|
PokerPages > Poker News > Poker News
Poker News - Poker News
Search News:
How Massachusetts Came Close to Banning Online PokerMon, Mar 24th, 2008 @ 12:00am Indeed, the Massachusetts House voted 106-48 last Thursday against Governor Deval Patrick's Casino Bill that includes a section to criminalize playing online poker or gambling on the Internet, and to fine violators up to $25,000 or a two year sentence. But the vote could easily have gone the other way, had the governor's office reached out to key interest groups earlier and lined up their support. MISSED KEY CASINO SUPPORTERS- THE MASHPEE INDIANS First, the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian tribe proposed an agreement last month that would have assured the tribe a casino in Middleborough in exchange for the tribe's support of Patrick's legislation. The Mashpee Indians were willing to support Patrick's bill for 2 other casinos, if in turn Patrick would support the tribe's plan to open a casino in Middleborough under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and assure the tribe they would have no competition from other casinos in the southeastern part of the state. However, "an administration official said Friday that with the casino legislation uncertain, they were reluctant to cut a quick deal with the tribe that they may have protracted negotiations with over the next couple of years," according to the Boston Globe. RACETRACKS COULD ALSO HAVE BEEN TURNED INTO ALLIES Second, Patrick missed turning racetracks into unlikely allies. Racetracks would most likely oppose supporting competition in the form of casinos. But as Gary Piontkowski, president of the Plainridge harness track in Plainville commented, if Patrick had amended the bill to include slot machines for racetracks, the racetracks could have found common ground on the bill. The Globe quoted Piontkowski as saying it was too late. "I'm thinking, 'Where have you guys been for eight months? For eight months we could'nt get a sniff to get it amended. Had this program been inclusive, we could have done something.'" INABILITY TO ARRANGE VOTE DELAY ENSURED BILL'S FAILURE The Sunday before the public hearing, US Representative Michael E. Capuano visited House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi's house to persuade the speaker to delay a House vote on Patrick's casino bill. According to the Globe, Patrick has asked Capuano to help negotiate talks with DiMasi after realizing his casino plans were doomed unless he could buy some time to make changes and strengthen alliances. But ultimately, even with Capuano's extraordinary role as emissary and DiMasi's willingness to compromise on the delay, Patrick could not agree with DiMasi's conditions for the delay: that Patrick ask publicly for a delay to make it clear the speaker was not cutting off debate, and also to admit that DiMasi had enough votes to kill the bill. CLOSE CALL So while the final House vote went against Patrick's casino bill, had his office reached agreements with these key groups the vote might have been very different, which is something to be mindful of if one wants to keep online poker de-criminalized.
Read Related Article:
More Poker News Articles
PokerStars Launches New UK and Ireland Poker Tour PokerStars.com has announced the start of a new poker tour with stops throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. The UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) will kick off in Galway, Ireland in mid-December, and the first event in the UK will be held in Manchester in February.
Peerless Media Agrees to Purchase World Poker Tour Enterprises According to a Monday press release, WPT Enterprises Inc., mothership of the World Poker Tour, is now the rightful property of Peerless Media, Ltd., subsidiary of online giant PartyGaming.
Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Hit the Amazing Race Rail After surviving six legs of the Amazing Race by the skin of their teeth, poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were finally eliminated in the CBS reality show's most recently aired episode. Michelle and Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker Main Events, gave reality television fans another chance to watch poker personalities compete away from the felt. Annie Duke garnered quite a following earlier in the year on another reality show competition, NBC's Celebrity Apprentice.
Isaac Baron Dominates Caesars Classic Main Event Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron ran over the final table of the Caesars Palace Classic $5,000 Main Event, amassing a huge chip lead and going home with the $246,928 first prize. It took two long days to narrow the 162-person field to the final ten. A very high percentage of the entrants were recognizable tournament circuit players, and unsurprisingly, the stacked field produced a tough final table lineup.
Tonight- ESPN shows Day Before WSOP Main Event Final Nine are Set- Oct 27 Tonight (Oct. 27) at 9pm ET, ESPN will broadcast highlights of action on the day before the Final Table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was set. Only 27 players remain when this one-hour show begins.
Frenchman Wins PokerStars EPT Warsaw Poker Tourney At the PokerStars European Poker Tour Warsaw No Limit Texas Hold'em main event that wrapped up yesterday, French businessman Christophe Benzimra finished first taking home 358,644 Euros in prize money, while Italian poker pro Alfio Battisti finished second in the tournament.
Vedes Conquers WPT Festa al Lago Final Table Tommy Vedes is the WPT's newest champion! Vedes outlasted 274 players to win the Festa al Lago title and the $1,218,225 first prize. Freddy Deeb, who began the final table with the chip lead, hoped to win his third WPT title and tie Gus Hansen's record. Instead, Deeb was forced to settle for 4th place, leaving room for a new WPT champ. Click here for in-depth coverage of the action and photos from the final table.
Will Hungarians Get Taxed on Poker Soon? Hungarian lawmakers have plans to tax poker winnings and regulate clubs to generate much-needed revenues during the country's worst economic crisis since the end of communism, reports Germany's Deutsche Weele.
Freddy Deeb Leads World Poker Tour Final Table The WPT Festa al Lago Main Event is down to the final six after five tough days of play. Two-time WPT champion Freddy Deeb brings the chip lead along with the benefit of his under-the-lights experience into Monday's televised final table. Deeb previously won the WPT Season III Aruba Poker Classic and the Season VII Celebrity Invitational. He also owns two World Series bracelets and has amassed over $6 million in tournament winnings. A win on Monday would add $1,218,225 to that total. Click here for photos from the felt and final table chip counts.
11 Remain in WPT Festa al Lago Main Event The fourth day of the Festa al Lago WPT $15,000 Championship began with 37 players, just ten eliminations away from the money. Though action was painfully slow at times, it hit break-neck speed before the end of the night, leaving only 11 players standing heading into Day 5. Click here for Day 4 photos and chip counts. |
 Online Poker »
Poker News »
Blog Coverage
Top News
PokerStars Launches New UK and Ireland...
Peerless Media Agrees to Purchase World... Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Hit the... Top Tournaments
|
Discuss this article in our forum
Print this article
All Poker and free play poker content ©2009 Advanced Global Applications, LLC. All rights reserved.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, visit either: National Council on Problem Gambling or Gamblers Anonymous International Service