Sweden's Gaming Laws Remain Muddled

Date: Sun, Sep 7, 2008

If any EU member nation is going to be the "test case" for online gaming, it will be Sweden. Not only has Sweden been "out of compliance" with the standards of the EU Commission; the Swedish response has often been in the complete opposite direction of Commission mandates. The most recent report on the state of online gaming in Sweden remains a muddled mystery.

Gambling Intelligence Group reported that the current "investigation" will propose that Sweden introduce a licensing system for online sports betting providers. But "may not" recommend online poker be opened to competition or remain the government monopoly of Svenska Spel.

Reactions have been mixed to the early details of the report, which is now scheduled for a December release.

"This is a step in the right direction, but ultimately the way forward for Europe is not through a country by country licensing system, but a solution for the whole of Europe."

"This appears as a positive move, but I believe it is a big bluff to ease the pressure from Brussels. The EC-court has threatened Sweden with legal action and I believe these premature comments on the report are designed to lift that threat."

Sweden has repeatedly been accused of stalling, the longer it takes to resolve these issues, the longer the Swedish government collects revenues from their monopoly, Svenska Spel. The entire issue of member states with such monopolies as opposed to members with bans or restrictions on certain aspects of online gaming remains another area of murky mystery regulation.

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RFID Poker Table

Date: Fri, Sep 5, 2008

Just released today a peek into the future of televised poker. The Video Poker Table using Radio Frequency Identification chips. If you go to the Video Poker Table website, I must tell you it runs slow, possibly because it was just released today and they are getting lots of downloads. The video demonstration is interesting, particularly the "luck rating" analysis done at the end of the hand.

"On the surface it looks like a regular poker table. Hidden underneath is a complex system of hi-tech RFID and video processing electronics that track the movement of playing cards between players, and superimpose that information on a live video feed."

This appears to be a functioning RFID table. The problems in the past have been that a laboratory version of such devices, could not stand up to the rigors of actual play. Spilled drinks and players pounding the table after a bad beat would send the sensitive computer works into spasm or worse. But with several companies working on the technology, improvements were bound to happen.

Notice the RFID chips in this version are in the cards; while many casinos await the embedding of the ID tags in chips. The casinos want to track bets at the gaming tables in the casino and poker rooms want to be able to display up-to-the-moment chip counts at the tables. This table does real time what now takes a lot of post-production editing, with a perfected RFID table the World Series of Poker final table could be shown on a two week delay and it meet the hype of the "World Cup" or "Super Bowl" of Poker.

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EU vs. EU & EU vs. US: Online Gaming Updates

Date: Thu, Sep 4, 2008

According to several published reports, the European Union (EU) plans to resume trade talks with the United States Trade Representative's office over the US Department of Justice's pursuit of online-gambling firms and officials. The immediate problem is that the US representatives have repeatedly delayed scheduled meetings, the last one as recently as mid-August. Meanwhile, online companies, their employees and private citizens linger in a semi-illegal limbo; waiting for governmental officials to do their job.

The leader in keeping pressure on EU trade negotiators has been the Remote Gambling Association, which has also been the most reliable source of up to date information on the incredibly slow progress being made to resolve these trade issues that so strongly effecting the ability of citizens in the EU and US to legally access online poker sites. The EU has repeatedly stated that they intend to pursue this action and would even take the dispute to the World Trade Organization, however, inaction has been the hallmark of the entire negotiating process and it is at times difficult to discovery which side is dragging their collective feet the hardest.

The EU position is further complicated by the refusal of EU member states to respond to their own defiance of Commission regulations. It is difficult to hold the US to a standard that EU member nations will not comply with. Yet the EU Commission contents they are acting on all fronts to resolve these disputes and open the online markets to all consumers no matter where they or their servers reside.

Here is the most recent and comprehensive statement from the Remote Gambling Association.

