Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Texas Hold'm in Texas? WOW!
Texas Senator Leads Push For Legalized CasinosGroup Pushes For Referendum To Amend State Constitution
by Julio Rodriguez | Published: Nov 20, 2012 | E-mail Author
Sen. Rodney Ellis
Ironically, you can’t currently play Texas hold’em in a card room in Texas, but Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) is hoping he can change that by bringing legalized casinos to the Lone Star State.
Ellis has filed a bill for the 2013 legislative session that would put the measure on the November ballot and give voters the power to amend the state constitution to allow for casinos.
Though Texas legislators have been traditionally opposed to gambling measures, Ellis is hoping that the sluggish economy will help his bill receive bipartisan support.
“Clearly, we need the money,” Ellis bluntly said to the San Antonio Express-News.
Former Sen. John Montford, who helped Texas establish their state lottery, feels the same. He is now heading the Let Texans Decide coalition, which is pushing for casinos to make their way onto the November ballot.
“All we’re asking for is a referendum,” Montford said, according to The Magnolia Potpourri. “Speaking across Texas to different rotaries, I feel confident we will get over 60 percent of the population to approve the amendment. We hope members will consider allowing Texans to decide what’s best for them.”
The group estimates that state residents gamble away more than $2.5 billion each year at casinos in neighboring states such as New Mexico, Oklahoma and Louisiana. According to the coalition, more than 75,000 jobs would be created if casinos were legalized, creating an $8.5 billion per year industry.
In order for Ellis to get his piece of legislation on the ballot, the measure would need to be approved by a two-third majority vote.
Some new tribe gambling info:
Tribes: If Online Gaming Is Legalized, We Want In
Congress May Consider Rules For Online Poker
November 15, 2012|BY JON LENDER, jlender@courant.com, The Hartford Courant
If online gaming is legalized in Connecticut — either by state or federal legislation — both the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes say they want in on running the games.
Connecticut's two federally-recognized tribes — which each own and operate a casino — issued statements to that effect in the wake of a Courant story Wednesday about possible federal and state legislation that could make it legal to bet online from home computers. A key committee co-chairman in the Connecticut General Assembly also said that legislators "absolutely" should consider legalizing some form of online gaming when they reconvene in January, and Congress now is drafting potential legislation legalizing online poker nationally.
Thanks for your input Mailhot. Without more investigation, I will give only a short, and incomplete view at this point....I am high on Titanium, therefore I favor either staying with PCP, or making a play with RTI because of their acquisition of the Virginia Titanium plant. I think the play is aerospace. I'll get a chance to review a little later and will let you know if I hear or see anything of value. Also, I'm a little prejudice, as I am an astronomer. Might be a detriment basing things on too much hope. Neal
Hey mailhot.......what do you think of RTI or ATI as a titanium play to replace this one......PCP is a little pricey ($180)....the lower pps seems to allow for the larger price swings. (both RTI and ATI are in the mid-twenties) Neal
Still digesting the purchase news. What do you think? What's your understanding of what happens financially at this point with our shares....do we get bought out (cashed out), or rollover to PCP shares? If a rollover, I would tend to stay with the Titanium play and keep that stock and add more. IMHO Neal
And the first on-line gambling site will be.....
notice the tribal parts. From Poker news Global 10/31/2012
It appeared that Nevada casinos would become the initial entities to offer real-money online gaming in the United States, with South Point Hotel and Casino primed to become the first after receiving a historic online poker license back in August. However, in a recent press release, the GEObet Gambling Network, an online gambling technology and services provider, announced they're set to launch an online poker room in November for Native American tribal casinos.
“GEObet is helping Native American tribes to fulfill the natural extension of their rights as sovereign lands to bring their casino gambling businesses into the new millennium,” said CEO of the GEObet Network Gerry Gionet. “As competition for land based gaming gets fiercer, all land based casino groups, whether they are in California, Nevada or anywhere else in North America, will bring their businesses online. Tribal gaming has the right to protect its interests and compete with state and private casino groups.”
GEObet Gambling Network intends to bring together various Native American tribes so they could share player pools and progressive online slot jackpots. “If tribal nations and tribal casino groups join forces, they will create the largest gaming force in the world,” Gionet added. “We want to open tribal gaming up to a world-wide audience, and reach far beyond the players within a three hour car ride of tribal lands”.
The press release went on to add: “Gionet also wants
Read more: http://www.pokernews.com/news/2012/10/geobet-gambling-network-set-to-launch-first-real-money-onlin-13709.htm
got some more
It's always about money:
from Cardplayer.com 10/29/12
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.
The tribes speak up:
ONLINE GAMING: Tribal leaders warily watch legislation
Steve Yeater/The Press-Enterprise Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, testifies at a hearing on online gaming in 2010. BY JIM MILLER
BY JIM MILLER The Press Enterprise
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.com
Published: 23 October 2012 06:41 PM
A Text Size RelatedWEBLINK Press-Enterprise Politics Page
WEBLINK Political Empire Blog
WEBLINK Inland Voters Guide
SACRAMENTO -- Tribes with casinos should have a central role in any legislation that would legalize Internet gaming, American Indian leaders said Tuesday during a national tribal conference.
Legislation to legalize online gaming has languished in Congress but could move during a lame-duck session later this year. In Sacramento, meanwhile, online gaming bills have stalled the last few years amid a deep split among tribes with casinos, but legislation likely will resurface in 2013.
“The ground is shifting under the gaming world’s feet,” Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians near Temecula, told a crowd during Tuesday’s panel discussion at the National Conference of American Indians gathering a few blocks from the state Capitol.
“We think it’s absolutely critical we get it right the first time,” Macarro said. “Tribes need to be prepared to address the impacts of Internet gaming.”
The federal government bans online gambling. But the law allows states to legalize intrastate games.
The Pechanga band is among several Inland Southern California tribes with successful casinos that generate millions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs.
Online gaming, though, has divided the region’s tribes.
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians near Banning and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians near San Bernardino are part of a consortium that supports the licensing of online poker. Proponents say it’s vital for tribes to diversify beyond bricks-and-mortar casinos.
But the Pechanga tribe and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians have opposed the group’s proposal, as well as other legislation to legalize online poker. Critics say the measures could favor one group of tribes over others, while potentially cannibalizing tribes’ casino business.
Large Las Vegas-based casinos and poker sites have led the support for federal legislation to allow online gamblers to win money playing Texas Hold’em and other Internet-based versions of the popular card game.
Tribal gaming associations have been most skeptical of a federal bill that could siphon away their customers.
Any regulatory scheme must include a significant role for tribes, such as the involvement of the National Indian Gaming Commission, tribal leaders said Tuesday. A pending federal measure backed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid fails to do that, said Jason Giles, executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association.
“Yes, internet gaming is coming. But we also want it to be fair,” Giles said.
In a recent interview with Indian Country Today, Reid said he supported tribes having a role in
Accumulating more while I can!
No trading allowed at ETrade either. Neal
It's political!
Poker Players Respond to GOP Platform's Internet Gambling Prohibition[ return to main articles page ] ..By: Rich Muny [See all articles by Rich Muny]
Published on Aug 31st, 2012
Email A Friend On Tuesday, the Republican Party ratified its 2012 platform. Unfortunately for poker players and enthusiasts, it contains the following plank: "Millions of Americans suffer from problem or pathological gambling that can destroy families. We support the prohibition of gambling over the internet and call for reversal of the Justice Department’s decision distorting the formerly accepted meaning of the Wire Act that could open the door to internet betting."
Many are asking how this could have happened. After all, poker players, enthusiasts, and supporters have been reaching out to lawmakers in unprecedented numbers, while opponents have been virtually silent.
I can confirm that the efforts of the community had an impact. Given the enthusiasm and activism of the poker community, the draft GOP platform was, wisely, silent on the issue of online poker. Unfortunately, when the full committee met, a handful of social conservative activists were successful in adding the offending plank to the final platform.
The poker community has come out strongly in response to this attack on our liberty. Poker supporters immediately flocked to the Republican Party platform website, GOP Party Platform 2012, to up-vote submissions advocating the rejection of this plank. Two submissions, both entitled "Reject attempts to add a plank advocating a ban on online poker" that were submitted to different categories, were #1 in their respective categories within 24 hours of submission.
Additionally, thousands of poker supporters sent Tweets to Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus, Presidential nominee Mitt Romney, and Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan to inform them of their opposition to the plank and to let them know they up-voted the poker submissions at the GOP Party Platform 2012 site.
Reaction was swift. GOP Party Platform 2012 was abruptly terminated on Thursday morning, despite a stated end date of one month from now:
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
v
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefgabcdefg
While no reason was given for the termination of GOP Party Platform 2012 (the URL now redirects to GOP.com with no explanation of the fate of GOP Party Platform 2012), the timing is certainly suspicious. The poker community is clearly being heard and our impact is certainly being noticed.
Fortunately for us, the party platform is not something lawmakers pledge to support nor is it seen as a litmus test for adherence to party beliefs. Rather, it is simply a political statement. While it is certainly disappointing that it stands against our right to play, GOP lawmakers are in no way compelled or even expected to follow its direction.
We can expect Ron Paul, Joe Barton, John Campbell, Peter King, Dean Heller, and the other Republican lawmakers who have signed on in support of our right to play to continue to stand up for our cause. We can expect the Poker Players Alliance and the entire poker community to continue winning over lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in our relentless pursuit of ultimate victory! Comments
We are still accumulating!
Unfortunately, the REP Nat convention had the following in their platform last night. We'll need to work on this:
"Millions of Americans suffer from problem or pathological gambling that can destroy families. We support the prohibition of gambling over the Internet and call for reversal of the Justice Department's decision distorting the formerly accepted meaning of the Wire Act that could open the door to Internet betting."
They should have added that most are already in politics.
The tribes need to get moving......or time will pass them by!
All signs point to Black Friday closure being near
August 20, 2012, Chris
NOTHING BUT 'NET, by Joel Gatlin
Black Friday (April 15, 2011) was like a scene from a Dr. Seuss book.The Grinch had swooped down with his little frail dog and had stolen all of the U.S. poker players’ gifts from under their noses.No one saw it coming and it seemed like it happened in the middle of the night while everyone was sleeping.The unthinkable happened and online poker was ripped out of the homes of so many citizens in the United States.Then, soon after, the whole Full Tilt player community suffered a similar blow.
Well, it’s been a long 17 months, but it was Christmas in July for many poker players around the world when PokerStars announced it had finalized the purchase of Full Tilt.On July 31, the U.S. District Attorney’s office approved the deal between Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, where all of the important assets of Full Tilt were to be forfeited to PokerStars.
As part of the agreement, PokerStars forfeited $547 million to the U.S government, paid over the next three years.The agreement stated that once the asset transfer is complete, PokerStars would, within 90 days, make all of the money owed to non-U.S. Full Tilt players available for withdrawal ($184 million).
U.S. players would be refunded separately, from the payments made by PokerStars to the government.The U.S. players’ balances are somewhere around $150 million-$160 million.It hasn’t been announced how Americans will get their money, but the process will go through Department of Justice and details will be coming soon.
PokerStars has identified the Full Tilt players in three categories: U.S players, ROW (rest of world) regulated, and ROW unregulated.Players will be classified into one of these of categories based on their verified address within Full Tilt’s records as of June 29, 2011.These classifications will have specific meaning when the Full Tilt site comes back online, primarily in the areas of the world where poker is regulated by any form of government.
So, what’s next for PokerStars and the newly acquired Full Tilt assets?
• PokerStars will keep the Full Tilt name intact and operate the site as a separate brand from PokerStars.This means players will have the same features Full Tilt had before, such as the Rush Poker, Matrix tournaments, etc.
• The new Full Tilt site will operate with a different management team, of course.It will be assembled and in place quickly and will oversee all aspects of the site.The new executive management will be based in Dublin.
• PokerStars hopes to have Full Tilt online and operational by Nov. 6.This means that as soon as the site is running, all non-U.S. players’ funds will be available for withdrawal or for play online.
• As it relates to security and the overall management of accounts, players who have accounts on Full Tilt and PokerStars will have their accounts linked.This will allow the site to control players’ accounts that might have been tagged as “locked” or “banned” from either site.If a player is banned or locked out of PokerStars for any reason, then that same player would not be allowed to play on Full Tilt for the duration of the ban or lockout imposed (and vice-versa).
• The funds available on PokerStars and on Full Tilt will be in separate pools.This means there will be separate accounting for both entities, but there likely will be ways to transfer money between the sites.This feature will only be available in areas where poker is legal and regulated.
• There will be no Full Tilt operations in France, because of its license being revoked in that country in mid 2011. France has other online poker sites that have taken most of the market since then.
• Because of PokerStars’ large presence in Spain, Italy, Belgium, Denmark and Estonia, it was decided not to separate their player base in these markets, so there will be no Full Tilt in these countries.
• Full Tilt will be licensed in Europe and other foreign countries just like PokerStars, with slight differences.PokerStars is applying for separate international licenses for the Isle of Man and for Malta because of jurisdictional issues (fulltiltpoker.com and fulltiltpoker.eu).The player pools will be the same, as will be the player experience, on both sites.Fulltiltpoker.eu likely will cover Germany, Poland, Sweden, Romania, Slovenia and the Netherlands.
The news about the PokerStars-Full Tilt deal wasn’t the only big news on July 31.The DOJ announced a settlement agreement with Absolute Poker and UltimateBet.As reported by PokerNews.com, the agreement would require Absolute Poker, UB and any of their affiliates to forfeit all of their assets to resolve the matter.The government would dismiss all charges and have the right to liquidate the assets and use the net proceeds to benefit the parties who have claims against these groups.
With all of this activity, there seems to be some closure coming for the Black Friday debacle.Once the dust settles, the path will be clear for U.S. legislators to find their way back to the poker regulation discussions.
SOUTH POINT LICENSE: The Nevada Gaming Control Board granted South Point Casino preliminary approval to offer real-money online poker as an operator, manufacturer and service provider, paving the way for the casino to be the first legalized intrastate online poker room in Nevada. South Point has been running a free-play online poker room at southpointpoker.com since late last year and was seeking final license approval from the NGC on Aug. 23, after Ante Up went to press. Stay tuned for more details.
— Email Joel Gatlin at editor@anteupmagazine.com.
DOJ clears way for PokerStars return
By Dan Russell
In an agreement to settle the legal firestorm created during April 2011’s Black Friday, PokerStars, the largest online poker company in the world, agreed to pay $731 million to settle the U.S. government’s civil charges that the company used fraudulent methods to process payments and evade U.S. Internet gambling laws. The agreement also calls for PokerStars to purchase most of the assets of Full Tilt, its former rival.Of the $731 million total, $547 million will be forfeited to the U.S. government andthe remaining $184 million will be made available to reimburse (within 90 days) non-U.S. FTP customers who had money on deposit at the company. U.S.-based customers who had money with Full Tilt must file a claim with the Department of Justice to be reimbursed from the forfeiture amount.
In its statement released July 31, PokerStars stated under the agreement with the DOJ, PokerStars did not admit to any legal wrongdoing.
