Online Poker

by Lou Krieger

Happy New Year, poker players. It’s time to look deep into my crystal ball and see what 2012 has in store for us.

 My crystal ball isn’t as clear as I’d like it to be, so I’m going to hedge my bets by telling you that these predictions will come true either in 2012 or 2013. I’m not sure when it will all come to pass, but I do predict that all of this will happen. I predict online poker will become licensed and regulated within the United States, although it won’t happen first at the Federal level. Instead, individual states will take the lead on this issue, and as soon as one state enacts legislation that makes legalized and regulated online poker a reality within their borders, other states will rush into this game.

by Wendeen H. Eolis

Add the New York Times to the list of venerable mainstream media outlets that have bungled material facts and succumbed to confusing messages that emanate from the US Government’s crackdown on online poker.

by Paul “Dr. Pauly” McGuire

 “You’ll never make money playing video games!” That’s a direct quote from my mother 30 years ago. She was frustrated with my newly-formed addiction to video games and preferred I hit the books instead of playing Atari with my brother. She scoffed at how many hours we wasted playing mindless games.

 Flash forward to the early days of the 21st Century. Almost twenty years after I acquired my first Atari video game console, I ventured into the virtual world of gaming and played online poker almost every day for seven years.

By Lou Krieger and Shari Geller
 
 
Nevada recently became the first state in the country to adopt online gaming regulations when the Nevada Gaming Commission recently passed rules to govern online poker.
 
These regulations were adopted unanimously in response to a mandate by the state legislature requiring the commission to adopt regulations before the end of January 2012. Nevada’s goal is to continue being the gold standard for gaming in the United States.
 

by Tracy Tequida
I’m not talking about “freeing” poker from jail; I am referring to playing online poker for free. What is the value in that? Obviously there is no monetary gain. You can’t pay for your rent, food or any bills with free poker chips. So why are thousands if not millions of people playing “free” poker on sites like Facebook and other sites that I have never heard of?

 It’s a really good question, and some people spend endless hours every day doing just that. Is it a substitute for loneliness, play free poker instead of watching some silly programs on TV?

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.

by Paul “Dr. Pauly” McGuire

The 1981 World Series of Poker main event was the first poker tournament poker I watched on television. Fifteen years ago I sat in my apartment in New York City, flipping through the slim pickings of late-late night television and eventually stopped on ESPN2. I watched the final table of the 1981 main event, which was hosted by legendary sportscaster Curt Gowdy.

 I had never seen a poker tournament before. I sat in awe and wonderment at the action as Stu Ungar held on to win his second main event in a row after he beat out Perry Green, a furrier from Alaska. Ungar faded a field of 75 players—nine tables—to win $375,000.

By Shari Geller
 
Two separate congressional hearings were held last week to address the legalization and regulation of online poker in the U.S.  While the voices in opposition are few and far between, and the arguments in favor seemed compelling, there is still a lingering sense that Congress is in no hurry to pass legislation to bring legalized online gaming back to the States. Regardless, the fact that the issue has not be tabled but continues to have legs, gives us some hope that somewhere it the future there will be such legislation.
 

by Wendeen H. Eolis

STUNNING MOVE BY GOVERNMENT PAVES WAY FOR TAPIE DEAL TO GO FORWARD.

CRITICAL NOTE: This afternoon, CNN published a story regarding this deal while it was still embargoed, noting in its headline that the story could not be published without clearance from representatives of Groupe Bernard Tapie. EOLIS International Group had the same information from multiple sources. Following publication of the CNN story, Wendeen H. Eolis, CEO of EOLIS Intl Group, spoke with GBT counsel  Benham Dayanim who confirmed for her all of the information herein.