Whilst a rigorous process within the European Commission (Commission) has been instituted to protect the EC Treaty, questions are now being raised about whether this process is working. Twelve to fifteen months after having received a Reasoned Opinion, the Commission’s final warning before the seizure of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), several Member States have still not taken any concrete legislative measures to amend their gambling laws and put an end to breaches of the EC Treaty. Instead, these States continue to unfairly restrict the free movement of services across the EU, strictly enforcing the domestic laws that are being challenged by the Commission through the infringement proceedings.

According to Sigrid Ligné, Secretary General of the EGBA “Well-established and responsible online gaming and betting companies in the EU have had to endure unfair restrictions, discriminations and missed business opportunities for nearly a decade. Each undue delay to bring non-cooperative Member States before the ECJ distorts the internal market, restricts consumer choice and results in incremental costs and damages to many European companies. More than ever, the Commission needs to demonstrate that it can and will enforce the Treaty that it was put in place to protect.”

8 August 2008 Press Release (USA)

26 June 2008 Press Release (EU)

10 March 2008 Press Release (USA)

20 December 2008 Press Release (USA)

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#1 Poker City: Dublin

Date: Thu, Sep 4, 2008

Dublin has been awarded the title of European Poker Capital 2008 by Bluff Europe Magazine. The Irish capital outranked London, Vienna, Amsterdam and Barcelona for this year's title. Dublin has a fine collection of poker clubs with lively tournament action.

Dublin finished second in last year's poll, due to the first World Series of Poker Europe held in London, but Dublin is home to the Irish Open, the oldest tournament in Europe.

“Last year, in recognition of the inaugural WSOPE and the general health of its burgeoning poker scene, we chose London as the place to be. This induced a lot of snickering from across the Irish Sea, where they’re rightfully very protective of their fantastic poker scene,” said Philip Conneller, Editor of Bluff Europe. “But this year there was really only one candidate.”

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Online Poker Legal in Italy

Date: Wed, Sep 3, 2008

Italy has become the latest country to legalize online poker. The country had new laws go in effect and on September 1st cash games began being played legally throughout the cyber-country. Of course, Italian players have been playing online for years but now players they will do so without having to worry about the government seeking hard drive evidence against them.

In fact, now that online poker is being regulated in the country, residents can now take comfort in knowing that companies who enter the market must be licensed. That means the Italian government will ensure customer protection against cheating or not getting paid. How this will be done is an interesting question yet to be clearly answered.

The average Italian card players, of which there may be as many as two million, has spent over $800 a year playing poker online. That figure is sure to increase now that players no longer have to worry about the cyber-secret police.

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The Coming Battle Over Poker Etiquette

Date: Sat, Aug 30, 2008

There is a battle coming over player conduct at the poker table. This all started before Scotty Nguyen's drunken performance during the WSOP H.O.R.S.E. event. But I want to go on record right now and say: "Enough is Enough!"

Now you might be thinking, well the Poker Shrink is going to wail on Scotty and Phil and Mike and Sheiky and Hevad for their behavior at the tables. Wrong! I am completely opposed to the politically correct lynch mob that wants to turn poker into a tea party. Don't kid yourself for a moment that is precisely what some moralistic busybodies are trying to do.

Now should Scotty have been reined in by the WSOP staff during the $50K H.O.R.S.E. event; well, of course. But they did nothing and as I have said before that is not the fault of the Assistant Tournament Director running that final table. All evidence in the past at WSOP events is that "some players" get a pass on the rules because quite frankly, it makes for good TV. Right now the WSOP is writing new rules for player conduct. I hope they don't go too far. I have written to Jeffery Pollack, Jack Effel and Ty Stewart with my opinion on this matter but I am sure they are hearing from many sources.

If you want to see what I mean by "going too far" take a few minutes to read the World Poker Association Code of Ethics. Tell me after reading those rules that you don't feel like some romantic poetry or perhaps a long walk on the beach at sunset.

The problem with giving any group of individuals the power to make laws is that they will invariably make laws, whether they are needed or not. Do you want the goody two-shoes of the world running poker? I don't.

