UK Online Casinos Hope French Market Extends Growth Spurt
Online casino operators in the UK, finding domestic competition intense and markets stagnating, are hoping to expand business into France as that country prepares to allow foreign competition in Internet gambling to begin.
Online casinos operating out of the United Kingdom are looking to the opening of the French gaming market as a way to keep growth going even while domestic markets show some signs of saturation. France has already arranged a structure for regulating online gambling that met approval by the European Commission, after some changes to the initial proposal.
Next, the bill suggesting French rules for Internet casinos will be brought before the national legislature in the first week of October. The law would allow Internet sports betting and online poker to be opened to international competition, meeting EU requirements that licensed EU companies be allowed to compete with domestic operations.
France had previously operated under a state monopoly on gambling, run by the national lottery.
A study by H2 Gambling Capital found that the revenue from online gambling in France would triple over the next two years if the market restrictions were loosened. That would boost sales to close to $1.5 billion.
William Hill, PartyGaming, and 888 are all reportedly eager to expand operations into France, as recession has led to stagnation of growth at home. Most UK operators have seen a leveling, if not decline, in sales related to casino gambling and sports betting, although bingo still is increasing in income generated.
Ultimately, the true draw of French Internet gambling lies in taxation, as rate are yet to be determined. A suggested 2 percent poker tax and 7.5 percent sports betting tax are suggested in the bill.
One week ago today, I stumbled off an American Airlines plane in Montevideo, Uruguay. I wandered blind through the Duty Free shop and into the throng of people in the clamshell airport terminal. My driver held up a sign with my name and a few others on it. One was Mehrassa. John 'tinajohn9" Mehrassa, to be more accurate.
What I didn't know at the time was that Mehrassa was not only set to play the LAPT Punta del Este main event, but he was also in Punta to play for Team Canada in the Americas Cup of Poker. What neither of us knew at the time was that Mehrassa would be among the players who pushed Canada to its second straight Americas Cup win.
"When we raise our kids in Canada, the first thing we teach them is poker," Mehrass joked.
Led by Canadian Team PokerStars Pro Greg DeBora, the Canadian team (DeBora, Mehrassa, Robert Van Thuyl, Henry Wong, and Jason Collins) skunked Team Mexico in the finals to earn the repeat victory and $25,000 in prize money.
"You're part of a team and you're representing your country. Everybody played hard and did well. Once again, Team Canada came through." DeBora said.
Team Canada - 2011 ACP Champions
Seven teams from North, South and Central America battled for two days at the Mantra Resort, Spa and Casino. Here are the final results.
AMERICAS CUP OF POKER FINAL RESULTS
1st: Canada ($25,000) 2nd: Mexico ($20,000) 3rd: Venezuela ($15,000) 4th: Brazil ($12,000) 5th: Argentina ($10,000) 6th: Rest of Latam ($8,000) 7th: Colombia ($5,000)
My new apartment in Salzburg has come together so well. My girlfriend and I have finally finished with the decorating and she is very happy with it. I just assembled the last piece of furniture, our couch. I've also managed to entirely replenish my wine refrigerator. We decided to empty it out before the move, since wine doesn't exactly travel well. (Well, that, and I wanted to buy some new wines anyway!) Mostly, we drank it ourselves although we gifted a few bottles to friends.
You probably thought I was only a beer drinker since I've gone to the trouble to set up my own homebrew operation. Actually, I've collected wine for a long time. When I was four years old, my parents moved our family to Portugal and our house outside Lisbon had it's own little vineyard. When it was time to harvest, I got to stomp the grapes, which was so much fun. So I knew about wine from a very young age. These days, my favorite wines to drink are Riesling, a white wine from Austria and southern Germany and red wines from a region in the south of France called Châteauneuf-du-Pape. I don't spend a lot of money on wine, maybe $20 to $50 a bottle. I'm more concerned with the taste rather than whether or not it has a fancy label or comes from a famous place. A $50 bottle can be just as good as a $500 bottle if you know what you're looking for.
Team PokerStars Pro George Danzer
My girlfriend's dad is a small merchant and travels around to wine tastings, mainly as a hobby. I've been going to tastings myself about once a month and even won a wine-tasting competition. There's a place up here that is a big wine retailer for restaurants and stuff and every few weeks they have tastings. At this one, they opened up 16 different bottles, vintages from 1977 up to 2005. Everyone tasted the wines blind and had to write down what grape they believed it was, the country it was from, the region, the year, and the winemaker. There was a scoring system that awarded points for correct answers. Correctly guessing the country was two points, the vintage was two points, and the year, grape type, and region were five points each. I got lucky in this instance because we ended up tasting some wines I was familiar with. One of them I hit exactly--the region, the grape, the vintage, everything. I took home a magnum bottle of champagne for winning.
