Thread: A Little Online Poker, Anyone?

If you said "Yes" to the invitation, then you'll probably be disappointed to learn that online poker is likely to become a thing of the past very soon.

Maybe I'm the only person who likes playing poker online here, and this won't resonate at all. But somebody just came into my life and told me I can't do something that I enjoy. And I cannot, for the life of me, figure out WHY.

I suppose it was only a matter of time before these damn Nazis in Washington stepped directly on my toes, and impacted my life in a very tangable (if relatively unimportant) way. Although, the truth is, I would probably smoke weed at least once in a while if it were legal. But that's been illegal since before my time, so I guess I found it easier to accept.

But now here I am, placing 4-cent bets on Texas Holdem games, entertaining the hell out of myself for a while, bothering no one, hurting no one, and The Man has quite literally come into my house and shut me down. Why?

My first reaction is always to follow the money. And because online gaming sites don't operate in the U.S., the profits they are taking from us aren't being bled off by the IRS. That probably pisses them off, and I guess I can understand that.

But that only raises another question: Why is it illegal to run an online gambling website in the U.S.? I realize that the states make their own determinations regarding gambling. It's legal in Nevada. It's legal in Atlantic City. But it's not legal elsewhere in New Jersey. To me, these laws make so little sense that I can only surmise they are the legal expression of unimaginably large bribes and kickbacks calculated to funnel gambling revenue through the hands of a few very rich people. That the lawmakers push these things through while touting their moral supremacy and loudly proclaiming their righteousness is so sickeningly cynical... No, really: I actually have an upset stomach.

What are people to do?

You cannot simply ignore the laws and open up a card room in a little shop down on the corner. The cops will show up and take everything you own, audit your records, confiscate all of your money, and throw you in jail.

You can't fight the laws, because they aren't written in English, for one thing. And the greedy bastards who manipulate these things are experts at stirring up the self-righteous religious buttinskis who think it's their right and duty to interfere with everyone around them, and who pay very little attention to the ways their self-righteous energies are focused by others. I do not see them marching on Trenton demanding that gambling be made illegal in Atlantic City, for example. Although, it seems logical that a religious/political crusade to eradicate gambling in New Jersey wouldn't differentiate between, say, Newark and Atlantic City. Why would they suspend their morality on the question of Atlantic City? Suddenly this modern-day Soddom is okay? Perhaps there is a funny kind of grease on these wheels. I smell hypocrisy, bribery, kickbacks, dirty dealings of every imaginable kind.

I am livid over this. I'm completely pissed off. I am ready to pop. Perhaps I will start up that card room after all, just so that I can fight these fucking scumbags into the Supreme Court on the kind of broad objection that could eradicate marijuana laws, gambling restrictions, etc. I don't care if the mob uses murder and extortion to run gambling rings. To the cops who make that complaint, I suggest that you go out and deal with the murder and the extortion. These mafia types have also been known to launder money through restaurants, but I don't see anyone telling me I can't open a bistro. Attempting to smear together two otherwise unrelated things and then attacking them together is an age-old tactic of people who want to get something done even though there is no reason to do it other than their own need to mess with other people. What would otherwise be impossible becomes possible. A judge who might suggest that Dave's Card Room in Princeton seems a legitimate enough business that pays its taxes might be befuddled and swayed by mountains of deliberately unclear and dramatic "evidence" that gambling and the mafia are one and the same.

Ironically, what, besides making gambling illegal, could so completely insure that gambling and the mafia ARE one and the same?

Im freinds with a dude who won over 60,000 bucks of online poker. He even went to the world series. I did win 20 of those dollars though. I was proud!

Gambling is illegal...because the criminals control where it is legal and they don't want competition.

The Californian Indian tribes demanded special privileges in an election, and got them because of stupid voters, against the opposition of the Las Vegas interests, of course. Now those same Indians are spending a lot of money advertising how wonderfully charitable their casinos are and opposing any and all legislation that would either expand gambling into other venues in the state or otherwise compete with their monopoly.

Frankly, I see no difference between losing money at Joe's Card Shack next door in Wilmington, or driving two hours to go to Casino Morongo, or flying to Vegas, Baby! But if I was a gambler, it would certainly be more convenient to lose my money closer to home, right?

Freedom for All is right, Criminals control portion of the casino industry. I'm originally from New Jersey and now in Vegas. I know in NJ only place licensed to gamble is Atlantic City, no other cities want to touch licensing gambling because of the consequences of taking away the revenues of AC.

From time to time I played little poker online, The most I ever won is like $1000, I'm not concerened with losing online poker, I can just step outside and head for one of the casinos if I wanted.

Originally Posted by YourThrone

I'm not concerened with losing online poker, I can just step outside and head for one of the casinos if I wanted.

The issue shouldn't be that you don't care, but that government doesn't have any business restricting it, so long as the business is conducted honestly.

That should be the only criterion. If the state can run gambling (Lotteries), there's no reason private businesses can't do the same. Heck, Thomas Jefferson tried to raffle Monticello away to get money to pay off his enormous debts. Even then the government restricted gambling...

Here here! There's absolutely no reason to pass legislation on this - it's already regulated, and accepting that you citizens will spend money on foreign websites is a fact or 21st century life. There is far more coming in than out.

The only possible reason I can see is organized crime doesn't like being cut out and did what they do best: buy or intimidate the people they put into office to shut them down. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this on Yahoo last night. I honeslty thought it was a joke or they'd been hacked.

Not even pretending to be a democracy anymore.

If anyone thinks this has anything to do with moral crusading then they're living in la la land.
Lobby groups (ie casinos, lotteries etc) don't want the extra competition but the real kicker is the US govt doesn't want to lose the money to offshore gambling houses that are better run and marketed than the US based ones.
The US govt is doing more and more to prop up the balance of payments any way it can. Look at the DRM legislation and all the trade treaties that have copyright enforcement provisions tagged onto them.
Can anyone else see a pattern here?