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Bodog Says PokerTracker is Guilty of Data Theft

After an attempt by Bodog to block traffic data by hiding full poker tables from its own poker lobby, PokerScout, online poker data tracker, has reported that this move has had little to no effect on the data tracker’s abilities to keep accurate tabs on Bodog Poker traffic. Bodog has asked that their traffic data not be tracked, as they believe that each poker operator’s data belongs to that site and outside parties do not have the right to publish that data and anyone who does publish such data is guilty of data theft. PokerScout disagrees.

Bodog does not feel that it’s fair to less experienced players that more skilled poker players are able to access these types of data logs and use it as an advantage over inexperienced players. PokerScout feels that because online poker games are played in a public arena via the Internet, then the data is no one’s private property.

Because Bodog relies mainly on its sportsbook and racing leg, it’s online poker sector is merely a catch all for other types of bettors who meander from the sportsbetting page to the poker room. Bodog believes that without the public knowledge of poker tracking data, sharks won’t come to play at Bodog in hopes to prey on the fish who don’t know any better. This would ultimately mean that the sharks won’t be taking the money, and Bodog will benefit from more earnings via raked pots.

VP of the Bodog Network Jonas Odman explains it this way: “Money can only leave a poker ecosystem in two ways, through rake and withdrawals. Winning players are withdrawing players, and as a poker network, our revenue will increase the fewer withdrawing players we have.”

PokerStars Wraps Up WCOOP

Sixty-two events later, the World Championship of Online Poker hosted by PokerStars has wrapped up. The main event saw 1,627 registrants, who each paid the $5,200 buy-in and created a prize pool totaling $8.135 million. It was Denmark’s Thomas “Kallllle” Pedersen who finished first and won $1.26 million. Second place went to Czech Republic’s “Vojt_R,” who won $710K.

Overall, the country with the most monetary winnings was Canada, followed by Russia and UK. Russia and Canada were tied for the most final tables, UK coming in third. But it was Russia who won the most titles with 10 WCOOP first place wins, which makes sense because Russia also had the most registrants. The UK was in second place for most titles with eight, and the Netherlands came next with seven.

The WCOOP player of the year award went to both Joel “2FLY2TILT” Gordon and Big_Nemo, both of whom earned 295 points throughout the series. In third was Daniel Negreanu, who finished in fifth place out of 70 in the 8-Game High Roller Event #61 with a $10,300 buy-in and a prize pool worth $700K. First place went to Russia’s “Ostrov.”

Reports Surface that Full Tilt Contributed to Congressional Campaigns

The Boston Globe reported last Wednesday that Democrat representative of Nevada, Shelley Berkley, who has been an advocate for online poker legalization and regulation for quite some time, accepted political contributions from Full Tilt Poker of around $20K. Spokeswoman for Berkley’s US Senate campaign, Jessica Mackler, said that the money would be returned in some way.

Berkley says, “These allegations are extremely troubling and, if true, threaten to unfairly cast a shadow over the entire online poker community thanks to the alleged actions of a few individuals.”

The article also focused attention on Democratic representative from Massachusetts, Barney Frank, also an online poker activist who has over the years proposed multiple bills to Congress regarding the legalization of Internet poker. According to the Boston Globe, Rep. Frank accepted around $18,600 in donations and one more additional contribution is still pending.

Frank and Berkley have received the highest amount of Full Tilt contributions, but others have reportedly received funding.

Earlier in the week, the former online poker site was accused of being a “massive ponzi scheme” by a federal prosecutor, which created quite the buzz among the online poker community. After being charged with money laundering, illegal gambling operations, and fraud in the Black Friday fiasco, Full Tilt Poker hasn’t had a good day yet. Now owing former US players more than $440 million, a new investor is the only thing that could save the once great online poker brand.

Now well-known poker pros and directors of the Full Tilt Poker company, Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer, have been added to the civil suit. These two, along with poker player Rafael Furst, also named in the complaint, together gave nearly $200K to various congressional campaigns since 2007.

Drunk Online Poker Player Threatens Poker Site

Thirty-five-year-old Michael Gallagher from the UK (Redcar, East Cleveland) reportedly lost somewhere in the neighborhood of £19,000, which is about $30,000 US dollars, at an unnamed online poker site before losing it and giving “going on tilt” a whole new meaning.

