GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 16 - May 2011

TexDolly Doyle Brunson The Southern DOJ must not have anything much to do. They just indicted 11 people from Full Tilt, UB and Poker Stars. Andy_Bloch Andy Bloch Isn’t seizing a .com domain name (without a trial even) a clear violation of WTO GATT? Haven’t seen GATT or WTO mentioned in all this GPWA Forum Post by TheCanadianGambler I don’t understand how they figure they can police the world like this. I could see preventing Americans from visiting the sites, but seizing the domains so that nobody in the world can go to those sites is ridiculous, and far beyond the reach they should have. I find it very scary that they can get away with doing this, are they now the Internet’s law enforcement? Just because an American visits a website they don’t like, they can just shut it down? I was going to say I’m glad I live in Canada, but apparently that doesn’t even matter because they can enforce anything they want, anywhere in the world. GamingCounsel Stuart Hoegner UB.com and pokerstars.com domain names have been locked by Verisign pursuant to an order - unclear whether court order of DOJ directive. Verisign is the exclusive administrator of .comdomains. And it was pointing pokerstars.com, fulltiltpoker.com, absolutepoker.com, ub.com and ultimatebet.com to DOJ and FBI seizure notices. For PokerStars and Full Tilt, the domains didn’t stay seized for long. The following week, after operating under alternate URLs, both online poker rooms reached an agreement with the DOJ that allowed them to reclaim their domains in return for withdrawing fromtheU.S. market and refunding American players theirmoney. The DOJ also said they would make the same deal with Absolute. As of press time, only PokerStars had begun the process of cashing out American players. And Absolute was still exploring its legal options. “At this time, Absolute Poker’s top priority is, and must be, the refund of balances to its and UB’s U.S. players,” said Absolute in a statement acknowledging the DOJ’s public domain deal offer. “However, given the far-reaching consequences of the U.S. 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.” As of press time, Absolute Poker was using the absolutepoker.eu domain. CasinoCityVin Casino City Vin Reading through the 52 page indictment now. A clearer picture is emerging about who the defen- dants are, and what their roles were. As the initial shock of the indictments wore off, fresh details began to emerge. PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg, who recently completed a deal with Wynn Resorts to create PokerStarsWynn.com when online poker is licensed and approved in the U.S., was among those indicted. oskargarcia Oskar Garcia Wynn pulls out of alliance with PokerStars... So much for PokerStarsWynn.com. Paul Tate, who allegedly led the PokerStars payment processing department, was indicted as well. Full Tilt founder Raymond Bitar and former processing chief Nelson Burtnick were also named in the indictment, as were Absolute Poker founders Scott Tomand Brent Beckley. Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet are now owned by Blanca Games. According to the indictment, Burtnick also served as head of the PokerStars payment processing unit at one time. Full Tilt, which had just recently announced a deal with Fertitta Interactive to create a licensed online poker room -- whenever it became possible -- lost its partnership, too. AlexandraBerzon Alexandra Berzon Fertitta spokeswoman said the partnership with Full Tilt - announced late March - had “expired.” The DOJ indicted Ryan Lang, Ira Rubin, Bradley Franzen and Chad Elie, who operated as intermediaries between the poker companies and payment processors for the poker companies. And John Campos, the vice-chairman of the board and part owner of SunFirst Bank, was charged for his role in the process. CasinoCityVin Casino City Vin For those that thought the Feds couldn’t keep up with how poker rooms move money, think again. This indict- ment is detailed and thorough. In a statement issued the day of the indictments, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara from the Southern District of New York made it clear he believed PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker had earned the indictments. “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,” Bharara said. “Moreover, as we allege, in their zeal to circumvent the gambling law, the defendants also engaged in massive money laundering and bank fraud. Foreign firms that choose to operate in the United States are not free to flout the laws they don’t like simply because they can’t bear to be parted from their profits.” Special Report 25