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Hearing on Massachusetts Casinos and Online Poker Internet Gambling Ban This WeekMon, Dec 17th, 2007 @ 12:00am There are indications that Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is starting to ramp up his lobbying efforts for his casino bill, which includes verbage making online poker and online gambling illegal for state residents, by testifying at a legislative hearing this week. The governor's legislation, filed in October, would license there resort casinos: in Western Massachusetts, Southeastern Massachusetts, and metropolitan Boston. A Boston Globe article says Patrick claims each casino could generate $200 million to $300 million in licensing fees every 10 years. He is also counting on another $400 million a year for state coffers, gambling revenue that he would use for property tax relief and roads and bridges. Patrick's online gambling ban provision, which is described in three paragraphs of the bill, applies to anyone in Massachusetts who places or receives a wager of any type using a telephone, cell phone, Internet, or local wireless networks. It also applies to anyone who knowingly installs equipment for transmitting wagers. The provision also specifically exempts the proposed casinos from the law (click here for related article). Fellow Massachusetts democrat Barney Frank, who in Feb. introduced HR 2046, legislation to license and regulate online gambling in the USA, has strongly criticized Patrick's plan to punish online gamers while inviting casino operators to set up shop, asking, "Why is gambling in a casino OK and gambling on the internet is not?" Proponents of the proposal argue that the state needs new sources of revenue. They also cite the amount of money Massachusetts residents are spending at Connecticut casinos. Committee members against the idea cited several reasons, saying they do not trust the revenue estimates supplied by the Patrick administration, which did not conduct an independent study and has provided little explanation of how it arrived at its numbers. They also argued some local businesses and resort communities would be negatively affected by the competition from casinos, as well as not agree with how the revenues would be spent. "It's not an easy decision," Representative Jeffrey Sanchez, a Democrat from Boston who is leaning against it was quoted by the Boston Globe. "People see Donald Trump is coming, Las Vegas is coming." The Legislature has previously been lukewarm to proposals for expanded gaming. But this proposal is broader and has been filed by a popular governor whom many legislators helped send to office. Read Related Article:
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Do Online Poker Players Want Obama, Not McCain? With the presidential election right around the corner, the online poker world finds itself entrenched in legal battles. Who will we turn to in order to obtain our poker freedom? According to research conducted by Duplicate Poker, online players seem to prefer Barack Obama over John McCain at nearly a 2-1 clip.
Sweden Undecided Whether Online Poker to Remain Gov't Monopoly Sweden has repeatedly been under fire from the European Commission to comply with EU laws that give EU-based operators free movement of goods and services between EU member countries. Today, Gambling Intelligence Group relayed that Jan Nyren, who is conducting Sweden's gambling investigation, will propose in his final report due in December that Sweden introduce a licensing system for online sports betting providers. But he says he has yet to decide whether to recommend online poker be opened to competition or remain the government monopoly of Svenska Spel.
World Series Of Poker Academy Debuts in LA Sept. 6-7 at The Bicycle Casino The World Series of Poker Academy, poker's premier series of instructional schools where participants learn first-hand from the world's greatest poker players, just announced details for its first-ever event in Los Angeles, California USA.
World Series of Poker Europe Begins in 2 Weeks With only two weeks to go, final preparations are being made and big name players continue to commit to the second annual World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), including members of the final table of the World Series of Poker (WSOP). All players will compete for their chance at fame, fortune and the most coveted prize in gaming: a World Series of Poker championship bracelet.
Team PokerStars Nets Hockey Great Mats Sundin While the hockey world may have to keep waiting for Mats Sundin to decide his NHL future, fans of the felt will be seeing a lot of the fomer Toronto Maple Leafs captain. It has been announced that PokerStars has signed the hockey legend to an endorsement deal, making Sundin the newest PokerStars embassador.
Poker Pro Europe Magazine Expands Distribution into South Africa Poker Pro Europe magazine, as part of its global expansion, can now be found in casinos in South Africa and Swaziland. The distribution pushes the publication's total circulation over 55,000, making it one of the largest poker-related magazines outside the USA.
Amsair is Official Airline of World Series of Poker Europe Amsair was just announced as the latest top line sponsor for the forthcoming World Series of Poker Europe to be held next month in London, UK. The deal will make Amsair Executive Aviation the official airline of the tour and will allow Betfair Poker customers exclusive and discounted rates on any of the private jets in the extensive Amsair charter fleet.
No Withholding Taxes on Poker Tourneys The IRS has decided that every poker operator in the United States will have to report anyone who wins more than $5,000 in a poker tournament.
Poker Craze is Ramping Up in Asia The recent successful Asian Poker Tour (APT) in Macau, and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) underway at Macau's Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino both reflect how Texas Hold'em poker is set to take the Asian region by storm, according to Timothy Chui of the Hong Kong Standard.
WSOP November Niner Dennis Phillips Signs Up for Oracle Poker Consulting With 2008 World Series of Poker final table participants receiving the luxury of a 117 day break before the biggest day of their poker careers, it was believed that the final nine would take a large portion of the hiatus to fix any leaks in their poker game. "November Nine" chip leader Dennis Phillips was the first final tabler to make his coaching arrangements public, as his hiring of Oracle Poker Consulting was announced Wednesday in a press release. |
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