Gallagher lost his money between June of 2010 and May 2011 before finally losing his cool on May 25^th when he emailed the website’s head office located in the Isle of Man with a threatening message. He wrote that he would be visiting the office with a sawed off shotgun and would shoot as many people as possible unless they paid him £30,000 (or $50K US dollars) for his losses.

The following day, Gallagher followed up with a second email that explained he was drunk when he wrote the email and apologized for his actions. However, the online poker site wasn’t so sure, so they notified the police and Gallagher was later arrested and is now charged with blackmail.

Following the advice of his lawyer, Gallagher plead guilty to conveying a threat via electronic communication. He will be sentenced next month, despite requests by his lawyer for an earlier sentence. The presiding Judge Georg Moorhouse explained he needed more time to decide sentencing, saying, “I think a report is required because of the very nature of the threat.”

Currently out on bail, Gallager awaits his fate.

Intrastate Online Poker in the Works in Massachusetts

Despite the US federal government’s advice to state governments to not pursue the legalization and regulation of online poker at the intrastate level, many state governments continue to push ahead with poker legislation. Most states have continuously hit a brick wall when attempting to pass such legislation, but they persist in their efforts. Now perhaps something will give.

Lawmakers in Massachusetts are strongly considering the introduction of intrastate poker regulations now that the Massachusetts House has approved the inclusion of an expanded gambling bill, Representative Dan Winslow’s proposed amendment. Winslow’s bill would require five licenses be issued for online poker by a state gambling commission by July 31^st, 2012. The reasoning behind Winslow’s proposal is financial. He believes that this action would generate revenue for the state as well as create high tech jobs for educated yet otherwise unemployed citizens.

The bill must further pass the Senate and a conference committee and would then still be subject to a veto by Massachusetts’s Governor Deval Patrick, much like the veto of the New Jersey legislature that went through both the House and the Senate of New Jersey, only to get vetoed by the governor at the last minute back in March of this year.

Meanwhile, members of the online poker community, especially those in Massachusetts, are keeping their fingers crossed in hopes that this may be the online poke bill that finally makes law.

Hendon Mob Severs Ties with Full Tilt Poker

The Hendon Mob has cut ties with Full Tilt Poker in a statement released yesterday. The site feels bad for players who have funds tied up in the Full Tilt Poker system, especially those who were directed to Full Tilt from the Hendon Mob website via affiliate links or because the group endorsed the once seemingly great online poker giant. The state of Full Tilt Poker saddens Hendon Mob management, who do not come out and bash Full Tilt, but rather express that they feel badly about what has happened for all parties involved.

Part of the statement explained, “We are well aware that a great deal of players including many who signed through The Hendon Mob still have money on FTP, as well as steps tickets, player points etc. going forward, and in any scenario where Full Tilt Poker resumes trading, we will as an affiliate continue to look out for the interests of our players and to try to achieve the best possible outcome regarding their funds. We do not take the loyalty of our community for granted.”

They went on to further explain that the breakaway wasn’t personal, but more of a financial decision. Because the Hendon Mob is an actual company with a fairly large staff, both full- and part-time, “who are dedicated to maintaining and improving the database, the forum and everything else that the poker community expects from our website from our website.” And the fact that they are “currently running at a substantial loss and this is not sustainable in the long term” has forced them to cut ties with Full Tilt.

They explain that by severing ties with Full Tilt, they will open the door for new opportunities. The Hendon Mob has been a strong force in driving the online poker market throughout Europe and other parts of the world with its poker database that has records of every single live tournament result since tracking live tourneys began. Other features of the Hendon Mob website include poker forums and articles.

Full Tilt Poker’s hearing with the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) regarding the poker site’s suspended operating license continues today in private, many are awaiting word from of the meeting’s outcome.

Poker Pro Gets Slammed for Smuggling Drugs

Online poker pro David “ZanderFish” Saab and two friends were arrested back in February for allegedly smuggling 14.6 kg of pure Colombian cocaine into Melbourne, Australia. Now the three have been sentenced to the maximum penalty.

Saab received a 14-year sentence—one year for each kg of uncut Cocaine that he hid inside agricultural equipment he brought from Canada. His friends, 27-year-old Darren Hughes and 28-year-old Robert Remeeus, were given eight years in prison each with a five-year minimum mandatory.

The smuggled product was estimated to have a street value of anywhere between two and 10 million dollars. Reportedly Saab was only going to make about a hundred grand from the transaction and was to give his partners only ten grand each.