Should there be rules for player conduct? Well, of course there should. But the key in my opinion is the enforcement at the tables and that must include a clear, unmistakable warning system. I have suggested that something like the "yellow card" in soccer. You see when the yellow card is shown, the referee requires that the player acknowledge the warning. They know they have been warned. Let my give you a recent example of the current fuzzy rules.

Phil Hellmuth was given a one round penalty at the end of play on Day Five in this year's WSOP main event. As you know that penalty was rescinded before Day Six began. Now, I was there for that incident and I can tell you that no penalty should have been given. Why? Was Phil not out of line? No, he definitely was. However, Phil has been warned many times in the past and never, repeat never given a penalty. Why would he think the warning meant anything different this time. Secondly, when he finally given the penalty, Phil looked at the Tournament Director and said: "You think they put my on the television table to be quiet?" Of all the lines I have ever heard Phil deliver that was the most telling. Phil is a draw, they want him to be Phil and yet at some point they decided it was what? Too much Phil? How is he supposed to know where that line is? So in this case, based on the rules as they now stand, I completely agree with the penalty being rescinded.

You want rules, fine; how about we let poker players decide on what is and is not a good rule. The F-Bomb has been modified and now, in theory, is only, enforced if you direct the expletive at a player or staff person. The old 100% ban was just not well thought out and fortunately has been changed. However, a floor may, at any time, warn a player that their language is out of line and must stop or they will receive a penalty. Either of those clauses could have and should have been invoked in the case of Scotty Nguyen; they were not. So why should Scotty change his behavior, it made for great TV and no one told him to stop.

Now, wait you say, why shouldn't we have stricter rules to keep the poker table civil and friendly. The simple reason is that people making rules just don't know when to stop. Don't believe me. Here is another "rule" from the World Poker Association. WPA Rule #13. TV Final Table Clothing: Collared shirts and/or sports jackets are required for men; smart casual clothing for women. And let's make sure everyone has a manicure, you know all those close up shots of a player's hands; heaven forbid someone has excess cuticle.

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U.S. Republican Party Attempts to Deceive Poker Players

Date: Fri, Aug 29, 2008

The United States Republican Party and its current leader, President George Bush and its candidate for President, John McCain have attempted to pull a fast one on the U.S. poker players. First, in what appeared to be a response to the email barrage from the Poker Players Alliance, the party removed anti-online gaming language from the party platform. And they made a big deal about it to the media.

No so much noise when a few hours later they slipped this language back in to their party policy platform:

“Millions of Americans suffer from problem or pathological gambling that can destroy families. We support legislation prohibiting gambling over the Internet or in student athletics by student athletes who are participating in competitive sports.”

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I guess all U.S. poker players now have a clear statement by the republicans about what they think of your right to play poker online. Now what are you going to do about it?

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Asian Poker Tour Underway in Macau

Date: Thu, Aug 28, 2008

Macau – China – 28th August 2008 – The cards are in the air at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau as Day 1A of the eagerly awaited APT Macau finally got underway! ‘Godfather of Poker’ Doyle Brunson and the legendary host of the 1970 World Series of Poker Jack Binion joined Asian Poker Tour Tournament Director Matt Savage to ‘Shuffle Up and Deal’ as a world class field took their seats. Jack Binion, standing alongside Doyle Brunson, addressed the players as they took their seats. “This is the future of poker,” said Binion. “This is so exciting and significant - you can see the potential and feel the energy.”

A formidable line-up of players are at the StarWorld for the landmark USD $5300 event. Amongst those spotted include Johnny Chan, Todd Brunson, Liz Lieu, J.C Tran, Kenny Tran, John Juanda, Nam Le, Quinn Do, Steve Sung, Huck Seed, Michael ‘ Chino ’ Rheem, Mel Judah, Mansour Matloubi, Harry Demetriou, Carter Gill, Richard En and APT Philippines champion David Saab.

Amongst those choosing Day 1A include Doyle and Todd Brunson but there was considerable interest on the rail as Saab and JC Tran got drawn on the same table and locked horns. The APT Macau is making history by offering US$1,500,000, the largest guaranteed prize pool ever to be offered in Asia, with the first prize also guaranteed at US$500,000.

