From our friends over at TMZ, Tobey Maguire has just filed legal docs, categorically denying that he participated in illegal celebrity poker games. Tobey is being sued by the Bankruptcy trustees of a convicted felon who claims Tobey won more than $300,000 in unlicensed poker games in L.A.  The trustees are trying to get the money back. In his answer to the lawsuit, Tobey says the hold ‘em poker games were not “controlled games,” which required the host to have a license. Tobey also denies there was any scheme on his part to defraud anyone.  According to the complaint, the person whom Tobey took to the cleaners was Bradley Ruderman, who is serving time for defrauding a bunch of people out of more than $50 million in a Ponzi scheme. In the docs, Tobey “admits that he was invited to participate in the Poker Games” … but denies that there was a “regular roster of players consisting of wealthy celebrities, entrepreneurs, attorneys and businessmen.”

Stay tuned for more information…

15 % off any pair of Royal Eyewear Poker Sunglasses + free shipping! 30 day money back guarantee
Promo Code: MAKEPOKER
We are the EXCLUSIVE distributor in North America. Bulk Orders and resellers wanted. Email info@makepokerlegal.com for more information

On June 18, Tom G. of Kirkwood, Mo., who goes by the handle Jestocost, won the $1,500 seat for the July 3 No Limit event, along with a $500 cash allowance. On June 22, Glenn N. of Andover, Maine, who plays under the name Poppa_Bowder, won the $10,000 Main Event seat for the July 7 Main Event, and a $500 travel allowance.

Congratulations to both gentlemen, and best of luck in Vegas!

You can still play and win a ton of prizes and over $100,000 in cash. US friendly. Must be 18 or older to play. See official rules for full details. Go to our Poker Room to play

15 % off any pair of Royal Eyewear Poker Sunglasses + free shipping! 30 day money back guarantee
Promo Code: MAKEPOKER
We are the EXCLUSIVE distributor in North America. Bulk Orders and resellers wanted. Email info@makepokerlegal.com for more information

We would like to bring your attention to the following two press releases:

PokerStars Official Statement, June 29 2011

In light of today’s news that Alderney Gambling Control Commission has suspended Full Tilt Poker’s license, PokerStars wishes to assure our customers that their funds are completely safe and that our operations are completely unaffected. The Isle of Man Gaming Commission today re-affirmed that PokerStars’ worldwide licensing is intact and that our operations are in full compliance with all of its requirements. PokerStars’ online operations continue as normal and all funds in players’ accounts are safe and available for withdrawal as usual with no delays.

PokerStars also remains in full compliance with our licenses in other jurisdictions where we are regulated, including France, Italy and Estonia.

As provided under our licensing, PokerStars has always maintained the integrity and security of our players’ funds, by keeping all such funds in segregated bank accounts, always available for immediate withdrawal.

Since the actions of US Department of Justice in April, we have returned more than $120 million to US players and continue to act upon requests as they are received. Players outside the US have not been affected and all cash-outs have been processed without delays. Further, PokerStars entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice which expressly confirmed the company’s ability to operate outside the US.

We will continue to operate as a responsible corporate citizen and are committed to serving the needs of our customers in complete compliance with our regulatory requirements.

IOM Gambling Supervision Commission Statement, June 29 2011

The Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission wishes to make it clear that the licensing status of PokerStars in the Isle of Man remains unchanged following today’s statement from the Gambling Control Commission in Alderney. Alderney is a separate jurisdiction from the Isle of Man and the operation in question is separate from PokerStars.

PokerStars continues to demonstrate compliance with its licence conditions in the Isle of Man. PokerStars continues to offer withdrawals to any players who wish to withdraw their funds, including players in the USA to whom PokerStars does not currently offer real-money gaming.

The official statement from the IOM Gambling Supervision Commission can be found here.

We would like to thank you for your continued support.

Best Regards,
The PokerStarsPartners Team

15 % off any pair of Royal Eyewear Poker Sunglasses + free shipping! 30 day money back guarantee
Promo Code: MAKEPOKER
We are the EXCLUSIVE distributor in North America. Bulk Orders and resellers wanted. Email info@makepokerlegal.com for more information

UPDATE: Here is the official statement from Alderney Gambling Control Commission

———————————————————————————————-
The executive director of the Alderney Gambling Commission says he decided to suspend five egambling licenses of Full Tilt Poker because of “several issues” that arose as part of a special investigation involving forensic auditors that was prompted by the U.S. government’s online poker crackdown.

“In our view it’s serious,” Andre Wilsenach, the executive director of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, said in a few guarded comments, explaining his decision to suspend the licenses prior to a hearing scheduled on July 26. “The law allows me if I think it’s sufficiently serious and in the public interest that I can suspend it today until such time that we have a hearing.”

The headquarters of Full Tilt are in Dublin, Ireland, and four of its companies are licensed by the gambling regulatory body in Alderney, which is part of the Channel Islands. Wilsenach says those Full Tilt entities took out licenses between 2007 and January 2011, and show that Full Tilt is owned by Ray Bitar, Full Tilt’s chief executive. The move by the Alderney Gambling Commission orders Full Tilt to immediately suspend its operations and online poker play on Full Tilt appears to have halted in Europe.

“We obviously got grounds to believe that our licensee has acted not in accordance with the law,” said Wilsenach, adding that Full Tilt has been fully cooperating with the special investigation. He declined to elaborate on the nature of the findings of the special investigation, but said they would be publicly detailed at the scheduled July hearing in London.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan indicted Bitar in April, alleging that he had been operating an illegal gambling business, and moved to shut down Full Tilt Poker’s U.S. operations. Full Tilt continued operating outside the U.S. and Bitar has denied any wrongdoing. The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan also filed a civil money laundering lawsuit against Full Tilt. Since then Full Tilt has agreed not to facilitate for-money online poker in the U.S., but has struggled to pay back its U.S. players.

Earlier in June, Subject: Poker reported that Full Tilt was dealing with a $60 million shortfall that was the result of a practice of crediting player accounts despite being unable to debit funds from customers due to payment processing challenges.

LOS ANGELES (CNN) — Celebrities who won big money in secret high-stakes poker games at Beverly Hills luxury hotels were paid with funds stolen from investors who had been lured into an illegal Ponzi scheme, a series of federal lawsuits contends. Actors Tobey Maguire, Nick Cassavetes and Gabe Kaplan, along with professional poker player Dan Bilzerian, two nightclub owners and a Los Angeles lawyer are among at least 11 people being sued by a bankruptcy trustee. None of the defendants in the civil lawsuits is facing criminal charges, but they do have to return at least $1.5 million of their alleged gambling winnings or make their case for the money in court. What each defendant allegedly has in common is that they beat Bradley Ruderman in “regularly held, high stakes and clandestine ‘Texas Hold ‘em’ poker games” held at several hotels and homes in the Beverly Hills area.

Ruderman, 48, is serving a 10-year federal prison sentence for tax, wire and investor advice fraud convictions. “Ruderman induced at least 22 victim-investors to give him approximately $44.3 million” that was never invested, one lawsuit said. Ruderman, a Beverly Hills resident, used the money, in part, to cover his gambling losses, it said. The suits contend the poker games were “exclusive events, by invitation only, and that there was a regular roster of players consisting of wealthy celebrities, entrepreneurs, attorneys and businessmen.” The games were also unlicensed and illegal, so “the player had no legally enforceable contractual right to receive payment,” the suits said. The suits were filed by the bankruptcy trustee who is trying to get Ruderman’s creditors some of their money back. “Spider-Man” actor Toby Maguire won $311,200 from Ruderman at the poker table, the suit against Maguire said. The money was sent to him through seven bank transfers between June 2007 and May 2008, it said.

A spokesman for Maguire declined to comment to CNN, and his lawyer has not yet filed a response to the suit. The trustee is suing director-actor Nick Cassavetes for $73,800 he allegedly won playing poker with Ruderman, court documents said. The other defendants also have not responded to CNN requests for comment. Gabe Kaplan, star of the 1970s sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter,” is being sued for $62,000 the trustee contends he was paid by Ruderman after playing poker. Kaplan’s poker skills are well known because of his frequent television appearances at professional gambling events. Dan Bilzerian, a top professional poker player known as the “Blitz,” beat Ruderman for $100,000, which the bankruptcy trustee wants back, court documents said. There is no criminal investigation of the alleged gambling, according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney.

