Online Casino Blog » News

ePassporte Closing Down Services for Online Casino Players

Mike Smack — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:00:00 +0000

At first, there were only rumors.

Now it’s official. ePassporte is shutting down all services for the online casino community.

On April 11th, the most popular and remaining payment solution went down for most of the day, claiming that they were having some technical issues. However, news later broke that online casinos were advising their customers that the payment solution ePassporte will no longer be servicing customers in the United States.

Apparently, ePassporte will not be able to continue to provide e-wallet services, and that the problem is not limited a few casino rooms, but is in fact industry wide. Other reports also conclude that the problem is “worldwide” and is not isolated in the United States market. ePassporte is based outside of the United States. A few days after the news broke, reports show that customers are no longer able to withdraw monies using the ePassporte ATM.

According to multiple online sources, there will be a widespread investigation against the payment solution company. This only adds to the current turmoil, as 2007 was a rough year for many casino websites and players, as many payment processors, such as NETeller, EcoCard, Citadel and FirePay, shut down unexpectedly. 2008 may run a similar course.

A majority of online poker rooms have been using and relying heavily on ePassporte, since other processors have closed down - with Neteller being a notable one, when it was forced to exit the US online casino market. At the time, Neteller was the largest payment solution. It seems that ePassporte is having the same problems as those of Neteller and MyCitadel. Perhaps this is a result of a breach in security, where monies are getting transferred from unsuspecting clients accounts without their knowledge and consent.

Online sources speculate that ePassporte has flaws in its system. There are reports of unauthorized transactions and many anomalies, not to mention that the customer service is not also responding to either calls or e-mail inquiries regarding clients’ accounts. Also, any requests for physical Visa cards from them are taking forever to get processed.

One reader relayed his story about his request for a physical Visa card. He paid the $40 to get it and he still has not received anything from ePassporte. The third time he called he finally was able to speak to a customer representative and was informed that the card had been sent weeks earlier and that he should have received it already. The customer service representative then said they blocked the old card and they will be sending a new one, but still nothing was ever received.

With this official announcement, the problem surrounding ePassporte is scary for most of the online casino community. It can hurt many online casino players, since this is one of the few payment solutions that cater to the US customers. It would be well advised to review other payment solutions as it doesn’t seem like ePassporte will be returning to the casino market any time soon.

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Go to Jail Now and Collect a Poker Chip

Mike Smack — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:00:03 +0000

How’s this for weirdness.

Over in Polk County (based in Florida) they came up with an interesting way to get the Crime Stoppers’ Crime Reporting tip line into the minds of their citizens.

Give inmates booked out of jail poker chips. With the tip line phone number, which is 1-800-226-TIPS (8477) in case you’re wondering.

The point about this whole deal is to remind inmates that get of jail to spread the Crime Stopper message. Obviously us poker players are major outlaws, so these poker chips come in handy.

Inside the Polk County Jail, inmates get given decks of Crime Stopper Cold Case playing cards that display unsolved crimes that have happened in Polk County. They also have a constantly looped video showing unsolved crimes in the jail television monitors.

And no, in case you’re wondering, I don’t have experience with the Polk County jails.

“It’s not a gamble to turn in a criminal, it’s a sure bet,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

Kinda cheesy line by the ol’ sheriff Judd there. But hey, maybe it works.

Card games must be fierce in jail huh? You’re playing for cigarettes but if you don’t pay up, you get shanked. For those not indoctrinated into the prison lifestyle (or those that don’t watch the current best show on television, “Lock Up” on MSNBC) a shank (also known as a shiv) is an improvised knife style weapon that can be a glass shard with cloth around it to form a handle, to a razorblade inside a toothbrush, to sharpened pork chop bones, to a sharpened spoon. I’m thinking a spork can be considered a lethal weapon as well. Very versatile, a spork is.

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Full Tilt Online Poker Series Event 7: Cash Winnings and Recap

Mike Smack — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:00:08 +0000

Did you check out the Full Tilt Online Poker Series Event 7? It was hosted by Peter “Nordberg” Feldman and had a guaranteed prize pool of $400,000. We’ll hook you up with a recap of the event.

