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As most American online poker players can recall, Neteller was THE most prominent eWallet used in the US when players were allowed to enjoy online poker gaming options. However, the eWallet solution was forced out of the US back in 2006 shortly after the passage of UIGEA. Prosecutors then handed down a huge multi-million dollar fine towards the company, which executives in turn paid.

It’s been a tough period since then, with many USA players missing the insanely fast cashout times they were once provided by the company – and well, viable online poker real money options in general (thanks Lock Poker and a host of other sites for ruining that for all of us). Since that time, Neteller has only been able to serve customers outside of the United States. However, this should change after a recent announcement by Caesars Interactive Entertainment and Bally Technologies earlier in the week.

Caesars announced some time ago that Neteller would step in to be one of their main payment processor options. Ballys has announced they have also inked a similar deal with Neteller as their preferred financial facilitator. What that means, in short, is that Neteller will be an official payment processor for Ballys as well as Caesars.

Ballys and Caesars Entertainment both currently offer their Nevada residents free play online poker options. With this deal in place, each company should easily be able to transition to real money game play and Neteller will be ready to provide the payment processing options when the times comes – which we all assume will be by the end of 2013.

With Neteller, players will have the security they need to fund their online poker gaming accounts quickly and VERY securely. Players will be able to use an electronic check via the NETBANX system, a debit card or credit card to fund their accounts to be able to enjoy online poker gaming options. The option will go live once the sites are fully functioning by Caesars and Ballys.

As of right now, the only real money online poker site available in the USA is Ultimate Poker, which is available in Nevada. The online poker site also has new financial news. The poker room is now accepting Visa cards as part of their payment processing options. Players who are members of the site received an email which stated that both Visa debit and credit cards can be used for financial transactions at the site.





Online Poker and Neteller – United Again in Nevada?

Just a few days ago, Sheldon Adelson, the head of the Las Vegas Sands group was the subject of many poker conversations. Adelson was adamant about online poker in the United States and made some very controversial comments about the very niche that has made him a billionaire.

His recent comments about online gambling being “immoral and dangerous” were both surprising and outrageous given his high-ranking position with Las Vegas Sands. The comments caused the poker community to boycott the Sands and make particular remarks intended for Adelson.

The Poker Players Alliance has now responded to the comments by Adelson in a recent press release. The President of the PPA, John Pappas, has stated that Adelson’s claims are unfounded. Adelson claimed that online gambling options would be hard to control and the US government should ban the option. Pappas responded by stating:

“I think he’s missed the mark by a wide margin. The reality is that licensed and regulated internet poker is taking place worldwide and right here in America and right here in his back yard of Nevada. All of the perceived evils have been addressed through appropriate oversight—greater oversight and regulation than what’s available in a brick-and-mortar setting. Age-verification? Protecting problem gamblers? Those can be addressed on the Internet even better than in one of Mr. Adelson’s casinos.”

Pappas stated further that any activity of online poker players would be able to be tracked in real time in the US. The PPA has now challenged the statements made by Adelson in a recent Forbes article and would like to see more information to back up Adelson’s claims. Adelson stated that European countries with online gambling options are seeing a 20% revenue drop with their terrestrial gambling options and Pappas says this is not true, stating that the United Kingdom actually saw a growth in the overall gambling market once online gambling became popular.

Pappas also stated that the PPA had nothing to do with the boycott towards the properties owned by Adelson but he did state that they understand the movements by outraged players who read Adelson’s comments.





PPA Responds to Sheldon Adelson

888poker has forced popular public tournament tracking site SharkScope to stop tracking all its poker tournaments, and remove all historical data.

According to a post published on the official SharkScope blog on Wednesday, 888 rejected all comprises, such as adopting an “opt-in” system, and required that the site remove all mention of the poker network.

“We have offered to implement any kind of 'opt-in’ procedure they would like, in addition to our existing 'opt-out’ and “reset” systems, so at the very least people would still be able to view and publish their own statistics,” the blog post reads. “They have however declined all the options we have put forward.”

In a public statement posted by an 888 representative, its decision to block SharkScope is to protect players.

“888poker does not give permission for any data mining sites to access our poker room, and we actively enforce this policy. Data mining is a violation of our EULA (End User License Agreement) and copyright law,” the statement, posted on the 2+2 poker forums, reads.

“This policy is to protect you, our members, from these sites providing data on your game play and potentially selling it on to third parties. We value the privacy of our members playing activity, and this policy is to protect game integrity, and overall provides a safer experience for our members.”

According to SharkScope, the decision came as a suprise, following what it calls “a close partnership with sites on the 888poker network for many years.”

SharkScope tracks results for online poker tournaments, allowing users to publically search the database to see historical results of players, ROI and profit graphs, and also offers Heads Up Display software using its mined data.

Such services are frequently against the terms of service of poker rooms. However, SharkScope has worked in the past to find a compromise with poker rooms. In May 2012, the site switched to a fully opt-in system to stay on the good side of PokerStars. Players must explicitly choose to have their data publicly available, and a “grade” system is used in place of profits and losses to obfuscate results.




