the industry, surpassing the Italian version of the website. The online poker room is also putting up some fierce competition to the exclusive French website, Winamax.FR, which is the largest national network of poker and the sixth largest in the international market.

Other poker sites in Spain have also enjoyed growth with PartyPoker.ES, which operates both PartyPoker and bwin on their network, having increased traffic by around 25% since their launch in the country. Currently the third biggest poker site in Spain, PartyPoker.ES has edged closer towards competitors 888. Bizarrely the second largest site has bucked the trend and actually experienced a 20% decline. One such explanation for this is that the 888.ES poker site recently excluded all non-Spanish players and denied them access to their games.

The successful marketing of online poker sites in Spain, along with the renewed confidence in the market, has started to attract high volumes of players back to the virtual felt. This is in direct contrast to the industry experience in both France and Italy. The introduction of regulation in these countries has resulted in a struggle to secure online poker players.


Spanish Online Poker Market Grows - News - Northampton Chronicle and Echo

I see you there ixgames 😁

The online gambling industry has been one surrounded by controversy and conflicting governing policies depending on which state or country these virtual games of chance take place in. It’s not surprising that the first legal online poker site that accepts real money is based in Las Vegas, Nevada; South Point Poker, according to a recent report from News 3, should be going live just a few weeks from now and offering online gambling aficionados with a new, and perfectly legal option.

However, Nevada state legislation has yet to decide whether southpointpoker-com would be good to go once it is ready for launch. Sergio Avila of News 3 reported that gaming regulators would have the final say, and it may take some time before the approval process is completed. “There’s a lot of meticulous details we have had to go through with a fine-toothed comb,” said South Point chief operating officer Lawrence Vaughn regarding the company’s bid to launch a legal real-money online poker site. So far, there have been several tests done on the site, and only residents of the state of Nevada would be able to play once southpointpoker-com is approved.

Meanwhile, online poker fans who are also tuned in to the business implications of the industry may be interested to know the latest figures culled by eGaming Review, a publication devoted to online gambling. The site reported that gross gaming yield, or GGY, from online poker had increased for the first time since 2010, and is now valued at 249 million Euros. This figure represents the money that online poker operators earn from their gaming sites. It is believed that the rise of online gambling in the continent of Asia is the main reason for this first increase in GGY in a two-year span. As Asian online gambling sites aren’t subject to any regulation, this gives operators additional leverage and gamers more chances to take advantage of special promotions or services.



Legalized Online Poker Site All Ready for Launch as Online Gambling Continues to Gain Favor

Today's poker world looks much different than the one I entered in the late 90s before online poker existed. Back then I was one of a handful of young players playing the game. In fact, I remember watching an old WSOP video from the late 70s where they referred to Bobby Hoff as a "Young Wizard." I think he was in his 30s at the time! Aside from the game getting younger, there are also significant differences to the way people played the game. In this piece, I'm going to talk about the biggest difference: bet sizing.

Before the internet poker boom, when people raised before the flop, they came in for NO LESS than three times the blind, regardless of their stack size. Even short stacked, a player with 15 big blinds would either go all in or make it at least three big blinds. The most surprising part about that is you would often see a player make it "3x" with just 15 blinds and then fold to a raise. With so many young players breaking down short stack play to a science, we now know that this is a mathematical and fundamental mistake. Going all-in can certainly be correct in certain situations, a min-raise followed by a fold can be argued in other cases, but clearly making it 3x with 15 big blinds then folding to a re-raise is almost impossible to justify.


Read More: What poker was like before the internet boom - PokerStarsBlog-com

Pocono Downs casino is poised to become the first in Pennsylvania to offer its brand of free-to-play online poker.

Mohegan Sun will use a Bally Technologies iGaming system for poker games through the websites of the Wilkes-Barre casino and of the giant Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut.

The online games, expected to go live by early 2013, are another step as the casino industry prepares for widespread legalization of Internet poker — and, possibly, other forms of gambling — in the United States.

“That’s really why we’re doing this. If enabling legislation occurs, we can flip the switch, so to speak,” says Mario Kontomerkos, chief financial officer of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority.

Bally and Mohegan Sun announced the deal, the first on the East Coast using iGaming technology, on Oct. 10. The link to Mohegan Sun poker will be on the casinos’ websites: Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs - Home and www-mohegansun-com

The move toward legalized online gambling has been picking up speed since the December announcement that the U.S. Department of Justice had reversed its ban on most Internet betting. In response to questions from Illinois and New York about selling lottery tickets online, the department said the federal Wire Act prohibits only sports betting in interstate and foreign commerce.

Legal experts say the narrowed interpretation allows states to legalize and regulate online gambling within their borders and opens the door for nationwide regulation.

So far, all the action has been at the state level.

In June, Nevada became the first state to issue Internet gaming licenses; those went to Bally and a fellow slot manufacturer, International Game Technology. MGM Resorts International was in line to receive a Nevada online license, possibly as soon as this week, company officials said.

Also in June, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell signed a law allowing casino websites in his state to offer slots, poker, blackjack and roulette, starting in 2013.

William R. Eadington, professor of economics and director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada at Reno, predicts online gambling will expand quickly.

“Peoples’ general tolerance of gambling continues to increase,” he says. “The ability to draw this dark line that says ‘this is legal and this is not,’ that diminishes over time.