Entrants = 2,254
Re-buys = 3,193
Add-ons = 1,188
Prize Pool = $600,000+
1st Place Winnings = $121,719.08

We’re talking $100 buy-in no limit texas hold’em right here. 351 players got some cash, with Bull1967 getting the consolation prize by finishing 352. Some poker professionals hitting money were Full Tilt Poker regulars Eddy Scharf (#152), Rino Mathis (#238), Scott Fischman (#243), and Sigi Stockinger (#304).

Here’s the final table setup:

Broberts85 - 2,218,204
Merovingian – 1,967,990
Jacksup – 1,842,952
Ibleedbenjamins – 1,228,343
Big deejay – 930,364
IocoPocoMaIoco – 743,523
IAmClutch – 678,669
Ims shutterbug – 619,166
IcePrincesca – 275,289

Going head-to-head was Jacksup with 7,881,714 chips versus Merovingians with 2,654,786 chips. Merovingian over the next couple hands cut the chips gap to 2,000,000 - maintaining the distance for 15 minutes. Then heartache for Jacksup. Jacksup raises the small blind followed by a call from Merovingian. Flop hits 4h 2s 4d. Merovingian check raises Jacksup. Turn brought 8s, with Merovingian betting 1,320,000. Jacksup re-raises all-in. Jacksup then shows pocket-tens, with Merovingian showing 5d 4c for three of a kind. River came 7s and Jacksup drops to 746,928 chips.

Jacksup, feeling the pressure at this point, goes all-in with his hand. His 6h 7c vs Jc 5s with a 5 on the flop and Jack on the turn sends the title, along with $121,719.08 to Merovingian.

Final results and winnings at the final table of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series Event 7:

Merovingian $121,719.08
jacksup $74,710.10
IAmClutch $48,899.95
IocoPocoMaIoco $39,013.80
Broberts85 $29,525.75
ibleedbenjamins $21,232.00
IcePrincesca $15,592.25
big_deejay $12,208.40
lms shutterbug $9,289.00

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Poker Burglary: Robbers Break Into Home Poker Game & Shoot

Mike Smack — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 04:30:09 +0000

Seriously, what is up with all the shootings in poker games recently?

I quote from Jack Nicholson in the movie Mars Attacks:

“Why can’t we work out our differences? Why can’t we work things out? Little people, why can’t we all just get along?”

This new shooting goes on in New Smyrna Beach, Florida where Dennis Michael Turner, a 62 year old poker player, was shot in the middle of a poker game. Two guys dressed in masks got into a house where 8 players where playing poker, came in with guns, and they wanted money from the players. Apparently the poker players weren’t down with this, words were exchanges, and ultimately gunshots were fired, fatally injuring Dennis Michael Turner.

We still don’t know if these guys were actually gunning for Turner or if there were just targeting the home. Turner actually drove up from his house in Port Orange to play in this house game. But the big thing here to keep in mind is that even neighbors were clued in to the home poker games being played. Residents in the local area knew that players would bring big amounts of cash to these games - so could this be an inside job? Maybe this murder was due to someone who knew (or knew someone who knew) that big money was being played in these games. Interesting to note that a few months earlier the same house was broken into and the robbers were able to bust out with more than $30,000. It’s possible that these guys went back to finish off what they started.

Police aren’t just focusing on the murder though. They are very concerned about the home poker game being played and if it was illegal or legal. If you take a look at the Florida Statutes, Chapter 849, subsection 085 says that “it is not a crime for a person to participate in a (penny-ante) game described in this section if such game is conducted strictly in accordance with this section.” This means that no single pot in the game can be more than $10. If this wasn’t the case in this game, which seems to be the case, the homeowner could be hit with charges if it was found to be an illegal poker game.

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How Spiderman Can Make You Money in Online Casinos

Mike Smack — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 01:00:26 +0000

Do you like Spiderman? Did you know the first Spiderman comic book was created in 1962?

How about the Fantastic Four? Well, that comic’s been around since 1961, which is a crazy long time ago. Well at least for me, since, well I hadn’t been born yet. So, yeah, I wasn’t even an embryo at that point. Or even a fertilized egg. Yup.