888 Forces Removal of all Data from Sharkscope | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

After 12 years of operation in online gaming, PokerStars dealt its 100 billionth poker hand earlier this month, and one Grecian housewife couldn’t believe her luck after landing the record milestone. “I am a housewife trying to become a part-time professional poker player,” said Isidora Panagiotopoulou of Greece. “My sister-in-law is also in the same situation as I am and we will try and make it as professional players. I have been playing poker for a long time with friends and my husband, but I only recently decided to take it seriously and try to make some steady profit from it.”

Panagiotopoulou will begin her journey as a poker professional with a much larger bankroll than the vast majority of “grinders” on the Internet after being dealt into the 100 billionth hand on PokerStars. Her winnings for being at the right place at the right time amounted to more than $100,000, which the Isle of Man-based company awarded as a special bounty prize. And the cash windfall could not have come at a better time for Panagiotopoulou. “The way things are with the financial crisis the money is extremely important,” she added upon claiming her prize. “This money came out of nowhere and it will help us accomplish lots of our goals. We have lots of financial obligations to settle and this money will help a lot. It also gives us time to think about our options. I would like to use some of it to start playing poker professionally.” The celebration resembled that of a lottery win given that PokerStars has more than 50 million registered members from around the world. On June 13, Panagiotopoulou – who plays under the screen name “microulis69” – was among 400,000 players on the site aiming to be dealt into the 100 billionth hand. However, the housewife employed some bold strategies to maximize her chances of landing the milestone. She played on 18 No Limit Texas Hold’em tables simultaneously, all of which were micro-stakes games where the amount needed to play is rarely more than a few dollars. Panagiotopoulou, who started playing on the site a year ago, landed hand #100,000,000,000 after 90 minutes of play on a Thursday evening. When the milestone hand was dealt, PokerStars administrators froze the action for all six players on her $0.02/$0.05 table, and “microulis69” won the six-figure bounty with J♦5♦. What is a very marginal hand in the game turned out to be worth $103,800, while the remaining five players at her table all shared $65,560 between them. A further $830,740 (from the $1,000,000 jackpot) was spread amongst 9,471 players, who were playing at the same game and $0.02/$0.05 stake the 100 billionth hand was dealt on. To reach 100 billion hands, the world’s largest online poker site handed out an average of 83.3 million hands since opening for business on September 11, 2001. To put into perspective how big 100 billion is: if PokerStars had used real cards to deal all those poker hands, it would have taken an entire warehouse of cards to distribute 100 billion hands. Most of those virtual cards were dealt in recent years thanks to the growing popularity of poker and PokerStars in many markets around the world, with No Limit Texas Hold’em the top game choice for millions of poker fans.
Read more at Struggling Housewife Lands Major Internet Poker Milestone - Business 2 Community

The Winning Poker Network is the fourth largest US facing online poker network. The network has about doubled in size since Black Friday, but still lags far behind Bovada, the US online poker market leader. The Winning Poker Network consists of several long running online poker brands. These include Americas Cardroom and True Poker, both of which were early entrants in the online poker world. Black Chip Poker and 5Dimes are also well known names on the network. The network is operated by the same company that owns BetCris and Bookmaker, two well respected online sports books.

There is no reason for the network to struggle for traffic. A few small tweaks and this network could become competitive.

The Winning Poker Network has mastered what is arguably the most difficult aspect of servicing the US market. That is payment processing. The network accepts deposits by Western Union and there is a reasonable acceptance level for US credit cards. Players that deposit by Western Union will have their fees refunded on deposits of $300 or more.

The deposit options are standard for U.S. facing online poker networks. It is withdrawals that set the Winning Poker Network apart from many other U.S. online poker rooms.

The major Winning Poker Network skins all offer a debit card for U.S. players. The card is delivered to players for a $25 fee. Once received, debit card withdrawals are processed in just a few days. Western Union cashouts are just as fast, but more expensive. Checks arrive in 1-2 weeks and players receive one free per month.

The Winning Poker Network also offers excellent support. Players may contact general support and security through live chat. Emails receive a reply in just a few hours and never longer than one day. There is also a Two Plus Two sponsored forum dedicated to Americas Cardroom, Black Chip Poker and True Poker.

What is the Problem?

Great cashouts and support are two of the most common features online poker players look for when choosing a new room. There are a number of smaller issues that combined create an environment that many online poker players find unacceptable.

Software Problems

The software currently used by the Winning Poker Network is based on the old Dobrosoft platform. This was used by a number of US friendly online poker rooms during the poker boom, including Americas Cardroom. The Winning Poker Network moved to this platform in 2011 after finally dumping the outdated 3D software True Poker had used for nearly a decade.

The software does not have any major bugs. It does, however, have dozens of small bugs that annoy players. There are also a number of modern features missing from the software. Winning Poker Network representatives are aware of these issues and announced that new software is coming that will address these bugs that drive players crazy.

TheBeast

TheBeast is a monthly promotion that pays the top 500-600 players in terms of points a portion of the prize pool. The prizes are not taken from standard rake. Players are paid out of an additional jackpot drop that is taken from cash games. The house holds 10% of TheBeast jackpot drop. It also rewards grinders with money taken from recreational players that will lose at an accelerated pace. These low volume players may not know why they are losing faster than they do at competing poker rooms, but they are sure to notice how fast they lose.

