With the US closure of the biggest online poker sites we’ve been on the look out for who the next big poker sites will be and the list is not as long as some would think. In this New World Order there a few online poker sites that have begun to stand out from the rest. Given all the changes we’ve also decided to add a few new sites to our list of approved poker sites.
Our decisions have been made with safety first in mind. We know that poker players are looking for a safe poker site to play on. With that in mind the first thing we’ve looked into is financial strength. Another major factor in our decisions has been their processing. A poker site may have good funding and good software but if players can’t deposit and withdraw with relative ease then they are no good to anyone. We’ve used every means at our disposal to gather up this information and feel that the sites listed below are the cream of the crop.
In analyzing online poker traffic reports the Merge Poker Network, which includes such poker sties as, Carbon Poker, Lock Poker and Sportsbook Poker are growing the fastest. But if you look at just the US player base at prime time hours it’s Bodog Poker and sites on the Cake Poker Network which include Cake Poker and InterAction Poker that are doing the best. InterAction is the only site we have listed that is currently processing eChecks.
Like you, we do not know which poker site or sites will become the next Pokerstars or Full Tilt Poker. We’re guessing that all of the sites mentioned above will continue to see tremendous growth and that they will all be making adjustments in the coming months to better serve player needs and wants. Make sure to check Holdem Poker Chat for all the latest news and updates on the safest USA Poker Sites to play on.
The owners of Absolute Poker and UB are not following the lead of Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker. All four online poker sites had their bank accounts seizured along with their domains by the United States Department of Justice. Absolute Poker and UB have decided not to agree with any offer from the U.S. Department of Justice including the return of player’s money because they are insisting that this seizure on their domain name and bank accounts is illegal.
A spokesperson for Absolute Poker has stated that management is reviewing the offers made by the US government and has retained Blank Rome LLP as United States counsel to provide legal advice. They also have the backing of the Antigua Government if they choose to fight the charges brought against them. The Antigua Government has suggested that Absolute Poker and UB should not concede to the US Government so quickly and wait for the World Trade Organization to intervene.
Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker have signed an agreement with the US DOJ which includes the use of their domain name for returning players the funds that may be in their player accounts. The US DOJ is monitoring the sites so that no new players are registered or deposits taken. Absolute Poker and UB have so far refused to work with the DOJ and are looking for alternative solutions.
Whether you’re planning a long live poker playing session or multi-tabling the Sunday majors you want to eat right, have energy and not be over indulgent. Most people who sit for long periods of time do not know what to consume in order to get some extra needed energy and more importantly keeping the brain sharp. I have come up with some simple eating habits and foods that you can easily have on hand at any time.
Eating four to five small meals instead of three large meals a day is also a good habit to start getting into. Have your meals set aside from one day to another so you won’t be tempted to eat something that is not as nutritious as you would’ve hoped to. Eating whole grains is very important in a good diet. Whole grains are high in fiber and also contain antioxidants that reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer. When preparing a sandwich pick the whole grain instead of the white bread. White bread has no added nutrients like the whole grain. Whole grain pastas and rice are also an excellent source of fiber. Whole grains will give you the energy that you need to focus. Adults should be consuming from six to eleven servings of whole grains a day.
If you are playing poker from morning till night (hopefully) this is an example of a few food items to have on hand.
Breakfast- have a bowl of oatmeal combine it with raisins, honey and yogurt for extra flavor and energy.
Bananas are a great fruit that is packed with potassium which helps your muscles contract. One a day can prevent stiffness that comes from sitting at a desk all day.
Orange Juice is extremely high in vitamin C and will give you a great boost.
Salmon- Fish is high in protein and its high concentration of omega 3s, fats and B vitamins. It can boost your cardiovascular health. It’s quick to prepare and delicious.
Beans- It is a small but very powerful vegetable that is loaded with protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. You can add beans to soups, pastas and dip to give them added flavor and nutritional value.
Dried fruit- You can put a few different dried up fruit in small Ziploc bags and have them ready at any time. Apricots, figs, raisins, add some nuts and almonds for some added protein. Be careful of how many nuts and almonds you add to the bag because they are high in fat.
