U.S. Postpones EU Meeting Regarding UIGEA.

U.S. Government Pulls Out One Week Before EU Meeting.

The United States government has unexpectedly withdrawn its scheduled appearance with the European Union regarding the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

The pullout, which may be a precursor to what may lie ahead for the near-impossible-to-enforce UIGEA bill, comes at a time when another bill was recently introduced to the Congress about dismissing many important guidelines of the UIGEA.

The EU requested these meetings in D.C. to discuss with U.S. lawmakers how the outlines of the unlawful ban violated World Trade Organization (WTO) policy and should be overturned. It is now unclear when the meeting will be rescheduled.

World Poker Tour to be Shown in India.

WPT Founder Steve Lipscomb Expands Global Presence.

Just a few weeks after the World Poker Tour signed on with Fox Sports to continue broadcasting their popular television program, the WPT has inked yet another solid deal to further expand their global presence in the poker market.

Hindi-based Zee Sports, which controls the television rights for many of the top sports teams in the country, partnered up with WPT founder Steve Lipscomb to showcase the World Poker Tour throughout India. This move puts the tv show in front of millions of potential viewers - and in a country that houses over 1 billion people, it could be a profitable decision for both sides in the deal.

Poker enthusiasts will be able to watch nineteen 1-hour episodes of the WPT starting later this year.

And to think, this show ALMOST went away for good when the Game Show Network was about to let them go just a few months ago!

Help! The Slot Machine Stole My Money!

In a rather funny incident that brought this writer to near tears (in a funny funny HAHA type of way of course), a Florida man was detained by police after he dialed 911 to report that the slot machines inside the Tampa Bay Hard Rock Hotel and Casino “robbed” him of his money!

Yes, you read that right - he made TWO…count em, TWO - separate 911 calls, all in the name of the dastardly casino conglomerates robbing him bone dry!

The casino patron, Jose Gutierrez, was apparently sober as can be during the time in which he put in his own money into a slot machine he had been playing for several hours, and then willingly chose to keep feeding the slot more and more cash…until he of course was broke and cleaned out.

This really wasn’t the worst of Mr. Gutierrez’s troubles though. He was later charged with misusing 911 AND violating his felony probation at the time - something that has landed him behind bars without the possibility of bail!

Talk about a solid start to the week.

Official Location of 2008 WSOPE Announced This Week.

According to media sources, the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe will be hosting all of this year’s events in Leicester Square in London, England.

More commonly known as the Casino of the Empire, the location was also a previous host for the 2007 WSOPE. It is unknown how many of the world’s top pros will be in town for the festivities, but preliminary lists have players such as Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Harman, and Daniel Negreanu already slated for appearances.

The schedule of this year’s events was also released this week, with play beginning next month on September 19th and concluding with the Main Event on September 27th.

Here is a complete schedule of events for the 2008 WSOPE:

• (9-19-08) Event #1, £1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Day
• (9-22-08) Event #2, £2,500 H.O.R.S.E.
• (9-24-08) Event #3, £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha
• (9-27-08) Event #4, £10,000 World Championship No Limit Holdem

Boyd Gaming Suffers Setback.

Boyd’s Newest Las Vegas Casino Delayed.

A slumping economy has hit mega casino giant Boyd Gaming where it hurts them the most - their wallets.

The company, which has 16 properties spread out across 6 states and employs over 18,000 workers, was hoping to further expand its presence with a huge new property to be unveiled in Las Vegas.

However, the recent sag in the nation’s economy has caused many creditors to stop lending money to Boyd Gaming, and the project for the company’s newest Las Vegas casino (promptly named The Echelon) has unfortunately been delayed until more funding can be secured.

Construction is expected to resume within the next year or so, but in the meantime 800 workers were recently sent packing from the job site at the “future” Echelon Hotel and Casino. The estimated date for completion of Boyd’s newest casino was 2010, but that date might be set back due to the current state of affairs with the U.S. economy.

The Echelon is expected to occupy nearly 1,000,000 square feet of land to fill its casino, hotel, and meeting space endeavors. It is also supposed to have 5,000 rooms available for booking!

This newest Las Vegas casino will be on the same plot of land where the famed Stardust Casino used to lie, before it was promptly razed by Boyd Gaming a few years ago to clear up space for their newest hotel property.

2008 Olympics Sports Wagering Underway.2008 Olympics Sports Wagering Underway.

Casinos and Sportsbooks Taking In Bets For Beijing!

One of the biggest - and LUCKIEST - days of the year is finally upon us.

August 8th, 2008, aka 8-8-08, will hopefully not just bring in a day full of good fortune, but it will also ring on in one of the most celebrated sporting events around the globe - The Summer Olympics!

This year’s Olympic festivities will be held in Beijing, China, and will undoubtedly have millions of people from all walks of the world tuning to watch their home countries battle it out for gold medal supremacy.

However, it’s not just a big day for the athletes and spectators of the Olympic Games, it’s also a time where casinos and sportsbooks will be taking in a ton of wagers for the events. It is estimated the tens of millions of dollars in bets will be placed in Las Vegas casinos and online sportsbooks during this time, with even more gambling taking place at other gambling establishments in dozens of countries from all around the world!

Take advantage of this time now by placing your own bets for this year’s Olympics by visiting Gambling 101 partners BetUS or Sportsbook.com. Both sites accept USA players and credit card deposits are normally never an issue when it comes to getting your funds placed into your new betting accounts.

Good luck and tune in to the Olympic Games on NBC this week to watch the opening ceremonies.