Bad Beat Jackpot

Winning Poker offers a Bad Beat Jackpot. A player seated at a Bad Beat Jackpot table must lose four of a kind 8’s or better to release the jackpot. Both the winner and loser of the hand must play both hole cards. The Bad Beat Jackpot is only available at Texas Hold’em tables.

TheBeast and Bad Beat Jackpot Rake Make Many Games Unbeatable

Limits of $1/$2 and lower have a $.25 jackpot drop. Higher limits have a $.50 drop. This makes many lower limit games unbeatable. For example, if two players limp to see a flop at $.10/$.25 then there is $.25 jackpot drop taken from the pot. There is also $.02 in standard rake taken. A $.50 pot is now $.23, more than 50% of the pot. This is an extreme example but the drop causes extraordinarily high rake at these low limit tables. Low volume players tend to be recreational players and this promotion takes their money and awards it to higher volume players. This cannot help with player retention.

Lack of Limit Games

The Winning Poker Network lowered their fixed limit rake in November 2012. It now mirrors that of PokerStars and Merge Gaming. This failed to generate any traffic though. The next step might be to employ prop players to help get these games started.

A Few Changes Could Make Winning Poker Competitive

The Winning Poker Network deserves credit for its payment processing and support. There are a lot of small issues that keep it from competing with Bovada. This is the perfect time to release new software and restructure promotions to help draw players from troubled Revolution Gaming.



How Winning Poker Could Become More Competitive US Network

I have been a resident of Nevada for five years. Recently, the state legalized online poker for its residents. Although I do not gamble that much, I believed I could play poker online for real money on my computer.

After all, I thought I easily qualified, as I am a Nevada resident and I have a desktop computer in my home. Wrong!

In order to qualify to play, I have to provide a cellphone number so the provider can verify I am a resident. I do have a cellphone, which I carry when traveling. I have a minimal rate as I don’t use my cellphone to keep in touch 24/7 with whomever.

I refuse to have some online poker provider use up my limited minutes with text messages to me. If the government can tell what is in my searches, my emails, my telephone calls, etc., and verify where my computer is located, why can’t a casino?

They have discriminated against a class of residents who do not have or do not wish to use a cellphone. So much for fair and equitable treatment of Nevada citizens.

Read more: Online poker and cellphones - Las Vegas Sun News

This month the 3D online poker operator, PKR, launched their new real-money poker app. The app was released for the iPad and iPhone and is currently available to UK customers.

This launch now means that PKR has real-money mobile apps for Poker, Blackjack and Roulette.

Development of the mobile poker app took time because PKR needed the mobile version to meet the same requirements of their desktop poker client.

A PKR spokesperson had the following to say about the launch. "We couldn't be any more psyched about launching our real money poker on mobile. It really is our ‘monster hand' and it's awesome to see so many downloads already. If you're jetting off on holiday but need to wait around in the airport for three hours before the flight - you can just whip out the iPhone and enter a Sit & Go. That's probably the coolest thing for us and the app's only going to get better over time."

The mobile app went through rigorous beta testing in order to raise the quality of the app and fix as many bugs as possible. The app allows players to play Texas Holdem, Pot-limit Omaha and Omaha Hi-Low. Players can play both Sit & goes and cash games on the app.

Players can use the built-in chat feature to communicate with other players and have over 40 different avatars to choose from. PKR also included chip trick animations, and over 20 different playing environments inspired by PKR's desktop poker client.





PKR launches real-money mobile poker app - The Headlines - Onlinecasinoreports-com

The Egyptian military’s warning that if the demands of the Egyptian people were not met within 48 hours it would act on its “historic responsibility” has lead many observers to expect a military coup. Coming after a day of massive street protests calling for the removal of the president and given the military’s historic role in the country’s affairs, such reactions by observers are understandable, though a more careful look at developments in Egypt renders the situation more complex than what it seems. The military’s statement was followed later with a clarification on itsFacebook page declaring that no coup was planned, which itself came after a meeting between President Morsi, his prime minister, and the minister of defense. That would be the same defense minister who is supposedly conducting a coup against the very president he met a few hours later. If that is a coup, it surely is the weirdest one in history.

Imagine the situation in Egypt as a game of poker. Each party holds his cards closely to his chest, recognizing that his cards are less than perfect. He thinks he knows some things about the other players that can make him predict their actions, but he is not terribly sure about it. He would like nothing more than to bluff and raise the other players and force him out. Now let’s start by viewing each player’s cards.

Colonal General Abdel Fattah Al Sisi sits on top of Egypt’s most important and powerful institution, it’s military. His predecessor was sacked from his post by President Morsi last August. The Egyptian military has always been the pillar of the regime and the state since 1952 and enjoys enormous popularity and power. Its performance during Egypt’s transition has, however, left a lot to be desired. It failed miserably in actual governance, led a chaotic transition, and saw its popularity plummet as a result of its management. The institution views itself as the guardian of the nation and the best equipped to both define and defend its national interests. The collapse of the police force has put more burdens on its shoulders.