Yogurt- is easily accessible to have while you are playing poker at your desk. It comes in a variety of flavors and it has about 13 grams of protein and 17 grams of carbohydrate for a quick snack with energy.
When preparing your meals don’t forget about portion control! Eating smaller meals more frequently is a great way to get your metabolism working harder for you. These are all great little tools that you can use in order to get your body where you want it to be for your next big game.
With everything going on in the poker world Finnish Poker Pro Ilari ‘Ziigmund’ Sahamies, PowerPoker Pro, announced recently that his days playing at FullTiltPoker and PokerStars are over.
Since the beginning of 2010, Sahamies has experienced an incredible downswing, losing over $2 million in the past 16 months. Most of this happened at FTP, after which Sahamies moved over to PokerStars under the screen name ‘Ilari Fin’. This change of venue, however, has done little to halt the downswing, and he has been steadily losing there as well.
While it is doubtful that Sahamies is done with poker for good, we can speculate about where he may go next. His home site may not have the nosebleed action that he prefers; where will the Fin go now? There’s only a handful of online poker sites that currently have the high limits that Zigmund likes to play so we should know soon.
Can a government be charged with war crimes, if the war is only one of intimidation?
The U.S. federal Department of Justice isn’t blowing up buses. No one has died. But while Palestinian terrorists can only close down Israeli pizza parlors; the DoJ stopped online poker sites from doing business anywhere in the world – including where poker is 100% legal.
On Friday, April 15, 2011, the DoJ seized the .com names of five of the biggest poker sites. It is not even clear that online poker is illegal in every state and territory of the U.S. But players in countries like England, where it is indisputably legal, also found themselves unable to access their favorite sites.
This is a door the U.S. should never have opened. The next to step through could be an Islamic country, which outlaws alcohol, seizing the worldwide domain names of every retailer and restaurant that advertises beer or wine.
And the DoJ also effectively froze the money deposited by hundreds of thousands of American players, who had done nothing wrong. There is no federal law against merely playing poker. Half the states do have mostly ancient laws on the books making it a crime, sometimes, to make a bet. But in the other half, it is not a crime to even bet with an illegal operation.
This is true of New York, where the DoJ’s legal actions were filed. The criminal indictments charged the online operators under a statute, 18 U.S.C. §1955, which makes it a federal felony to be a large business in violation of state anti-gambling laws. The only state laws cited are New York’s Penal Law 225 and 225.05, which clearly do not apply to mere poker players.
Black Friday saw widespread panic among players, and the threat of a worldwide bank run on online gaming operators. By Wednesday, the DoJ appeared to realize it had way overstepped its power, and that it is losing the public relations war.
On April 20, Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan who had seized the domain names, announced that an agreement had been reached with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Technically, the .com names remain seized. But the DoJ will now permit the companies to operate money games outside of the U.S., which they always had the legal right to do anyway. American players can also go to the .com sites and get their deposits back.
Bharara issued the following statement: “No individual player accounts were ever frozen or restrained, and each implicated poker company has at all times been free to reimburse any player’s deposited funds.”
Technically true, but misleading. Exactly how were players supposed to get their money, when they could not log on to the seized .com sites? Did Bharara tell the operators they could refund players’ deposits, and how they were suppose to do that? Even today the DoJ has not worked out all the details on what it will allow.
Notice that the announced agreement is only with PokerStars and Full-Tilt. Those companies have licenses and approvals by foreign jurisdictions, including France, Italy and Alderney, which they want to protect. They also would like to someday return to the U.S., once the laws are changed. Absolute is licensed by the Kahnawake tribe in Canada and has always taken the position that it does not have to be overly concerned with the laws of Canada, the U.S., or any other jurisdiction. So it is standing tough. In fact, it is still accepting money players from the U.S.
Winners and losers:
Traffic on the seized sites seems to be down, but not precipitously. Americans must have quickly discovered that they can sign up to the same operators through .eu and .uk sites.
Hit as hard have been media outlets which depend on poker ads. No reason to spend money on PokerStars.net commercials if players can’t be converted onto PokerStars.com. That is probably the real reason for ESPN cancelling so many poker TV shows.