“Gambling is illegal, but it’s a misdemeanor,” Sandi Gibbons said. The Los Angeles City Attorney’s office, which prosecutes misdemeanors, is not aware of any criminal investigation, a spokesman said Wednesday. The court documents pull back the curtain a bit on what is mostly done behind closed doors by the wealthy and well-known in Beverly Hills. The poker games were “held at luxury locations such as The Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, California, the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, and occasionally at private residences of the poker players,” the lawsuits said. None of the hotels would comment on the allegations when contacted by CNN on Wednesday. The games were “arranged by Molly Bloom, initially (as) an assistant to one of the poker players and then as a stand-alone business,” court documents said. Bloom arranged “food, alcohol and massages” for the players and “arranged for the settlement of gambling winnings and losses between and among the players.”

Bloom, who is being sued by the trustee for $473,200, denied in a response to the court that she was involved in organized illegal gambling. She acknowledged, however, that she “performed services and received value from Ruderman in good faith in exchange for her services.” Bloom passed “a large percentage” of the money sent to her by Ruderman to “third parties,” her response said. Ruderman’s Ponzi scheme spanned seven years, starting in 2002 and ending with an FBI investigation in 2009, according to court papers. “To obtain investments in the fund, Ruderman misrepresented to potential investors that Lowell Milken (chairman of the Milken Family Foundation and younger brother of Michael Milken) and Larry Ellison (the CEO of Oracle Corporation) were investors in the funds,” federal court documents said.

Ruderman provided false accounting statements claiming his hedge fund investments earned between 15% and 61% each year and were valued at more than $800 million, the documents said. “In reality, the funds lost millions of dollars over the years and had a net liquidation value of under $650,000 at the end of 2008,” documents said. It was a year after the funds collapse in April 2009, and months after Ruderman pleaded guilty in January 2010, that the bankruptcy trustee discovered the large transfers of cash from the fund to pay his gambling debts, the lawsuits said.

It is now being reported that The Borgota Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, NJ is going after Jamie Gold again. Back in 2006 when Jamie Gold won the World Series of Poker main event and won $12 million, he (Jamie Gold) had a lot of trouble. There was a huge lawsuit involved. The lawsuit began when Bruce Crispin Leyser, a television company executive, made a verbal agreement with Jamie Gold prior to the start of the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event. The agreement was made in a brief telephone call between the two men which took place shortly before the final day of tournament. In both exchanges, Bruce Crispin Leyser alleged that Jamie agreed to split whatever prize money was won.

Just prior to the 2006 WSOP, Bodog.com Entertainment and Gold entered into a business relationship when Gold agreed to find celebrities willing to play in the main event under the Bodog banner in exchange for a paid entry into the main event. Gold partnered with Crispin Leyser to help with this task in exchange for half of Gold’s winnings, according to Leyser. After Gold won, Leyser says that Gold reneged on the deal and had decided to keep the entire $12 million prize. Leyser sued Gold on August 22, 2006 which resulted in Chief U.S. District Court Judge Kathy Hardcastle issuing a restraining order which prevented Gold from collecting $6 million of his winnings from Rio Hotel and Casino before the first hearing of the lawsuit on December 1, 2006. At the December court hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Roger L. Hunt rejected a motion by Gold’s lawyers to lift the restraining order on the $6 million and ordered the frozen funds be moved into an interest-bearing account, saying that the “likelihood to prevail” lay with Leyser.

Gold did a radio interview on Rounders the Poker Show  following his Main Event win where he mentioned his deal with Leyser. It was later entered into evidence for the lawsuit. On February 6, 2007, Leyser and Gold released a joint statement stating they had settled the matter outside of court. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed. On January 25, 2007, Bodog ended their business relationship with Gold, citing their decision to cease all offline marketing initiatives in the U.S., and instead refocus their efforts on growing their entertainment brand in Europe and Asia. Despite that reason for ending their business relationship, Bodog still retained David Williams, Josh Arieh, and Evelyn Ng as Team Bodog members.

Now the owners of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, NJ are going after Jamie Gold again. The Borgota won a default judgement against Gold for $52,279.47 in a New Jersey Court in 2010 for a bounced check (according to the Borgota). The only problem is that Jamie Gold lives in California. Earlier this month the Borgota filed papers in California to get the judgement that was won in New jersey; and have it enforced in the state of California. According to TMZ, their calls to Jamie Gold reps were not returned as of yet.

Stayed tune for future developing updates…

Ty Warren (founder of Make Poker Legal, a Short Stacked LLC Company) will be on hand Saturday, July 2 at The Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for the first-ever U.S. Ladies Only Team Event – the HHPT “Red Stiletto” Event, sponsored in part by The Majestik Poker Tour, Pro Poker Gear, Ciroc Vodka and a host of others. Ty will be representing the Majestik Poker Tour. He is their Executive Manager of Sales and oversees all aspects of sales, advertising, marketing, promotions and venue settings. People in attendance will be able to get more information about Majestik Poker Tour and the new relationship with High Heels Poker Tour and others. Ty will be able to answer any questions that you may have.

About Majestik Poker Tour
Majestik Poker Tour assists charitable organizations with their fundraising efforts. And there is no better way to accomplish this then through a charity poker tournament. When planned and promoted correctly, charity poker events offer a unique and dynamic fundraising opportunity. We not only offer the planning, promoting and production of charity tournaments but we also, because of the structure of our events, can offer many other fundraising opportunities to work in conjunction with your charity poker tournament. So leave the planning to us! Let MPT work with you and help you realize your fundraising goals.

About Pro Poker Gear
Pro Poker Gear will be providing the tournament bracelet for this event. Pro Poker Gear is the official poker bracelet of The Majestik Poker Tour. Pro Poker Gear has made tournament poker bracelets for High Heels Poker Tour, Trump Taj Mahal, Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Lines, WPT APL, The Vincent LeCavalier Foundation, Wall Street Warfighters Foundation, Feather Falls Casino, Club One Casino, San Manuel Casino, Morongo Casino & Resort, Flop Turn River.com, A.K. International Inc, Walter Reeds Hospital, Anderson Fire Fighters Association, Cypress Bayou Casino, Elk Valley Casino, Entrepreneurs Foundation, Kaw Enterprise Development Authority, Twin Lakes Poker League, Dominican Poker Room, MWR Promotions, No IQ Poker.com, Seneca Casino, Win River Casino, Bad Beat Poker League, Dead Wood Lodge & Casino, APL, Integrity Gaming Inc, Interstate Poker League, Valley View Foundation, Mokafive, RedLightChildren.org, Armenian American Cultural Society, EO Cincinnati, Horseshoe Casino and Hotel Tunica & Dover Downs Hotel & Casino.

About High Heels Poker Tour
The HighHeelsPokerTour was founded by Lauren Failla to establish a link for ladies who want to change the ever growing world of poker. I started playing in college for fun and love the action and intensity of “THE RIGHT MOVE”. My vision for this company is to give women of all ages the opportunity to expand their skills at the poker table and provide a venue for nurturing the next top female poker player. Women in poker are quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with and the HHPT wants to be a part of that phenomenon. I am looking for women who want to change history and go along for the wild ride. Are you that lady?

Lauren Failla
info@highheelspokertour.com
954-609-5580

The Mirage plays host to the first-ever U.S. Ladies Only Team Event

Ft. Lauderdale, FL (June 20, 2011) – The High Heels Poker Tour (HHPT, www.highheelspokertour.com), the largest women’s poker tour, is continuing its 2011 schedule with the first-ever U.S. Ladies Only Team Event – the HHPT “Red Stiletto” Event, sponsored in part by Pro Poker Gear– to be held Saturday, July 2 at The Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.  Following the team event, the HHPT will co-host, with Ciroc Vodka, a VIP “Red Stiletto” party Sunday, July 3 to benefit Poker Gives (www.pokergives.org), the first poker 501(c)(3) dedicated to raising money for various charities including the Step-by-Step Foundation, Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Special Olympics.  The “Red Stiletto” party will be hosted by The Beatles™ REVOLUTION Lounge at The Mirage.  The deadline to register online is Tuesday, June 21.  Registration for the poker event or tickets for the VIP Party can be purchased at www.shop.highheelspokertour.com.

