GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 8 - April 2009

Grand Prive Casino Group Talk about larceny. This group deserves jeers after shutting down its affiliate program and eliminating affiliate commissions late last year while keeping its online casinos open for business. Russ Hamilton The former World Series of Poker Main Event champ allegedly profited big time from the “superuser” scandal at UltimateBet. That scandal, chronicled by the TV newsmagazine “60 Minutes,” allowed certain users to see the hole cards of players at the table. And it gave online poker a black eye when it least needed one. Steve Beshear The governor of Kentucky decided he could play moralist for the world when he tried to seize 141 online gambling domains because they were “illegal gambling devices.” Apparently, as long as his precious Kentuckians were protected from the “evils” of online gambling, he didn’t care that the millions of people out there who wanted to enjoy a legal pastime without interference might be unable to access their accounts and games. Spencer Bachus The reflexively anti-online gambling Congressman fromAlabama said in a hearing this year that “McGill University found that one-third of college students who gamble on the Internet ultimately attempted suicide.” Err, one problem, Congressman. “This assertion, which is reportedly based upon our empirical research, is not predicated upon any factual evidence,” said McGill gambling and addiction researcher Jeffrey L. Derevensky. Previous Inductees: