Poker News Headlines

The Illinois State Senate President suggested to the state’s legislators Tuesday that it may be time to look at legalizing and regulating online poker in the Land of Lincoln. With no states having intrastate online poker up and running yet, Sen. John Cullerton (D) wants Illinois to jump at the opportunity to be the online poker center of the United States.

Sen. Cullerton penned a letter to Governor Pat Quinn and the members of the Illinois General Assembly, urging them to pass a bill before the legislative session ends May 31st. Aside from competition with other states (namely Nevada, which may have intrastate online poker sites active by the end of the year), Sen. Cullerton fears the possibility of eventual federal regulation that could stop states from creating their own online gaming networks if they haven’t done so before legislation is passed.

Sen. Cullerton appears to have an understanding of online poker, writing, in part, “Certain forms of iGaming, especially poker, rely on large pools of potential players, and states that move swiftly to design a system that captures the widest audience of participants will have an advantage in terms of long-range success.”

As usual, not all of Sen. Cullerton’s colleagues are thrilled with the idea. Naturally, one of the opposition voices came from the Republican side of the aisle. Patty Schuh, spokeswoman for Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno, said, “If you allow Internet poker to be sanctioned by the state of Illinois, there are a whole lot of questions that need to be answered. Being first isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

Sen. Cullerton wishes to create an internet gaming division controlled by the Illinois Lottery, something that could make sense. Illinois was the first state to sell individual lottery tickets online, launching internet lottery sales on Sunday, March 25th. The timing was perfect for the Illinois Lottery, as that was the week of the $656 million Mega Millions jackpot, partially won by a Red Bud, Illinois family. While it has been reported that Illinois was the first state to allow internet sales of lottery tickets period, that is not the case. Some states, such as Minnesota and North Dakota, have been selling tickets online, but those tickets are only available in subscription form. That is, people must buy tickets in bulk, committing to recurring purchases for a certain length of time. Illinois appears to be the first state to allow its residents to by single tickets for any drawing, just as one would at a grocery store or gas station.

The first week of internet sales for the Illinois Lottery was a bit of a mixed bag. The timing was perfect, of course, with the record Mega Millions jackpot. With the launch on Sunday and the Mega Millions drawing on Friday night, sales of $425,000 were reported as of 3:00pm Thursday. Friday sales alone reached more than $247,000 by 4:00pm. But even the almost $700,000 total was fairly disappointing to lottery officials, as the big Mega Millions week made them anticipate much more. To top it off, the Illinois Lottery’s website went down for about half an hour on the day of the drawing.

It’s been said that to succeed in poker one must “have the patience of Buddha.” As it happens, it appears that a handful of men took that a bit too literally. In a scandal that has shaken South Korea, a group of Buddhist monks were caught drinking and playing high stakes poker in a luxury hotel.

The poker game was allegedly recorded by a fellow monk, but it is unknown whether he was present at the festivities or simply hid the camera in the room knowing the game was going to take place. In the video, eight monks, who are members of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, can be seen sitting on the floor drinking, smoking, and playing cards. The footage was leaked to the South Korean media and in turn broadcast to the entire nation.

A former chief priest of the monk order, Seong-ho (his real name is Jeong Han-young), said that more than 1 billion won ($865,000) exchanged hands during the 13-hour poker session. He personally received the USB drive containing the video from the person who recorded it, but is keeping the man’s identity a secret for his protection (another report says that Seong-ho found the drive on the floor of his temple, though in either case, it does appear that he knows from whom it came).

The revelation that these activities occurred has been devastating to many of the estimated 10 million to 15 million followers of the Jogye order. Not only is gambling outside of casinos illegal in South Korea, but most or all of the money that was gambled in the hotel poker game likely originated from followers’ donations. The Jogye order is the dominant order of the Seon school, which is also the primary school of Korean Buddhism.

Jogye order president Ja-seung released a statement, saying, “We deeply apologize for the behavior of several monks in our order. The monks who have caused public concern are currently being investigated and will be punished according to Buddhist regulations as soon as the truth is verified by the prosecution.”