“Furthermore, the agreement explicitly permits PokerStars to apply to relevant U.S. gaming authorities, under both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker brands, to offer real money online poker when state or federal governments introduce a framework to regulate such activity.”
Mark Scheinberg, son of PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg who is under indictment for operating an illegal gambling business, said, “This outcome demonstrates our continuing global leadership of the online poker industry, and our commitment to working with governments and regulators to ensure the highest standards of protection for players.”
As the Nevada Gaming Commission issued the first intrastate online poker licenses in June, it will be interesting to follow the potential application of PokerStars-Full Tilt, companies that looked to be on the verge of ruin in America, to see if they can be licensed, and if so, if players can accept them back into the online poker marketplace.
Online poker players never will forget attempting to log in to their sites and seeing the DOJ and FBI’s logos and ominous language: “This domain has been seized by the FBI pursuant to an arrest warrant ...”
After that first day, there were multiple arrests of key corporate operators, many of whom entered guilty pleas while others, including the PokerStars founder, have avoided arrest by staying away from the United States (he’s allegedly remaining on the Isle of Man at this time).
Now, with its founder on the run from the FBI, other online poker site corporate officers having been convicted of federal crimes, and having paid hundreds of millions to settle its case, PokerStars may now begin applying for licenses. We’ll find out shortly how far states are willing to go to enforce the “moral turpitude” requirements for the issuance of gaming licenses.
But for now, at least until such time as a state denies them a license, what was at one time almost impossible to fathom is now a reality: PokerStars and/or Full Tilt Poker might be back online and available for 24-hour per day online play at a computer screen near you.
— Dan Russell is a lifelong poker player whose legal practice focuses on gaming and parimutuel law. For more information, follow him on Twitter @FLGamingWatch or his firm’s gaming news website floridagamingwatch.com.
This is interesting...from PPA:
Yesterday, a federal court -- the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York -- ruled that poker is a game of skill and is not illegal gambling under the Illegal Gambling Businesses Act (IGBA)!
I like the outlook for T...also 3D printing. Nice future potential. IMHO
Hello DOJ!
The DOJ Has Spoken: It's Time For Congress To Legalize Online Poker
60 344 30 By John Pappas
July 31, 2012 now joins April 15, 2011 as a landmark day in the history of online poker. On this day, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced a settlement that will help American poker players recover millions of dollars of their own money that was frozen after the Department of Justice crackdown on three online poker sites on Black Friday, April 15, 2011. More than 15 months later, players have hope that they will get their money back.
As we’ve unfortunately learned, PokerStars was one of the very few online operators that provided adequate consumer protections. Now, as part of this settlement, the company has stepped up to acquire Full Tilt Poker and ensure that all affected players have a way to recover their funds.
The hidden gem in this settlement agreement, however, has much larger stakes for American poker players as well as online poker more broadly. In the agreement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office very clearly left the door open for PokerStars, and it’s now-owned Full Tilt Poker, to become licensed online poker operators as soon as the United States decides to license and regulate this great American pastime.
This sends an important message to Congress. The Justice Department could have very easily banned PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker from the United States forever. Yet it chose not to. It chose to clearly recognize that online poker can and should be a viable industry in this country. Now the question is, will Congress listen?
Since the dawn of online poker more than 10 years ago, Congress has failed to provide Americans a safe, regulated online environment in which to play this great game of skill. As a result, millions upon millions of Americans chose to play on overseas sites – putting themselves at risk and sending their tax dollars overseas at a time when the U.S. needed that the most.
In fact, after Black Friday, American online poker players have chosen to leave the country to play in countries that recognize the value of an online poker industry – and they are taking their money with them. In fact, a Maryland native who won millions at this year’s World Series of Poker now lives in Canada so he can play online.
It didn’t have to be this way. Congress could have made a difference. Maybe it will now.
There is a growing, bipartisan chorus of lawmakers currently promoting legislation that would not only create a safe and regulated online poker marketplace but would collect the billions in revenue that is currently being lost. In the House, Republican Congressman Joe Barton is pushing the Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection, and Strengthening UIGEA Act, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid continues to work across the aisle with his colleague Senator Jon Kyl to gain support for online poker legislation in the Senate.
At a time when federal and state budgets are being slashed and there is more and more talk of tax increases, why would Congress turn its nose at sensible legislation that will provide billions of dollars in revenue? We are not talking about opening the flood gates to online gambling. Far from it. What we need is thoughtful, deliberate legislation that will regulate the thriving online poker industry, require the most state of the art technology to keep kids and problem gamblers safe, protect players from fraudulent websites and bring billions of dollars and thousands of jobs to the United States.
The debate over the state of online poker in this country is not a new one. Nor is it going away. The Justice Department’s recent action sends a clear message to lawmakers in Congress that it is time to license and regulate online poker. Let’s hope this time Congress listens.
John Pappas is the Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance, the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide.
Calif. tribes making noise?
The latest on California politics and government
August 7, 2012
Coalition of California tribes gearing up for online poker fight
A coalition of California Indian tribes is asking the Legislature not to rush an Internet gambling bill through in the final weeks of session.
"Last minute, back-room brokered deals on an issue that is vital to our tribal governments is the type of action that we must, and will, oppose until the final minute of this legislative session," the California Tribal Business Alliance wrote in a letter sent to lawmakers today.
The group supports legalizing Internet gambling but opposes the most recent bill on the issue -- Sen. Rod Wright's Senate Bill 1463, which hasn't made it out of its policy committee.
The Legislature has been batting around online poker proposals for three years. Gambling tribes -- who are big political donors -- are divided on the details, but they all want to profit from a new form of legal gambling. Tribal leaders from around the state are meeting today at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento to discuss the issue.
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said Monday that division among tribes is the main logjam in moving forward with an Internet poker bill. He said it was unlikely -- but still possible -- that a bill would come together this month.
Why were the Indians here first? They had reservations!
More Indian Tribes Ready To Back Internet Gambling
352
By ROB HOTAKAINEN, McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
9:38 a.m. EDT, August 5, 2012
WASHINGTON - Fearing they may get left behind in the rush to expand legalized gambling to the Internet, more U.S. Indian tribes are lining up to back online poker and are angling for new ways to cash in.
Consider the Tulalip Tribes in Washington state: Eight months ago, tribal Secretary Glen Gobin told Congress the tribe opposed any kind of Internet gambling, regarding it as a threat to its two casinos. But on July 26, he told a Senate panel that tribes "must have equal footing to participate" and that Congress should consult with them before junking a 2006 ban on online gambling.
"Glen is a realist," said W. Ron Allen, the chairman of the Washington Indian Gaming Association, which represents 27 federally recognized tribes.
Related
Foxwoods Strikes $2.2B Deal To Restructure Debt
Mohegan Sun Reports 'Lackluster' Earnings
Tribes Want Federal Regulation Of Internet Gaming
UAW Seeking To Organize Table-Games Dealers At Mohegan Sun
Construction To Start On Mohegans' Pocono Downs Racetrack Casino
Casinos Slot Revenue Slide Slows
Mashantucket Gas Station Set To Open In Fall
See more stories »
XFoxwoods To Lenders: 'Don't Get Your Hopes Up'Casino Hopefuls Clash In Massachusetts SweepstakesTribes Push To Open Off-Reservation Casinos - And Face Stiff ResistanceSlot Revenues At Both CT Casinos Drop More Than 9 PercentNon-Gambling Fun At Mohegan SunReport: Foxwoods To Cut 77 Engineering JobsVoters In Massachusetts City Say 'Yes' To Tribal CasinoPictures
U.S. House of Representatives
Lobbying John Pappas, the executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, a lobbying group that represents 1.2 million members across the country, said it was "definitely safe to say that the tribes' position is evolving on a federal solution."