Sisi managed to change the tide. Though initially accused of being an Islamist pawn, he managed to return the military to historic popularity levels. The massive protests yesterday have been calling on him, even begging him, to take control. He is an extremely ambitious man and has a very large ego and he thinks he is the Godot Egypt has been waiting for.

Yet, Sisi is actually not so sure he wants direct control and responsibility of the country and he would prefer it would be done without a coup. Sisi realizes Egypt is ungovernable and that a return to military rule would mean an erosion of the military’s newly acquired popularity. More important, he knows that the Islamists are no easy foe. They will not sit down sipping tea while he removes Morsi. At the height of Mubarak’s rule it took the Egyptian state 15 years to defeat jihadists in the south of the country, and Sisi is not entirely enthusiastic about taking that shot. Even if he trusts his troops completely, which is in itself an open question, and even if he is willing to butcher the Islamists, he realizes that the international community might not be overly enthusiastic about such a scenario.

Instead he would prefer a deal. His rational is simple. If enough pressure is brought on Morsi, maybe some sense can be brought to the guy. A formula can be worked out; maybe it will be early presidential elections, or guaranteed free parliamentary elections under army supervision, or a national unity government. Whatever the end result may be, it will be a working formula where no political actor is strong enough to take over the state and they are forced to work together with the army as guarantor of everyone’s good behavior. With massive street protests and the threat of a coup, Sisi’s calculation is that he can force Morsi to back down and not raise him in the game.

Morsi has a bad hand. His performance in actual governance has been miserable and he has managed to alienate many of his initial supporters. After the high expectations of the revolution, he has failed to deliver. The protests against him are massive and larger than he expected, though not as large as his opponents may be dreaming. He recognizes that this is a make-or-break moment for him, but, more important, for his organization.

Morsi is not an independent player on the table; he represents and is guided by a larger entity, the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood has waited for this moment for 80 plus years. It saw its future brighten unexpectedly with the fall of Mubarak only to find another danger awaiting it at the corner. It is obsessed with conspiracy theories and cannot see or interpret the world outside of it; it cannot allow this moment to slip from its hands. This is it: victory or death. The Brotherhood knows that in the event of a coup, no matter how hard it fights, the odds are not high for it. A prolonged civil war following in the footsteps of Algeria is not in its interests, and, contrary to expectations, the Brotherhood really isn’t a revolutionary movement. It accepted working in stages through the system for 80 years.

The Brotherhood has to act in the same manner the military is acting. It has to bluff. It knows the United States will not be enthusiastic about a coup and it knows the military is unsure of how much support the Brotherhood still has or what other Islamists might do. It has called for its supporters to demonstrate in the millions tomorrow and aims to show that Morsi still has a street backing him. It hopes that both the fear of the American reaction and the fear of clashing with Islamists will force the army to reconsider. It realizes it will have to give some concessions, but it does not want to share power in any serious manner.

Maybe there is some hope after all in Egypt. An actual balance of power may be in the making, not in constitutional articles but on the ground.

Reuters reported earlier this afternoon that two online poker bills will be introduced by members of Congress in an attempt to provide one set of unifying online poker regulations and give brick and mortar casinos a larger market share in online gaming.

Per the American Gaming Association, federal online poker statutes could result in revenue of $10 Billion by 2017. At present, only Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware have legalized online poker but Nevada is presently the only state hosting online games.

Reuters spoke with congressional aides and confirmed two bills are expected on the horizon with one coming from Representatives Peter King (R-NY) and Joe Barton (D-TX). These bills are expected to have similar language as past bills on the matter, including a opt-out clause for states. Utah has already passed a resolution opting-out of any future federal legislation.

Online poker legalization at the state level as seen slow growth since the DOJ confirmed that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting. In addition, most states do not feel online poker at the state level has much chance of success. Dan D’Arrigo, CFO of MGM Resorts International, told Reuters that the company believes that the state is too small a market for online poker to be viable.

Nevada recently passed a resolution that would give it the ability to enter into partnerships with other states that legalize online poker, but with only three states having passed regulations and uncertainty when other states will follow, it could be some time before any state partnerships could prove financially beneficial.

As with past bills, expect opposition from state lotteries and some state legislatures as they look to prevent Congress from usurping their authorities in iGaming matters. Other issues that must be addressed and successfully resolved include inclusion of tribal governments in online gaming legislation, providing adequate player protections, and addressing any social costs of legalizing online poker nationwide.



King and Barton to Introduce Online Poker Bills to Congress

The Tournament Directors Association (TDA) is made up of over 2,000 industry professionals whose objective is to create a standardized set of rules for poker tournaments. Last month, the TDA convened at the Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and amongst the most contentious modifications to the rules made concerned the “first card off the deck” rule.

Previously a tournament player’s hand would be deemed dead if they were not at the table by the time the last card was dealt to the button, but now that rule has been changed to refer to the first card dealt by the dealer.

