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UIGEA Legality Hearing set for September 4- Online Poker Players WatchfulThu, Jul 12th, 2007 @ 12:00am A Federal Judge in the state of New Jersey has assigned a September 4 hearing date for the lawsuit filed June 5 by the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) against U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales that seeks to prevent implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The date was revealed in a Gambling911 article published today. Judge Mary L. Cooper of the US District Court in Trenton, NJ will preside over the hearing. Last October, the UIGEA made it illegal for financial institutions to handle transactions between U.S. residents and online gambling businesses, effectively blocking most US residents from playing poker online. "The purpose of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is to prevent Americans from engaging in their fundamental rights to conduct their lives in the manner they wish to live it - to be free from the government imposing public morality in the privacy of one's home", said Eric M. Bernstein, Esq., attorney for iMEGA. The lawsuit filings request a Temporary Restraining Order to stop US banks from having to enforce whatever policies have or may be created by the Treasury and the Attorney General until the courts can fully hear all the arguments against the UIGEA. In addition to the US Department of Justice (DoJ), it also names the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Reserve in the case. CAUSING PROBLEMS FOR ENTIRE I-COMMERCE The suit outlines how the UIGEA infringes upon basic constitutional rights and sets a dangerous precedent for I-commerce by criminalizing the transmission of money if the end result is illegal in some unspecified place. "We think the law infringes on the First Amendment and Tenth Amendment rights of our members," Edward Leyden, iMEGA's president, told Red Herring last month. "And we also believe the government has exceeded its authority in its WTO dispute with Antigua and that too has harmed our clients." [click here for article on WTO case] "This law will cause problems for the entire Internet," Joe Brennan, Jr., iMEGA founder and a former executive of AOL told delegates at the Global Interactive Gaming Summit and Expo in Montreal last month. He went on to explain that his organization was backed by a small group of wealthy individuals with strong moral convictions, who were concerned at the dangers that a ban on Internet financial flows such as that used in the UIGEA could imply. "We are a 501 (c) 6 trade organization. This gives the association an opportunity to have standing to lobby on behalf of our members and to maintain their privacy." iMEGA HAS PLANS BEYOND ONLINE GAMBLING INDUSTRY Brennan revealed that iMEGA has plans beyond the online gambling industry, and he stressed that his organization was not a front for any gambling group or groups. The organization is concerned at the erosion of constitutional liberties and fears that over-zealous government intervention could extend to other areas of American society. He pointed to other major Internet entities such as Google and YouTube as potential targets should the UIGEA concept, regulations and powers become more widely used by the authorities. iMEGA is concerned that if the UIGEA is allowed to continue, with its potential for absolute enforcement, the United States will fall far behind other major nations as far as online development is concerned, Brennan emphasized. "We understand there are problems that must be recognized such as underage and problem gambling, but there are ways to get rid of this instead of relying on draconian laws that will only exacerbate problems, especially when it comes to fraud and addiction," he claimed. WILL UIGEA BE ENFORCED BEFORE SEPTEMBER 4? "The UIGEA can still be enforced prior to the September 4 date," Brennan relayed in a brief conversation with Gambling911.com Wednesday evening. "But we feel confident that the judge will prevent that from happening." The honorable Judge Cooper will review the briefs submitted by iMEGA and the defendants (US DoJ, FTC and Federal Reserve) to determine if she will grant iMEGA's request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the enforcement of UIGEA. Judge Cooper can decide whether she will rule on the TRO request based on the submitted briefs, or can order a separate hearing to hear oral arguments and testimony before making a ruling. Read Related Articles:
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World Series of Poker: Ante Up for Africa The Ante Up for Africa Charity Tournament is one of the biggest poker charity events of the year. This charity tournament supports the refugees from the Sudan region of Darfur. After nine hours of play, Alexander (Alex) Bolotin was crowned the champion of the Ante Up for Africa tournament and won $177,730 for his first place finish.
World Series of Poker Event 56: Matt Hawrilenko Takes Down Bracelet and $1 Million The $5,000 Six Handed No Limit Hold'em event was the last event to be held at the World Series of Poker 2009 before the famous Main Event starts. Event number 56 saw 928 players register for their chance to win the last bracelet to be offered this summer. The next bracelet of the Series will not be awarded until November when the Main Event final table wraps up. Adding to the excitement of this event, there was a total prize pool of over $4.3 million, and the winner of the event was guaranteed to come out a millionaire.
World Series of Poker Event 54: Tony Veckey Wins Event 54 sold out in a hurry as 2,818 people gobbled up all of the seats for the last low buy-in No Limit Hold''m tournament of the World Series of Poker. This was a new event added to satisfy the enormous public demand for this level of event. $1,500 from each of the entrants produced a prize pool of $3,846,570, with payouts down to 297.