So getting to the point - the link between these comicbook superheroes and casino gaming. It involves Marvel Comics - founded in 1939 and is one of the biggest if not the most recognizable comicbook company in the world - and Cryptologic Inc.

What is Cryptologic Inc?

Cryptologic is one of the four largest software application service providers in the gambling and betting industry on the internet - the others being Microgaming, Playtech, and Real Time Gaming. Along with their subsidiary company, which is called WagerLogic, they handle licensing of their gaming software and their payment processor named ECash. They handle tons of the online casino gaming software you play on a daily basis - not to mention ECash which is bigtime hitter in the payment processing business for internet casino gaming.

Whenever I see Cryptologic handling the betting software, I feel pretty secure for the most part. The company seems to always be on top of their game and no real scandals have come from companies using their software that I’m aware of. Their security is real high up there. Usability is high too, as they try to make their games real easy to get your head around and just jump in and start playing. It’s not like other casino game software that can sometimes be a pain in the butt to learn - opening the instructions in a window while trying to play the damn game. Their functions are pretty straightforward.

Graphically, they have some good stuff - not mindblowing mind you, but good stuff. But this Marvel partnership could mean some mindblowing visuals. I don’t know about you, but when I’m rolling through online casinos, I like getting some eye candy. Of course, no one is better at eyecandy than PlayboyGaming, but I digress (by the way, Playboy Gaming is a Cryptologic site too). Having Marvel comicbook characters is really a genius move for Cryptologic because it gets that highly coveted internet casino gamer demographic of 21-35 - which is the kind that’s really comfortable with gaming after having grown up on the likes of Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Microsoft Xbox, Xbox360, Sony Playstation 2, PS3, and the Nintendo Wii. I still can’t get over how weird of a name the Nintendo Wii is. Anyway…

What online casinos use Cryptologic software?

How is this Marvel and Cryptologic partnership going to work?

They’re going to making the first-ever internet casino games based on The Fantastic Four and Spider-Man. Cryptologic will hold these rights to create these online casino games until 2010. This means Marvel Comics for a long while - with major possibilities of renewal of this license. And really, with the huge profitability of Marvel movies and television shows - why wouldn’t Cryptologic want to keep this going for as long as possible?

“CryptoLogic’s new Spider-Man and Fantastic Four games are the latest examples of our industry-leading innovation, and our partnerships with the world’s biggest gaming and entertainment brands,” said Javaid Aziz, who is the president and CEO of CryptoLogic. “Bringing these legendary Super Heroes to the world’s best Internet casinos reflects CryptoLogic’s commitment to help every customer build a loyal player base through both high-impact games and high-profile brands.”

How is the Spider-Man video game for casinos going to be like?

You’ll get sent into the heart of New York City, fighting and defeating a bunch of Marvel villains on your way to the ultimate showdown with Spider-Man’s alter-ego nemesis, Venom - and ultimately saving your girl Mary Jane. (Rick James interlude: I’m in love with Mary Jane / She’s my main thing / She makes me feel alright / She makes my heart sing) There’s going to be three unique feature sequences you’ll see while playing and bigtime payouts at the same time - up to 5,000 times a line bet. You can also get yourself 15 bonus rounds of play and free-spin which gives you double prize values.

How is the Fantastic Four video game for casinos going to be like?

In this one, you’ll be going up against the Fantastic Four nemesis, Doctor Doom. You choose which character to play - whether it’s Mr. Fantastic with his crazy long limbs, the Human Torch with his body turning into flames, the Thing with his literally rock-hard body and fists, or the Invisible Woman with her, well, invisibility. You’ll also be getting a chance of 5,000 times your line bet and up to 15 free game spins.

What other Marvel Comics characters are available on Cryptologic based casinos?

