Wendeen H. Eolis

The North American Poker Tour (NAPT) has attracted a curious crowd of observers at its website this week. They have fixed their eyes on the steadily ascending number of days on the "NAPT Next Event Count Down Clock."
 

Yesterday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board ("GCB") raised the curtain on its evolving policy toward relationships between casinos and online gambling companies.

In its publicly posted reply to an unidentified gaming attorney’s inquiry, more than a month earlier, the GCB let it be known it is paying closer attention than ever before to the distinction between dot-net and dot-com poker sites and their respective connections with Nevada casinos.

Just beyond the elegant glass doors of the Palazzo Suite, a representative of the Poker Player Alliance stood at attention eyeing the arriving crowd for possible crashers. United States Representative Barney Frank was scheduled to hold forth at a fundraising reception for heavy hitters down the hall.

As Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Mr. Frank is one of the country's most visible lawmakers. He is also widely regarded as online poker's best friend. PPA members of suitable pedigree and/or cash were invited to rub shoulders with him.

A Newsworthy Party

Last month, CBS News' 60 Minutes partnered with the Washington Post in reports on the two biggest online gambling fraud cases in the history of internet poker.
The November 30th segment of 60 Minutes titled "The Cheaters," highlighted several online poker players who helped to unravel a scam that bilked cyberspace gamblers at Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. According to 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft, the cheaters made off with some twenty million dollars before their picnic came to a sudden end.

Preparations for a 60 Minutes expose on cheating scandals at two online poker sites--Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet--continue full steam ahead, but according to one previously contacted source, directly involved in the production prior plans to air the segment November 9th have turned very uncertain.

A second source close to the production, who had also expressed confidence in the November 9th date, echoes the same sentiments, saying, "There are new developments to pursue." Calls to 60 Minutes were not returned.

Until CBS correspondent Steve Kroft and his 60 Minutes crew arrived at the World Series of Poker last summer, the biggest buzz in the tournament arena had centered on Harrah's decision to delay the final table proceedings of the main event until November 9th.

Will WSOP or 60 Minutes Play Second Fiddle?

The WSOP finale will air "nearly live." The final nine players will duel November 9th until they are down to two players. The last two players will return November 10th to determine the winner and runner up, and the event will be broadcast by ESPN November 11th.

This is the second and final piece about the World Poker Association's rise and unraveling, and the significant progress of the World Series of Poker's Players Advisory Council.

Pollack Hunkers Down to Upgrading Customer Experience

The summer of 2006 was a turning point for poker players and tournament organizers alike. Unimpressed with prior efforts to organize players or a player-management advisory board, I arrived at the World Series of Poker with no thoughts of getting involved with either the WSOPs nascent Players Advisory Council (PAC) or the newborn World Poker Association (WPA).

United States Representative Shelly Berkley and her Nevada colleague United States Representative John Porter have introduced their long awaited bi-partisan bill that calls for a study of Internet gaming, and Representative Barney Frank is one of their co-sponsors.

Mr. Frank has barely left the podium announcing his own Internet Gambling bill which is designed to attack the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which was passed late last year. Ms. Berkley and Mr. Porter were among Mr. Frank's near dozen co-sponsors last week.

The deed has been done. Congressman Barney Frank (MA) has introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (IGREA) of 2007 into the United States House of Representatives. IGREA is a cleverly constructed piece of legislation.

IGREA is an innovative frontal assault on UIGEA