Convenience and Legality of Online Poker in the US

Convenience and Legality of Online Poker in the US

uspokerlawIn the US, revenues from poker may have dropped in recent years, but that is only in line with what is happening elsewhere in the economy. The US is one of the countries where the game of poker is well established. There are few people, for instance, who have not heard of the popular Las Vegas casinos. What is, however, relatively new to many people is online poker. Yet online poker is one of the betting games that can earn the country lots of revenue if well regulated. Of course, some US states have identified that opportunity and have passed state laws to regulate online poker.

US States that have legalized online poker

Any US resident or visitor who wishes to play online poker without looking over their shoulder will be at home in New Jersey, Delaware, as well as Nevada. Those are the three states that had officially legalized online poker as of 2013. Nevada, the state famous for its casino city, Las Vegas, led the other states in legalizing online poker. That means that the avid poker players who grace the brick and mortar casinos can continue their experience online whether they are playing poker as a hobby or a profession.

The mystery surrounding online poker has diminished with the three states having made the online game legal. There is, therefore, not much fear now that online poker may be detrimental to the economy of individual states. On the contrary, interested states have begun to see the possibility of collecting additional revenues through sites that host online gambling. Following this new outlook, there are a number of states that are likely to be more liberal and make online poker legal. These states include California and Washington; Pennsylvania and New York; New Hampshire and Massachusetts; Louisiana and Illinois; as well as Texas.

How the State Protects Individuals

One positive aspect of legalizing online poker is that it becomes easy to let poker players know the sites that are legal, and thus protect them from unscrupulous hosts who may end up swindling players of their money.

At the same time, there is liberty in the states that have legalized online poker to sign in as a player even when the person does not live within the state. Some sites may even allow someone to make cash deposits from wherever they are outside the state. Such deposits are held safely by the site and the only restriction is the actual location of playing. As things stand, it is necessary that a player be within the borders of the state that has legalized online poker in order to participate in the online gambling.

A good example is a poker enthusiast in the state of Washington. Such a player can sign onto a gambling site within Nevada where poker is legalized and even deposit cash while still in Washington. That money is held safely and the player can use it on the poker hosting site when physically within the state of Nevada.

Beware

Just because a site accepts a poker player’s registration does not mean the site is legal. Sites that are legally hosting poker games may refuse admission to players who do not qualify to play within the concerned state, but most sites operating illegally usually do not have restrictions. While such easy admission may excite an American poker enthusiast, such sites are also risky to the player whose safety of deposits cannot be assured – at least not by any state authorities.

The good news is that it is easy to establish online if a website that is hosting online poker is legal in the US or not.

It’s A Relief for Valeriu Coca – He Can Now Receive His $54,545!

It’s A Relief for Valeriu Coca – He Can Now Receive His $54,545!

ValeriuCocaValerie Cola, a poker player from Moldovan, ranked fifth in the WSOP $10,000 Heads Up Championship in June this year. However, other poker competitors in the tournament accused the seasoned poker player of cheating and hence his prize money was withheld pending investigations. Poker News reported that according to the WSOP, the body that organizes the poker tournaments, the cheating case against Coca has been dealt with to its logical conclusion. The poker organizers say they worked closely with the Nevada Gaming Control Board on the case. As such, Valeriu Coca is still the official holder of Position 5 in the 10th event of the tournament. The poker tournament winner, Keith Lehr, is the player who beat Cola in the 8th match.

Valeriu Coca’s Version

Valeriu Coca denied all through that he had cheated in the poker tournament. He told Marty of PokerNews that he considered the poker players he competed against to be very good. As such, he could understand their disbelief when he ultimately beat them. And he insisted there was no truth to the cheating allegations and that what his accusers were saying was sheer fantasy. He, however, decried the behavior of fellow contestants who posted their cheating allegations of social forums. He said it did not reflect gentlemanly behavior on the part of the players who cried foul after defeat.

PokerNews was able to speak with Cola at the game tables in the Pavilion Room within the Rio Convention Center after several earlier attempts to interview him. Poker is a very competitive game, and whether the tournament is held within familiar casinos or within websites that host online poker, there is always a lot at stake in terms of money and fame.