The “Red Stiletto” party will be hosted by The Beatles™ REVOLUTION Lounge at The Mirage

Partnering casinos and companies include Majestik Poker Tour, Tulalip Resort Casino & Spa, Northern Quest Resort & Casino, Isle of Capri Lake Charles, Hard Rock Las Vegas, Harrah’s New Orleans, Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa,  Ocala Poker & Jai-Alai, Beau Rivage Hotel & Casino, Gold Strike,  Ebro Greyhound Track, Horseshoe Council Bluffs, Turning Stone Resort and Casino, Hollywood Casino, Mohegan Sun, St. Johns Greyhound Park, Orange Park Kennel Club, Grand Casino Tunica, Seminole Casinos, The Isle of Capri Casino, Pompano, Tampa Bay Downs Silks Poker Room, Mardi Gras Gaming, Flagler Magic City Poker Room, Daytona Beach Poker Room, Melbourne Greyhound Park and many more.

A federal judge has denied a request by Utah fraud suspect and Las Vegas and Internet gambling figure Jeremy Johnson that some of his assets be released to cover living expenses and legal costs. U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt in Las Vegas, in an order dated Friday, noted “inconsistencies” and a “suspicious” transaction in denying the request by Johnson, who was arrested June 11 on a mail fraud charge. Months before his arrest, Johnson and several of his companies were sued by the Federal Trade Commission in Las Vegas in what the FTC called a scam that cost consumers nationwide $289 million. The FTC claims Johnson and nine associates operated a “far-reaching Internet enterprise” including I Works Inc. and 60 more companies that “deceptively enrolled unwitting consumers into memberships for products or services and then repeatedly charged their credit cards or debited their bank accounts without consumers’ knowledge or authorization.”

Johnson and his codefendants have denied defrauding anyone, but Hunt nevertheless appointed a receiver in January to take control of the assets of Johnson. In court filings last month, attorneys for Johnson sought release of funds under control of the receiver to, among other things, pay their legal fees and so Johnson could make a monthly mortgage payment of $16,644 to SunFirst Bank in St. George, Utah, for a Johnson home in that city. The receiver opposed that request, arguing the value of the home is less than what is owed and that the mortgage itself is suspect. That’s because Johnson had extensive business dealings with SunFirst and the mortgage was created to finance the acquisition of $3.4 million worth of bank stock in the name of Johnson’s brother and his parents. Hunt, in his order Friday, wrote: “Johnson is not entitled to monies that would continue funding a fiscally irresponsible lifestyle.”

The judge also questioned the home loan payment, saying the home was “mortgaged through a suspicious and possibly fraudulent transaction.” Hunt questioned assertions Johnson was broke and that he’d been living off of his wife’s savings. He noted Johnson’s recent spending – including for he and his family to travel back and forth from Utah to Costa Rica — has far exceeded his wife’s $130,000 in savings that Johnson maintains is depleted. “Several additional inconsistencies lead the court to believe that Johnson has access to additional assets,” Hunt wrote in his order, noting Johnson in a court declaration had failed to mention rental income from a home in Santa Monica, Calif. Hunt said that with the FTC likely to prevail in its lawsuit against Johnson, allowing Johnson access to funds held by the receiver would reduce the amount of money the FTC can return to harmed consumers.

The receiver last reported holding $737,000 in cash in the Johnson case and is seeking permission to auction off Johnson assets including aircraft, houseboats and real estate. “Although this amount does not take into account Johnson’s unliquidated assets, the amount available to satisfy consumer injuries is simply a drop in the bucket when compared to the potential liability. Consumers would likely receive pennies on the dollar for their injuries. Under these circumstances, the court finds it inappropriate to pay defense counsel’s fees at this time. Doing so at this juncture could leave consumers without any assets available for redress,” Hunt wrote in his order. As the FTC case in Las Vegas developed, it was revealed Johnson was a high-roller at Wynn Las Vegas who lost $1.35 million there between 2006 and early 2011. He also gambled at MGM Resorts International properties including the MGM Grand, Luxor and Bellagio.

It was also revealed Johnson lost another $1.536 million playing on the Full Tilt Poker website between April and October 2010 and that he did business with Internet poker companies. Johnson also had business ties with Las Vegas businessman Chad Elie, who was indicted in April’s federal Internet poker crackdown. And SunFirst Bank – which Johnson and Elie did business with – saw its part owner and vice chairman, John Campos, indicted in the same poker crackdown.

Matt Hawrilenko was a junior public policy student and varsity wrestler at Princeton University when he first started dabbling in online poker — just as the so-called “poker boom” of 2003 was taking off.  Using the online handle “Hoss_TBF,” Hawrilenko began at the smallest of stakes of 25 cents and 50 cents. “Between wrestling and my studies, poker was really just a hobby at Princeton,” he recalled recently. “I played with friends and online a bit, but toward the end of my senior year, when most of my school work was out of the way, I started playing online more and more.” Then he entered — and won — an online satellite tournament for the 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, “and that’s pretty much how everything got kicked off,” he said. Hawrilenko eventually moved up to much higher stakes, of $2,000 and $4,000, and has since earned millions of dollars from online gaming. In February of this year alone, he won $1.7 million online, according to the poker tracking site Highstakesdb.com.

The 29-year-old has become one of the game’s most respected pros, the winner of a coveted gold bracelet given to WSOP event winners, with a paid sponsorship from Full Tilt Poker, a leading gaming website. “Winning a bracelet is on every poker player’s list,” Hawrilenko said. “The bracelet is a way to prove to your aunt and uncle and people on the outside that you’re not a schmuck, or just a degenerate gambler. But the true test is how you do at the cash games.” Even his parents didn’t mind that, after they helped put him through one of the world’s most prestigious universities, he turned to full-time poker playing. “My parents were awesome and so supportive,” Hawrilenko said. “They know that I have always been a pretty good decision-maker, and it’s not like the poker thing came as a shock to them. I had spoken to them for quite a while about it.” “If anything,” he said, “they may have been surprised at how long it took me to make the transition.”

A legal gray zone
Despite his tremendous success, Hawrilenko has started to carefully assess his future aspirations following the upending of the online poker world earlier this year, when the U.S. Department of Justice in the Southern District of New York handed out indictments and seized the domain names of three largest internet poker companies in the world. On April 15, the federal government shut down the sites — Full Tilt, PokerStars and Absolute Poker — and froze an estimated $500 million in player assets. “Suddenly, many players and a lot of my friends had no source of income,” Hawrilenko said. “Literally, on that Friday, tens of thousands of people lost their jobs.” Internet gambling is officially illegal in the U.S., but the sites are registered overseas, and many players have prospered. In addition, Hawrilenko and other players believed that over the past two years the movement to legalize and regulate poker was picking up steam.

Then the system crashed.
No players were charged in the 52-count indictment, but the poker sites and their chief executives are accused of a variety of crimes, ranging from bank fraud to running an illegal gambling operation. The U.S. government is seeking $3 billion in penalties and up to 65 years in prison for some of the 11 defendants named in the indictment. Meanwhile, American players who depended on the legal gray area of online poker to earn a living were out of work and casting about for new careers. Many of those players, including Hawrilenko, are venturing out to play more live tournaments and high stakes cash games inside brick-and-mortar casinos, which still is legal. “There are several things I have wanted to accomplish outside of poker for a very long time,” Hawrilenko said, “and this will give me the opportunity to do that.” One of those pursuits is continuing his academics. Hawrilenko currently is a research assistant of clinical psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., and he’s aiming for a doctorate. Hawrilenko and his wife, Emily, also a Princeton graduate, are involved with a number of charitable organizations. In lieu of gifts at their 2008 wedding, the Hawrilenkos asked guests for donations to their favorite charities, including the Richard Dawkins Foundation and KIMbia Athletics, which was founded by elite runners to support schools in Kenya.