Many tribes still oppose Internet gambling because they worry that gamblers would be less likely to go to casinos. But Allen predicted that there'll be "less reluctant resistance" as tribes realize that there's little hope of stopping the push for legalization in Congress.
"Inevitably, they're going to pass something," he said. "I think tribes as a general observation would prefer that it not happen, but tribal leaders are being realistic."
With online gambling expected to quickly become a new cash bonanza, a feud has developed on Capitol Hill over who should regulate it. Two competing plans have emerged so far.
The first, favored by the Poker Players Alliance, would allow theU.S. Department of Commerceto certify states to regulate online poker.
The second, favored by Gobin and many other tribal officials, would leave oversight to the National Indian Gaming Commission, the federal agency that regulates the gambling operations of 237 tribes. It's headed by Tracie Stevens, a member of the Tulalip Tribes whom President Barack Obama appointed in 2010.
The battle pits two big spenders against each other. Since 2007, the Poker Players Alliance has spent more than $7.6 million on lobbying, and it ranks fourth overall this year among gambling interests, according to the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in politics. The tribes spent more than $20 million on lobbying last year and have contributed nearly $58 million to federal candidates since 1990.
Jon Porter, a former member of Congress who lobbies for the Poker Players Alliance, said legalized online poker could help both commercial casinos and the tribes. He predicted that both will face a much greater threat from states that move to expand their lotteries to include online slot machines. But he said Congress should accept the fact that Americans will gamble on the Internet.
"It's clear that any industry which fails to embrace the Internet is doomed to failure," Porter said. "Think of the struggles that newspapers have been going through, or how long it took the recording industry to effectively sell digital music."
The pressure on Congress to act has grown since April 15, 2011, a day the gamblers call Black Friday, when the Justice Department shut down the three largest online poker sites operating in the United States - PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker - and charged their officials with bank fraud and money laundering.
That angered poker players and led hundreds of professional players who lost money to move to Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada and elsewhere to gamble. Last Tuesday, the Justice Department announced a $731 million settlement with two of the companies - PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker - that will require them to forfeit their assets to the government.
For backers of online poker, the issue took on more urgency in December, when the Justice Department said it would apply the major anti-gambling statute, the Wire Act, only to sports events and races. Many said that cleared the way for states to begin legalizing online gaming without having to worry about federal laws. Nevada and Delaware already have approved online gaming.
Pappas said the action by the states had spurred the tribes to rethink their opposition.
"They are not comfortable with the idea of having to go to a state to get licensed," he said. "But now states . are beginning to move forward and tribal casinos could be left in the dust."
Bruce Bozsum, the chairman of the Mohegan Tribe in Connecticut, called Internet gaming "a reality in today's digital world" and said the tribe "is doing everything in our power to prepare for it." He said tribes were likely to get a better deal if Congress, not the states, resolved the issue.
Things could come to a head in the next few months.
In the House of Representatives, Pappas said, backers already have enough votes to overturn the ban on Internet gambling. Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton is leading the effort.
A bigger battle is expected in the Senate, where the poker players group is counting on Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada to pass a similar bill before the end of the year.
In the latest move, Hawaii Democratic Sen. Daniel Akaka, the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and a close ally of the tribes, unveiled a draft of his Tribal Online Gaming Act of 2012 less than two weeks ago. It would allow federally recognized tribes to apply for licenses to operate online gaming.
Akaka is facing resistance on one key proposal: Like the poker players group, he wants the Department of Commerce in charge of online gaming. Akaka suggests that the department create a new Office of Tribal Online Gaming.
Gobin said assigning regulation to any federal agency other than the National Indian Gaming Commission would be "burdensome and duplicative."
We need teamwork?
By Anjeanette Damon (contact), Karoun Demirjian (contact)
Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 | 2 a.m.
Each time Congress promises to consider online poker, the subject ends up getting pushed back into yet another overcrowded, end-of-the-year, lame-duck session. And each time that happens, Nevada’s gaming industry becomes increasingly nervous.
“There has to be some action,” said Tom Breitling, chairman of Ultimate Gaming, an online gaming company launched by the owners of Station Casinos. “The debate is not about the legalizing of Internet poker. It’s about the survival of the industry that is the foundation of our economy.”
There are still months to go on the congressional calendar, but the gaming industry is starting to make the sort of last-ditch pitches usually reserved for the waning weeks of December in the hopes of drumming up some attention before the 2012 elections.
Their latest concerted effort is to press Nevada Sens. Harry Reid and Dean Heller to persuade their colleagues to stick online poker into a piece of legislation to enhance the nation’s cybersecurity. That bill is set to go to a vote this week, but its fate is uncertain.
Moreover, the chances of marrying it with a gaming measure appear nil. While Reid supported cybersecurity as a potential vehicle for the gaming change, Heller always thought the bill was too “flawed” and “contentious” to be appropriate.
That has only highlighted an awkward interplay between the two senators, who are bitterly divided over Nevada’s 2012 Senate race but forced to work together to bring home the ultimate bacon: An Internet poker bill to help Nevada’s struggling gaming sector.
Their strange partnership is riddled with political darts.
“The only way we can get (an online poker bill) done is we need Republican votes, and we haven’t gotten them yet,” Reid said Tuesday.
“I’m limited in what I can do with Republicans. I’d like a little help from my Republican colleague,” he added in a thinly veiled reference to Heller.
That climate is only proving frustrating for Nevada’s gaming moguls, who are also watching the clock.
“Quite frankly, we don’t care whose job it is to get the votes. We have a majority leader and a senator, and we need leadership from both,” said one gaming operative. “They need to quit pointing fingers and figure out how to get it done. Not getting it done puts Nevada in real danger.”
The problem isn’t with online poker, per se. Nevada companies — with strong brand recognition and giant customer bases — are well-positioned to compete in both a national online poker market and individual state markets.
The risk is to Nevada’s brick-and-mortar casinos, if Congress doesn’t halt a recent Department of Justice interpretation that all forms of online gambling, save for sports betting, are permitted under the Wire Act. That DOJ letter, released late last year, changed the debate from simply legalizing online poker to outlawing all forms of online gambling except online poker.
Some senators embrace virtually unlimited online gaming short of sports gambling because of the revenue that would be generated for their states, and some oppose gambling altogether. Nevada’s senators want a law that allows only online poker, which Las Vegas casinos are poised to offer, while not allowing other forms of gambling that, if offered, could dilute the desire of gamblers to visit Nevada.
If the federal government does nothing, states could move on their own, and some are anxious to enter the Internet gambling arena. Illinois now sells lottery tickets online, and lawmakers are anxious to pass legislation turning the state into an “Internet gambling hub,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
Iowa, California, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., are also considering online gambling legislation beyond just poker.
Steve Marcus
Las Vegas-based casino companies such as MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment are pushing for federal legislative regulating online poker.
And they’re aimed directly at Las Vegas’ customers.
“If you’re a Nevadan, you should be terrified that a massive expansion is going to, over time, completely erode the Nevada gaming market, the brick-and-mortar businesses,” said Jan Jones, vice president of government affairs for Caesars Entertainment, which is lobbying hard for legislation that would outlaw all forms of online gambling except online poker.
“Really, the failure to limit house-backed gaming online is a disaster for the tourist-based Nevada economy,” she said. “If nothing is done, our state’s core industry runs a risk of experiencing a similar fate as Borders Books.”
Borders Books, a chain megabookstore with outlets all over the world, was forced to declare bankruptcy in 2011 because of lost market share to online retailers like Amazon.com.