Players Who Had Competed Against Valeriu Coca

Many of the complaints against Cola came from fellow competitors particularly Connor Drinan who clearly expressed his dissatisfaction with Coca’s play on the forums of TwoPlusTwo. Other players who competed against Valeriu Coca include Matt Marafioti; Pratyush Buddiga; Aaron Mermelstein; Byron Kaverman; and, of course, the poker tournament champion, Keith Lehr.

According to Drinan, there was something strange going as he and Coca played. As he put it, at times Coca took strange lines and kept on asking to see his chips. He said that other players were of the same viewpoint as far as Cola’s play in the poker competition was concerned. The officials who assured the players that full investigations would take place included Jack Effel, the Director of the WSOP tournament; Seth Palansky, Vice President of Corporate Communications; as well as Ty Stewart, the Executive Director of WSOP. However, during the preliminary stages where the cards used in the poker tournament were tested, the investigators did not find any markings on the card. There also was no indication of a foreign solution having been used.

Tarnishing of Coca’s name

Sadly for Coca, it is not just fellow competitors in this year’s poker tournament who questioned his integrity. Martin Kuchařík, who is a poker writer from the Czech Republic, and Tony Felfel, who is a former manager at Ambassador Casino, alleged that Coca has a history of marking poker cards and that he is considered a cheat within the Prague poker fraternity. They claimed in an interview with PokerNews that Coca had even been barred from playing poker in Prague’s major casinos.

In response to those allegations, Coca admitted he had been in problems in a Prague casino, but said even there the betting game he was barred from playing was roulette and not poker. As at now, Cola has been vindicated and WSOP considers the matter closed.

DraftKings No Longer Sponsoring WSOP

DraftKings, the sports provider that has been sponsoring the World Series of Poker (WSOP) for a while now, has withdrawn its sponsorship. Any advertisements, including DraftKings logos, that had been put up for this year’s WSOP or earlier tournaments have been removed since DraftKings’ decision to cut its sponsorship. According to the owner of WSOP, Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings actually wanted those advertisements removed.

Reason DraftKings Left

The withdrawal of the DraftKings sponsorship does not, in any way, mean that the poker sports series is no longer worth sponsoring. It also has nothing to do with the management of the two organizations. Besides, there are many poker enthusiasts who are also excited about the fantasy sports offered by DraftKings. The truth is that DraftKings would have loved to continue with its sponsorship this year, and probably many years to come were it not for the state laws in Nevada.

While sponsoring poker, DraftKings has been taking the opportunity to promote its fantasy sports during the poker series. Among the sports DraftKings promotes are Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) associated with American sports like the NBA, NFL and PGA; the Premier League; UEFA Champions League; NASCAR among others. And all along, the Nevada state laws put these fantasy sports within a sports category that requires licensing.

This time, however, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has stated categorically that any play that touches on DFS is gambling and must be licensed as such. Apparently, the controversy in the poker arena is not just about how to handle online poker or online gambling as a whole. Categorization of the DFS is a case in point.

The Impact of DraftKings’ Departure

DraftKings does not harbor any ill feelings against the management of WSOP but it surely has shown disgust towards the step taken by the Nevada authorities. For starters, the operators of DFS have ceased to accept any Nevada players forthwith. Ordinarily, players of poker, whether online poker or casino based poker, and those of DFS have nothing against each other. Hence, this move to bar Nevada players from DFS is a case of innocent players becoming collateral damage between the fight between DraftKings and the Nevada authorities.

This year’s November Nine has also been adversely affected by DraftKings’ withdrawal of its sponsorship. November Nine is the main event’s final table in the WSOP; the culmination of the whole poker Series. That means the poker fraternity is set to have their eyes on Las Vegas where the WSOP main event takes place in a couple of days.

For those new to the WSOP, November Nine constitutes the nine finalists who are still standing after thousands have been eliminated from the world poker series. To understand what a feat it is for the finalists, the number of participants at the start of this year’s WSOP was 6,420 and only nine of those qualified to play in the final leg, from November 8th to 10th. Sadly, DraftKings’ withdrawal of sponsorship extends to a finalist the sports site had sponsored for the poker tournament, Max Steinberg.

Prospects of DraftKings’ resumption of sponsorship

It is not certain as per now if DraftKings will resume sponsoring the WSOP next year, but it would not be surprising if it did because the reason for DraftKings’ withdrawal now has nothing to do with its relationship with WSOP or its officials. Poker players and DFS players have similar interests and their two sports have no rivalry. Possibly if the Nevada state laws were modified to become friendlier to DFS hosts, DraftKings might return to the WSOP in 2016. In any case, it is of great benefit for DraftKings to market its fantasy sports directly to the poker fraternity.