‘Poker is a real job’
Hawrilenko’s first job out of college was with the Susquehanna International Group (SIG), a technology-powered financial trading firm based in suburban Philadelphia. The smooth segue from Princeton into the working world at Susquehanna was not a complete stroke of luck, as his employers may have picked up on some aspects of his poker skills at some point in the interview process. “The company was founded by poker players,” Hawrilenko said. “I am at the company three months and all of a sudden I am flying out to Las Vegas on one of the partners’ private jets and they are staking me to play in the World Series of Poker.” “So, that was pretty awesome,” he said. During that plane trip, Hawrilenko began talking poker analytics and strategy with Bill Chen, a fellow Susquehanna employee who is one of the most respected high stakes players in the world. “Bill has a real mathematical approach to the game, and it seemed as if we had similar ideas and came to some similar conclusions,” Hawrilenko said. “We found ourselves arriving at the same place, albeit in slightly different ways. “We found that we could take a more academic approach and achieve success at the highest levels bit by bit. So, yeah, that is when I realized I could really make some money,” he said. Not just some money. Life-changing money. “That first year, I made a fair bit more playing poker than I did at finance,” Hawrilenko said. “By the second year I was making a lot more at poker than at finance.” “At that point we were pretty confident our strategies were successful. I actually stayed at the job a bit longer than I could have due to the success I was having at poker,” he said. Did Hawrilenko ever entertain thoughts of returning to his real job at SIG? “Poker is a real job,” he said. “Anyone can play, but there is a lot of knowledge and skill that goes into playing it well.”

‘Black Friday’ fallout
When the indictments came down, a day known in the poker world as Black Friday, Hawrilenko was speeding toward the Canadian border — not to escape the long arm of the law, but to run a half-marathon with his wife. “Playing online in Canada and just about every other country is still legal, but I am fortunate in that I already had one foot out the door and started planning for my life after poker,” he said. According to the industry website onlinepoker.net, between 10 and 15 million Americans were playing online poker every day before the indictments. Most of them competed on multiple tables against as many as nine opponents at a time. Internet gambling has officially been illegal in the U.S. since passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in October 2006. However, the actual playing of online poker was not the primary target of the DOJ indictments. Rather, the feds focused on the alleged unlawful processing of debit and credit card transactions to fund, withdraw and transfer money in players’ accounts. Federal prosecutors said that since most U.S. banks would not process payments related to internet gambling, the companies and their payment processors circumvented federal law by making payments appear to be transactions for other types of merchandise, such as household products and jewelry. “As charged, these defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. Many of Hawrilenko’s friends and colleagues in the estimated $30 billion industry were blindsided by the government’s actions, particularly because legalization had seemed within reach. U.S. Senate majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., have supported measures to legalize online poker since 2009. The New Jersey legislature passed a law in January that would have made the state the first to offer legal and regulated internet poker, but Gov. Chris Christie vetoed it, saying the bill would violate New Jersey’s constitution and faced “several significant legal obstacles.”

Online poker’s future
The online shutdown did not send Hawrilenko into retirement. Not yet, anyway. For the seventh consecutive year, he is in Las Vegas competing in the 42nd annual WSOP in several bracelet events. Hawrilenko finished in the money by placing 16th in a seven-card championship, and as of press time was among the top 12 and poised for his second cash in one of the high stakes limit hold ’em events. The WSOP has continued growing since 2003, with ESPN adding an additional 34 hours of broadcast coverage this year. As a sponsored professional of Full Tilt, Hawrilenko is not permitted to speak on the particulars of the government’s case, but he does have an opinion. “We will see poker regulated and legal, probably within the next five years,” he said. “There are just too many tax dollars in play. “I am not a lawyer, so I cannot speak to the particular details of the indictments, but what I can say is I know many of the top executives at Full Tilt and PokerStars,” he added. “From everything I have heard they are good, ethical people who are generous to their employees and responsive to their customers. “What is particularly grating to poker players is that over and over again, you see anti-internet gaming legislation as a provision in legislation designed to legalize brick-and-mortar gaming.

A bill like this has been rejected twice in the last two years in my home state of Massachusetts,” he said. “It just feels like a particularly hypocritical double standard,” he said. As of April 15, online poker in its current form has been forever altered in the United States, and the industry has no choice but to wait for state and federal regulation guidelines before another dollar is won or lost. Recently, Washington, D.C., and states such as Nevada and Florida have been working on legalizing and taxing online poker within state lines. “I am just so happy I had other things going on and had already started working on my transition when ‘Black Friday’ went down,” Hawrilenko said. “I have worked hard, but I have also been very blessed to have the success I have had,” he said. “One of the main goals I have is to one day go back and enjoy poker again without having to worry about a bank account.”

A House proposal to regulate and tax Internet gambling would require online gambling establishments to withhold taxes from net online winnings, and provide detailed information about gamblers to the government in an attempt to help ensure the collection of these taxes. It would also impose a two percent federal tax on Internet gambling providers, and give states the option of taxing these companies at a rate of six percent. The Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act, H.R. 2230, was introduced Thursday by Reps. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), John Campbell (R-Calif.), and House Financial Services Committee ranking member Barney Frank (D-Mass.). The bill would not legalize online gambling, and is meant to offer a tax structure for online gambling assuming that it becomes legal. Reps. Campbell and Frank are known to be working on a bill to legalize Internet gambling.

Gambling winnings are already required to be reported to the IRS under current law.  Assuming online gambling is legalized, the bill would require companies to subject net online winnings to a withholding tax, now 28 percent, in line with current withholding taxes for other gambling winnings. To help enforce this, companies would be required to provide the names, addresses and tax identification numbers of all players to the government. They would also have to provide information on gross winnings, gross wagers and gross losses on each person for every calendar year, and the amount of tax withheld on these winnings. The bill also requires companies to tell the government how much has been deposited and withdrawn during the calendar year.

Aside from ensuring tax collection from gamblers, the bill would also require online gambling establishments to obtain a license, and would tax these companies an amount equal to two percent of the deposits they receive each month. The bill stresses that this tax cannot be deducted from the amounts that players deposit in their account, and must be paid for by the company. It would also give states the option of taxing these companies at a rate of six percent. McDermott’s bill would send a quarter of the federal taxes collected to programs that care for foster or disadvantaged children, and most of the rest would go to the general treasury. Several Internet gambling sites were seized by the Justice Department earlier this year, after they were discovered to be taking deposits from U.S. citizens illegally. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) is also considering legislation that would legalize and regulate online gambling. Barton’s bill is expected to focus on online poker.

Steven Cohen

Toronto lawyer Steven Cohen loved playing seven-card stud with his buddies so much he decided to quit his $200,000-a-year legal career to become a full-time poker player. It didn’t go well. Mr. Cohen started out with great confidence. He figured he could make $150,000 during his first year by playing small-stakes tournaments and then move up to bigger games where he would pull in $500,000 annually. He prepared by reading poker books, attending a gambling seminar in Las Vegas and devising strategies for bluffing and how to read mannerisms. He joined several online poker sites, playing up to eight hours a day, and traveled to tournaments in Las Vegas and Niagara Falls, Ont. He had a few wins at first, but his luck changed. By the end of 2006, his first year as a full-time player, Mr. Cohen had lost $122,000. He’d had enough and gave up poker. But his problems were just beginning.

Canada Revenue Agency Judge Frank Pizzitelli

When Mr. Cohen filed his taxes, he claimed the $122,000 loss as a business expense, arguing he was a professional player and entitled to the deductions. The Canada Revenue Agency disagreed and disallowed the claim. The CRA argued Mr. Cohen’s gambling was a hobby, not a legitimate business. The case ended up in the Tax Court of Canada and Judge Frank Pizzitelli sided with CRA. In his ruling, Judge Pizzitelli said Mr. Cohen had failed to show he had been engaged in a commercial venture with a reasonable expectation of profit. The judge dismissed Mr. Cohen’s attempt at bettering his game by buying books and attending a seminar, saying that was not business-like training. “I take judicial notice of the fact many hobby chess players I know have a small library on the game, chess moves and famous players, but are not professionals merely by such ownership of material,” the judge wrote. “The fact [Mr. Cohen] lost money every month, including the first three months he played smaller-stakes games, does not even suggest a superior skill set at that level.”