Traffic on rival sites that continue to take bets from the U.S. have increased, but not spectacularly. Players do have their favorites, and don’t necessarily trust the other sites. Plus, their money is still tied up.
Purely European companies, like Playtech, and the not-quite Internet poker sites are also doing well. PurePlay.com, a subscription poker site with free alternative means of entry, based in San Francisco, received $2.8 million in new funding after Black Friday. And Atlantis Internet Group Corporation, which is setting up legal closed-circuit computer linked poker on Indian land, saw its stock rise 400% in the last few days.
Brick and mortar card clubs and casino cardrooms have seen modest increases in the number of poker players. The first weekend after the online players’ funds are freed up will show whether the crackdown on Internet competition can help save Atlantic City.
In the long run it will probably be the largest landbased operators, like Caesars, and online sites which had already pulled out of the U.S., led by Bwin-Party and 888, that will be the biggest winners. The indictments reinforce proponents’ arguments that the states should legalize intra-state poker, so that the operators and their computers and payments processors will be physically here to be taxed and regulated.
The major obstacle is political. The same political and economic forces that allow us to even talk about legalizing Internet poker also stand in its way. There is so much legal gambling in the U.S. that allowing one more form is no big deal. But that also means there are well-established local operators who will fight to prevent outsiders from coming in to create new competition.
Each state will create its own formula for extracting as much money as possible without alienating existing local operators. Atlantic City casinos companies have enough money that there is no reason to open New Jersey online gambling to foreign bidders. In California there will be at least three licenses: one for a consortium of the state’s card clubs, the same for its gaming tribes, and at least one for an outside operator who can bring $200 million cash up front to the table.
Nevada casinos may want a federal law to prevent them having to compete against politically powerful local operators in 50 different states; 51 counting the District of Columbia. But the recent indictments and stalemates in Congress prove that the states are where the action is, and is going to be, until well after the 2012 election.
Absolute Poker, including UB (formerly Ultimate Bet) brand, hereafter “Absolute Poker,” issued the following statement today:
“Absolute Poker has retained Blank Rome LLP as United States counsel to provide legal advice in relation to civil and criminal matters filed in federal court in Manhattan and made public on April 15, 2011. Absolute Poker is aware that on April 19, 2011, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York entered into separate agreements with FullTilt Poker and PokerStars. These agreements concern the use of the respective www.fulltiltpoker.com and www.pokerstars.com domain names. The US Attorney, in a press release dated April 20, 2011, stated that the government is willing to enter the same agreement with Absolute Poker and UB.
“At this time, Absolute Poker’s top priority is, and must be, the refund of balances to its and UB’s US players. However, given the far-reaching consequences of the US Attorney’s actions for Absolute Poker and for the entire poker community, Absolute Poker believes that the responsible course of action is to review with its attorneys the relevant court filings before taking any action.
“Absolute Poker believes that the US Attorney shares the view that refunds to US players are an immediate and pressing concern, and Absolute Poker wishes to make clear that it wants to work cooperatively with the US Attorney to safely and efficiently return its players’ funds. To that end, Absolute Poker’s counsel has initiated communications with the US Attorney’s office and plans to continue proactively advancing those discussions.
“Further information and timely updates will be provided to Absolute Poker/UB’s players as we move forward.”
As you know on April 15, 2011 “Black Friday” Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and UB were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice and therefore left the U.S. market. The traffic stats below show the affect this has had on online poker sites throughout the world.
The big winners so far seem to be the sites that operate on the Merge Poker Network and Bodog Poker which are up 36% in online traffic and Party Poker whose seeing it’s European traffic up 10%. European sites seeing increased traffic is no shocker. Would you feel safe having your money on a poker site that has been accused of bank fraud, money laundering and tax evasion?
From statements just released by PokerStars, it appears that they will start immediately processing US withdrawal requests. “Returning US players’ funds is a top priority for PokerStars and the company can now start the process of returning money to its former US customers.” Holdem Poker Chat cautions that the sheer volume of requests may slow the process and players should probably expect a lengthier process than they are accustomed to. I am sure this is great news for all with substantial portions of their bankrolls on PokerStars.