Six high-ranking officials of the Executive Office of the Jogye Order have resigned, according to an order spokesman. “Six officials, including the director of the administration and the director of finance, stepped down,” he said, adding that Ja-seung has ordered the offending monks to be punished according to Jogye code.

Since the video came out, Seong-ho has also told a morning radio show that two Jogye leaders, including Ja-seung himself, paid for sex at a “room salon” in southern Seoul. Room salons are upscale clubs that tend to cater to well-to-do businessmen, offering alcohol, music, dancing, karaoke, strip shows, and female “companionship.” Sex is not a standard service, though it can be had for the right price.

The female-for-hire incident allegedly took place before Ja-seung was elected president of the order in 2009. Seong-ho said that he protested in front of Jogye Temple in Seoul for more than three months after finding out about what happened. He alleges that he was beaten up by members of the order for his protest, resulting in a three week hospital stay.

Seong-ho was kicked out of the order last year for “bad behavior,” which allegedly included spreading baseless rumors and violence.

The Belgian Gaming Commission is certainly taking its new online gambling laws seriously. This past week, the Commission placed more online poker sites on the country’s blacklist, making it a crime for the country’s citizens to play on those sites.

Including in the new batch of blacklisted sites are such popular names as Betfair, William Hill, Betsson, Expekt, Betclick, and Stan James. These sites were flagged by the Commission for continuing to offer online poker games to residents of Belgium since the passing of the Belgian Gambling Act last year. The new law limits online gambling to only those sites to only those who have been approved and licensed by the Commission.

The “white list,” which was released at the beginning of this year, is short. Just three sites were licensed: PokerStars.be, Partouche.be, and GPWin.be. One of the rules for getting on the approved list was that the online poker rooms had to partner with an established brick-and-mortar casino. PokerStars.be teamed up with Casino de Namur, operating by the Circus Groupe. The company that owns Partouche.be also owns four casinos in Belgium, so that relationship was set. GPWin.be is the Belgian offering of GoldenPalacePoker.com, which also has land-based casinos in Belgium.

The country’s four largest interest service providers have been directed by the Belgian Gaming Commission to block traffic to and from sites which have been placed on the “black list,” and players face criminal penalties and fines up to €25,000 simply for playing on a non-approved site.

The list of banned sites is now 30 members long and includes previously added poker rooms like Titan Poker, 888 Poker, Everest Poker, and Chili Poker. Many rooms don’t even care one way or another. PartyPoker and some rooms on the iPoker Network have come out and said that the Belgian online gaming laws may be against European Union law and are “unenforceable.”

While some countries, such as France and Italy, have legalized and regulated online poker but limit their citizens to playing against only players within their own nation, Belgium has not been so restrictive. Even though the regulations are tough and ten times as many online poker rooms have been black listed as have been licensed, Belgian players on the “dot be” sites can still play at the same tables as players from around the world. Thus, Belgians taking to the virtual felts on PokerStars.be are playing against people on PokerStars.com (and any other PokerStars sites that link into the same tables), players on PokerStars.it are ring fenced, only seeing other Italians online.

It appears that World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials are going to lighten up and let the players have a little fun this year. In a conference call Tuesday, WSOP representatives discussed some changes to what had previously been strict rules governing behavior at the tables.

One of the biggest complaints from players last year was the damper that was put on table talk. Players were allowed to chat, but they were not permitted to discuss the contents of their own or their opponent’s hand, even when heads-up in a pot. Most talk of active hands is still disallowed, but the rule has been modified. “You can say whatever you want about the contents of your hand and disclose the contents of your hand as long as you don’t show your cards and as long as no other player in a hand has a decision to make,” said WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel.

“If a player is all-in and there’s no one left to act, you can say, ‘I have two aces and a flush draw. I know I have you beat,’” he elaborated. “Obviously, there will be errors, but we’re trying to get you guys to loosen up a bit and talk. We still want to protect against soft play and collusion.”