Breitling described the proliferation of traditional, house-backed gambling games online as the biggest threat to Nevada’s economy since the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain.
And the political strategy to address it is complicated.
Online poker, like Yucca Mountain or immigration, is a policy issue that does not cleave neatly along party lines. As of last week, Reid only has 40-something Democrats on board with the idea of legalizing poker, according to a Senate Democratic source, which means it will take anywhere from 10 to 20 Republicans to carry it across the finish line.
If that’s the case, they’ve got a long way to go.
Various gaming sources count only two Republican senators — Heller and Arizona’s Jon Kyl, who has been working closely with Reid for the past two years — as definite "yes" votes for an Internet poker bill.
An undated list recently published on a poker forum cites eight more as definite "no" votes.
The Las Vegas Sun conducted an unscientific poll of about 20 of the remaining Republicans, sampling from both moderates and conservatives, that revealed most have not made up their minds about poker and that one — Rand Paul of Kentucky — is likely to support an online poker bill. But many Republican undecideds were clearly leaning toward "no."
"I generally have opposed gambling across the board in all forms. So though I have not seen the bill, I probably would oppose it," said Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, listed as undecided in the poker community’s survey.
"I'm not a big fan of expanding gaming on the Internet, especially for revenue purposes," said Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.
"Online poker? No, I wouldn’t vote for it," said Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma. "I'd vote against it. I don’t like gambling."
Only three senators the Sun approached outside of leadership circles had already been approached by Heller or Kyl to discuss the topic.
"They just broached the subject with me so I know something about it," said Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia. "Other than that one conversation, I don’t have much information at all."
"I have not talked with them," said Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, who added that he’s "not necessarily for or against" online poker.
Sam Morris
The state Gaming Control Board on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011, issued a draft of proposed regulations governing Internet poker. In this file photo, a woman who wished to remain anonymous plays online.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell would not answer questions Tuesday about whether he plans to use his influence to help push for poker legislation before the election — or whether he believes doing so would help Heller in his race against Reid's protégé, Shelley Berkley, in 2012.
A spokesman for Heller said Tuesday evening that he and Kyl "have been working very hard on this ... [and] the feedback to date has been positive." Heller has said he considers the end of the year to be the ultimate deadline for getting a poker bill through Congress.
But it appears turning positive feedback into votes may take that much time, which is problematic for an industry visibly wringing its hands over the potential fallout for Las Vegas.
"We literally don’t know what’s going to happen," said I. Nelson Rose, a gaming professor at Whittier Law School in Southern California.
No one has conducted a detailed analysis of what the proliferation of online gambling would do to the Las Vegas Strip. On one hand, creating new gamblers online could feed the Las Vegas market with new players who want to jump to the real casino experience.
"But some forms of gambling and some land-based operators, they're going to find themselves in the difficult position of trying to compete against a much more easily available form of gambling [on the Internet]," Rose said.
In that case, online gaming will erode several important feeder markets in a manner similar to what Indian gaming did to the casino industry in Reno in the past decade.
Legalization of Indian gaming in California strangled Reno's base of gamblers. The last major hotel-casino opened in 1995 and is currently undergoing bankruptcy reorganization.
"Reno’s not dead," Reno-based gaming analyst Ken Adams said, dismissing the idea that the Las Vegas Strip would simply collapse. "But the growth is gone."
Halting growth on the Strip would have serious implications for Nevada’s overall economy. Gaming analysts and academics generally agree that if online gambling is widespread, it will force brick-and-mortar companies to find different ways to compete. That could result in a virtual shutdown of large casino construction — a major driver of Nevada's once-booming economy.
"Suddenly, we could have an industry that makes the casino industry almost non-existent," Adams said, pointing to a virtual dry-up in new licenses going to new brick-and-mortar casinos. "I think we’ve crossed a tipping point where the momentum that represented construction like CityCenter, where you had casinos go up one right after the other, is done."
"People who do online gambling don’t want to sit in front of metal boxes with simulated video slot machine reels in giant warehouses," Rose said.
Instead of brick-and mortar-casinos being licensed for online poker, slot machine manufacturers and online game-makers are building enough of a presence to capture the initial opportunities of the new market of online gamblers.
For example, Facebook game-maker Zynga Poker, with a user base of 33.3 million people, appears to be positioning itself for real-money play. Slot machine manufacturer WMS Industries this month opened a subsidiary to run a Facebook-based virtual casino that could potentially transition to real-money games.
That’s not to say Nevada companies aren’t poised for action.
Station Casinos this month launched Ultimate Poker, a free-play site, on Facebook. Caesars, MGM Resorts and Boyd also are positioning themselves for the online poker market. The Nevada Gaming Commission has issued online betting licenses to Bally Technologies, International Game Technology and Shuffle Master.
Gaming Control Board Chairman Mark Lipparelli last week told reporters that casino operators will likely be before the board for online poker licenses within two months.
Despite the real threat posed by online gambling to brick-and-mortar casinos, Adams cautioned against the-sky-is-falling scenarios, pointing out that Las Vegas’ casino industry will be insulated to some extent by the fact that Vegas is Vegas.
"The Las Vegas Strip has too much energy and too much stuff for it to dry up and blow away," he said. "With 125,000 hotel rooms, you have the potential of 250,000 people walking around Vegas drooling and staring and lusting after all of the glitz.
"You can’t buy that online."
Hi mailhot...glad to see someone else here......this stock is bouncing up in the short run....could be an interesting play for the presidential elections......Titanium could take A BIG JUMP IF ROMNEY IS ELECTED AND THEN somehow boosts space programs. Just an opinion. Neal
Interesting....at what pps should we buy in?
Pro-Life...might want to view TIE again. IMHO
Up Up and Up! Still below $15......I'm adding. Neal
Hello? anyone out there?
Hmmmmm! Just my opinion. "Buy low.....Sell high!" I would think that anyone buying now would be buying low. Some might prefer to buy after (and certainly if) the pps goes to .04. Either buy low....or don't buy at all. Just my opinion. Rocket Science 208. I think an investor must decide for reasons other than the current pps, whether to invest in this stock. If you decide not to invest, then sell out and move on. If you think there's potential, then buy low.......why wait till the pps goes sky high? The pps is currently low....now would be the time to buy from an investment point of view. If you wait and buy when the stock is .04.....thanks....you'll probably be paying me. LOL Just my crazy opinion. Neal
Tribes make some noise!
Tribes want in on Internet gambling
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Posted: Jul. 27, 2012 | 2:04 a.m.
WASHINGTON - With a nearly finished bill in hand, Sen. Harry Reid is hunting for a path to move Internet gambling legislation through the Senate. But on Thursday, Indian tribes dealt in for a piece of the action.
The chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee unveiled a draft bill that would allow Native American tribes to operate online poker games alone or with non-Indian partners.
Online gaming licenses would be issued by the Department of Commerce and not subject to taxation or to state compacts for brick and mortar casinos. Once licensed, tribes would be able to accept wagers from players anywhere in the United States. When it comes to online gambling, Congress "must enable tribes to participate fully should any legislation be considered so tribes are on equal footing with their counterparts in the commercial gaming industry," Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, said.
The tribes' push could be late in the game. Reid, the Senate majority leader from Nevada, reportedly has reached an agreement with Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., on a gaming bill framework and is looking for speedy passage. Capitol Hill and lobbying sources said Reid found little support for attaching the bill to pending legislation regarding computer security standards and ditched the idea.
"I'll put it on something," Reid said. "If we get some Republicans, we can do it a lot of different ways."
To date, only Kyl and Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., have been publicly linked to the measure, which would need at least 10 Republican votes to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to pass the Senate.