Often, many of the rules are later adopted by the biggest poker tournaments around the world, including the WSOP, and after the latest
rule modifications was announced, it immediately drew strong criticism from one of poker’s biggest stars, Daniel Negreanu, who commented:

“Hearing rumors the TDA has completely lost their mind looking to ‘fix’ things that aren’t broken. Over policing a poker game is silly. One rule is designed to just piss off your customers, TDA, and it’s not fixing a current problem we face in poker..I have never ever heard a single person ask for such a change”

Soon after Negreanu made his opinion known, TDA board member and Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson responded to the Canadian poker legend’s criticism by rebuking him for “name calling” and explaining that he didn’t fully understand the whole issue. As Linda Johnson explains:

“..first of all what this rule says is that a player can no longer come behind another player and still have a live hand. It’s happened to all of us..Another reason it’s good because of favoritism. A dealer looks up and sees Phil Ivey coming to the table and may decide to slow it down to get his hand to him on time. Conversely, a dealer may look up and see a guy who doesn’t tip or doesn’t treat them nicely and will speed things up to kill his hand. This takes away any kind of integrity issues from the dealer or the player.”

Nevertheless, Negreanu still remained unconvinced by the TDA’s arguments and even went so far as to declare its favoritism reasoning as “bullshit.” “You don’t change the rules that have been a part of poker for 40 years without complaint,” explained Negreanu.


Negreanu Slams New "First Card Off The Deck" Rule

Skrill, a leading online payment provider, will be the official payment provider sponsor of the European Poker Tour Season 10, EPT President Edgar Stuchly announced today.

Skrill (formerly Moneybookers) is one of Europe's largest online payments systems and among the world's largest independent digital wallet providers. With secure, instant and free deposits, Skrill is the preferred digital wallet within the gaming sector allowing anyone to pay both faster and more easily.

This is the third time a Skrill Group company has partnered with the EPT and serves as a fitting way to support its ongoing worldwide expansion. Building on the very successful 2011 tournament, the sponsorship will see further innovations from Skrill, including branding in and around the tournament area at events during Season 10, along with staff at all events to offer marketing promotions and assist players during the tournament. Previously, Skrill introduced the popular 'Skrill patches' and the 'Last Longer' competition.

Joseph Hall, VP Leisure & Entertainment at Skrill said: "Skrill is delighted to be working with the European Poker Tour as its Official Payment Provider Sponsor again. The EPT is a well-respected and established brand, and this partnership will help to further strengthen our position as the leading digital wallet among poker players. We are looking forward to attending the events and interacting directly with players throughout the season."

EPT President Edgar Stuchly said: "Skrill has a long and established track record of providing easy, safe, and secure payment options, and as a result is widely regarded as one of the most popular deposit and withdrawal methods by the online gaming community. We are pleased to be working with them again during Season 10."



About Skrill
Part of the Skrill Group, Skrill is one of Europe's largest online payments systems and among the world's largest independent digital wallet providers with 35 million account holders. The Skrill Digital Wallet enables any customer to make online payments conveniently and securely without revealing personal financial data, as well as send and receive money online cost-effectively. Skrill's mission is to become the first choice for online payments.

Skrill's worldwide payment network offers businesses access to direct payment processing via 100 payment options in 200 countries and territories and 40 currencies through just one integration, allowing everyone to pay and get paid globally.




Skrill returns as Official Payment Provider Sponsor of European Poker Tour for Season 10 - PokerStarsBlog-com

Two years have passed since Black Friday and for the first time since then, online poker has returned to the United States in an extremely limited way. Within the next several years, access to online poker sites will slowly return to the lucky residents of states that choose to give their taxpayers access to online poker sites while the simplest solution remains off the table:

Allow Americans to play on any poker site they wish.

Unfortunately, that request is much too simple for the complicated and seemingly arbitrary ways laws are made in this country, especially with the billions of dollars at stake.

“There’s so much legal gambling in this country that legalizing one form is no big deal politically, but there’s so much legal gambling in this country that almost every state has very powerful, entrenched special interests,” says I. Nelson Rose, professor of law at Whittier College in California, and the premier scholar on the history of gambling and the law in the U.S. “Legal gambling already exists and says: We’re in favor of Internet poker as long as we’re the ones that get the money.”

No one can blame the casino conglomerates and shareholders for staking their claim. The United States online poker market is potentially worth about $2 billion annually.

The worldwide industry continues to trudge on despite losing access to around one-third of the world’s online poker customers in 2011.

While millions of people in countries like Ireland, Russia, and Mexico are allowed to play online poker, here in America, we are shut out. That is unless you live in Nevada, where you can now play online poker against others that are located geographically within the Silver State. New Jersey and Delaware will try and offer online poker to its residents by the end of the year, and a few other states, including Pennsylvania, have bills in the works to do the same.

The reasons used to keep Americans from accessing global sites amount to greed and a total misunderstanding — or willful ignorance — of poker.

The established casino companies and the government want our money. As far as they are concerned, they have first rights to serve Americans. After completely missing the boat on online poker in the early part of this century, the brick and mortar casino industry has staked their claim and are making demands.

“Five years ago, when I spoke at various gaming conferences, the industry couldn’t understand how something like Zynga poker would work. Why in the world would people pay to play poker where you couldn’t win anything?” says Rose.

