2006 October 06 Poker News, Events and Happenings - Page 3

Over thirty years ago the Internet was a pipe dream, and the dreams of poker players typically centered around finding a local game full of fish that were eager to lose their money. After Benny Binion created the World Series of Poker, the poker dreams changed and started down the road of respectability, with prize money eventually hitting seven figures. After the Internet got a hold of poker, the dreams changed again, and the bar to entry for the big ticket prizes was forever lowered - at least until the US Congress passed the Anti-Online Poker Bill recently…

The Free Poker toolbar, Pokerbar, was released early to help poker players fight against the poker ban. “Pokerbar will keep online players united and well informed with news regarding the poker ban,” says Nathan, Owner of PokerSecretsSchool.com. Pokerbar can be downloaded free at: http://PokerSchool.mytowntoolbar.com (PRWeb Oct 6, 2006)

While the country debates the measures used to get the Anti-Online Gambling Bill passed in the US Congress, the state of North Carolina has begun to phase in the enforcement period in their efforts to rid the state of video poker machines. For years the NC Sheriff’s Offices have been trying to get the machines outlawed, as they have proven to be too tempting to operate for some area business owners. While the machines are not set to dispense cash prizes, which is illegal in NC, bar owners running the machines were coming up with creative way to do so, such as returning “change” with a drink purchase that included a cash prize won on the video poker machine…

One of the more interesting news stories flowing from the US attempt to disrupt financial channels to the online gambling industry was carried by the British newspaper The Independent this week. According to the newspaper, the American horse racing industry doled out the big bucks to ensure that it was exempt from the online gambling financial restrictions that Congress seeks to impose.

With the initial panic over last weekend’s rushed US Congress action against online gambling dying down, operational companies are starting to look more objectively at the practical implications of this essentially financial restrictive US proposal.

2005 William Hill Grand Prix winner Phil Laak will be back to defend his Gods Of Poker crown on Friday 20th October in Heat E of the William Hill GP II. The tenacious American, who last year defeated 55 of the Worlds best poker players to land the £150,000 ($285,000) first prize, heads a quality field of poker players the likes of which have rarely been televised in a European tournament.

The question of what happens to marketing budgets in the wake of US political attempts to hamstring online gambling was addressed this week in a fascinating article that appeared in Click Z News.