A Reid-Kyl online gambling bill remains to be fleshed out and has not been made public. One provision would alter the federal Wire Act because of December's Justice Department opinion that it doesn't ban all online gambling.
The opinion has triggered a rush by cash-starved states to consider legalizing Internet poker and lotteries, to the chagrin of casino operators and Indian tribes that prefer federal regulation.
At least 17 states, including Nevada, are pondering some form of online gaming.
While it would allow for online poker under a federal system, the Reid-Kyl bill is expected to toughen the law on other forms of Internet gambling even as states look to cash in on them. That could complicate efforts to build a coalition.
"If we do nothing on this, it is an absolute free-for-all on the Internet for any type of gambling at any time," Heller told reporters last week. "What we want to do is tighten those rules."
At the same time, he said, there would be a carve-out to legalize online poker, a multibillion dollar revenue stream coveted by most Las Vegas casinos.
According to published reports, a Reid aide at a conference in Washington this week told members of the National Indian Gaming Association that Reid's bill would ensure Native Americans have access to the online poker market.
Thanks hegotgame.....with a negative working capital and a large accumulated deficit, the company can only hope to survive with a loan structure, which can carry them past the time period for legalized gambling on the internet. With government approval only months away, there is some hope....but then, the pps reflects all of this. Thanks for posting the info. IMHO Neal
I havn't heard the results from Thurs. You?
Could the Indian Tribes Be Preparing Their Own Federal Internet Poker Bill?
July 24 2012, Matthew Kredell
With talk that Senate leaders have come together on an online gambling bill to push in the lame-duck session between the November elections and the end of the year, Indian tribes may be preparing their own federal bill addressing Internet poker. The tribes will discuss the issue Thursday in the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
"I think the timing [of the hearing] is around the idea that Indian tribes are interested in drafting their own legislation," said John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance. "They want to stake a claim to the process and feel that the best way for them to assert their interests is through their own bill."
The hearing will take place at 2:15 p.m. eastern time from room 628 of the Senate Dirksen Building. A live webcast of the event will be available on the Indian Affairs website. Jon Porter, a former Congressman from Nevada and a lobbyist for the PPA, will testify at the hearing. The other witnesses are all from tribal interests: Tracie Stevens, chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission; Bruce Bozsum, chairman of the Mohegan Tribe; Glen Gobin, secretary of the Tulalip Tribes; Jamie Hummingbird, chairman of the National Tribal Gaming Commissioners/Regulators; and Elizabeth Homer, an attorney who handles American Indian interests, particularly related to gaming.
The committee has met two times previously on this issue in the past nine months, with hearings held in February and November. The PPA was represented at both of those hearings, as well, with testimony given by chairman Alfonse D'Amato and litigation support director Patrick Fleming.
A separate bill drafted by the Indian tribes is very unlikely to pass but could make clear what the tribes would like to see in a bill purportedly being drafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ari.).
Pappas made waves at the PPA's Town Hall Meeting during the World Series of Poker three weeks ago when he said he believed a Reid-Kyl bill was written. GamblingCompliance.com later confirmed its sources had indicated Reid and Kyl have reached an agreement on Internet poker regulation. The National Journal, which covers politics on Capitol Hill, got quotes from both Reid and Kyl on the issue last week but would only report that the Senators were close on a deal.
It is believed such a bill would be a compromise to regulate Internet poker — a great interest to Reid and his constituents in Nevada — while strengthening The Wire Act and Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act against other forms of online gambling to appease Kyl, a long-time opponent of online gaming.
"Reid and Kyl haven't contacted me to say there is an agreement, but based on things I'm hearing on Capitol Hill, I believe they've come to agreement on the language of a bill," Pappas said. "At some point, the authors — Reid and Kyl — will see an appropriate time to push that bill."
That time is expected to be during the lame-duck session, when it could be attached to a must-pass bill involving spending, taxes or the debt ceiling. Having support from the top Democrat and one of the top Republicans in the Senate seems like a good formula for getting a bill passed.
The PPA is working on making sure there is support for the issue on the other side of the Hill in the House of Representatives. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) told PokerNews last year that he thought there was support in the House if the issue could get up for a vote.
"We're progressing very well," Pappas said. "We've gotten a lot of positive feedback from members of Congress. There's going to be some really key folks within the House Republican leadership that need to recognize that doing nothing is probably going to lead to greater expansion of gambling than with what Mr. Reid, Mr. Kyl and Mr. Barton are proposing. Helping them understand that has been one of our key talking points."
Read more: http://www.pokernews.com/news/2012/07/indian-tribes-preparing-own-federal-internet-poker-bill-13105.htm
Bottom fishing....this looks good to me. Have been accumulating for past two months. Will continue while pps is low (below $15) Just my 2 cents. T will be in demand in the coming months and years. Neal
Beat The war drums?
Second Internet Gambling Congressional Hearing of 2012 Scheduled[ return to main articles page ] ..By: Dan Cypra [See all articles by Dan Cypra]
Published on Jul 19th, 2012
Email A Friend On Thursday, July 26, the second hearing focused on internet gambling of 2012 will be held. As all Representatives and one-third of Senators gear up for their election bids in November, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold a hearing entitled, "Regulation of Tribal Gaming: From Brick and Mortar to the Internet." A live webcast will be available next Thursday and the action gets underway at 2:15pm ET in the Senate Dirksen Building, Room 628.
Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Vice President of Player Relations Rich TheEngineer Muny broke the news to the community in a thread on the PocketFives forums this week: "Great news! On Thursday, July 26 at 2:15 pm, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold an oversight hearing to 'examine the regulation of tribal gaming, focusing on brick and mortar to the internet.' We don’t yet have a list of witnesses. At this point, I don't know if there will be a witness representing poker players."
The last time the Senate Indian Affairs Committee took up internet gambling was in February, when PPA Litigation Director Patrick Skallagrim Fleming (pictured) was part of the witness panel. Fleming spoke about the complex web of state and Federal gaming laws and tried to reassure Indian casino operators that opening the door for online poker would not severely erode land-based revenues.
To that end, Fleming argued, "All the preliminary evidence strongly suggests that there is a healthy relationship between online poker and live poker. Poker is, at its core, a social game of person against person. Hence, poker players as a general rule enjoy both settings and use one to compliment the other. While there are some poker players who prefer live games and some who prefer online games, the majority play both with equal enthusiasm." He added that many players use low-stakes online poker as a primer for live games.
Fleming reminded those in attendance that the 2011 opinion by the U.S. Department of Justice that the Wire Act only applies to online sports betting could have a profound impact on Tribes: "The DOJ's new position that the Wire Act does not apply to gaming other than wagering on sporting events will have large and significant ramifications for Tribal gaming interests. Depending on future developments in state laws, those ramifications will present Tribal gaming operators with significant competition issues that current law leaves them woefully unprepared to meet."
Also at February's hearing, Seneca Nation of Indians President Robert Odawi Porter asked Tribal leaders to contemplate the following when considering whether to support online gaming.
"As a Tribal leader, there are two questions that must frame our discussion," Porter narrated. "First, will the decision of the Congress support or destroy the Indian gaming jobs held by our tribal citizens? Second, will your decision support or erode the gaming revenue that tribes use for services? In recent years, big gaming and state regulating interests in Nevada and New Jersey have pushed for Federal legislation that would give them monopolistic control of internet gaming in the USA… They are determined to shove Indian gaming away from the table."
