Internet Gambling Legislation

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In a recent interview with The Hill, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) stated that he plans to introduce internet gambling legislation after the Easter recess. The Hill noted that the week of April 20th is a likely time frame.

Frank’s bill, which may create a complete licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry, will not be a rider to critical legislation, according to The Hill, which claimed, “The main proponent of a bill to regulate Internet gambling will introduce his legislation as a standalone bill and will not seek to add it to must-pass legislation.” Frank told the Washington, D.C. publication, “I want to do this with hearings, discussions, and votes.” The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in the waning moments of the 2006 Congressional session. It was not discussed in the Senate and instead approved by unanimous consent and attached to the SAFE Port Act.

Frank had originally indicated that he would introduce internet gambling legislation in March. However, an ongoing economic meltdown has hindered other bills from being introduced and addressed. Frank is the Chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, whose industry members like banks and credit card companies have been ravaged by the struggles on Wall Street and around the world. Consequently, the timeline for the introduction of a standalone internet gambling bill has been delayed. Frank told The Hill, “After the break, definitely in April.”

Frank has long been a proponent of internet gambling on Capitol Hill. He was the author of HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, which was introduced in April of 2007, but was not acted upon and now must be reintroduced for consideration. The bill attracted 48 co-sponsors. Last September, the House Financial Services Committee approved HR 6870 by a 30-19 vote, the second version of the Payments System Protection Act, which would have clarified what was legal and illegal under the UIGEA. However, the collapse of the global economy occurred shortly thereafter and the bill was placed on the backburner.

Although a final text of Frank’s new legislation has yet to be released, The Hill speculates on what it may entail: “Frank’s bill would remove the ban on Internet gambling, which Republicans fought hard to institute after heavy lobbying from conservative Christian groups when they controlled Capitol Hill. His legislation would regulate the practice as well as tax it, providing new revenues for the federal government.” A recent study released by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that taxing and regulating the internet gambling industry may yield up to $52 billion in revenue for the U.S. Government over a 10 year period. The figure is ultimately contingent on whether professional sports leagues choose to allow betting on games.

Some have argued that a bill that legalizes only online poker would stand a better chance of being passed than would a multi-faceted approach like Frank’s. In July of 2007, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) introduced HR 2610, the Skill Game Protection Act, which would have exempted poker, bridge, chess, mah jong, and other player versus player games from the UIGEA and Wire Act. The bill created an important distinction between online casinos, where the action is primarily player versus the house, and online poker, where contestants battle against each other. Like HR 2046, HR 2610 was not acted upon during the previous Congressional session and must now be reintroduced.

The regulations of the UIGEA went into effect on January 19th as a “midnight rule” by the outgoing Bush Administration. Banks and other financial institutions must come into full compliance with the law by December 1st. In the meantime, over-blocking of transactions by Visa and MasterCard has led to complications for state lotteries in North Dakota and New Hampshire, where customers attempting to purchase tickets online are being declined.

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Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under Poker News

Tom Dwan Scoops Largest Poker Pot Ever

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The fifth season of High Stakes Poker is currently airing on GSN and, in the final episode featuring Tom Dwan, the 22 year-old scooped a $919,600 pot, the largest ever won on the show. The win came at the expense of Barry Greenstein.

The second hand of High Stakes Poker, which airs on Sunday nights at 9:00pm ET on GSN, featured a $2,000 straddle by Peter Eastgate and a $4,000 double straddle by Doyle Brunson. Straddles have been used sparingly throughout the course of the show so far, a trend that was bucked this weekend. Greenstein made it $15,000 pre-flop holding As-Js. 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate called with Ks-7s and Brunson called with J-9. The flop came J-3-7 with one spade, giving Greenstein top pair with the best kicker. Eastgate checked, Brunson bet $35,000, and Greenstein called. High Stakes Poker announcer Gabe Kaplan noted, “Barry knows Doyle and if Doyle had a better hand than him, he’d check.”

After Greenstein called Brunson’s bet, Eastgate raised to $104,000. Brunson got out of the way and Greenstein called. The turn came the 10 of spades, giving both players a flush draw, although Greenstein would have the nuts if a spade fell on the river. Greenstein bet $175,000 and Eastgate went into the tank before folding. Kaplan commented, “Barry did not want Peter Eastgate to say ‘All in.’”