The judge also criticized Mr. Cohen’s business plan, ruling it was inadequate and did not include any proper budgeting, tax planning or financing. Mr. Cohen’s main source of financing, the judge noted, was increasing his credit card limit from $27,000 to $40,000. “Having regard to all of the above, I cannot find that [Mr. Cohen] demonstrated that he conducted his venture in such a manner as to constitute a profession, calling, trade, undertaking, or adventure or concern in the nature of trade so as to fall within the definition of a business,” the judge ruled. Mr. Cohen, who has since opened a law office, said he was disappointed in the ruling but won’t appeal. “I obviously disagree with the findings of the judge who essentially regurgitated CRA’s arguments in his judgment,” he said in an e-mail. “I would not have taken my case as far as I did if I didn’t believe strongly that I conducted a poker business in 2006.” Benjamin Alarie, a law professor at the University of Toronto who has studied taxation of poker winnings, said there will be a lot more cases like Mr. Cohen’s because so many Canadians are playing poker online. Indeed, Mr. Cohen decided to become a full-time player after seeing Chris Moneymaker, a relatively unknown online gambler, win the World Series of Poker in 2003.

Law Professor Benjamin Alarie

Prof. Alarie said there is a big difference between playing poker recreationally and trying to become a professional. Recreational players are not taxed on winnings, but can’t write off losses. Professional players are taxed on winnings and can claim losses. “There are a number of young Canadians who play online poker from, paradigmatically, their parents’ basement and they are earning significant amounts of money,” he said. “They’re in a tough spot because are they professional or are they not? They are not really relying on the winnings to support themselves, but they are making significant amounts of money. Should they be considered professional or not?” He added that so far very few players have been able to convince the CRA and the courts that they have moved from recreational playing to becoming a professional. “It’s hard to say exactly where the line is because we don’t know where the line is,” he said. “It’s a fascinating case.”

The World Series of Poker expects record participation this year, despite a “boycott” from one of the world’s best players and legal troubles of three online poker websites. Phil Ivey, one of the world’s best poker players, announced he is suing his sponsor for $150 million and is staying away from this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP), which began May 31. The annual tournament takes place in Las Vegas and will culminate with championship events in early July. But Seth Palansky, communications director for WSOP, said participation is up 11 percent from this period last year with 20,443 registering for the 20 events out of the total 58 that are scheduled to take place. The total money given out so far this year is $37 million. “If this continues it will be the biggest attendance numbers in World Series history,” he said. Palansky said the legal tangles of the major U.S. online poker sites have not interfered with the tournament, which is not directly affiliated but gathers interest from big names from the online game. Ivey is among about a dozen poker players who are members of Team Full Tilt, sponsored by Full Tilt Poker. In April, the Justice Department filed a complaint alleging money laundering, fraud and violating the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act against 11 individuals who run the websites PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker.

Four individuals, third party payment processors for all the sites, have been arrested. One of the individuals pled guilty while the other three have pled not guilty. Full Tilt released a statement on April 15 saying it believes online poker is legal and supports its two executives who were indicted. Raymond Bitar and Nelson Burtnick have not been arrested in part because they live outside of the U.S. “Full Tilt Poker is, and has always been committed to preserving the integrity of the game and abiding by the law,” the company said in a statement. On April 20, the Justice Department allowed PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker to use their domain names to facilitate the withdrawal of U.S. players’ funds held in accounts with the companies. Under the deal, the sites agreed that “they would not allow for, facilitate, or provide the ability for players located in the United States to engage in playing online poker for ‘real money’ or any other thing of value.” Absolute Poker reached a similar agreement in May. PokerStars released a statement on April 27 that it is “taking all steps necessary to robustly defend itself” and started processing cash-outs to players. On May 13 the company said it returned more than $100 million. Ivey filed a suit against Tiltware LLC, the software provider of FullTiltPoker.com, earlier this month for “irreparably” damaging his reputation, demanding $150 million in damages.

Because Full Tilt used “fraudulent methods” to avoid banking restrictions and has not returned players’ funds after the Justice Department shut down its website in April, Ivey said the company breached its agreement to provide him “software and related support for the conduct of legal online poker.” Ivey has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, given to the winner of each event at the tournament. “I am deeply disappointed and embarrassed that Full Tilt players have not been paid money they are owed. I am equally embarrassed that as a result many players cannot compete in tournaments and have suffered economic harm,” Ivey said in a statement. According to Ivey’s suit, filed in Nevada’s Clark County district court, Full Tilt owes about $150 million to U.S. players. Ivey alleges that Full Tilt failed to maintain a sufficient reserve account to repay players. Because Full Tilt has not yet returned players’ money, he said he will not play in this year’s WSOP tournament in solidarity with other players. “I am not playing in the World Series of Poker as I do not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot. I am doing everything I can to seek a solution to the problem as quickly as possible,” Ivey said in the statement.

Ivey is fifth place in the list of bracelet winners. The leader with the most bracelets, Phil Hellmuth, has 11. Ivey’s prize winnings from previous WSOP tournaments total $5.3 million, which ranks him at 13th on the “all-time” list, according to Palansky. Ivey has endorsed Full Tilt poker and had a “non-competition covenant” with the company since February 2004 which prevents him from engaging or investing in activity in competition with the brand. Full Tilt fired back at Ivey less than one day after he filed the suit. “Contrary to his sanctimonious public statements, Phil Ivey’s meritless lawsuit is about helping just one player – himself,” Full Tilt said in statement on according to CardPlayer.com. “In an effort to further enrich himself at the expense of others, Mr. Ivey appears to have timed his lawsuit to thwart pending deals with several parties that would put money back in players’ pockets.” “In fact, Mr. Ivey has been invited — and has declined — to take actions that could assist the company in these efforts, including paying back a large sum of money he owes the site,” Full Tilt said. Ivey’s star attorney, David Chesnoff, who helped celebrities Paris Hilton and singer Bruno Mars obtain plea bargains in their respective cocaine possession charges, had no comment.

Full Tilt Poker did not return requests for additional comments. Other top poker players have criticized and praised Ivey’s suit. “I admire that he’s willing to give up something like the WSOP, that I know is so important to him, for what he thinks is principally right,” Daniel Negreanu, a Canadian professional poker player with four WSOP bracelets, said according to Pokerlistings.com. But Andrew Robl, a high-stakes poker player who is competing to earn his first bracelet in this year’s tournament, wrote in a blog post that Ivey’s suit was “self-serving.” “Phil Ivey is one of the primary equity holders of Full Tilt and has profited off their business more than almost anyone,” Robl wrote. “If he really cared about the players he would pledge to return every cent of the MILLIONS of dollars he’s made from Full Tilt to the players as Tom Dwan (who is not a owner) has done.” Tom Dwan is a member of Team Full Tilt, along with Ivey. Dwan said he would use his earnings from Full Tilt to distribute money to other players if the company did not return their money.

Related Articles:
UPDATE: Phil Ivey Boycotts WSOP and Files Lawsuit
Phil Ivey’s Lawsuit Against Tiltware LLC Filed (Document Inside)
Tiltware Issues Statement About Phil Ivey’s Lawsuit
Daniel Negreanu, Mike Matusow and Tom Dwan Respond About Phil Ivey’s WSOP Boycott And Lawsuit Against Tiltware

Governor Brian Sandoval

It is no small coincidence that Nevada in the US is a state with a primarily gambling-driven economy and is the state which houses the city of Las Vegas. Although tourism does play a role; Las Vegas has ensured for years that gambling is the chief source of income for taxable revenue. Therefore it comes as no surprise that if the US were to legalize online gambling, Nevada would like to lead the way. It appears as though this has now happened. Although when it comes to online gambling and the US, nothing is ever really as it appears. We are not trying to be enigmatic by making this statement – it is just how it seems to be.

So far, according to news reports, Gov. Brian Sandoval signed the interactive gaming bill for this State into law last Friday. Atlantic City, New Jersey, has tried to lead the way, but Gov. Chris Christie would not take the bait, and it seems almost apt that Nevada has pipped them to the starting-post. What really needs to happen however – is that online gambling activities become legal at a Federal level.