“That feeling is long gone. Now, all the casino companies are buying up or partnering with social gaming companies and true online gambling companies, and yes, there’s a mix of cultures happening and a potential conflict, but the casino industry understands that this isn’t going away and they want to be a part of it.”

The massive amount of money involved in online poker changed everything. It doesn’t matter that the Department of Justice (DOJ) says poker is a game of skill. It doesn’t matter that local courts have ruled the same way. It doesn’t matter that most state poker laws are more than 100 years old and usually only address “illegal gambling.”

Online poker is now and forever the property of established casinos that are hell-bent on keeping it that way, American consumers be damned.

Since the Obama administration excused itself from this debate by refusing to endorse federal online gambling, poker players in America are being held hostage by the states whose politicians don’t give one wet fart about them.

In the states where casinos exist, the politicians are, in turn, being held hostage by the casinos that, not only played by strict rules established by the states, but also are responsible for billions of dollars in annual tax revenue.

It’s a nasty cycle that will continue to screw American poker players for at least the next decade.

Just in June, Nevada Congressmen Harry Reid again came out against a federal bill that would allow online poker. He said because the bill allows all forms of casino gambling, it would hurt online poker.

Here’s what World Series of Poker (WSOP) media director Nolan Dalla wrote about Reid’s inaction on pushing online poker federally:

“Consider yet another bill introduced recently to legalize online gambling and poker. After so-called ‘attempts’ by Sen. Reid to rally support for these bills within his own party have continuously failed, he’s become so pathetic now that he won’t even step up to the plate and take a swing. He’s already surrendered before the other side tossed the ball. Already, he’s making lame excuses before any kind of debate has begun and the game hasn’t even started yet.”

But here’s the rub: poker, which, in markets like Las Vegas, account for only about one-percent of a casino’s profits, shouldn’t even be included in the same conversation as online slots, blackjack, keno and bingo.

But because of tradition, a willful disregard of the components of the game, and a complete lack of care and understanding for the American poker consumer, the game remains stuck in the muck in most jurisdictions.

The Traditional Bad Guys

The first law prohibiting poker dates to the 1700s in Louisiana, and the laws that soon followed around the country still exist. For example, in Pennsylvania, poker isn’t even specifically addressed. Nothing is. Everything falls under “unlawful gambling.” Unlawful gambling is gambling “not specifically authorized by law.” Poker isn’t mentioned.

But since casinos opened in Pennsylvania in the mid-2000s, the right to deal poker is limited to licensed casinos. It’s basically the same story in all states that license casinos.

The online gambling law that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed into law early this year specifically prohibits companies that operate outside of New Jersey’s borders. Pennsylvania’s proposed online gambling bill has the s

This week, the Mississippi Gaming Commission released its casino figures for April revealing a dramatic drop in gross revenue to $176.3 million, compared to the $187.1 million generated in April 2012. Since 2007, Mississippi casino revenues have been in steady decline mostly due to the recession and increased competition, but worryingly April’s result was the lowest since 1998, while January’s was the lowest since 1997, and February’s revenue the lowest since 1998.

Commenting on April’s casino results, Mississippi Gaming Commission executive director Allen Godfrey, said: “The numbers did surprise me..Some might point to the fact that the month started on a Monday and we missed part of a weekend, but we’ve got to get people to come here. I can’t express that enough..People are more cautious with their money now..They just stopped coming. And we have to come up with the amenities to bring them back.”

Breaking April’s figures down further, the state’s 12 coast casinos took $85.6 million, down from $93.4 million the previous year, while Mississippi’s 18 river casinos generated $90.6 million in revenues, down from $93.7 million in 2012, and representing the worst April since 1996.

Overall, for the first four months of this year Mississippi’s 30 casinos have pulled in $726.8 million in revenue, 13% lower than the $798.6 million taken over the same period in 2012. Once again the latest monthly figure is the lowest four-month total since 1998 when the state’s casinos managed to generate $726.8 million in revenue, although significantly fewer casinos were operating at the time.

Recent efforts to try and stem the state’s continued dramatic casino decline has included Caesars Entertainment’s Harrah’s Tunica, Horseshoe Tunica, and Tunica Roadhouse instituting a $1 million giveaway promotion called the Millionaire Maker every Saturday night, with 10 people having already been awarded $1 million each.


Mississippi Gaming Revenues Hitting Rock Bottom

Ivey Poker has finally launched its first product. The IveyPoker app for Facebook launched on Sunday morning, and offers all the bells and whistles you would expect of “social” free-play poker games.

The lobby offers cash games, Sit and Go and multi table tournaments (MTT). On registering, players receive 3,500 free chips and can buy more for real money: 15m chips for $19.99, up to the “best deal” of 150 million chips for $99.99.

Alternatively players can build their stack for free at the lower limits and gradually move up in stakes. Special graphical images such as “Boom” and “OMG” can be bought as gifts in the shop and presented directly to other players at the table. Special avatars are also available for a price.

The gift shop items are priced in chips rather than $, and items range up to 5k chips to send a single red rose graphic, or a “flirt!” symbol.

