Poker Blog and Poker Gossip

I read an articled published by Sports Media Network that was claiming that some less than savory characters were using Facebook and other social networking sites to scam people out of money by claiming to be major poker players and asking people to purchase shares in their upcoming major tournaments.

The long and the short of this scam is: it’s easy to open up a facebook fan page, user profile or any other format to claim that you are a famous person.  It’s even easier to convince people that you are who you say you are.  The amount of pictures and information you can get off one google search alone is enough to convince most non-internet savvy people.  They then carry on a conversation with “friends” or “fans” and start asking for money transfers between poker sites; a small loan or for you to stake them (partially or fully) in a tournament. 

While most casual and even semi-serious players aren’t involved very much in the action of staking a player, this is a scam that could have a lot of people falling for it.  People who have never staked someone before andaren ‘t aware that it’s done very formally (usually), or people who are just thinking of making a quick buck may actually end up getting burned.

How Serious is This?

Honestly, i’m not one to give people money just because they asked. Even if they promise me a whole lot of money, or if it’s a “really good investment.”  But, one person is reporting (again to Sports Media Network) that he has been befriended by 12 “DanielNegreanu’s.”  There have also been reports of multiple Willie Tanns and Mike Matusow.  A quick facebook search of any of the top poker players (i searched Negreanu and Mike Mizrachi and a bunch came up for both) yields a lot of results…

So…to avoid being bothered in upcoming months by people just asking for money and posing as famous poker players, maybe take “poker” off your list of interests onFacebook..oh, and keep your money unless you know the person you’re staking very well!

It appears that the Ontario Government is quickly getting in line behind Quebec and Vancouver to be the next province to offer Government run online gambling.  The new chairman of Ontario Lottery and Gaming (note..not gambling) stated that he wanted the province to provide Internet gambling instead of watching the potential revenues go to other provinces and offshore websites.

My main problem with this whole set up is this question:  if there were government offered online poker, would they go the way of the USA, and create a set of rules, and licences and costs to allow the major players (Full Tilt and Pokerstarset all) “legally” into the Ontario market, or would they charge the OLGA (Ontario Lottery and Gaming Association) with setting up an online poker site that would theoretically serve Ontario (or Canada depending on the rules)??   If they were to allow the OLGA to create and run a website, who is to say they would do it as well as Pokerstars or Full Tilt?  The OLGA has a long history of questionable insider wins and malfunctioning slot machines and to lawsuits from gambling addicts and botched scratch-and-win tickets, and it would concern me greatly loading a Government run poker room with my hard won poker money;  But maybe that’s just me.

The opposition party has not started shaking their sabers, and in fact, has only brought up one area of concern and that is making sure young people whoshouldn ‘t be accessing gambling sites can’t gain access.  It’s quite a different battle in Canada when you compare what’s going on in the states. 

Loto-Quebec’s online poker site will launch this fall, with Finance Minister Raymond Bachand predicting the province will pull in about $50 million in dividends after three years. The Atlantic Lottery Corp.’s website, in operation for six years, has five interactive games including Hold’em Poker. British Columbia offers online poker, and imposes a $10,000 a week limit on gamblers. The Western Canada Lottery Corp., which oversees gambling in the three Prairie provinces and the three territories, has said it has no plans to move into online gambling.

A lot of people are saying that this is an unsurprising move.  Not me, I’m surprised.  I’m actually kind of shocked.  Mastercard pulling out of online poker, i kind of got.  It’s been a good long while (i’m talking years) since i’ve been able to use Mastercard to load any online casino’s.  But using a virtual visa (and full disclosure here: i have no idea if Virtual Visa is the same as Visa..) had been a staple of my online money management.  At best they are positioning themselves to miss out on a huge opportunity that Mastercard presented them when they pulled out of the online gambling business.  At worst they are being pragmatic about a bill that looks increasingly like it will never take effect.

Why Would They Do This Now?
Credit Cards being limited for online spending is nothing new, really.  American Express and Discover have been banning online gambling transactions for years.  With Mastercard pulling out just weeks ago, i was prepping for a post where i was praising Visa for keeping the status quo until the law actually came into effect.  So what is the motivation for putting this move into effect now?  It could be that fraud is widespread, and with the amount of money changing hands through online casinos, it would be a good way to “clean” money.  But that is total speculation.  It’s also equally likely that they view Mastercard’s pullout as a signal to where the industry is going, and instead of becoming leaders, they are just following the flock.