Gambling compliance between online gaming operators and Las Vegas casinos look set to lead the way for clarifying policies in terms of a federal regulatory administration. What is actually interesting to note is that it has been nearly 10 years since Nevada passed laws addressing the issues of online gambling, the problem was that these laws had simply not been ’signed’ into law. Las Vegas and its casinos make the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) one of the most high profile casino jurisdictions globally.

Harrah’s Entertainment is the only Nevada company to have moved ahead with online gambling operations in the UK and Europe; while other companies have been holding their peace. The new law will also mean that Nevada has the right to license new online gambling operations, but only for intrastate gaming.

Here is the AB258 Bill

A US circuit court of appeal has ruled that poker player Cycalona ‘Clonie’ Gowen’s lawsuit against Full Tilt’s software company Tiltware was wrongly dismissed. Gowen, a former member of ‘Team Full Tilt’, made claims against Tiltware for breach of contract, and against founders Ray Bitar and Howard Lederer for alleged fraud and negligent misrepresentation. According to the Las Vegas Sun, US District Judge Robert Clive Jones was deemed to have erred in his initial judgement against Gowen, and her case has now been reopened as a consequence. However, the court stood by Jones’s initial dismissal of other claims brought by Gowen against further individuals supposedly tied to online gambling companies. According to the original document that was filed, the following companies & professional poker players are listed as defendants as Tiltware LLC, Full Tilt Poker, Pocket Kings Limited, Pocket Kings Consulting Limited, KolyMa Corporation, Tiltproof Inc, Raymond Bitar, Howard Lederer, Andrew Bloch, Phillip Ivey, Christopher Ferguson, John Juanda, Phillip Gordon, Erick Lindren,Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman-Traniello, Michael Matusow, Allen Cunningham, Gus Hansen, Patrick Antonious.

Here is the original lawsuit document from 2008:

Download the document

A Utah man tied to Las Vegas casinos, Internet poker companies and a big Las Vegas fraud case was arrested Saturday on a mail fraud charge. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City announced the arrest of Jeremy D. Johnson of St. George, Utah, by IRS agents. A spokeswoman said Johnson was arrested at a Phoenix airport while en route to Costa Rica, where the government believes Johnson has business interests. Johnson for years was known in Utah as a philanthropist who used his fleet of aircraft for rescue and humanitarian missions.

But last year he and his companies were sued by the Federal Trade Commission in Las Vegas in what the FTC called a nationwide $289 million Internet scam (up from $275 million alleged earlier) in which consumers were deceptively enrolled in programs to obtain government grants and for other services. As the FTC case in Las Vegas developed, it was revealed Johnson was a high-roller at Wynn Las Vegas who lost $1.35 million there between 2006 and early 2011. He also gambled at MGM Resorts International properties including the MGM Grand, Luxor and Bellagio.

It was also revealed Johnson lost another $1.536 million playing on the Full Tilt Poker website between April and October 2010 and that he did business with Internet poker companies. Johnson also had business ties with Las Vegas businessman Chad Elie, who was indicted in April’s federal Internet poker crackdown; and Johnson did business with SunFirst Bank in St. George, Utah, whose part owner and vice chairman, John Campos, was indicted in the same poker crackdown.

Johnson’s arrest Saturday came after a U.S. magistrate judge in Utah signed a criminal mail fraud complaint presented by Jamie Hipwell, an IRS criminal investigator assigned to the IRS’s Salt Lake City post for the Las Vegas Field Office. Similar to the FTC civil lawsuit, Hipwell alleged in the criminal complaint that Johnson – through his companies including I Works Inc. and Elite Debit – used the U.S. mail and false advertising techniques to victimize “hundreds of thousands of consumers.”

Hipwell added that besides his activities in Costa Rica, Johnson “has substantial resources in other countries including real estate holdings in Belize and the Philippines.” In the Las Vegas civil lawsuit, a federal judge has frozen Johnson’s assets and appointed a receiver to preserve them. Attorneys for Johnson last month asked the federal court to release funds held by the receiver to cover Johnson’s living expenses and legal costs.

The receiver opposed that motion, noting serious concerns about Johnson’s compliance with the asset freeze and concerns Johnson wasn’t making his assets available for sale to cover losses covered by consumers in the alleged Internet scam. The receiver also moved to sell several Johnson assets. Attorneys for the FTC also opposed Johnson’s request, noting, among other things, “Johnson’s continuous business relationship with the Vowell brothers – the brothers with whom the Johnson defendants worked to process electronic checks for the on-line poker entities PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.”

Records in two lawsuits say Johnson and Elie have done business with well-known St. George businessmen Jason and Todd Vowell. One or both of the Vowells have been in the auto dealership industry and had an interest in the St. George Roadrunners minor league baseball team and the Liahona Academy for troubled youth in Southern Utah. The FTC noted the founders of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker had been charged in the April nationwide online poker crackdown with bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling.

In a June 1 court declaration, Johnson replied: “I have had numerous business dealings with the Vowells over the last 10-plus years, one of which was that the Vowells provided money transfer services for some of Elite Debit Inc.’s clients. Neither the Vowells nor myself have been indicted for bank fraud, money laundering or any other illegal activity. Apparently, the FTC believes it ought to create undue prejudice through guilt by association.”

Johnson said in an earlier court declaration that because of the FTC lawsuit and the activities of the civil lawsuit receiver, Todd Vowell has ended a business relationship with Johnson involving commercial aircraft operations. “He explained to me that the receiver has subpoenaed information from him and he has incurred nearly $200,000 in fees and costs to deal with the subpoenas. He said that many of his business partners will no longer do business with him because of the receiver’s inquiries into his finances,” Johnson wrote in that declaration. “He told me that Wells Fargo has terminated many of his business accounts because of the receivership.”

We have an important link going around facebook and our website. We are endorsing United Cancer Alliance (U.C.A.R.E.) and encourage you and your family/friends to do the same. Please click on the banner below to make your “endorsement”. It is no cost at all to you. Vivint is conducting this unique opportunity to give out a lot of money for the most voted charity. It only takes about 5 minutes of your time. There are 4 steps. Step 1 is to go to Facebook and “Like” https://www.facebook.com/VivintHome . Step 2 is to nominate “United Cancer Alliance Reaching Everyone, Inc.” After you have endorsed U.C.A.R.E.; starting June 14th through August 27 the voting begins with all the nominated charities. You can vote for U.C.A.R.E. once a day. The charity with the most votes by August 27th will be awarded $250,000 and the remaining charities that earn the most from each region will receive $100,000 donation. We urge you to tell your family and friends to support and endorse this great cause. Below the banner to endorse the charity is information pertaining to United Cancer Alliance.

Add U.C.A.R.E. on facebook |  Add Jack Walls on facebook

Here is some important info about The United Cancer Alliance

About U.C.A.R.E.
United Cancer Alliance began as a vision of hope and has grown into a reality that continues to expand. The President of UCARE, Jack Walls, found out in October of 2008 that his father had been diagnosed with cancer and in his trips with his father to chemotherapy realized the vast need that many cancer patients had. Many were without insurance, jobs, or transportation. They found themselves wondering how they would get to their next treatment, pay for their doctors appointments, keep the electricity on, and even how they were going to keep their home.

Late one night, in December 2008, Jack awoke just after midnight to the revelation of starting a non-profit company that would be able to help those individuals that had been unable to find help anywhere else. He wrote down his ideas and plans and got a team together to make this vision become a real life organization. Within 3 weeks, on January 19th, 2009, United Cancer Alliance was born. With the help of friends and other organizations, UCARE opened an office in the back room of an AllState Insurance Agency in Concord, NC. Jack got a loan for $4,000, bought banners, tables, marketing materials, and even had T-shirts designed. He began calling local businesses about setting up tables at their locations to solicit to individuals for donations. That first weekend, they set up shop at Carolina Mall and raised over $6,000.