Watch November Nine on ESPN!

Watch November Nine on ESPN!

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Source: ESPN

Over six thousand poker players have competed in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament this year, and the culmination of this popular betting sport begins on November 8th when the final phase of the poker competition begins. The poker games between November 8th and 10th are expected to raise a lot of excitement both in Las Vegas where the competitions will be taking place, as well as in homes and pubs where poker fans will be watching from.

ESPN is set to show all the poker games within 30min of the live play. Even avid online poker players are likely to put their play on hold on those three days in order to have the thrill of watching the WSOP season finals almost live. ESPN’s poker broadcasts begin on November 8th at 8:30pm Eastern Time (ET) or 5:30pm Pacific Standard Time (PST).

Massive Monies Involved In WSOP Tournament

The WSOP tournament involves big monies, not just in the preparation of the series but also in prize money. For one, players take away winnings in millions of dollars. Also a lot of money changes hands through economic activities that are fuelled within the area where the poker games are held.

The poker player who takes 1st place at the end of the November Nine competition this year is set to take away a whopping $7.6 million. He will also be honoured with a beautiful and prestigious gold bracelet and be the envy of other poker competitors.

November Nine is a relatively new concept

The concept of having the finals of the competitive poker tournament televised live on their own, and thus the November Nine, was initiated in 2008. It was meant to give ESPN a commercial edge. Before this arrangement was put in place, the poker finals were held as soon as all poker players but nine fell on the wayside. Today, however, ESPN televises sections of the WSOP competition over months, and these are also edited. This whets the appetite of poker players and fans alike and there is, therefore, anticipation for great viewership during the November Nine. And in a place like Las Vegas where state laws are favorable for betting games like poker, November Nine is likely to be on the lips of many.

This year, the finalists for the poker tournament have been known since the month of July, yet the finals have been pending as per the November Nine plan. Now, as November 8th approaches, the poker fraternity is not expressing their anticipation towards legalization of online poker in more US states. Rather, they are focusing their attention on the coming poker finals, and very likely, making bets on the possible winner of this year’s WSOP tournament.

November Nine Champions

People in the poker world are proud of anyone who emerges the winner after such a hotly contested position as the WSOP champion. Whether a player engages in online poker or poker that is played conventionally, they all appreciate that it is not easy to beat other seasoned and well prepared competitors within an environment like the one presented by the WSOP tournament.

Past champions in this competition include Peter Eastgate who won in 2008; Joe Cada who did it in 2009; Jonathan Duhamel in 2010; Pius Heinz in 2011; Greg Merson in 2012; Ryan Riess in 2013; and Martin Jacobson in 2014. After November 10th, the poker fraternity will be in a position to add one more name to this list of champions. That name can only come from the nine finalists in this poker tournament who include, Zvi Stern; Pierre Neuville; Joshua Beckley; Max Steinberg; Thomas Cannuli; Joseph McKeehen; Patrick Chan; Federico Butteroni; and Neil Blumenfield.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Expect WSOP Hall of Fame Inductees in November

Expect WSOP Hall of Fame Inductees in November

The inductees for the hall of fame in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) are scheduled to be announced sometime between 7th November and 10th November this year. Such induction shows that the world of poker is not any different from that of other sports. Some of the inductees may be veteran poker players. Others may be young poker players who possibly even caught the poker bug from playing online poker.

Beginning of nominations

Nominations for the poker Hall of Fame inductees have already started. They are being sent online and poker fans are being encouraged to include a brief explanation when sending the name of their nominee. The aim of this nomination is to honor people who have made tremendous impact in the poker arena. Poker, being an old game, is likely to have many nominees but definitely only a few inductees can be accepted.

Short listing

Poker, like other sports, has firm structures. After the final list of nominees has been compiled and sorted, the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council will do a thorough review of the top ten names, before handing that shortlist to another panel for the final stage before induction. That final stage is handled by a group of people who are respected in the field of poker; people who are already members of the Poker Hall of Fame. They will be assisted by some blue ribbon media panel.

How many inductees are expected?

