Editorial By Stanley R. Sludikoff, Publisher

Read: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

In this segment it is my intention to take up the issue of the alleged illegal activities of poker celebrities Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, et. al. I say “alleged” because no indictments have been handed down, and everyone should be granted the supposition of innocence until proven guilty.

by Stanley R. Sludikoff, Publisher
[Read Part 1 Read Part 2]
 
There is no doubt that the United States of America has unclean hands in this mess. First Congress failed to protect its citizens when they knew that millions were playing poker on the internet. Instead a small minority of senators and representatives, who were seeking to legislate morality as they saw it, looked for a simple way to stop people from gambling on the internet.

by Stanley R. Sludikoff, Publisher
 
 In the last issue, I explained that there are six different entities that bear responsibility for this sorry state of affairs [Read Part 1]. Because of their current actions, I will skip to Entity No. 2, Alderney. To their credit, Alderney heard the criticism and is now looking into its role in the matter through an investigation conducted by a distinguished English authority.

An Editorial: By Stanley R. Sludikoff

Six score years ago a vibrant American gaming industry was erased from the scene by a scandal.  It was the second time that happened in US history.  This one was due to a corrupt Louisiana Lottery that was national in scope.  The operators were a gang of crooks.  The result was a series of laws by Congress that pretty much killed gaming for nearly 5 decades in this country.

It took a long time for gaming to come back and it has now grown to massive proportions with the majority of states having lotteries and casinos.

Taking the style from Mike Caro, I am writing this editorial today to discuss an important issue for the poker industry:

Is poker a game of skill or a game of chance?

Before I write any further, I think it is important for you to know my credentials. Although I read and approve nearly everything in this paper, I only write on important occasions or issues but rarely write about myself. Last summer I reached a milestone in life, my 75th birthday. I was going to write then about my career, but we were too busy successfully launching our new subsidiary, Poker Player Cruises.

I like to watch the program, The Apprentice. The last version of this popular show that features Donald Trump firing people was a shameful exhibition of how business should be run. Toward the end of the show four contestants remained: blue-collar Jesse James, comedienne Joan Rivers, former Playboy bunny Brandi Roderick, and poker player Annie Duke.

Is poker a family game? Probably not, but in the hopes of turning a tournament into a bit of fun at low level stakes, Poker Player Newspaper teamed with Hollywood Park Casino to stage the Poker's #1 Family tournament.

Four members of the Mizrachi family graciously attended the party, all the way from Florida. Although the turnout was many times the first year's event, Hollywood Park decided to open the three events up to individual, unconnected players, with the proviso that only the qualified parties
could win the title, but the money would be normally distributed.

This is the last editorial in this series. Before I get to the main topic, I wish to briefly cover some other issues that need a bit of attention.

In a recent meeting with one of our regular writers, some Harrah's executives remarked that, "I hated them or the WSOP." Nothing could be further from the truth.

I love the WSOP. It is the premier event of our industry. I had a great deal to do with promoting and publicizing this event.

The first ever national write up of a poker tournament appeared in the very first issue of Gambling Times magazine, circa February 1977, which I founded. Every year thereafter we covered the WSOP in as many as 110,000 copies of our nationally circulated magazine.

Although Harrah's Entertainment owns them both, the WSOP tournament and the WSOP Lifestyle Show are run by two different entities. This editorial is directed at the management of the Lifestyle Show. Two and three years ago, Poker Player Newspaper took a booth at this show.

We gave away free newspapers but accomplished little else by having a booth, except making our presence known and meeting some nice people. When asked by show management to take a booth again this year, I would probably have done so, except for the outrageous 25 percent increase in the cost of the booths.