UCARE would eventually move into its own office later that year in Charlotte, NC and set up donation tables within a 50 mile radius of the city for the remainder of the year. By the end of 2009, UCARE had raised over $200,000 for the Charlotte area. In 2010, UCARE expanded into all of North Carolina and began an agreement with Wal-Mart to set up at different locations in both North and South Carolina in June 2010. Thanks to Wal-Mart, donations increased dramatically and nearly doubled UCARE’s previously monthly totals from the past year and half. In September 2010 UCARE opened a new office near Atlanta, GA and began assisting individuals not just in the Carolinas and Georgia, but the entire SouthEast. Then, in December 2010, UCARE expanded yet again by opening an office in Colorado Springs, CO to begin assisting individuals in all 48 continental US states. By the end of 2010, UCARE had raised over $300,000 for the year.

2011 begins a new chapter for UCARE, as it grows from it’s once local assistance into a national organization with hopes to raise over $1 million by years end. The company plans to expand further with new offices scheduled to open in Richmond, VA, Fort Myers, FL, and San Diego, CA in the next 8 months.

Financial Assistance
Prospective recipients can contact the organization and inquire about receiving assistance at assistance@ucareamerica.org. Or you can download the application on this page and fill out the form below and mail it to the address on the bottom of the form. Please provide your full name, address, and phone number, as well as your reason for your need of assistance. All recipients’ must be unemployed or considered low-income, without health insurance, or under the age of 18 to qualify. As soon as we get this information, UCARE will send out a financial assistance application to the prospective recipient if you did not print the form below. Please fill this information out and send it back as soon as possible. Our staff will do it’s best to verify the information therein sought from the patients doctors and their offices and send you a response back as promptly as possible. If you have any questions you may call 1-855-HELP-UCARE.

In addition, UCARE networks within the local medical community in order to receive referrals to their assistance program and try to help some of their recipients through other various non-profit organizations. Financial assistance is provided to recipients based on their current income and the amount of assistance needed, and the average award is between $500-$1,000 per recipient. Funds will be used by recipient to help ease the burdens of everyday expenses that have been hindered due to medical bills and others associated with obtaining specialized treatments. UCARE also maintains records of all financial assistance granted, including the amount of disbursements and to whom it is granted.

UCARE also assists local chemotherapy treatment centers, radiologist and hospitals with gas cards, grocery cards and bus passes for current cancer patients.

 

1-855-HELP-UCARE

The U.C.A.R.E. Team:
President and Founder – Jack Walls

UCARE Office Managers:
Fort Meyers, FL Location – Christian Beaman ext. 706
Atlanta, GA Location – Jim Stewart ext. 703
Richmond, VA Location – Blake Bell ext. 707
Colorado Springs, CO Location – Paul Bendon ext. 708
Human Resources Location – Jenny Havis ext. 705

 

U.C.A.R.E. Event Coordinators:
Charlotte, NC Location – Jackie Trail ext. 702
Fort Meyers, FL Location – Hollie Sullins ext. 709
Atlanta, GA Location – Rosemary Hightower ext. 711
Colorado Springs, CO Location – Sierna Carnell ext. 710
Richmond, VA Location – Tyler Morrio ext. 712

Time’s Running Out!
Freeroll your way to Win A $10,000 Seat to the
2011 World Series Main Event
Winner Receives a $10,000 Entry into the World Series Main Event
- PLUS -
$750 Las Vegas Travel Expenses

---

Daily Qualifiers from May 3rd to June 21st
Eight Daily Qualifiers to the $10,000 World Series Main Event

1:50am, 5:04am, 8:18am, 11:08am, 2:24pm, 5:12pm, 8:08pm & 11:04pm (all tournament times are Eastern Daylight Time) Winners from the daily qualifiers will be entered into the online $10,000 World Series Main Event tournament on June 22nd at 7:00pm PT / 10:00pm ET.

---

Online Championship on June 22nd
1st place wins the $10,000 seat to the World Series Main Event, held live on
July 7, 2011 in Las Vegas, NV. Includes $750 Las Vegas travel allowance.

---

New Players: Register Here
Current Players: Login to the Poker Lobby today to
qualify and win your seat!

A magistrate judge in New York denied bail for Ira Rubin, a so-called “payment processor.” His indictment was announced in April, when the U.S. government seized the Internet domain names of the three largest Internet poker companies: Absolute Poker, Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars. Rubin’s lawyer, Stuart Meissner, told the court that his client wanted to stay in the United States and face charges including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud that could put him in prison for 30 years if he is convicted. “This entire case is a little bit of overkill,” Meissner told reporters after Rubin’s bail hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Cott. “This is the U.S. war on gambling as opposed to the U.S. war on terrorism. I don’t think this is a good use of taxpayer resources.”

Online gambling has been illegal in the United States since 2006. However, some U.S. lawmakers have talked recently about legalizing Internet gambling and regulating it. Prosecutors accused the companies and the people they hired of tricking regulators and banks into illegally processing $3 billion (1.8 billion pounds) in payments. Last month, one of the indicted “payment processors” pleaded guilty in the same court. On Wednesday, prosecutor Arlo Devlin-Brown told the judge that Rubin, a 53-year-old U.S. citizen, fled to Costa Rica from Florida in December 2006 after being served with civil charges in a telemarketing fraud and had lived there ever since. The judge said there were “countless reasons” why he was not convinced Rubin could be granted bail.

Devlin-Brown said that when the charges in the online poker case were announced two months ago, “that same day he chartered a plane to Guatemala from Costa Rica … then intended to go to Thailand.” Rubin was arrested in Guatemala and taken to the United States. The prosecutor said Rubin told a fellow inmate in jail that he had wanted to obtain a fake passport in Guatemala. Rubin’s lawyer said the trip to Guatemala was previously planned. The government’s evidence against Rubin was gathered from several people, including informants, emails and recorded phone conversations, Devlin-Brown said. He said Rubin processed hundreds of millions of dollars for the poker companies. Rubin had access to accounts in Panama, Cyprus and the Philippines and it was difficult to determine his actual worth, the government said. The case is USA v Tzvetkoff et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 10-00336.

UPDATE: We can confirm from sources at the Rio as well as the WSOP that there was a printing error on every along with some other low spades in the deck. Decks for use are currently being checked and re-checked to assure that there is no disadvantage to any player. The Tournament Director Jon Turner decided to move the players to a standard table in Amazon Room. After checking sixty decks of cards, all had the same flaw. Since this is a manufacturing fault, “the players are literally spitting chips at the fact they not only have they had to move to an outer table, but also the fact that they are going to use a faulty deck.” (quoted from WSOP). The senior Tournament Director told the players that if they can find the then they all will have their chips bagged & play paused for the rest of the night. Sean Getzwiller went through all the cards looking for the . Play has resumed.

—————————————————————————————————————————

UPDATE: Jon Turner spotted a mark card. On closer inspection of the decks in use, along with some of the spares, it was noticed that there was a printing error on every along with some other low spades in the deck.  Players are placing their chips in racks and leaving the table. This is in Event#8 $1,000 No Limit Holdem.

——————————————————————————————————————————–

There is something going on at the 2011 World Series of Poker. Information is coming in but it looks like something is wrong with the deck, possible marked cards. It is not confirmed yet. There are a couple people taking pictures of certain cards. Here are some pics

Affiliates for Poker Affiliate World just received an email as follows:

Dear Affiliate,
Due to recent issues with Full Tilt Poker in regards to “Black Friday” we have temporarily removed Full Tilt player transfer from our withdrawal options until further notice. We are confident of a resolution in the near future so please feel free to use another method or wait until this option is reinstated.
Regards,
The PAW Team

Senate Republican Jon Kyl announced he would retire when his term ends at the end of next year. Kyl has been the most persistent opponent when it came to online gambling. He wanted to prohibit Internet gambling in 1998. The end resulted in Kyl agreeing to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006. Kyl was responsible for not allowing Harry Reid to attach poker legislation to any bill during last year’s lame-duck session. With the retirement of Kyl, one would assume that internet poker could get licensed and regulated in 2013. The downside, it is going to be very hard to get internet poker regulated until then.

Another thing that the poker industry need to watch out for is the possibility of Kyl strengthening the UIGEA before he does leave office. On Kyl’s official website stated “Efforts to carve out an exception for games like poker, which many believe is a game of skill, may be considered later this year. Until I have the chance to review them, I cannot make a judgment about their merits; but I will consider them carefully as long as they leave in place the broader proscriptions against online betting.”