Hulk - The Green Guy
Daredevil - The Blind Guy
Blade - The Vampire with Swords Guy
The Punisher - The Guns Guy
Thor - The Hammer Guy
X-Men - The Guys with a X on their Shirt
Silver Surfer - The Surfing Guy
Elektra - The Sai Chick
Iron Man - The Metal Guy
Ghost Rider - The Weird Dude on the Motorcycle with a Flaming Skull for a Head Guy

“These celebrated Marvel Super Heroes have finally taken their place at the world’s top Internet casinos - powered by CryptoLogic,” said Justin Thouin, who is the Vice President of Product Management and Business Development at CryptoLogic.

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Video: Proof that Gambling Saves Lives

Mike Smack — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 03:30:29 +0000

Be grateful to gambling and casinos. They could save your life someday.

Bet you didn’t know that.

Well, the story starts like this. There’s a fisherman whose name is Olin Kennedy and he was fishing off Cape Canaveral. All was going well, he was fishing, grabbing some fish and just chilling out on the waters of the Cape.

He decides to take his boat out a little farther - 12 miles off the coast. He’s feeling good, nice breeze, chilling on his 24-foot boat and he goes to grab a fishing rod. The boat is in motion and is in gear. He misjudges the rod, loses his footing on the moving boat, and…

SPLASH!

Olin’s in the water! And he doesn’t have a kill switch to kill the boat’s engine so the boat just flies off without him!

So he starts treading water. And treading water. And treading water some more.

He treads water for MORE THAN FOUR HOURS. Can you imagine having to tread water for more than 4 hours? That’s 240 minutes for you math whizzes out there. I can’t even tread water - no joke. I can swim, but I can’t tread. Don’t blame me, my swimming instructor when I was taking lessons at 8 years old was a moron that didn’t want to get his hair wet. What a pansy he was.

Well, this dude is treading and treading. So he does what anyone in his situation would do. He takes off his pants. Obviously.

The reason he takes his pants (khaki-colored in case you were wondering) off is to signal, by waving them around and hoping someone would see him.

Lady luck comes in the form of the Ambassador II, a casino cruise ship.

“Oh bleep!” was what Olin Kennedy said was going in his mind when he fell in the water and saw his boat leave without him. “Then I said a prayer, and my prayer was answered by Carlos Navarro, who’s a hand on the ship. He spotted me. After being in the water for four hours, things were getting a little dreary.”

Olin Kennedy, the pants-less casino-saved fisherman is perfectly fine with no injuries. But the boat has still not been found. So if any of you guys see a boat rolling around Cape Canaveral without an owner, let us know.

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Police Raid Richard Lee’s Home & Seize Almost $2.8 Million Cash

Mike Smack — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 03:00:10 +0000

Would you pay $2.2 million dollars for your freedom?

That’s how much poker player Richard Lee would have had to pay in order to place bail. Instead, he forfeited this as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors from San Antonio.

Why was Richard Lee arrested and detained?

Richard Lee and four other players were charged with the promotion of an illegal gambling operation. This Ocean’s Eleven type deal was allegedly being run out of the home of Richard Lee. He won’t actually do any jail time since he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges. Good thing for Richard that they gave him the plea bargain option - fighting a felony charge would be tough stuff - and if he lost that, that’s major prison time he would’ve had to serve. The others implicated in this alleged illegal gambling ring are Lee’s son-in-law, Lawrence ‘Larry’ Joseph Davenport, 30; Marco de Carlo Hernandez, 31; Matthew Colburn Winslow, 57; and Daniel Ortiz, 30.

So what’s the deal - what’s the punishment for Richard Lee?

Well, he didn’t get away with a clean break here. All the guys involved in this illegal gambling ring were hit with a fine of $2000 dollars each and $94 of court costs. Not a ton of money, but remember that Lee had his WSOP winnings seized in the raid, so he’s low on funds right now, as far as we know. Richard Lee along with his alleged co-conspirators were also hit with a sentence of 30 days of deferred adjudication.

What the heck is deferred adjudication?