The biggest hand of the night came in a pot where Eastgate made it $3,500 pre-flop with A-K. Greenstein peeked down to see pocket aces and raised to $15,000. Dwan called with Ks-Qs and Eastgate also saw the flop of 2-4-Q with two spades. Kaplan made an elaborate Star Spangled Banner reference before Dwan led out and bet $28,700. Greenstein raised to $100,000 as a 50% favorite to win the pot and Dwan re-raised to $244,600. Greenstein shoved enough to put Dwan all-in and the two agreed to run it just once. Greenstein offered to let Dwan to take back $200,000, but the youngster declined. The turn was a queen, leaving Greenstein drawing to the case ace, which didn’t come on the river. Dwan scooped the largest pot in High Stakes Poker history.

Sunday’s installment of High Stakes Poker also saw Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu go broke once again. He had the misfortune of running into quads earlier this season and, in his final hand, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies raised to $4,500 with J-6 and Negreanu called with K-Q. The flop came Q-6-3, giving Negreanu top pair. Sahamies bet $8,000 and Negreanu elected to slow play his hand by just calling. The turn came another six and Sahamies bet $27,000, this time with trips instead of middle pair. Negreanu pushed for $102,400 and Sahamies quickly called. Negreanu quipped, “I’m just going to quit.” The river came a three, giving the $232,500 pot to Sahamies. Negreanu left the set, the first exit on High Stakes Poker this season.

One of the final hands for this group of seven players saw Eastgate raise to $3,500 with J-9. Dwan called with A-3 and David Benyamine raised to $16,000 with pocket nines. Both Eastgate and Dwan called, seeing the flop of 9-Q-Q. In the background of the hand was a heated discussion between Dwan and Sahamies over who owed who money, which took away a bit of the luster of this hand. Benyamine bet out $28,000 with his flopped full house, Eastgate called with two pair, and Dwan folded. The turn came a six and Benyamine once again led out for $38,000. Eastgate called and the river came an eight, which Kaplan noted “could save Eastgate some money.” Benyamine bet $75,000 and Eastgate called, losing the $331,200 pot.

The High Stakes Poker set at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas will welcome seven new faces on Sunday, April 12th. They include “The Simpsons” producer Sam Simon, Phil Laak, Joe Hachem, Howard Lederer, Patrik Antonius, and Antonio Esfandiari. In addition, Negreanu will return looking to reverse his luck.

Tags: Largest Poker Pot, News, Poker News, Tom Dwan

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12 Online Poker Players to Playboy Mansion

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AbsolutePoker is gearing up to make dreams come true for 12 lucky Texas Hold ‘em players. The site announced Tuesday that it’s giving away six trips for two to the Kandyland Party at the Playboy Mansion on June 13, 2009.

AbsolutePoker is the only online poker site granted access to the exclusive invite-only party, described as an “evening of decadent dreams.” With Playmates in attendance, the event will feature performances from the exotic Kandy Go-Go Dancers, body-painted Kandy-Models, some of the best DJ’s spinning sexy house and rock mix grooves, an open premium bar, special cuisine, and more.

“Our players can live out their ultimate ‘man-tasies’, and with our newest promotion, who can argue with the chance to experience a night of pure indulgence — sexy ladies, non-stop entertainment, plus VIP treatment — all wrapped up into the Kandyland ball at the Playboy Mansion,” said a spokesperson with the online poker site. “At Absolute Poker, we offer access to hot-ticket items and events that continue to set Absolute Poker apart from the crowd.”

The party will be hosted by the Karma Foundation, which is calling the Kandyland Party a “Willy Wonka meets Alice in Wonderland” type of experience. The company is transforming the Playboy Mansion with dazzling lighting effects, florals, huge mushrooms, enormous lollipops, giant candies, hearts, cool fuzzy cotton candy textures, candy cane poles for its Kandy Dancers, chocolate bars, Skittles, M&Ms, toys, and Kandy Kane Lane.

Online poker players are invited to play in AbsolutePoker’s free daily satellites, which began running February 16th. The top 30 players in each satellite will secure a spot in a second round tournament the following Sunday. The top 10 players in each Sunday tournament will then win a seat in one of three final events where the top two finishers will each win a Playboy Mansion prize package valued at $6,500.

Each package includes:

Two VIP invitations to the Kandyland Party — where you will enjoy VIP treatment with your own private cabana, champagne, personal waitress, and unlimited Grey Goose Vodka!!