Poker Players Alliance Vice President of Player Relations Rich TheEngineer Muny reacted to news of the hearing, telling PocketFives, "The hearing is terrific news. The desire of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to hold a third hearing on this issue shows that it is under serious consideration right now. I hope everyone interested in licensed online poker in the U.S. will do their part to help ensure this hearing is a success by participating in the Fight for Poker Daily Action Plan on PocketFives."
States have already begun to move. Nevada has already doled out licenses to offer online poker and, recently, Kentucky-based Churchill Downs Incorporated applied for an interactive gaming license in the desert state. Across the country, Delaware's Governor signed a bill green-lighting internet gambling into law in the final days of June. Online games, including poker, could launch as soon as the early part of 2013 in both states.
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee also took up internet gambling last November, when PPA Chairman and former three-term Republican Senator from New York Alfonse D'Amato (pictured) testified on behalf of the poker community.
D'Amato drove home the fact that Tribes would feel little negative impact from the expansion of online poker: "Right now, only 1% of all of the revenues at Indian casinos come from the poker tables. We have empirical evidence that since we have had a TV craze for Texas Hold'em and since the internet has been used by offshore companies, the revenues in the card rooms have gone up. It has encouraged participation. It is not a revenue loser."
The consensus remains that any progress on any internet gambling legislation would not likely occur until the Congressional lame duck session after November's elections.
We'll have more information for you on this still developing story right here on PocketFives. .
Just a reminder, possibly relative to our investment in this stock. On Thursday, July 26, the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee will be holding an important hearing to “examine the regulation of tribal gaming, focusing on brick and mortar to the internet.” The hearing will start at approximately 2:15pm EST and you can watch it live at www.thePPA.org.
It's an All-american game. Up the ante!
Joe Barton ups the ante in push for online-poker bill
Posted Saturday, Jul. 14, 2012 Updated Saturday, Jul. 14, 2012 4 Comments Print Reprints
Share on facebook_likeShare Topics: Pokers
Tags: U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, all Americans, President Pro Tem By Anna M. Tinsley Fort Worth Star-Telegram ArticlePhotos
U.S. Rep. Joe Barton generally knows when to hold 'em -- and when to fold 'em.
Now, he said, is not the time to walk away from his bill to legalize online poker.
It may even be time to go all in.
"Internet poker isn't a crime," said Barton, R-Ennis, whose district includes parts of Tarrant County. "It is a game of skill, and it shouldn't be outlawed."
With the days waning in the congressional session, Barton said he's talking to colleagues, hoping to pass a bill legalizing the estimated $6 billion online poker industry by creating interstate licensing.
"This is admittedly not the most pressing issue for our country, and it doesn't take priority over current economic issues," said Barton, who occasionally plays poker online for free and at casinos for money. "However, I still believe that it needs to be addressed."
Barton's proposal has drawn three dozen co-sponsors, including Democratic Reps. Shelley Berkley of Nevada and Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Republican Reps. Ron Paul of Lake Jackson and Peter King of New York. The measure has drawn support in the poker-playing industry.
"Most lawmakers recognize the status quo isn't sustainable," said John Pappas, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Poker Players Alliance. "We can continue to bury our heads in the sand and hope that Internet poker will go away, but it won't."
Critics of Barton's bill remain staunch.
"We think it's bad," said Rob Kohler, a consultant with the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission, which opposes expanding gambling. "We are not going to sit on our hands and just watch. We don't think this is good public policy."
'All-American game'
People already play poker online. But most use offshore websites not subject to U.S. laws, so winnings can't be taxed and games can't be regulated to ensure fairness.
"They are playing on sites ... that may or may not have their best interests at heart," Pappas said. "We would like for American players to play on American sites."
Barton said his bill would have the Commerce Department license states for Internet poker. He said that would protect players' and states' rights -- and give participating states a share of any revenue.
Under his proposal, state officials would decide whether to allow online poker. If they did, they would have to be able to provide fair games, screen out underage players, block players from nonparticipating states, prevent money laundering, ensure tax collection and more.
Participating states would also have to develop a compulsive-gambling program and would not be allowed to accept Internet bets on sporting events or games other than poker.
So-called poker parlors would be forbidden, and cheating at Internet poker and creating or distributing cheating devices would be crimes.
"I'm not alone in my love for poker," Barton said. "Millions of our friends and neighbors log on to play every day. Poker is the all-American game; in fact, I learned to play in the Boy Scouts."
The Wire Act
If Congress doesn't weigh in on the issue, it may soon be out of federal lawmakers' hands, Pappas said.
Some states are already creating their own rules after a Justice Department ruling last year.
The ruling addressed the Wire Act of 1961, which restricts betting over telecommunications systems that cross state or national borders.
In a departure from previous rulings, the department said the act applies only to sports betting. The ruling was prompted by New York and Illinois officials who wanted to know whether the act prevented their states from selling lottery tickets online.
Delaware recently became the first state to sign on to legal online casino gambling when the governor approved a law allowing websites that offer slot machines, blackjack, roulette and poker. Delaware lottery tickets will also be sold online.
"We can help protect the jobs and this revenue source for our state," Delaware Senate President Pro Tem Anthony DeLuca said. "We can keep Delaware at the forefront of developing new and better gambling options."
Supporters say Barton's bill would create one federal standard that would protect players, their money and the game.
"For those concerned about the expansion of gambling, Mr. Barton's bill would be a way of curbing that expansion," Pappas said. "The question isn't 'Do you support or oppose Internet poker?' but 'Do you support or oppose regulated Internet poker?'"
The last House hearings on the topic were last year. If the measure doesn't pass this year, Barton said, he will refile it next year.
'Dead wrong'
While some say legalizing online poker in the United States could be a boon for the government, generating new tax dollars, others disagree.
They believe that Barton's bill would open the door to too many unknowns -- including whether players are old enough to play or can afford to gamble.
"To bring that type of enterprise into homes, where it's impossible to know who is on the other end of the computer ... is wrong," Kohler said. "And the argument that somehow or other that it's a game of skill and involves no chance, we think that's flat-out wrong."
"It's one thing if a congressman from Massachusetts does this," he said. "But for a congressman from Texas to be advocating this as good business, that's just dead wrong."
Anna M. Tinsley, 817-390-7610
Did you know there's a senate indian affairs committee?
See the attached brief. This committee hearing took place yesterday. If you would like to follow events directly about indian affairs, the senate, and the progress relative to poker, you might want to bookmark the following site: www.indian.senate.gov
OVERSIGHT HEARING on Regulation of Tribal Gaming: From Brick & Mortar to the Internet
Thursday, July 26 2012
2:15PM
Senate Dirksen Building 628
The webcast of this hearing will be available on the scheduled hearing date.
Description:
Go Back to Previous Page
Committee ScheduleClick on the highlighted days to view scheduled hearings.
Good info Easy....thanks. Neal
The politicians start to move around!
THE FIGHT: Harry Reid and Jon Kyl Agree on Internet Poker Bill
Chris Krafcik | July 14, 2012 Bluff Magazine
This week, GamblingCompliance.com reported that Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader from Nevada, and John Kyl, the minority whip from Arizone, have agreed on terms for an Internet poker bill. Although the report said Reid’s office did not respond to requests for comment, it quoted John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, as saying that negotiations between Reid and Kyl are “likely complete.” Reid told GamblingCompliance in January that talks with his Republican counterpart were progressing but declined to elaborate further. A copy of the draft legislation has not emerged, nor has a timeline for its introduction.
Meanwhile, on Monday, a spokesman for Rep. Mary Bono Mack, Republican of California and chair of a House subcommittee tasked with handling Internet gambling issues, told the Associated Press: “[T]here is no consensus moving forward with online poker.” By contrast, Rep. Joe Barton, Republican of Texas and sponsor of an Internet poker bill, said he is “confident this issue will be voted on by the House and Senate in this session.”