PokerStars gives a little more info in their comments regarding the recent developments. Right up front they state their innocence and desire for their day in court:
“The company categorically denies the allegations brought by the US Department of Justice on 15th April 2011 and is taking all steps necessary to robustly defend itself, and the two named individuals. Meanwhile, the company has stopped offering real money poker services in the United States.”
They continue by stating that player funds are always kept separate from operating funds.
“All PokerStars player deposits are completely safe. The Isle of Man’s strict licensing laws (similar to other jurisdictions where PokerStars holds licenses) require all funds to be held in accounts that are segregated from company assets. PokerStars has always complied with this requirement and continues to do so. This money is readily available to meet withdrawal demands, indeed the company continues to comply with withdrawal requests from players based outside the US as normal. Outside the U.S., PokerStars continues to operate business as usual.”
Good news for everyone. However, remember that because your government went after a reliable, stand up company like PokerStars, players now no longer get to do business with a company with integrity and class.
UPDATE: Shortly after making this announcement Pokerstars put a stop on all withdrawals. Those who managed to process a withdrawal later had the funds returned to their accounts along with an email stating that Pokerstars was still working on the logistics of cashouts to US players and that players would be notified when they were ready.
Full Tilt Poker released a statement in reaction to their agreement with the Justice Department. It mostly says that they are pleased that they can give players their money back but the DoJ won’t give them the money that was seized. That money represented a significant portion of player funds, and they are working to find some system to get money to players as their whole structure for payouts has been destroyed. The bottom line for players is you still must wait. Also, any pressure on DoJ in the form of comments on their Facebook page or to local law makers should be continued. The negative press and anger from consumers is the only reason that we can see for the swift press release from Justice. Continued pressure is the best way for players to facilitate the return of their funds.
Full Tilt Poker™ is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to regain the use of its worldwide domain name, www.fulltiltpoker.com.
Although players in the United States will not be permitted to engage in real-money play, the agreement expressly allows for real-money play outside of the United States.
In addition, the agreement represents an important first step towards returning funds to U.S. players because it allows Full Tilt Poker to utilize its domain to facilitate the withdrawal of player funds. But, unfortunately, there remain significant practical and legal impediments to returning funds to players in the immediate future. As a result of the recent enforcement action, there exists no authorized U.S. payment channel through which to make refunds; Full Tilt Poker has no accounting of the millions of dollars of player funds that were seized by the government; and the government has not agreed to permit any of the seized player funds to be returned to the players.
Finally, there are numerous legal and jurisdictional issues that must be considered before poker winnings can be paid out to players throughout the United States. While Full Tilt Poker continues to believe that online poker is not illegal under federal law or in 49 states, the indictment and civil forfeiture action filed last Friday require Full Tilt Poker to proceed with caution in this area.
Notwithstanding these issues, Full Tilt Poker is ready to work diligently with the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York to try and resolve these issues and to get players their money back as soon as possible.
In what can only be the result of all the bad press the DoJ has gotten over their ignoring real crime while persecuting poker players, today they announced an agreement with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker to facilitate the return of funds to US poker players. The long-winded press release is reprinted in its entirety below, but one of the main points it makes is “The agreements allow for PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker to use the pokerstars.com and fulltiltpoker.com domain names to facilitate the withdrawal of U.S. players’ funds held in account with the companies.” I think players should see action this swift as a victory of public opinion and some of the pressure the US Attorneys office of Southern New York has gotten from the public for attacking innocent poker players.
Reaction from Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars will be posted as soon as Holdem Poker Chat gets the news. As of right now, withdrawals are not yet allowed, but I assume the ability needs to be coded into the software still.
