I'm not a gambler but I found this article
by Damian Housman interesting.
A
few days ago I read an article (below) that said that Nevada has
approved an online gaming license for 888, the online poker and
gambling company, based in Gibraltar. I first learned of 888 while
traveling in Greece nearly three years ago. Their billboards were
absolutely everywhere, and all featured their spokes model, Julia. Now,
it seems, I'll be able to actually play on their site.
This
will not impact anyone living outside Nevada who wants to sign up, but
for those of us who do live there, this is a welcome event. It's just a
matter of time, I guess. Until now, I've been playing on World Poker
Tour (a not-for-money site), and very occasionally America's Cardroom
(a money site). America's Cardroom incorporates a site I joined many
years ago, Doyle's Room (which had been owned by poker star Doyle
Brunson), but it has too few members playing at any one time to be
certain of a game.
I attempted to sign up, but was unable to. They still haven't updated
their software to allow Americans, specifically Nevadans, to join. In
fact, I sent 888 an e-mail asking about joining, when my attempt to
failed, and they sent me the usual form response saying they don’t
allow Americans to play.
I
sent a second e-mail, asking about the article, below. This is their
response:
“888
is very pleased to announce that the Nevada Gaming Commission has
recently approved the licensing of 888 as an Interactive Gaming Service
Provider, allowing 888 to work with licensed Nevada operators to offer
legalized online Poker to players physically located in the US state of
Nevada. This makes 888 one of the first online gaming companies to be
licensed by any US jurisdiction.
Skoonj, unfortunately we can’t give you final
timelines yet, but we look forward to working with our Nevada partners
and to the re-launching of 888's online poker offering in Nevada in the
near future, so watch out for further news!”
OK,
so we have bad news (no poker yet) and good news (it is indeed coming),
and between the lines news. Notice that the article, below, and the
most recent e-mail response, mention “Nevada partners.” Indeed, the
article states: “the
license will allow 888 to power Caesars Interactive Entertainment's
WSOP poker brand, and support slot machine manufacturer WMS Gaming in
offering an online product to its customers.”
OK,
so what does that mean? It means that 888 will work with Caesars
Interactive Entertainment (Caesars owns the World Series of Poker, and
there is a WSOP interactive game), as well as slots manufacturer WMS
Gaming. I think I once told you
that Caesars is a big time supporter of Harry Reid, Barack Obama, and
the Democrats generally. Considering where they have properties (Las
Vegas, the Chicago suburbs, etc.), they virtually have to grease many
Democrat palms. But this is hugely different. And, it puts in context
the entire charade we went through of shutting down internet poker,
then reconstituting it only when Caesars, Reid, Obama, and the
Democrats can take a huge cut.
This
is how our politicians operate these days. They fleece us in every way
imaginable.
Skoonj
(Damian
Housman)
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