Daniel Negreanu, known for his table banter, was an extremely vocal opponent of the “no table talk” rule last year, letting his feelings be known during live broadcasts of tournaments, via Twitter, and on his blog.

“Over 99% of table talk is completely unrelated to collusion, which appears to be the one and only reason that the TDA [Tournament Director’s Association] added this rule,” Negreanu wrote on his blog at FullContactPoker.com last August. “The biggest lie that’s being told is that if you get rid of this rule, you make collusion legal. That is just not true. Collusion and soft play is illegal. It was before this rule was implemented, and I imagine it always will be.”

“Part of what makes poker interesting is the ability to look at your opponent and gauge whether or not they look like they are bluffing or not,” he added later. “It is undoubtedly a poker skill. This rule infringes upon a skill that’s been used since poker’s inception and is one of the sexier aspects to the game, not to mention the viewing public.”

WSOP officials appear to have seen the light and have admitted that they were a bit too draconian with the rule’s enforcement. WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart said, “We’ve tightened poker up so much that players are afraid to use verbal strategy to out-man their opponents, which has been integral to poker. It takes poker back to its fundamental basis and its strategic intent. As a result, you get good TV.”

The WSOP is also loosening up when it comes to celebrations at the table. Poker fans may remember the often maniacal-looking histrionics from online star Hevad “RaiNKhAN” Khan during his run to the final table of the 2007 WSOP Main Event. His act after winning big hands wasn’t looked upon kindly by tournament officials, so they put the clamps on future celebrations. That strict policy, too, has changed. While players need to keep their dances of joy within some sort of reason, emotion is now permitted.

“There were cases last year where celebrations were penalized,” admitted Stewart. “A poker room isn’t a church. We just think we need to set the tone to bring some of the fun back.”

Online gaming company bwin.party is readying itself to enter the California online poker market should the game become legalized in the state. The operator of bwin.com and PartyPoker.com, bwin.party announced Tuesday that it has inked an agreement with the United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC) to provide online poker games to residents of California when and if pro-online gaming legislation passes in the state.

“California is the largest state in the U.S. in terms of population and is known to have a significant number of poker players who like to play poker online.  Combining our own significant assets and resources with those of UAIC will create a strong partnership that is well-placed to seize the opportunities that will arise if appropriate online poker legislation is enacted in the Golden State,” said Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger, Co-CEOs of bwin.party, in a press release.

The UAIC operates the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California, about 20 miles northeast of Sacramento. As such, the tribe would qualify to apply for an online poker license, according to currently proposed legislation in the state Senate. bwin.party would supply the necessary technology as well as the company’s experience in operations.

Senate Bill 1463, the Gambling Control Act, was introduced by State Senators Rod Wright and Darrel Steinberg on February 24, 2012 and would make online poker legal within state borders. After two years, the legislature could evaluate how things have gone and potentially legalize other casino games.

“We see the legalisation of Internet poker and other Internet gaming as being inevitable,” said David Keyser, Tribal Chairman of UAIC. “Having met with representatives from a number of different online gaming companies, bwin.party was our first choice as partner.  With its unrivalled expertise in online poker, proven technology and player loyalty we are confident of being able to maximise the revenue opportunity from a regulated online poker market in California and to continue to enhance the long-term prosperity of our community.”

This is not the first time bwin.party has found an American partner for a possible entry into the United States online gaming market. Last year, the company entered into agreements with both MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming and announced its intention in March to seek a license in Nevada should intrastate online poker be legalized in the state. Like with California, a potential operator must partner with a company with a state gaming license. If either MGM or Boyd is awarded a license, bwin.party will provide the poker software and take care of the site’s maintenance.

Under the rules of SB 1463, a California license would be good for ten years and each licensee will be required to pay a nonrefundable $30 million license fee. The bill also proposes a tax rate of 10 percent of gross gaming revenue.