It’s a plea bargain deal between a defendant and the court. The actual judgment is withhold (a.k.a “deferred”) until the end of the probation period. If you pass the probation period without any problems or arrests, then you’re good to go and the charges are dismissed. In order to get this you have to plead guilty or no contest. Just so you know, as a little CasinoSmack law tip, both of those pleas mean basically the same thing. The only difference is that “no contest” can give you a little bit of an advantage because it can protect you as a defendant against any further litigation which relates to the original crime. It’s not a finding of guilt and it’s not a conviction. Hmm.. maybe I really should get cracking on my LSAT studies for law school. Anyone need a poker lawyer?

Who is Richard Lee?

Known as “The Chinaman”, Richard Lee finished in sixth place during the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) - losing only when he brought in his pocket jacks versus the pocket queens of Jamie Gold. Richard Lee won $2.8 million dollars from the event, but the festivities didn’t last long. Only a few weeks after the WSOP 2006 the police raided his house. Detectives said that they were investigating him for months - while declaring his home to be the “nerve center of the operation”. 14 months after the raid, charges were filed on Richard Lee from the District Attorney’s Office.

Wait, the cops seized his WSOP winnings?

The raid took his money - and Richard Lee was not happy with that. His attorney’s argued in court that most of the money the police found wasn’t due to the illegal bookmaking but instead from his WSOP award. The judge didn’t buy that theory. And Richard Lee really didn’t want jail time or felony charges so he dropped that argument. Most of Lee’s personal property, like cars, jewelry, and televisions will be returned. Richard Lee’s cash will be divided between District Attorney Susan Reed’s office and the San Antonio Police Department.

“I’m just glad it’s over with. I guess I just got to get out to Las Vegas and win a poker tournament,” said a relieved Richard Lee.

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Beer Pong Championship: We Have a Winner

Mike Smack — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 03:00:32 +0000

Damn, I’d love to drink beer in the Caribbean.

While winning $18,000 (12,000 Euro). And playing beer pong.

And that’s exactly what a SunPoker user, Matt Osborne (SunPoker username Noseyboy), won at the 2nd annual Beer Pong Championship. No joke, there’s a beer pong tournament. Even more amazing is that this is the second year of it, so it’s obviously doing well. Guess I gotta brush up on my beer pong skills - I’m sure my college buddies won’t mind “helping me out” with practicing.

The SunPoker Beer Pong Championships were held in St. Kitts during the 2007 Caribbean Poker Classic (CPC). What made this year’s beer pong tournament better and more intense was that SunPoker put up a seat to the European Poker Tour Monte Carlo Poker Tournament that was worth 12,000 Euro.

There were 32 Beer Pongers going at it, drinking hard and ponging hardcore. At first, everyone was ponging fast and furious. But then, the double elimination came up. Imagine the hot Caribbean sun on your shoulders and head. Picture the oncoming inebriation from massive amounts of beer in your system. Yup, you guessed it, some of the competitors couldn’t “keep it together”.

“I’ll say this much, the guys from the UK can certainly drink their fair share of beer”, said Rob Gallo, founder of SunPoker.com and self appointed Beer Pong Tournament Director. “And Matt certainly has proven his skills as a true Beer Pong Champion. I guess with the number of pubs in the UK, it’s not a surprise they would have an advantage in any drinking game. We’ve confirmed that this was the biggest prize ever awarded for a beer pong match and it’s going to be even bigger next year. SunPoker.com is all about having fun with our players on and off the poker tables, and this certainly was fun.”

You didn’t HAVE to pound ridiculously copious quantities of beer to win at the Caribbean Poker Classic. They also had the $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool as the poker tournament main event. The lucky winner of the main event was Brian Jensen (SunPoker user name MagicBJ) who grabbed a cool prize of $237,500 coming in first.

Beer Pong wasn’t even the craziest thing at the 2007 Caribbean Poker Classic. A 55 second earthquake rocked the island - try keeping your beer down during all that shaking.

The festivities finished off with a badass SunPoker farewell pub crawl… so yeah, there was a lot of beer drinking at the CPC.

Ever played Beer Pong?