BetUS Is Newest Online Poker Room on Cake Network.

BetUS is the newest online poker room to hit the industry in recent months. Operating on the very popular Cake Poker Network, BetUS has been making huge strides in assuring that they offer their players the absolute best in customer service, playability, and user satisfaction.

The site, which is primarily known for its very trusted sportsbook operation, is venturing into the poker world with a slick new skin and interface. BetUS offers weekly freerolls, huge guaranteed prizepool tournaments, and very soft cash games.

Gambling101 is a proud partner of this program, and invite you to check out our BetUS Poker Review or use our BetUS Poker Bonus Code (”POKER600″) when you signup!

As an added incentive, most credit cards are accepted and U.S.A. players are welcome!

HR 6663 Bill Would Clarify UIGEA Laws.

Republican Pete Sessions Introduces New Bill To Congress.

Texas Republican Pete Sessions recently introduced HR 6663 to Congress this week, in hopes that the bill will bring a bit more clarity to the state of US Online Gambling Restrictions.

The new bill would also allow the following things:

• Clarify once ambiguous laws regarding the UIGEA’s guidelines - mainly concerning the definition of “illegal online gambling.”
• To stamp out the UIGEA in general, emphasizing that it is an “unenforceable” bill that cannot be regulated by the United States.
• Possibly allow companies (ie PartyPoker) who left willingly during UIGEA talks to re-enter the U.S. market.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

(a) Findings- Congress finds the following:

(1) Prior to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘UIGEA’), Public Law 109-347, on October 13, 2006, Federal law was both vague and outdated regarding Internet gambling activities, as Federal criminal gambling statutes were passed decades before the commercial use of the Internet.

(2) To date, all Federal Internet gambling prosecutions have involved sports betting, creating a lack of authoritative court decisions on the applicability of other federal criminal statutes to Internet poker and casino-style gambling.

(3) Sports betting, which is illegal in 49 of the 50 States, is viewed as particularly harmful because its potential adverse impact on the integrity of professional and amateur sports, and is the one form of gambling where there is settled Federal case law clarifying it as illegal on the Internet.

(4) Many European Internet gambling companies offering services not including sports betting to persons in the United States were fully listed on the London Stock Exchange, and thereby subject to high standards of transparency and scrutiny, but upon receiving clarification of United States law regarding Internet gaming through the enactment of the UIGEA, these companies closed their sites to persons in the United States.

(5) Continued legal jeopardy for companies that made a good faith effort to comply voluntarily with clarified United States law following the passage of the UIGEA punishes behavior that the law intended to foster and inadvertently rewards continued noncompliance by other foreign entities.

(6) In light of the foregoing and in deference to long-standing constitutional requirements of fair notice and transparency in the criminal law, the Congress finds it necessary to clarify that criminal statutes applicable to gambling do not apply to any person who offered Internet gambling services that did not include sports betting prior to October 13, 2006, and who ceased offering Internet gambling services to persons in the United States upon passage of the UIGEA.

(7) To effect the purposes and intent of the UIGEA, it is the sense of the Congress that the Attorney General should focus any prosecutorial efforts on those persons who–

(A) offer Internet sports betting in the United States; or

(B) process payments for illegal Internet sports betting in the United States.

PokerStars Announces 2008 WCOOP Prize Pool!

$30 Million in WCOOP Guaranteed Prizes in 2008 WCOOP!

In a statement made by the biggest online poker room in the world, PokerStars has recently announced they will be upping their guaranteed prize pool for this year’s World Championship of Online Poker to $30,000,000!

The news had rapidly spread across the 2+2 Forums in past months, but it was officially confirmed on the PokerStars website this past week.

The 2008 WCOOP is expected to shatter the $30 million in aforementioned guarantees, as satellites and non-stop qualifiers will undoubtedly bring in way-more-than-ABOVE-average fields to each of the 33 events. The Main Event will be a guaranteed $10,000,000 prizepool alone, and first place is expected to exceed $1 million easily.

Here’s a small excerpt from the Stars website regarding the history of this acclaimed event:

History of the WCOOP Main Event

“Since the WCOOP started in 2002, the Main Event prize pool has grown at an incredible rate. Swedish player ‘MultiMarine’ won $65,450 for his victory in that year. But by 2003, first place prize money had risen to $222,750, and was won by ‘DeOhGee’. ‘Ragde’ won $424,945 in 2004, while ‘Panella86’ picked up $577,342 the following year. In 2006, pro player J.C. Tran walked away with $600,000, before ‘Ka$ino’ won a massive $1,378,330 in 2007. See our 2007 WCOOP stats page for more information on last year’s winners.”

Don’t forget to check out our PokerStars Marketing Code so you don’t miss out on YOUR 100% deposit bonus - U.S.A. players are welcome!

PPA To Hold Benefit Tournament.

The Paralyzed Veterans of America to be Apart of the PPA-Hosted Tourney.

The Poker Players Alliance (aka the PPA) will be hosting a benefit poker tournament at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, on August 26th, 2008.

“The PPA is honored to host this charity poker tournament and looks forward to raising a lot of money for these American heroes,” said Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of the PPA and former Democratic senator from New York. “This is a great opportunity to harness the popularity of the game in order to raise much-needed funds for those who have fought to protect our country and our individual freedoms — paralyzed vets.”

The event’s proceeds will be donated in their entirety to the PVA, with the winner also getting a seat to the 2009 World Series of Poker!

Among those who have confirmed for the benefit are actor Ben Affleck, along with poker pros Andy Bloch and Barry Greenstein.

« Previous Page — Next Page »