UNITED STATES ENTERS DOMAIN-NAME USE AGREEMENTSWITH TWO ONLINE POKER COMPANIES
As Part of Agreements, Use of Domain Names Pokerstars.com andFulltiltpoker.com Will Be Restored to Facilitate Return of U.S.Player Funds
PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for theSouthern District of New York, announced today that the UnitedStates entered into domain-name use agreements with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, two of three online poker companies named as defendants in an April 15 civil money laundering and forfeiture Complaint (the “Civil Complaint”), alleging bank fraud, wirefraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling offenses. The Complaint, a related Indictment, and a related Restraining Order issued against multiple bank accounts utilized by the companies and their payment processors do not prohibit the companies from refunding players’ money. Nevertheless, this agreement will facilitate the return of money so that players can register their refund requests directly with Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA said: “On April15th, this Office and the FBI took specific legal action against11 individuals who allegedly engaged not merely in the operationof illegal gambling businesses, but in massive wire fraud, bankfraud, and money laundering, despite repeated warnings and clear notice that their conduct was illegal in the United States. No individual player accounts were ever frozen or restrained, and each implicated poker company has at all times been free to reimburse any player’s deposited funds. In fact, this Office expects the companies to return the money that U.S. players entrusted to them, and we will work with the poker companies to facilitate the return of funds to players, as today’s agreementswith PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker demonstrate.”
Under the terms of the agreements with PokerStars andFull Tilt Poker, the companies 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. The agreements allow for PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker to use the pokerstars.com and fulltiltpoker.com domain names to facilitate the withdrawal of U.S. players’ funds held in account with the companies. The deposit of funds by U.S. players is expressly prohibited. In addition, the agreements do not prohibit, and, in fact, expressly allow for, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker to provide for, and facilitate, players outside of the United States to engage in playing online poker for real money. The agreements also require the appointment of an independent Monitor to verify PokerStars’and Full Tilt Poker’s compliance with the agreements. The Government stands to enter the same agreement with Absolute Poker if it so chooses.
An Indictment was unsealed in Manhattan federal courton April 15, 2011 charging eleven defendants, including the founders of the three largest Internet poker companies doing business in the United States – PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker (the “Poker Companies”) – with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling offenses. The United States also filed a Civil Complaint against the Poker Companies, their assets, and the assets of several payment processors for the Poker Companies. In addition, a restraining order was issued against multiple bank accounts utilized by the Poker Companies and their payment processors.The Government did not restrain any players’ accounts. Five Internet domain names used by the Poker Companies -pokerstars.com; fulltiltpoker.com; absolutepoker.com; ultimatebet.com; and ub.com – were also seized. As alleged in the Indictment and Civil Complaint, the Poker Companies collectively obtained approximately $3 billion in proceeds as a result of their illegal activities.
Assistant U. S. Attorneys SHARON COHEN LEVIN, MICHAELLOCKARD and JASON COWLEY are in charge of the civil moneylaundering and forfeiture actions, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys ARLO DEVLIN-BROWN and NICOLE FRIEDLANDER are in charge of the criminal case.
With the US closure of the biggest online poker sites we’ve been on the look out for who the next big poker sites will be and the list is not as long as some would think. In this New World Order there a few online poker sites that have begun to stand out from the rest. Given all the changes we’ve also decided to add a few new sites to our list of approved poker sites.
The owners of Absolute Poker and UB are not following the lead of Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker. All four online poker sites had their bank accounts seizured along with their domains by the United States Department of Justice. Absolute Poker and UB have decided not to agree with any offer from the U.S. Department of Justice including the return of player’s money because they are insisting that this seizure on their domain name and bank accounts is illegal.
Whether you’re planning a long live poker playing session or multi-tabling the Sunday majors you want to eat right, have energy and not be over indulgent. Most people who sit for long periods of time do not know what to consume in order to get some extra needed energy and more importantly keeping the brain sharp. I have come up with some simple eating habits and foods that you can easily have on hand at any time.
With everything going on in the poker world Finnish Poker Pro Ilari ‘Ziigmund’ Sahamies, PowerPoker Pro, announced recently that his days playing at FullTiltPoker and PokerStars are over.
Can a government be charged with war crimes, if the war is only one of intimidation?
As you know on April 15, 2011 “Black Friday” Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and UB were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice and therefore left the U.S. market. The traffic stats below show the affect this has had on online poker sites throughout the world.