Special gold chips can be bought which are used to buy premium gifts, and these include training videos from the burgeoning stable of Ivey Team Pros. Gold chips cost from $2.99 for 50, through to $49.99 for 1,500, and videos are priced depending on the level, from free to 35 gold chips for the Pro Insight series. The videos in the beginner sections are all free.

The app is currently in beta testing on Facebook only. When officially launched, the app will be available on iOS and Android mobile devices.



IveyPoker Free to Play Poker App Launches on Facebook | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

The PokerStars owned European Poker Tour (EPT) will be sponsored in its tenth season by payment processing company Skrill.

According to the PR, “sponsorship will see further innovations from Skrill, including branding in and around the tournament area at events during Season 10, along with staff at all events to offer marketing promotions and assist players during the tournament.”

This is the third time a Skrill (formerly MoneyBookers) company has sponsored the EPT. EPT President Edgar Stuchly said: “Skrill … is widely regarded as one of the most popular deposit and withdrawal methods by the online gaming community. We are pleased to be working with them again during Season 10.”

The next EPT event will be held in Barcelona from August 28 to September 7.



Skrill Sponsors European Poker Tour | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

Here are a selection of some of the top tweets coming from the World Series Of Poker over the past week:

Faraz Jaka

“@carriehubbard whaaaatttt da fawwwwk! I know your in media n shit but quit photoshopping me girl!” [see photo]

Doyle Brunson

“I see where @RealKidPoker is in the final 2 in the triple draw. I should have got him to write that chapter in SS2..Oh wait, he did write the chapter on triple draw for SS2:-). #@RealKidPoker”

Daniel Negreanu

“Appollo Creed’s entrance to fight Drago in Rocky IV reminds me of @phil_hellmuth entrances to the main event each year!”

Phil Hellmuth

“Deal! Sold my fav sunglasses (Ray Bans) to Luke “Full Flush” Schwartz for $500 & 1% of himself (120k worth $300) but he busted next hand!”

Todd Brunson

“My god. I play so bad I should be beaten worse than Rodney king and forced to sit thru an Annie duke poker camp.”

Andy Bloch

“Only the old guys at my table are wearing sunglasses, but they have to take them off every hand to see the flop & bets.”

Justin Bonomo

“Moved to new table with @PhilGalfond and no one that looks over 30. Wtf?”

Shaun Deeb

“Was just told by my Russian opp in open face all Russians think I’m autistic says its meant as a compliment.”

Evelyn Ng

“It’s hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs because they always take things literally.”

Gavin Griffin

“Having the worst night of sleep I’ve had this year, which is impressive since I have a 7 month old son who doesn’t sleep through the night.”

Jonathan Little

“Luckily for me, online poker went about as poorly as possible. I am hopefully owed a TON of equity in the main event tomorrow.”




WSOP 2013: Top Poker Tweets Of The Week

Rumors surfaced this week that the so-called “Tiger Woods of poker,” Phil Ivey, has made an agreement with a southern California indian tribe to be the face of their Internet gaming venture.

Ivey is set to team up with the Pala Indian Tribe, which runs one of California’s most successful tribal casinos. The Pala Casino Resort and Spa is located just outside the city of San Diego. Also slated to participate in the new venture is Jim Ryan, formerly the chief executive officer of bwin.party.

Online gambling not yet regulated in California

While online gambling has not yet been regulated in the state of California, draft legislation has been proposed. Should California move to legalize online betting, it would become by far the largest market in the United States. So far only three states have legalized some type of Internet wagering, those states being Delaware, New Jersey, and Nevada, all of which are fairly small in terms of population.

Should regulation go through in the Golden State, the Pala venture, known as Pala Interactive, could eventually also offer real-money online gambling to residents of other states permitting an interstate compact is in place.

Ivey previously was a face of Full Tilt Poker

The role of being the face of an online gambling operation will be nothing new for Phil Ivey, who has long been recognized as one of the best, if not the best, to ever play the game. Before the site was shut down by the United States government in April of 2011, Ivey was a professional on the roster of Full Tilt Poker.

Ivey’s association with the site led to some sullying of his reputation, though his name was not the only to be dragged through the mud in the aftermath of Black Friday. A handful of pros and the site’s founders were roundly accused of treating the company like a veritable piggy bank, a matter that continues to sting many in the online poker world as US-based players whose funds were frozen on the site over two years ago are still awaiting reimbursement.

A rough few years for poker great

In some ways, it seems as if the Full Tilt scandal kicked off a series of unfortunate events for Phil Ivey. He went through a prolonged and messy divorce with his former wife, Luciaetta, who lodged allegations of judicial impropriety in the handling of the divorce case when news surfaced that Ivey had contributed money to the judge’s campaign.

Another bit of misfortune came to light earlier this year, when the tony Crockfords Casino in Mayfair, London, which is one of the oldest continually operating casinos in the world, refused Ivey a £7.8 million payout after a hot streak at the game of punto banco, a variation of baccarat.

