Justice drops hammer on poker sites

By Mark Lasser

It’s June and for many players, that means poker, poker and more poker. So it’s sort of ironic that the height of the poker season is also a confusing time for many poker players.

I’ve been remiss in writing about this, yet anyone who plays poker or knows someone who plays poker has probably heard that on April 15, the Department of Justice shut down three of the largest online poker sites, and a few weeks later closed another 10. It’s probably no surprise to you that I’m politically in favor of online gaming and without any question, in favor of online poker. For most of us players, the idea that poker is a more important priority for Justice than anything else in the country is nails-on-a-blackboard irritating.

In case you haven’t been following the news on all this (I promise to control the diatribe and the legal details), on April 15 players trying to log on to Absolute, Full Tilt and Poker Stars were met by a screen of the DOJ seal. No cash games or tournaments could be entered. No accounts could be accessed for withdrawing funds either. The action was based on violations of wire fraud and money laundering.

Since it’s not technically illegal to play poker online, the feds went after the companies for illegally accepting and transferring funds. The poker companies had a problem fairly early on. PayPal and credit card companies wouldn’t allow funds to be transferred to online poker sites, so the sites created dummy accounts where players could transfer funds in and out. For example, let’s say you wanted to deposit a C-note with Full Tilt. You’d sign up for a service that would accept your $100 transfer from your bank account. The money would be sent by the service to Full Tilt, and your bank statement might show a check made out to golfshirts.com for the money. Problem was, the fake company had no golf shirts and you certainly didn’t receive a golf shirt for your money. Want to cash out? No problem. Just reverse the process.

So where does this all stand now? Absolute and Poker Stars have started refunding money but it has been a process. Full Tilt hasn’t started and they’re being sued by Phil Ivey and, I’m sure, other “faces of the company.” Ivey in fact is boycotting the entire WSOP to show solidarity with the many players who can’t play because they either have funds locked up or they can’t play satellites to win seats.

The effects on the poker world are still being felt. Yes, brick-and-mortar casinos are getting more players, especially high-profile rooms like the Aria and Bellagio. We’ll likely see a smaller field in the WSOP main event since there are fewer satellites, and players with hundred of thousands stuck in Full Tilt can’t afford the buy-in.

I had Annie Duke and John Vorhaus on my radio show this week and they concur that not much will happen by the end of 2012. It’s possible that poker as a political issue could come up in the election year. No one really expects any changes until 2012. In one encouraging sign, the American Gaming Association is now supporting legal and regulated online poker in the U.S. and many of the Vegas casinos are also on-board. Whatever happens, it should be interesting.

Impressive showing. As of press time, several Colorado players were making nice money showings at the WSOP. Here’s the current update. If I missed any other Coloradans, let me know. And if you made it to the money, shoot me a note and tell me about the experience. Overall, a very impressive showing.

Event #5: 7-Card Stud, $1,500 buy-in
Bryan Devonshire from Frisco finished 18th.

Event #6: Limit Hold’em, $1,500 buy-in
Chris Overgard from Lone Tree finished 12th.

Event #8: No Limit Hold’em, $1,000 buy-in
Kenneth Ulickey from Cordillera finished 145th.
Matt Cramer from Littleton finished 165th.
Philip Wolf from Dillon finished 253rd.
Kenneth Nay from Westminster finished 242nd.

Event #9: 2-7 Low Ball, $1,500 buy-in
Robin Rightmire from Glenwood Springs finished 3rd.
Thomas Fuller from Boulder finished 5th.

Event #10: No Limit Hold’Em, $1,500 buy-in
Chase Bianchi from Golden finished 29th.
Eric Schwartz from Boulder finished 178th.

Mark B. Lasser is Denver writer and international poker player. He regularly plays in Colorado, Arizona, California, Missouri and Nevada. You can hear him talk about gambling and casinos every Friday at 5 PM on KEZW AM 1430. Readers can send questions and comments to him at ColoradoPokerMark@comcast.net.