Is this Really That Big a Deal?
The short answer is not really.  It kind of sucks, but in reality there are countless sites dedicated to getting your money online to use any way you like.  There are even full websites that outline how load money onto most poker sites with step by step instructions.  While it may be a pain if your chosen loading method had been visa, you may have to go through bank account authentication etc, but most poker sites have at least 5 different methods to load money so you should be able to find something to fit your needs. 

It seems like even with the UIGEA deadline 4 months away, and the mad scramble the last time it was about to take effect to give a six month “research” extension, no one really wants to talk about this.  There are countless news stories talking about how big names are for legalizing online poker (and taxing it), and an equal number vilifying it and are anxious for the UIGEA to take effect.

Well, all that being said, the Conservative Political Action Conference started on February 18, and in attendance were the PPA (Poker Player Alliance), including Greg Raymer.  Their goal is to help some pretty big names on the conservative side of politics see that Online gambling is good, and government telling you when and where you can spend your money is a bad thing.  But the ultimate goal is to get more politicians and people with influence (including Mitt Romney, Ann Coulter and Glen Beck) on their side.

“I think a true conservative is someone who wants little or no government in his life,” Raymer told Card Player after attending the 2009 conference. “He doesn’t want the government to tell him what to do.”  The PPA will argue that is exactly what the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which is due to go into effect on June 1, is trying to do by prohibiting credit-card companies from processing certain types of financial transactions.  “Certainly someone who’s a good conservative is going to say that if it’s an activity that is engaged by an adult who is mentally competent, if they’re not hurting other people, I’m just going to have to … let them do it,” said Raymer.

It’ll be interesting to see if there is another extension to UIGEA come June 1, or if they will just scrap it and start over. 

If the sweet lifestyle of a poker player with lazy days, and grueling 9 hour sessions of online poker nights aren’t enough to lure you into the world of online poker then Matt Vengrin’s story is for you!

“As a poker player, I know how fierce competition can be,” said Vengrin. “Just like playing in the World Series of Poker, these girls are in for a grueling but fun weekend and I’m excited to be an integral part of the experience.”  Yep, I have no doubt that the 24 year old is ahem..excited..about the upcoming experience.  I mean, the girls we’re talking about are aged 15-19, and i’m sure that the 2 million Vengrin has amassed over the last 2 years may give him an extra shot at having a more in
imate knowledge of Miss Teen USA (after the contest has been judged completely impartially, of course!).

Most recently, Vengrin finished strong in the Main Event of the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic, a $5,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament held at th
Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino. Vengrin collected $13,820 for his 27th place finish.

Being surrounded by beautiful women is anything but foreign to Vengrin. The poker professional sits alongside Lacey Jones, one of the hottest women in poker, on Absolute Poker’s team of pros.

Maybe sign up at Absolute poker, use their buddy software and ask vengmoney (Vengrin’s online account w/ absolute) how the judging went!

Two players have filed a law suit against Full Tilt poker after having $80,000 confiscated from their accounts.  The reason?  They have been accused of using poker bots.

It is clearly stated in the Full Tilt “terms of service” that using a poker bot is strictly forbidden on the site (like most online poker sites), however using a bot has not been widely prosecuted, or even had warning letters sent out.  I have read multiple blog posts and forum threads that state: “if you’re not using some kind of poker software up to and including a bot, you are playing to a disadvantage online because most players employ at LEAST Poker tracking software.” (and i’m not saying using a bot is fine, nor am i comparing poker tracking software to a bot, i’m just saying if you’re playing straight poker, you’re playing to a disadvantage!).

The $80,000 was seized only after Full Tilt experts investigated and concluded their style of play was consistent with that of a bot.  Full Tilt also accused one of the players of having multiple accounts, again against their policy.

Both players (Lary Kennedy and Greg Omotoy) have both professed their innocence and have named Full Tilt Poker and share holders Chris Ferguson, Mike Matusow, Howard Lederer and Phil Ivey in the suit.  In addition to seeking the return of their money, they are alleging full tilt uses it’s own bots to increase the element of luck in the game, as well as filling empty seats.

It always sucks when we hear of sites taking huge amounts of money from players, but in this case Full Tilt is trying to protect the “straight up” poker players from playing to a disadvantage.  However, its easy to cast Full Tilt as the villain in this story, but remember if you breach their terms of service, Full Tilt (or any online poker room) has every right to freeze your funds, and possibly take all of your money as well.

This legal battle will be very interesting, no matter who comes out as the winner.