On Friday 29th August at 7pm, the Asian Poker Tour will make history again with Asia ’s largest cash game, coverage of which will be televised and distributed worldwide at a later date. The details are simple, minimum buy-in is HK$1,000,000 (US$130,000), starting blinds are HK$3,000 - $6,000, straddling and blinds are raised at the discretion of the players. Even the most conservative estimates suggest that HK$15 million (well over US$1.5 million) will be at stake, more than the guaranteed prizepool of the APT Macau tournament! Amongst those taking part include Doyle Brunson, Todd Brunson, Johnny Chan, Nam Le, JC Tran, Kenny Tran, John Juanda, Steve Sung, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Waki, Yamazaki, Gary Benson and Bruce Parker. Doyle Brunson has already wired in HK$2,000,000 (US$260,000) and quipped “that’s just the start.”

Chris Parker, CEO of the Asian Poker Tour, will also be taking a seat in the lions den.

“I’m so glad we have such soft tables!” joked Parker. “In all seriousness, we were astounded by the interest in the high stakes cash game – everybody wants a piece of the action. We set the mimimum buy-in at HK$1,000,000 but anybody who knows anything about Macau or the potential of poker in this area of the world knows this will be small stakes by the end of the night. It is going to be something very special – when it airs we predict you will witness record breaking pots! You think the action in Vegas is big, just wait and see what comes out of Macau !”

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More Governental Interference in Free (Poker) Trade

Date: Tue, Aug 26, 2008

You may have heard that last fall Dubai World invested a lot of money ($2.96 billion) to purchase 50% of the MGM City Center project in Las Vegas. Dubai World also purchased 4.75% of the common stock in parent company MGM Grand. Early this year Dubai World increased its holding in MGM and now has announced another round of stock purchases that will bring them to a 20% stake in MGM.

Nothing wrong with this, just business. In fact, in the current economic climate in Las Vegas and in the banking industry as a whole; MGM might not have been able to raise the necessary construction funds to finish the huge City Center project. However, with a partner like Dubai World the project continues to move forward while other Las Vegas gaming projects are delayed, canceled or put on hold.

Here is the problem, because MGM operates in several of the states of the United States, each state's individual gaming commissions has the right to approve each and every move by MGM and Dubai World. Nevada requires that Dubai World have a Nevada gaming license after owning 10% of the stock or 10% of any individual property. New Jersey requires approval for each increase in stock holdings; so representatives of Dubai World and MGM have been in New Jersey recently to gain that state's approval for the move to a 20% ownership. Michigan, where MGM has one casino, approved Dubai World increasing its stake to 14.75% back in April and now will need to approve the move to 20% ownership.

So here is my question: If they are not unsavory characters at 4.75%, why would they be at 20%. Why do these commissions need to be involved more than once? Isn't this more of the bureaucratic red tape that hinders business? Yes, of course, there are costs for each successive approval.

I won't even go into my rant about the 27 European Union member nations trying to collectively get out of the way of free enterprise and internet gaming.

About Dubai World:
Dubai World is a major investment holding company with a portfolio of
businesses that includes DP World, Jafza, Nakheel, Dubai Drydocks, Maritime
City, Istithmar, Kerzner, One & Only, Atlantis, Barney's, Island Global
Yachting, Limitless, Inchcape Shipping Services, Tejari, Technopark and
Tamweel. The Dubai World Group has more than 50,000 employees in over 100
cities around the globe.
Dubai World's iconic real estate projects include the Nakheel's Palm
developments and The World. The group also has extensive real estate
investments in the US, the UK and South Africa, unique hospitality
destinations in every corner of the world, and is a leading global port
operator. In the last five years, Dubai World has developed 80,000 luxury
residential villas and apartments and approximately three million square
feet of retail space.

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Electric Table Tells

Date: Sun, Aug 24, 2008

Let's leave the whole "End of the Poker World" debate until another day. There are electronic poker tables in some card rooms and there will be more. Play 'em, don't play 'em; your choice. But I would note that the electronic tables have something between "live" play and "online" play when it comes to tells.