Back in May the casino said that Ivey may have been taking advantage of a flaw in the cards to gain an advantage at the game, which is meant to be one of pure chance. That same month, Ivey sued to recover his winnings, saying at the time, “I was given a receipt for my winnings, but Crockfords has withheld payment. I have no alternative but to take legal action.”

Of course for the time being, Phil Ivey is in Nevada focusing on the World Series of Poker. He has also launched a new site, iveypoker-com.




Phil Ivey and California's Pala Indians Partner on Internet Poker Venture, Pending Regulation

Larry Wells called his wife back in the small town of Anahuac, Texas, on Tuesday and had some good news.

Erik Seidel, an eight-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, was seated to his left for Day 2A/2B of the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em World Championship at the Rio Convention Center. Across the table was actor Ray Romano.

“I told my wife I’m going to get some air time on television, I believe,” Wells said.

Wells is a veteran recreational poker player, but part of the beauty of the Main Event is that it gives amateurs such as him the chance to go heads-up with a renowned player such as Seidel or a celebrity such as Romano.

“I was pretty nervous having Mr. Seidel at the table,” said Wells, who also played in the 2006 Main Event. “It was a learning experience for me, watching how Erik played. He wasn’t really aggressive, wasn’t three-betting like some of the younger, aggressive players. He was solid-aggressive.”

The high-profile table was followed by a camera crew for nearly three hours Tuesday afternoon, and Romano kept the mood as light as possible. Seidel tweeted that he was Romano’s “official-unofficial Twitter account” for the day and periodically took to the social media site to share a few of Romano’s best lines.

“To waiter ‘I’m giving you a big tip, because the cameras are on. If they edit this out I want it returned,’” Seidel tweeted.

Wells, who earned his seat in the Main Event by winning a $300 mega satellite, was involved in a big hand with Romano prior to the the table breaking shortly before the dinner break. Wells went all-in after the turn for his remaining 43,000 chips, and Romano spent a few minutes deciding what to do before quietly folding.

“It was a really exciting experience for me,” Wells said. “I never would have paid $10,000 to enter this tournament. It was worth it.”

Wells wasn’t alone. Horacio Chives sat to the right of Doyle Brunson after the legendary poker pro moved into the Brasilia Room. It was the second time during this Main Event that Chives has been at Brunson’s table, an unexpected treat for the 27-year-old from Paraguay.

“I respect him a lot,” Chives said. “He’s playing well. It’s amazing at his age.”

Brunson, 79, doubled up earlier in the day with pocket aces, and his sizable chip stack attracted plenty of attention in the Pavilion Room before he was moved during the day’s third level. Brunson posed for pictures with competitors and the dealer at his new table as the dinner break was about to begin.

“It’s always cool to sit down with someone like that,” said 27-year-old Canadian Evan Jarvis, who has one cash at this year’s WSOP. “For players who don’t play a lot, it’s a real treat.”

The Main Event continues at noon today as the 2,306 players who survived Day 1C will be in action. Respected online player Mark Kroon of Madison, Wis., will open as the top stack with 246,900 chips.



With stars on either side, Texan enjoys poker spotlight | Las Vegas Review-Journal

How to win at online poker?
The first thing you have to bear in mind is that online poker is rigged. The online casino makes it's money by raking or taking part of the pot. So the casino rigs games in a several different ways to increase their rake.

Here are some simple rules for playing online poker. If you obey them you’ll immediately win!

1) Always play any hand and at least take a look at the flop especially if you are UTG.

2) If you receive big hole cards (AA, KK, QQ, AKs, etc) be cautious. If you flop a monster hand check the board and see if anyone else could have the nuts or draw the nuts. If there is a chance of someone getting a better hand it will probably happen.

3) Always chase flushes and straights. you will be suprised how many you will hit on the river.

4) If you flop a straight or a flush, fold immediately. If you flop a straight someone will get a flush and if you flop a flush someone will get a full house.

5) If your stack is getting a little short, just push all in. Chances are you will win regardless of what you have. You do have to keep in mind that someone with a smaller or equal stack may call you though.

Good luck😡 how it works out for you guys just need to know post it long time ago but just need feedback

Zynga is to demo its real-money poker and casino software for Facebook at the World GES conference this week, VentureBeat reports.

Zynga launched Zynga Plus Poker , a real-money poker client on the PartyPoker network, in April 2013 for UK customers only. The poker room is a simple skin of the Party client, and shares the same player pool liquidity. It also launched Zynga Plus Casino using bwin.party’s software in tandem.

Expanding to Facebook and mobile is a natural progression for Zynga’s real-money gaming (RMG) aspirations. The move was expected following a new deal between Zynga and Facebook inked in November 2012, which required Zynga to make its real-money games available on the Facebook platform.

VentureBeat reported on Wednesday that the new platform would be demoed at the World Gaming Executive Summit, which runs through July 11. The invite-only event brings together more than 300 delegates from the world of gaming, including regulators and online gaming operators.

Sean Ryan, the head of game partnerships at Facebook, will be showing off both ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino on Facebook and mobile, VentureBeat reports. There are no details yet on when either product will launch.




Zynga Plus Poker Readies Real-Money Launch on Facebook | Pokerfuse Online Poker News