It is important to note that the number of people to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame has nothing to do with the state poker law or any other state laws in the US or elsewhere. It has everything to do with the regulations set by the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council as well as the tradition within the field of poker.  This year, 2015, as in other past years, the final pick for inductees will be one or two names from the finalists. And thereafter there will be, as usual, an enshrinement ceremony. This ceremony is normally held in Las Vegas.

Requirements for Qualification as Nominee for the Poker Hall of Fame

  • The poker player must have competed against renowned top competition
  • The nominee poker player must have engaged in high stakes play
  • He or she must be well respected in the poker arena
  • He or she must be a consistent poker player and competitor
  • There is a minimum age set at 40yrs
  • For those nominees who are not serious poker players or not poker players at all, they must have been known for promoting the sport in a manner to leave an indelible mark for posterity.

Any known names hoping to enter the poker hall of fame?

Some of the poker players already nominated for WSOP hall of fame includes Jennifer Harman and John Juanda. They both have had great play in poker for over 20yrs. Obviously, they cannot have made their name playing online poker as playing over the web is a relatively recent development. Their consistency has been on the brick and mortar arena where many prominent poker players have always been competing.

John Juanda, for example, is one poker player who is not just known in the US for being a consistent high stake player, but also in Macau and elsewhere. Jennifer Harman, on her part, has been a constant in the famous Bellagio Poker room in Las Vegas. She is the sole woman who has been at home competing and winning against the men in the high level mixed games. And, of course, she has set the way for other formidable women poker players like Maria Ho.

Online Poker Laws in the State Of Colorado

Online Poker Laws in the State Of Colorado

Colorado is likely to have a bill on online poker passed very soon. There has been much lobbying in this regard, and poker lovers in Colorado are hopeful that online poker will soon be legalized. In a number of US states, the poker law is not explicit especially regarding online poker. That means that betting enthusiasts are unable to foretell if and when they are crossing the line in regard to the state poker law. Colorado has around forty casinos, and a good number of them provide poker rooms. Needless to say, casino owners will be among the happiest people when the Colorado Gaming Commission succeeds in getting the law on state online poker passed.colorado

Debate on Pros and Cons of Online Poker

For close to five years now, interest regarding online poker has been rising in Colorado. With equal measure are the concerns about what online poker may do to the conventional arena of poker. First on the list of concerns is the possibility of revenues from brick and mortar casinos dropping when some old patrons turn to online poker. The debate about online poker began to gain volume around 2011 when the Colorado Gaming Association released a report on a study they had commissioned dwelling on the prospects of online gambling and its effects on the existing Colorado casinos.

Colorado legislatures took the debate on online poker seriously, and in 2012 they initiated a bill that was meant to lead to legalization of online poker in the state. Colorado state laws have not addressed the issue of online gambling before, and that leaves poker players as well as their fans wondering where the state stands with regard to online gambling. It will be a great relief when ultimately the poker law is enacted and particularly addressing the state online poker law. As owners of brick and mortar casinos fear, failure to address the topic of online poker with a view to regulating it is likely to jeopardize commercial activity in the industry.

State Revenues from Gambling

Currently, the state of Colorado gets a whopping $750 million annually in annual revenues from casinos. If the online poker bill draft is passed into law as is anticipated, the state will, very likely, reap more revenues from the gambling sector. One pertinent point is that the brick and mortar casinos and hosts of online poker need not be mutually exclusive in terms of ownership. In fact, owners of current casinos may wish to participate in hosting online poker as well as long as they understand the infrastructure and the legalities involved. They may also wish to spread their tentacles to neighboring states. That would make it easy and convenient for the state of Colorado to gather revenues from a much bigger number of gambling centers. These are great prospects for the state as far as budgetary issues are concerned.

Colorado Has Not Been Enthusiastic In The Past

It is tempting to think that the state of Colorado has been enthusiastic about gambling considering that 40 is not necessarily a small figure when it comes to number of casinos in the state. However, that is not the case. Granted playing poker is legal in Colorado; but the ceiling for betting amounts is quite low – $100. That might come as a surprise to people who are familiar with the gambling that takes place in Las Vegas casinos and such other vibrant casinos. And even this $100 is an improvement. Before 2009, a gambler could only bet $5 and below at any one time.

However, Colorado can no longer afford to ignore the need to liberalize poker a bit more. The fact that New Jersey and other states like Nevada have embraced online poker is itself enough pressure for Colorado.