On Thursday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board recommended that its sister body, the Nevada Gaming Commission, approve Shuffle Master, a gaming equipment manufacturer, for an intrastate Internet poker license. The Commission will hear Shuffle Master’s license application at its next meeting on July 26. Notably, Shuffle Master could become the third American gaming business — behind International Game Technology and Bally Technologies — to be awarded Internet poker licensure in the Silver State. The Control Board is currently reviewing applications from over 30 gaming businesses, including Ongame Network, the European-headquartered Internet poker operator, and Churchill Downs, parent company of BLUFF.
There was no change in the Capitol Hill Co-Sponsor Count. According to GovTrack.us, Barton’s Internet poker bill, HR2366, has 30 supporters, while California Rep. John Campbell’s Internet gambling bill, HR1174, remains close behind with 29.
WOW! I'd sure like to play for that!
But, I'd like to play for $500 before I jump up. To do that I need to be a citizen of Mexico or something, the lands of the free.
World Series of Poker Main Event worth more than $8.5 million
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: Jul. 9, 2012 | 8:47 p.m.
The winner of the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event will earn more than $8.5 million, tournament officials announced Monday.
This year's $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em World Championship drew 6,598 entries to the Rio, the fifth-largest starting field in tournament history. The top 666 finishers will collect prize money, with $19,227 guaranteed as the lowest payout.
The total prize pool for the Main Event was more than $62 million.
Last year's world championship drew 6,865 participants - third-largest in tournament history - with a prize pool of $64.5 million. Pius Heinz of Germany earned $8.7 million for his victory.
On Monday, 3,418 players entered the Main Event, the last of the tournament's three starting days. Monday's field was larger than Saturday and Sunday's combined 3,180 players, and was a single-day record for the Main Event.
Tournament officials acknowledged speculation within the poker community that participation in the Main Event would dip significantly because of the ongoing global economic slowdown.
"We can't thank the players enough for their continued support of the WSOP and for once again putting a bad beat on market conditions," World Series of Poker Executive Director Ty Stewart said.
The largest Main Event was in 2006 when the field topped 8,773 players. Hollywood producer Jamie Gold won $12 million that year.
The 61 events at the 2012 World Series of Poker drew 74,766 entries and created the largest prize pool in tournament history at more than $222 million. Last year's tournament drew a record 75,672 entries and a prize pool of $192 million, which had been record. The prize pool surpassed last year's total by 15.6 percent. It was also the eighth consecutive year the World Series of Poker generated a total prize pool in excess of $100 million.
The $42.6 million prize pool generated by the "Big One for One Drop" $1 million buy-in event also helped this year's tournament.
In the 43-year history of the World Series of Poker, the tournament has awarded more than $1.6 billion in prize money.
The Main Event, considered poker's top individual title, will play out over the next week.
The survivors from three days of starting flights return to the Rio today and Wednesday. On Thursday, the players who haven't been eliminated will be merged into one grouping.
By July 16, the field will be sliced and the final table of nine players will be determined. Those players will return to the Rio at the end of October to play for a multimillion-dollar payday and the most expensive gold bracelet ever awarded to a Main Event winner
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
Trending topics:$8.5 million payout
Will it be legal "down under"?
Looks that way. We need some of their politicians to move here...to the land of the free.....well, free to that which the government says is OK,
"Illegal online poker is costing Australians $68m"
DateJuly 6, 2012
Nearly 130,000 Australians are playing illegal internet poker games, with United States operators raking in $68 million in one year, according to new research.
Online casino games, including poker, are currently illegal in Australia. But in May the federal government released an interim review of interactive gaming laws that recommended legalising internet poker games, as part of overall liberalising of industry.
Other casino games would remain banned and poker would be trialled over several years.
Despite being illegal foreign-based websites offering poker are freely available to Australian punters. In a submission to the review, German research group Academicon said, in 2010, 129,714 Australians played online poker, with US operators taking $68 million.
Advertisement Ingo Fiedler, of the University of Hamburg, which has an online poker database, said 36,000 people in NSW were playing, with 31,915 in Victoria. Dr Fiedler said the 2010 figures were the most recent available.
''Our advice is based on academic research and objective data. A key advantage is that we do not have a stake in the gambling industry,'' he said.
''Most industry reports on internet gambling [grossly] overestimates its prevalence and market size due to lobbying reasons.''
A productivity commission investigation in 2010 estimated that up to $800 million could be spent on online gambling with $249 million on online poker alone. It also said there were 363,100 poker accounts active in Australia in 2008.
Dr Fiedler said the majority of punters played only occasionally, for small amounts, for just a short while and at only one table.
''If people get addicted to slot machines [pokies] they are more likely to play online poker, and the other way around.''
The opposition and independent Senator Nick Xenophon have both publicly denounced the push to liberalise online gambling.
Monash University Public Health expert Charles Livingstone said the figures were unsurprising but suggested it was likely the figure was on the low side of current use.
''In any event, the data held by the University of Hamburg's database is undoubtedly useful, but probably not as a source of overall prevalence or expenditure figures,'' Dr Livingstone said.
He said available research for online poker suggests that many online poker players played for relatively small takes and tend to win or lose only modestly. Around $12 billion is estimated to be spent on pokies every year.
''Liberalisation of online gambling is feasible and should start as the PC suggested with liberalisation of online poker, but not before serious and nationally consistent harm minimisation measures are properly regulated by the federal government, not the states,'' Dr Livingstone said.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/illegal-online-poker-is-costing-australians-68m-20120705-21kdg.html#ixzz20tJ5OqOE
You might want to consider changing your name to "lightswitch"! LOL Do you have some "bring us out of the darkness" information to help us?
Why we need on-line gambling?
Print|Email
Reason.tv: The Politics of Poker and Why It's Time to Legalize Online Gaming
Zach Weissmueller | July 6, 2012
When California State Senator Roderick Wright attempted to legalize online poker with SB 1463, he sold it as a way to help patch up California's busted budget , which is indeed in dire trouble. Surprisingly, the strongest resistance came not from the ever-more-irrelevant anti-gambling moralists, but from powerful pro-gaming special interests clinging to lucrative state-granted privilege.
"There's no way that we can do something that might be the death knell for our industry," says David Quintana, lobbyist for the California Tribal Business Alliance, which opposes any form of online poker legalization on the grounds that it could negatively affect the economic activity of California's Indian tribes.
Reason.tv talked with Quintana as well as with poker player, entrepreneur, and pro-poker lobbyist Steve Miller about the complicated politics of online poker, which is regulated on a federal level by the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (or UIGEA), a vague piece of last-minute legislation that prohibits financial institutions from accepting transactions related to "unlawful internet gambling." The problem is that the legislation fails to define "unlawful internet gambling."
Predictably, this legal limbo has led U.S. financial institutions to steer clear of online gambling and led to the rise of off-shore gaming sites, which Miller says can be unreliable and untrustworthy.
"Online poker play will continue," says Miller. "It's available from sources who are unlicensed, who may not be reputable, who may not be offering a fair game."
Legalization of online gaming in California would likely force legislators to take another look at the flaws inherent in UIGEA. But despite the fiscal and practical sense that legalization makes for the California, and the seeming inevitability of legal online poker play, the anti-online gaming special interests have won out in the short term, with Sen. Wright killing the bill before it even made it to the floor for a vote.
"You have to fight it as long as you can," says Quintana. "Why speed up the inevitability, right? Put it off as long as you can."
About 5 minutes.
Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Shot by Tracy Oppenheimer and Weissmueller.
Visit reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive automatic updates when new stories go live.