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World Series of Poker | WSOP 2007 Final Results

Mike Smack — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:00:38 +0000

A look back at the World Series of Poker 2007 through the eyes of Dr. Pauly:

Seventeen hours of high stress poker in front of the ESPN cameras came down to the final hand of the final table of the final event of the 2007 World Series of Poker. Holding all of the chips and the only chair left Jerry Yang claimed the 2007 World Champion Poker Player title after defeating Tuan Lam in a hard fought heads up battle. The winner of the 2007 WSOP Main Event received a custom Corum watch, a very special platinum and diamond bracelet plus $8,250,000 in cash.

The event was the finale of the 2007 WSOP that has been played daily over the course of the past 46 days. Fifty-five poker players from around the world won bracelets in separate events that began on June 1 and finally ended early Wednesday morning.

On the 205th hand of the final table, Jerry Yang, a psychologist from California, won the 2007 WSOP main event. He took down $8.25 million and collected his first bracelet.

On the 36th hand of heads up play, Yang busted Tuan Lam. Here’s how…

Yang raised 2.3M from the button. Lam moved all in for 22.2M. Yang called with 8c-8d. Lam flipped over Ad-Qc. It was a coin-flip. The flop was Qc-9c-5s and Lam’s railbirds erupted. He took the lead and was on the verge of doubling up. The turn was the 7d which gave Yang a gutshot. He silently prayed and the river was the 6h. Yang rivered a straight and he busted Lam.

With that lucky river card, Jerry Yang became the next WSOP champion. Tuan Lam won $4,840,98 for second place.

“The Lord was watching over me,” said Yang in his post-victory interview with ESPN’s Norm Chad.

Yang will be donating 10% of his winnings to three different charities… Feed the Children, the Ronald McDonald House, and Make a Wish Foundation.

The final moments of the 2007 World Series of Poker provided the expected excitement associated when a poker player receives $8.25 million in prize money. The turn of the final card for 2007 gave Jerry Yang the win and brought the crowd out of the stands and onto the ESPN stage. The moment the final card hit the table an unidentified man raced out of the darkness and leaped over the media table onto the stage in front of Yang with an outthrusted microphone and tape recorder. The ESPN crew tried to hang onto the intruder but he slipped away and ran into the stands with security in hot pursuit where they quickly surrounded and led him away from the area.

The guy had told some of us earlier that he was a reporter with ABC News but I never confirmed if this statement as fact.

I’m very fortunate to have been there in the mix, as a working stiff, but there nonetheless. I got to witness first hand the days and hours of play among this bunch to get to this point on TV. Viewers get to see the sanitized, miniaturized, ad enhanced, pre-packaged colloidal soup poker hour. My version was the long one filled with more hours of boring wait time than the ESPN 2007 TV Series fills in its entirety, and they didn’t play a hand of poker. This was just the accumulation of time from the dinner breaks, player breaks, TV breaks, chip-up breaks, crew breaks and break breaks.

Fortunately, when they are playing I had available a nice bevy of professional still cameras and equipment plus a badge that allowed me to use the stuff. I got to see and record the WSOP from my unique camera angle. Sometimes, I even lucked into a money shot after holding a manual focus for what seems like hours.

The Super Star pros are absolutely the most difficult to master. With most of the Reese, Hellmuth, Ferguson, Brunson, Chan, Ivey level player the photos all look alike, no time divined difference…same face, different year. It’s like shooting a statue, a fixed expression attached to an immobile mask. Oh joy! when they finally move. Ironically, the Easter Island pose is just one of the many prerequisite talents that turned them into magicians.

Not all of the greats are stone still all the time, there’s another group with an added challenge all its own. The Negreanu, Laak, Matusow, and I must add Tuesday night’s star, Burt Boutin, to the list of pros that tend to constantly be in motion. Like a boxer, they weave and dodge their way along the felt. The intense eyes constantly sweeping the opposing players while they naively hold open court with their game pieces. Lucky for me, this group is most likely to reward with some of the classic ‘frozen in time’ action shots.

Glamour most definitely exists at every poker tournament and I get to see it up-close through the Nikon’s viewfinder. Oh! Nikon, the very word is a stimulant. Nikon, a high precision tool that has the best odds of soliciting a response from some of the World’s most beautiful women. The camera screams at you for your best look, a look I promise to share with the world. I get to photograph women that are filmed for the big bucks. I get to connect through the lens to produce an image that screams, “Look at Me!”