News reports say bills to legalize online poker or other gambling have been introduced in 16 states — not including Pennsylvania — and the District of Columbia and the American Virgin Islands.

Many observers say that after a few states allow online gambling, more states will follow suit, because they don’t want to be left out.

Kontomerkos says Connecticut is a “fast follower” that would be quick to move toward legalizing online gambling if another Northeastern state — think New Jersey — acted first. He says Pennsylvania is likely to wait longer to act on Internet gaming, as it did in approving land-based casinos. New Jersey is talking about legalizing not only online casino gambling but also sports betting.

MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren told Reuters news service this week that some states are talking about forming alliances to develop a viable interactive gambling market. Experts say that when online poker is legalized, smaller states will have to join in a compact similar to the Powerball or MegaMillions lottery programs to ensure enough players for a wide variety of games.

The amount of money that could be involved in legalized online gambling is staggering.

A survey released in October by the American Gaming Association estimates that U.S. residents still spend $4 billion a year in online wagering, even though federal authorities shut down the three largest Internet poker sites in April 2011.

The experts surveyed by the association projected that if some states launch online gaming, the annual spending will reach from $6 billion to $11 billion per year by 2018.

If Congress regulates online poker within a year, the expectations for revenue growth increase to as much as $17 billion a year by 2018, according to the survey says. However, hardly any of the experts think federal legislation is likely within a year.

Kontomerkos says Mohegan Sun spent almost a year developing its online poker site. He expects the free games to drive customers to the two casino sites and help casino executives learn about what online players want.

Mark Gruetze is administrative editor for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7838 or [email]players@tribweb-com[/email].

‘Pittsburgh poker OPen’ tourneys

Rivers Casino on the North Shore plans its second Pittsburgh Poker Open to crown the area’s best poker players.

Tournaments scheduled from Nov. 19 to 25 include Triple Chance Hold ’Em, Limit Hold ’Em, Pot Limit Omaha, Seven-Card Stud High-Low Limit, Five-Card Stud, Omaha High-Low Limit and No Limit Hold ’Em.

The Nov. 25 Main Event will have a guaranteed $50,000 prize pool.

Money trail

Slot players lost $41.6 million at Pennsylvania’s 11 casinos during the week ending Oct. 28, the Gaming Control Board reported. That’s up from $41 million in the comparable week last year, which was before Valley Forge resort casino opened.

The state gets 55 percent of that gross-slot revenue, or what’s left of players’ wagers after jackpots have been paid.

Statewide, the slot payout rate is 89.94 percent since the fiscal year started July 1. For every $100 bet, the machines return an average of $89.94. Highest payout rate: 90.61 percent at Parx in Philadelphia; lowest payout rate: 89.3 percent at Harrah’s Philadelphia.

Figures for Western Pennsylvania casinos:

Rivers: 89.98%; weekly slot revenue of $4.63 million, down from $4.97 million last year.

Meadows: 89.8%; weekly slot revenue of $4.28 million, down from $4.39 million last year.

Presque Isle in Erie: 89

MGM Recommended for Online Poker License in NevadaMGM Resorts received approval from the Nevada Gaming Control Board to operate an online poker site and next goes before the Nevada Gaming Commission. The rubber-stamped formal approval is expected later this month. MGM is one of the most well-known casino companies the world over and is second in revenue worldwide. Although MGM is preparing for licensing on an intrastate basis, the casino is one of many that would prefer that online poker legislation be approved on a federal level, rather than state-by-state.

"We feel strongly that if it is in fact state-by-state, the states themselves need to compact with one another to create a more viable business model," MGM CEO Jim Murren told Reuters. "Any one state going on its own presents an economic challenge, particularly in a small state like Nevada."

Those sentiments are echoed by many in the online gambling industry, but the odds of federal lawmakers approving such regulations this year is considered by a majority of industry insiders to be a longshot. A proposal has been drafted and circulated by Senators Harry Reid and Jon Kyl that may perhaps be introduced in the lame-duck session of Congress following the Nov. 6 elections. But to believe that enough support for the poker bill can be generated in less than two months before the legislative session concludes at year’s end is a bit optimistic.

"There’s some very pressing issues for the country’s finances that remain in front of the Congress in the lame duck session," Caesars Entertainment chief executive Gary Loveman told eGaming Review. Caesar’s has also applied for a Nevada Internet poker license. "It’s possible that the online gaming question will be called in that period, but I think it’s probably less likely rather than more likely," Loveman added.

MGM’s hearing before the control board was the first in which A.G. Burnett held the role of chairman, taking over for Mark Lipparelli, who resigned. MGM has a partnership agreement in place to provide online poker in a regulated U.S. marketplace with Boyd Gaming and Bwin.party — PartyPoker’s parent company. Boyd Gaming received approval from the gaming commission last week.

MGM hopes to join a dozen other companies who have already been formally approved by Nevada gaming officials. It was initially thought that South Point Poker would be up and running with the country’s first online poker site last month. But delays in testing and complying with requests of state officials has pushed back the debut of online poker in the Silver State. Late December or early 2013 is the latest projected timeframe in which Nevada residents and tourists can legally play poker online.


MGM Recommended for Online Poker License in Nevada