Some player believe there are fewer tells online and others think online tells are merely different. Well playing on an electronic table for awhile might convince you differently whatever your opinion.

First, the facts. At an electronic table the action moves from seat to seat, you can't act out of turn because you can't act until it is your turn. Also once you make any betting action, you have to confirm it with a second screen action. Image that you bet 600 in a live action game and instead of saying "600 is the bet" the dealer says "do you wish to bet 600, sir?" You can't string bet, you can't act out of turn; you can stack your chips and then fold and you can talk while you ponder your electric action.

But players sitting at a screen get into a pattern of betting with their hands or as is the case at many electronic tables, players use their players card to touch the screen; hard plastic is recognized easier than your soft finger tip. So if you watch players they will have a pattern to their manipulation of the screen options. When they are "on a hand" or setting up a bluff that routine changes. Players often fumble with the screen action when they are new to the game but once you got it, you got it! So slowing down or resetting the betting screen is a tell. You have to be smooth with the screen, just like you have to be smooth with chips. And it is just as easy to fumble the screen as it is to spill your chips.

Also players get locked in on the screen and forget about the other players. Fewer electronic players watch for tells and therefore they are also less likely to pay attention to their own mannerisms. They play like they are at home, where mumbling "Hot Damn!" when they hit their flush is not giving away anything.

New technology, new players, new tells. All in a electronic day's play, right Hal?

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Hard Rock Poker "Lounge" in Las Vegas

Date: Thu, Aug 21, 2008

The much awaiting Hard Rock Casino "Poker Lounge" opened today. In a down gaming market in Las Vegas, this is the first of several new rooms to open late this summer. The hype had been about just how different the Hard Rock room would be. Yesterday, I got a pre-opening preview.

The good news is that this is a very player friendly room. The tables have as much room between them as can be found in the best layout in town, that would be at the Venetian. The new chairs are high back and very adjustable. The room itself is... well... Hard Rock. Done in black with rock star portraits throughout, the room lends itself to a party poker atmosphere. The dark blue table felts are very nice and give lots of contrast for both cards and chips. There are bathrooms inside the poker room, always a great addition and the much publicized poker bar is just at the entrance of the room, so the party atmosphere will be "near' but not "in" the room.

The new room begins with an aggressive four tournament-a-day schedule and a full compliment of games and limit spreads. I have only one negative and even this is not an issue for most Hard Rockers. I have heard many complaints from poker players about the music in the MGM poker room. Well, if you don't like music with your poker, then the HR room is going to be an issue for you. One very good thing is that the Hard Rock music selection is 100% Rock and that made all the difference for me.

I hope the very enthusiastic poker room staff can maintain their energy over the time it takes to build a room. I would remind them that the Venetian poker room took nearly a year to draw a faithful poker following; that being said, the new Poker Lounge at the Hard Rock Casino has all the elements in place to be a very successful room.

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World Series of Poker: $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship Aftermath

Date: Wed, Aug 20, 2008

ESPN showed the 2008 WSOP $50K H.O.R.S.E. event for the first time yesterday. If you haven't seen it, there is a lot of controversy about the conduct of several of the players at this prestigious final table; most notable the talk is about eventual champion Scotty Nguyen. Here are just a few points to be considered when watching the event on television or pondering the state of poker as viewed through the lens of this tournament.

Most of the conversation centers around whether Scotty Nguyen was drunk, abusive and/or an ambassador for poker and a role model for the kids. Quite frankly, it is the opinion of this writer that anyone who pays $50,000 to enter a poker tournament can act any way they want. But beyond that there are some real issues:

ESPN gets to present the "facts" of any final table in any way their editing capabilities allow. This final table lasted nearly 15 hours and ended at 5 A.M. ESPN chose to focus on the bad behavior of several players at the final table. Their choice, they paid for the television rights.