[Photos courtesy of flipchip at lasvegasvegas]

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Politics: A Poker Playing Vice President

Mike Smack — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:00:24 +0000

Is it possible we might have a poker playing Vice President on the WSOP tour?

Poker Pro Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, who won the 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP), is making his case for a vice presidential run in 2008 for the Libertarian Party in the United States.

I can only assume he’s against the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Well, he better be. Barney Frank would definitely tap him for his Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (IGREA).

His decision will be coming Spring of 2008 which happens to be the Libertarian National Convention.

What’s the Libertarian Party all about?

First the raw facts. They have 200,000 registered voters and more than 600 people in public office. This is way more than any of the other “third parties” have - combined. They’ve been around since 1971 so they have experience on their favor over other more recent third parties. Of course, this still pales in comparison to the Democrat and Republican parties in the United States but it’s still better than some of the other parties that started up 2 days ago in someone’s basement.

How are they different from the Democrats and Republicans?

The Libertarian Party has some principles that they favor. They like having markets that are minimally regulated. Laissez-faire is the word for that - which comes from the French word “let do”, meaning the government shouldn’t be handing out privileges to certain organizations or markets - just let the chips fall where they may. They are very much in favor of strong civil liberties - which is essential for those of us that really want online casino regulation. They are also in favor of non-interventionism in foreign policy - meaning that they want freedom of trade and travel to all foreign countries.

They’ve never really made a serious run for the presidency of the United States - but at this point of the game they really just want to expose their ideas and get them out there so people can take notice of them. Maybe get some defectors from the “Big 2″.

“I had a conversation with one of the top guys in the Libertarian party who wanted to get a famous poker player involved,” said Greg Raymer. “I know they approached other guys like Andy Bloch, but I don’t think Andy is very libertarian and may be too liberal. I contacted the guy after hearing of the plan and I told him I might be interested. If I decide to run, I will do some campaigning in time for the national convention next spring and hope for the best.”For the most part, third party organizations like to get one of two groups of people on their side. Either they get an experienced politician to defect from the Republicans or Democrats - or they go after a celebrity from a part of society that feels disenfranchised with the current state of affairs in the country. This is where Raymer and the poker and casino communities come in. With the United States waging war against gambling, this is a ripe time for the Libertarian Party to get sympathizers.

“It sounds like this guy (Raymer) can get the party media coverage that otherwise wouldn’t exist,” said Professor Julian Zelizer, a political historian at Boston University. “The media always covers celebrities who are running for office and that’s the advantage. The danger is it looks too pragmatic. The negative part of that is it can diminish his candidacy and the image of the party. It can work, but it’s a delicate balance. I think a Libertarian candidate would do a better job of running the country than any of the Republicans or Democrats we’ve seen. It’s inherently better when a candidate believes in the philosophy of being able to do what you deem is right, as long as you don’t hurt anyone else in the process. A third-party offers room for him to enter into the political realm. These parties need someone with some type of appeal.”

The political views of a poker professional

Raymer thinks if you use cocaine, then, well you’re “extremely stupid”. But he won’t stop you. He feels that politics should be free from judging on morality and should leave it in the decision of conscious choosing adults. He favors protection from the government for underage gamblers but once you hit adulthood you’re on your own - you do what you want, when you want - the government won’t stop you. He is in favor of some other government initiatives like having a national defense and police force.

What comes as a little bit less of a surprise is that Raymer is definitely in favor of legalized gambling anywhere, everywhere, and for everyone.”Personal morals are great and it’s good for a person to have them. But when you apply your morality to me, we’re talking fascism,” said Raymer. He continues: “A poker player is more likely to be a Libertarian. It’s a game of self-sufficiency where self-discipline often produces success. It’s a natural fit.”

Raymer has worked as a board member for the Poker Player’s Alliance, so he’s not a total political rookie. He’s not done with poker though. Even though he won about $5 million dollars for his 2004 WSOP win, he wants to win at least one or two more before he leaves poker for good and tries his full-time hand at politics.

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