Wednesday, April 20, 2011

After FBI Busts, Online Poker Players Head to the Casino

LA Times:
Though it was a Monday night and tax day to boot, finding a parking spot at Hustler Casino in Gardena was no easy feat.
It may have been the ongoing poker tournament that helped the crowd swell above normal size. But over the weekend, a breed of player not usually found in clubs had also swarmed the casino. Wearing sunglasses under their hoodies and hats, they stood out "like a zebra around a bunch of cows," manager Craig Kaufman said.
They were online poker players, who usually disdained Hustler's plush velvet detailing and soft jazz background music in favor of a dozen simultaneous poker games sprawled across home computer screens.
But after the FBI last week shut down the three biggest Internet poker sites — and accused their three founders and eight other executives of bank fraud, money laundering and violating gambling laws — millions of online players suddenly found themselves with few alternatives except to play in person. In the real world.
This makes me think of this story, which I heard last week about how poker playing robots are winning big in online poker sites.  I always was concerned that somebody could be rigging the game in online poker. 

Trying to limit online gambling is a sucker's game, somebody is always a step ahead.  Apparently, I;m not the only one who thinks that.  From the LA Times story:
This is a battle the U.S. might win in the short run, but they're not going to stamp out online poker playing," Kelly said.
But they'll still try.

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