It is going to be interesting to see what unfolds over the next year and a half. We will be looking at this situation and what Kyl does or does not do.

New Partners MakePokerLegal.com & The Majestik Poker Tour Sweepstakes

MakePokerLegal.com & The Majestik Poker Tour teamed up several weeks ago and to kick things off, we offered a free sweepstakes for everyone. This is the first, of many free sweepstakes where our loyal fans and supporters can win some very nice prizes. If you ant to participate in our future sweepstakes (we will also announce the sweepstakes here on the site), please follow us at:

Make Poker Legal Facebook |   Make Poker Legal Twitter |   Majestik Poker Tour Facebook |   Majestik Poker Tour Twitter

The Grand Prize winner won a 3 day/2 night Vacation Getaway for 2. Winner got to choose from 22 exciting destinations. This Winner will also receive a pair of Royal Eyewear Sunglasses (from Make Poker Legal) & a one month VIP membership to Make Poker Legal Poker Room .

Winner: James S. from Palestine, TX

 

The Second Place prize winner won Stainless Steel Professional Poker Bracelet, Pro Poker Gear t-shirt and hat provided by Pro Poker Gear and a one month VIP membership to Make Poker Legal Poker Room .

Winner: Wayne A. from Fort Worth, TX

Congratulations To James & Wayne!

Maryland – The Anne Arundel County Police Department will be getting some new equipment after receiving $470,407.62 as part of the seizure of money tied to a federal investigation into illegal gambling. Federal investigators shared the money after county detectives helped in an investigation that seized more than $33 million from gambling organizations using banks in Guam and Charlotte, NC. Police said they would use the money for equipment to assist with undercover investigations, plus new vehicles and weapons.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations division led the probe, which centered on payment processors that move funds between online gamblers. County police have three officers assigned to ICE HSI in Baltimore. Detective Scott Dunn is assigned as an undercover officer exclusively with the money laundering task force. County police are currently involved in 12 federal task forces, including four with ICE. “This type of activity exists in this county just like it does in other jurisdictions,” County Executive John R. Leopold said. “Wherever we find it, we’re going to root it out.”

Federal investigators said they targeted online gambling sites because the proceeds from illegal gambling are often used to fund other illegal activity and organized crime. It is illegal for Internet gambling businesses to operate in Maryland, regardless of where the website is based. In its investigation, ICE HSI in Baltimore created a fictional payment-processor business, Linwood Payment Solutions, and spent between December 2009 and January 2011 processing more than 300,000 transactions worth more than $33 million. According to an affidavit tied to the case, ICE used a woman based in Maryland to set up an account on the gambling website BetEd.com and use the phony payment processor to receive funds.

In April, a federal grand jury indicted two companies and three men, who were then charged with conducting illegal gambling business and money laundering. The government also seized 11 bank accounts and the domain names of 10 gambling sites. “The cooperation between our department and [ICE HIS] investigation goes far beyond normal law enforcement task forces,” County Police Chief James Teare Sr. said. The investigation involving Anne Arundel County Police is separate from the investigation resulting in the closure last month of several major Internet poker sites including Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and PokerStars.

Teare said the department receives an average of about $250,000 per year in forfeited assets. He said the $470,407.62 in assets announced Thursday is the largest one-time distribution in the department’s history. Leopold said he was happy to see the department receive new equipment as a result of the seizure. “Especially in these tough economic times, when I’ve had to make very unpleasant budget cuts, I’m pleased to see these revenues will come to the police department to help them out and help them do their job,” he said.

Reports are circulating the web that Merge Network will be temporarily disabling registration for new US players. Apparently, this is being done in an effort to allow payment processing issues to be fixed and ease support backlog. While already registered players residing in the US will be able to continue playing on the Merge Network (Carbon Poker, Lock Poker, RPM Poker, Felt Stars Poker-formerly Reefer Poker, Hero Poker), but no new signups will be accepted after Friday, June 3rd, 2011, though this is supposedly temporary.

This is just another drop in the bucket for the decline of US online poker, as the past seven weeks have not been its best. Prior to April 15th, 2011 will be forever referred to as the “hay day” when online poker accounts flowed freely to US players. Now most of the US poker sites have either withdrawn from the US market on their own accord or have been shut down by the US Department of Justice. And then of course, UseMyWallet shut down, and then Merge Network put an end to their rakeback deal on the first of June.

Now, Merge poker sites will temporarily back out of the US market, a move that they assure is not permanent, but they cannot predict a date that they will once again start taking new US signups. The only thing they can promise is that it will not affect current US players or current non-US players (or future non-US players for that matter). So, the best thing to do for those players who do not already have an account at one of the Merge Network skins is to sign up NOW! That way you’ll have an account just in case in the future, it’s the only last option for US players, which it seems to be very close to that point already.

Because rakeback was ended June 1, a rush of new players signed up. Now the same thing will inevitably happen with this new announcement, but as soon as they get everything caught up, they say they will open back up. You can’t help but wonder though if all of this is just part of a bigger plan in a strategic effort to evade the DOJ. However, since Black Friday, the Merge Network has reportedly grown by 76%, so it makes sense that they would need to regroup after so many new players have joined the network.

Cake Poker Network and Yatahay may or may not be next on the list of hits by the DOJ. Only time will tell, and right now there are a lot of unknowns regarding the future of online poker.

Poker players are definitely talking about Phil Ivey’s actions regarding the lawsuit against Tiltware. Ivey is also not playing in the 2011 World Series of Poker. You can read Phil Ivey’s lawsuit document against Tiltware LLC that was filed in the District Court of Clark County. Tiltware responded in a statement regarding the matter.

The statement reads:
“Contrary to his sanctimonious public statements, Phil Ivey’s meritless lawsuit is about helping just one player — himself. In an effort to further enrich himself at the expense of others, Mr. Ivey appears to have timed his lawsuit to thwart pending deals with several parties that would put money back in players’ pockets. In fact, Mr. Ivey has been invited — and has declined — to take actions that could assist the company in these efforts, including paying back a large sum of money he owes the site. Tiltware doubts Mr. Ivey’s frivolous and self-serving lawsuit will ever get to court. But if it does, the company looks forward to presenting facts demonstrating that Mr. Ivey is putting his own narrow financial interests ahead of the players he professes to help.“

Here are a few poker players responses about the issue:

Mike “The Mouth” Matusow went on to say “Just read this Ivey lawsuit what a big bunch of bull**** from a person that cares only about himself not any players!”

Daniel Negreanu is a friend of Ivey’s. Sources have confirmed that Daniel spoke with Phil Ivey on the telephone after the statement went public. Daniel stated on his twitter account “Read Ivey’s statement on not playing the WSOP. Tough spot, but I definitely admire his decision to put the players funds before bracelets.” There are unconfirmed rumors that Daniel is attempting to bring Ivey over to PokerStars.

Andrew Robl who plays high stakes poker cash games agrees with Mike Matusow. Robl stated in his blog “Phil Ivey’s statement was solely self-serving. He is trying to cover his own ass and unassociate himself with Full Tilt’s current legal situation/non-paying of players. Phil Ivey is one of the primary equity holders of full tilt and has profited off their business more than almost anyone. If he really cared about the players he would pledge to return every cent of the MILLIONS of dollars he’s made from Full Tilt to the players as Tom Dwan (who is not a owner) has done.”

Tom Dwan didn’t wear Full Tilt patches when he played in the World Series of Poker $25k Heads Up Championship. Dwan posted on his twitter account “both sides have better intentions than the other realizes.” Dwan also stated that he thought Ivey’s statement was “awesome” and went on to say that Ivey intends to give back 100% of the money he was paid by Full Tilt Poker if the players are not paid in full.

Stay tuned to MakePokerLegal.com as we will be covering this extensively.

Relate Posts:
UPDATE: Phil Ivey Boycotts WSOP and Files Lawsuit
Phil Ivey’s Lawsuit Against Tiltware LLC Filed (Document Inside)
Tiltware Issues Statement About Phil Ivey’s Lawsuit
No Payments Yet From Full Tilt Poker To US Players Announced