PokerNews.com, who have the exclusive rights to get in close and report all of the WSOP final tables, made a decision to not report any of the player interaction in their live internet reporting. Again, a decision based on access.

Was Scotty drunk? I don't know, I couldn't get close enough to get a blood sample.

Does Scotty use his "alleged" drinking to verbally abuse players and put them on tilt? Duh! Yes and if Michael DeMichelle did not know that before the final table, he was simply unprepared to play at this level.

Did DeMichelle get out of line with this celebration after winning some early hands? Yes, but nearly everyone blamed that on his youth. Seems the poker world has agreed that "kids" get to be jerks until they are 25.

Did Scotty use Demichelle's behavior to try and tilt him? Again, yes; this is poker folks, if you can get an edge you do it.

Was Erick Lindgren the hero for his good behavior when they got down to the nasty stuff with three players remaining? No, that was his way of taking advantage of the situation. Any edge, any time; again its poker.

Should the WSOP staff have done something to modify Scotty's behavior? Look what happened a few weeks later when they tried to reign in Phil Hellmuth, the penalty was overruled by higher ups. The floor staff know which players get a 'bye' when it comes to rule enforcement.

It is clear that this was good television. Good for poker? Who knows? But it was good TV and afterall, despite all of the lip service to etiquette and good manners; eyeballs on the tube are what poker needs these days.

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Heads Up Michael Phelps

Date: Tue, Aug 19, 2008

OK, I first must confess that I care absolutely nothing about the Olympics. Don't watch, don't follow, don't care. Zero, Zip, Nadda. However, poker and the olympics is a different story and the golden boy of the 2008 Sportsfest, Michael Phelps, has said he would like to play in the World Series of Poker.

First, some perspective. Michael Phelps agent is receiving about 40 to 50 legitimate offers a day right now. Sponsorships, spokesperson deals, charity appearances, clothing lines, posters, bobble heads, Michael Phelps swizzle sticks. The question here is: Will a couple of million dollars to be a spokesperson/celebrity player for an online poker site even make the endorsement radar in the Phelp's Gold Rush?

You know he has an offer right? Can you say Boris Becker. I knew you could. So will Mr. Eight Gold Medals actually play some poker? Well, yes he will; because .... wait for it!

He has already been invitated to the NBC Heads Up Championship in 2009. Remember you hear it here first, unless my source has your phone number too.

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November Nine: Month One

Date: Sun, Aug 17, 2008

So we are about a month past the selection of the November Nine. Being wired into the poker media underground, I decided to remain completely inactive regarding the November WSOP final table and see what came to me. Until the last couple of days, the sum total was nearly nothing. Now we really shouldn't expect a four month blitz of news and interviews; I mean the Super Bowl and the World Cup combined can barely muster a month of meaningless news bytes. But many in the poker world feel the silence has been deafening.

Every player seems to have had a flurry of local newspapers, radio and television interviews; and slowly the various poker websites have begun their obligatory November Nine player pieces. We also expect ESPN to begin to amp up the noise once the early days of the main event begin showing in September.

But let's talk about the one simmering topic that has been making the rounds:

"The November Nine is going to be a flop because it is a table of nobodies."

First, the obvious---yes everyone involved was hoping that one or even two big names or at least recognizable names would make the final table. There were audible expletives muttered as first Hellmuth, then Matusow went out on Day Six and then the last hope, Tiffany Michele, went down in a blaze of sponsorship greed and harassment on Day Seven.

But let me pose a question and then direct you to some discussion on this whole idea of "The Unknown Nine". Outside of insiders in the poker world, the last four final tables have basically had one "known": Lee Watkinson (2007), Allen Cunningham (2006), Mike Matusow (2005), Dan Harrington (2004). Today, however, most of us "know" not just: Jerry Yang, Jamie Gold, Joe Hachem and Greg Raymer, but also Hevad Khan, Paul Wasicka, Steve Dannenmann, Raymond Rahme, Michael Binger, David Williams and perhaps a few more final tablists. So the question is:

"Are these nine players really unknowns?"

We invite you to join a discussion on this topic by clicking here.

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