World Series of Poker Event 52: German Jorg Peisert Wins Jorg Peisert from Dusseldorf, Germany won the inaugural Triple Chance No Limit Hold'em event at this year's World Series of Poker. Peisert outlasted 853 other players who put up $3000 to play in this No Limit Hold'em event. The total prize pool was $2,357,040 and 81 players took home a cut. 81st place took home $5,892, but the lion's share, $506,800, went to Peisert. On the final day, Peisert started in 6th chip position and worked his way up to a chip juggernaut, eliminating players and collecting chips along the way. Notable players who cashed in this tournament include, Eric 'Rizen' Lynch (12th), An 'The Boss' Tran, Mike 'The Mad Genius of Poker' Caro (23rd), and Antonio 'The Magician' Esfandiari (24th).
World Series of Poker Event 53: New Orleans Resident David Halpern Wins David Halpern from New Orleans, LA won the $1500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8-or Better Event at the 2009 World Series of Poker. Halpern outlasted 467 other players to win $159,048 for winning the tournament. Halpern has already cashed once this year (Pot Limit Omaha), but this is his first WSOP bracelet. The $657,455 prize pool was spread out amongst 48 players who cashed. Halpern battled William Kohler for over three hour heads-up. Battled is a strong word, as both players seemed enamored of each other and even went to dinner together during the break. They traded the chip lead back and forth until Kohler seized it for good. Other notable players who cashed includes Chad Brown (4th), Matt Savage (5th), Andy Bloch (23rd), and Norman Chad (32rd).
World Series of Poker event 49: David Bach Wins $50K HORSE Event The 2009 $50,000 HORSE event attracted 95 of the world's best poker players. The number of entrants decreased from the previous year which attracted 148 entrants. As play began, player's speculated as to the reason why the numbers decreased so dramatically. Was it the economy? Was it Scotty Nguyen's drunken tirade last year? Many believed that it was ESPN's unfortunate decision to not televise this year's final table. Even though the field decreased, the players still had a full five days of play. 87 players would be eliminated on the way to a star studded final table. After 20 hours of play, David Bach was proclaimed the winner of the 2009 $50,000 HORSE event. He took home the bracelet, the Chip Reese Memorial trophy, and the $1,276,806 first place prize.
World Series of Poker Event 55: Abe Mosseri Wins First WSOP Bracelet Abraham Mosseri from New York City won the $2,500 Deuce to Seven Lowball (Limit) event at the 2009 World Series of Poker. Mosseri outlasted 257 other players to win $165,513 and the accompanying gold bracelet. This is Mosseri's first WSOP bracelet and third cash. This was his 2nd final table of this year's Series. Mosseri and others amassed a prize pool of $593,400. Only 24 players got a piece of it though. Mosseri ended Day 1 in 13th place with 39,100 in chips. By the end of Day 2, Mosseri was the chip leader with 447,000. Mosseri maintained his chip lead through most of the day. It would come down to him and Masayoshi Tanaka, who started the day with second most chips. Tanaka had the lead as heads up began, but it was meant to be for Mosseri who played aggressively and caught cards at the right time to eventually eliminate Tanaka. Notables at today's final table included three time bracelet winner John Juanda (4th), Blair Rodman (5th) and Nam Le (9th). Daniel Negreanu cashed in 16th and Hasan Habib finished in 18th.
World Series of Poker Event 51: Carsten Joh Wins Sold Out NLHE Event Carsten Joh defeated a sellout crowd to win his first bracelet in the penultimate $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event of 2009. Joh beat Andrew Chen heads up to bring home Germany's first bracelet of the Series. The event began with a largely amateur crowd, and the big names that made it to Day 2 quickly found themselves on the sidelines. Men Nguyen, Tony Cousineau, and Matt Brady outlasted most of the field but failed to make it to Day 3.
World Series of Poker Event 50: Greg 'FBT' Mueller Wins 2nd '09 Bracelet The $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout should put to rest any questions about the skill required to play Limit. By the time the event was down to two players, it was a heads up match between the owners of the last two Limit bracelets awarded at the WSOP. Greg 'FBT' Mueller defeated Marc Naalden to win his second bracelet of the year, making him the fourth person to claim more than one in 2009. Naalden now has 1st and 2nd place finishes in Limit tournaments this year. He also cashed in a Mixed Hold'em event.
World Series of Poker Event 48: Brandon 'any2cantu' Cantu Wins After finishing runner-up at a final table a week ago, Brandon Cantu got a second chance to win a second bracelet in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Split event. This time, Cantu closed the deal in a tough heads up match with Lee Watkinson and picked up the WSOP gold. Brandon 'any2cantu', known for his creative and sometimes loose style of play, was as shocked as everyone else when he turned over Aces more than ten times on Day 2. "This is the hottest streak I've ever been on in my life," he told Phil Hellmuth, who was eliminated in 14th place. By the time the field was narrowed to 25 players, Brandon had nearly 25% of the chips in play. |
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