Poker News: MGM Online Receives NV Approval and more
November 20, 2012 - 11:59am
by Haley Hintze
MGM ONLINE PASSES NEVADA SUITABILITY HEARING
MGM Online became the latest major Nevada casino entity to receive preliminary approval to offer online poker to its residents, passing a Nevada Gaming Commission suitability hearing at the start of November. The formal granting of the license is typically a formality and will likely occur later in November. MGM Online becomes the sixth Vegas-area casino brand to receive tentative approval, joining entities associated with South Point, Golden Nugget, Fertitta/UFC, Boyd Gaming, and ACEP (American Casino & Entertainment Properties, which owns the Stratosphere). Like Boyd, MGM Online has already contracted for software services from bwin.party, assuming the European poker giant is able to pass its own licensing hurdles.
Black Friday, Lederer, Poker Stars, and the PPA: Kicking the Ball Down the Court
November 20, 2012 - 12:48am
By Wendeen H. Eolis
Early in the morning of July 28th the shot heard ’round the poker world was short, sweet, and accurate —but incomplete. A three way deal had been inked hours earlier by Poker Stars (Stars), Full Tilt Poker (FTP), and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). It allowed for a settlement of the Government’s civil charges against Stars and FTP. It also allowed for the acquisition of the FTP brand by Stars via the DOJ and a process by which FTP players could be united with monies locked deep inside their FTP player accounts for more than a year.
Until last week, there was no concrete hint of a very long lag time between the momentous news of a deal and the actual beginning of a process by which the DOJ would consider compensation to FTP”s victims in America. Following a November 13 meeting between representatives of the Poker Players Alliance and the DOJ’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, the PPA’s Executive Director, John Pappas, informed the poker world that FTP player refunds in America “are a long way away.”