The cocaine, which was hidden in sealed plastic bags inside of a mechanical spreader, was revealed by Customs and Australian Federal Police in Melbourne at the air cargo shipment terminal. The cops didn’t bust Saab right away though. They removed the illegal substance and replaced it with baby powder, allowing Saab to leave with the spreader and go on to their destination where they would remove the powder. The police then charged in and took the men down, which seems like a lot of trouble when they could’ve just busted him when he picked up the cargo at the airport.

Apparently Saab met some organized crime players while playing poker in underground poker rooms and then became involved in the illegal activity to gain some easy money. He should have stuck to poker, though, as he was pretty good at it.

Many are outraged by the degree of sentencing handed down to Saab, but Australian government must have picked Saab to make an example out of.

Full Tilt Poker Statement Released; AGCC Hearing Forthcoming

Full Tilt Poker’s looming meeting with the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC), scheduled for next week, has sparked a statement release by Full Tilt Poker. The statement begins with a recap of what has went down since Black Friday, including the AGCC’s June 29^th decision to suspend Full Tilt Poker’s gaming license. New information in the release concerns the dire straits of the company’s financial standings and their continued belief that they will redeem themselves, estimating that they need a €12 million reduction in costs to optimize their operations.

The statement reads: “This program is intended to streamline the company’s operations in order to better position itself for future growth and profitability in Full Tilt Poker’s markets outside of the U.S. If all of the required cost savings were to be achieved through redundancies, approximately 250 positions could be affected; however the exact number cannot be confirmed until the conclusion of a consultation process with its workforce.”

Again, Full Tilt Poker has just restated what everyone already knew, avoided the fact that player funds have still yet to be redeemed, blamed everyone but themselves, and now plans to fire 250 employees. Perhaps they are setting up for the AGCC meeting in hopes to get a little reprieve from the hearing, but until they own what’s going on, it is not likely that anyone will have much sympathy for them.

Whether or not their ploy will work will not be known by the public immediately, as the meeting will be held in private on September 19^th, and it is unknown when the information will be released to the public. What is even more mindboggling than the statements that have come from Full Tilt Poker is their somewhat positive outlook on the future of their operations. What lies ahead for the former online poker empire remains a mystery.

Entraction Bans Canadian Players and Five other Countries

The consequences of Black Friday have been widely felt in the online poker community throughout the US and the rest of the world. Online poker sites have been forced to oust the US market from their player bases and many professional level online poker players who reside in the US have been forced to take up residency elsewhere in order to continue to make a living playing online poker. One country that has taken on a lot of online poker pros over the past five months is Canada. Unfortunately though, players from Canada, along with four other countries have been banned from the Entraction Poker Network.

Norway, Israel, Russia, and Turkey are also no longer welcomed at Entraction Poker sites to play online poker for real money after seeing what has happened to other US friendly online poker networks. Now VCPoker, Gold Win Poker, and Devilfish Poker, all on the Entraction Poker Network, will no longer accept US players. The five countries that have recently been banned have questionable or non-existing laws concerning online poker and online gambling payment transactions; therefore, it’s safe to say that Entraction just wants to remain clean in the hopes that efforts to legitimize online poker in the future will benefit them. By backing out now before any action is taken against them, they will later be able to re-enter the banned markets should adequate regulation laws be put into place.

Nevada Braces for US Online Poker Action

Nevada’s biggest law firms have made statements regarding the state’s move toward getting in on online poker ahead of the curve in the hopes that the federal government will legitimize online poker.

The first set of proposed Internet poker legislature will be considered at a public workshop to be held later in the month. They plan to have a format for regulation of online poker in line by the close of January, which would be ahead of Congress, should they legalize the game.

Attorney Mark Clayton, from Lionel Sawyer & Collins law firm, explains that this move could likely place Nevada on the front lines of the market in order to become the jurisdiction to regulate and license poker online for everyone else in the country.

Clayton’s firm participated in a two-hour seminar on online gaming that was held at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas’ Boyd School of Law. He says, “The first state out to capture the market is going to have a tremendous advantage.”

Clayton explained that because software, servers, and other computer equipment needed to run Internet gaming operations are massive and hard to transfer, once they are set up in Nevada, they will be there to stay. Nevada would also collect fees for licensure from the online gaming corporations that would set up shop in the state, and thus, collect tax revenue off of wagers.

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