In a way, wine tasting competitions are a lot like poker. You come in prepared, but sometimes it takes a lot of luck to win. At this competition, I got lucky because the wine I guessed was one of maybe five or ten wines I could identify exactly. It's like getting a good table draw on Day 1 of a tournament. You can either draw a group of wines that you knew very well or you can draw some you aren't familiar with at all. However, in the last competition I took part in before this one, I finished last! That time, I wasn't as familiar with the wines and it was more like an ugly table draw.
So now that I've conquered beer and wine, perhaps my next move should be a distillery. My mom actually got me a small one for Christmas that I've been playing around with. Once you get started making your own beverages, you really can't stop!
Lawsuit Accuses Online Poker Room Full Tilt of Basing in US
Full Tilt, one of the most popular Internet poker operators, is being sued in California for supposedly using software bots disguised as players to win hands on the site, and for accusing legitimate players of operating as bots themselves.
An online poker player has filed a lawsuit against operator Full Tilt, in which the company is accused of being controlled from within the US and using software to control hand results. Lary Kennedy, a Full Tilt patron, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the company and pro players Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson.
Since the scandals at Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, online gambling customers have been worried about software manipulation of Internet games. Kennedy alleges that bots are playing hands at Full Tilt with the knowledge and participation of the poker site.
Kennedy also says that Full Tilt has used a zero-tolerance policy instituted after the cheating scandals at the other poker rooms to accuse legitimate players of being bots, and seizing their money. Kennedy says this happened both to her and other players.
The pros are included in the suit because they are named on the site as having contributed to Full Tilt's design, and Kennedy says they are the controlling force behind the popular online poker room.
Full Tilt has asserted that it is regulated by the Kahanwake Gaming Commission, on Indian land in Canada.
Stefan "mindgamer" Jedlicka wins the Sunday Million for $223k six weeks after runner-up finish ^
On October 21st, Stefan "mindgamer" Jedlicka was one elimination away from winning the Sunday Million. Heads-up with semaj2 at a 3 to 1 chip disadvantage, Jedlicka was about to score the double-up he so desperately needed when semaj2 rivered a flush, ending Jedlicka's run just short of the top spot. Thanks to a four-way deal, Jedlicka took home a hefty $129,000 for his second six-figure score of 2013. The first was a $278,130 haul for another runner-up finish, this one in the TCOOP $2,100 NLHE High Roller event. Who could have possibly expected the third one to come so soon? But as we know all too well in our game, confidence breeds confidence and mindgamer had it in spades today, running over the final table en route to a spectacular Sunday Million win.
Double Vision Sunday drew 7,431 players to today's first running of the Million, the prize pool topping out at $1,486,200. 1,080 places were paid with first place set to earn $222,934.18. Sixteen Red Spades joined the field including Vanessa Selbst, Nacho Barbero, Victor Ramdin, Eugene Katchalov, and Andre Akkari. Two finished in the money-- Maxim Lykov (1,008th) and Liv Boeree, whose [Qh][Js] fell to [Ah][Jh] to send her to the rail in 339th place.
Blinds were up to 125,000/250,000 with ten players remaining. With 4.6 million behind, athar222 opened for a min-raise to 500,000 and Doommy three-bet to 1,000,000. Athar222 called and they went heads-up to a [Ad][8d][4s] flop. Both players checked and the [7s] came on the turn. Athar222 shoved for 3.61 million and Doommy called, turning up [As][3h] for top pair. Athar222 had an open-ended straight draw with [6c][9c] but missed it when the river fell the [9s]. Doommy raked in the 9.7 million pot, eliminating athar22 on the final table bubble.
Final table chip counts
Seat 1: mindgamer (11,873,052 in chips)
Seat 2: marbog12345 (5,171,527 in chips)
Seat 3: Joe Santana (10,790,860 in chips)
Seat 4: king2173 (3,605,417 in chips)
Seat 5: Doommy (16,569,623 in chips)
Seat 6: leggieblufs1 (10,859,465 in chips)
Seat 7: MagicMan254 (3,484,621 in chips)
Seat 8: Henwii22 (3,979,092 in chips)
Seat 9: Boxrod (7,976,343 in chips)
MagicMan254 pulls out a miracle
It only took six hands to lose our first player. From UTG+1, MagicMan254 open-shoved for 4.02 million and king2173 called all-in for 2.98 million from the small blind. Although king2173 had MagicMan254 dominated with [Ad][Ks] vs. [Ac][Qs], a queen hit the [Qd][8s][3s] flop, pairing MagicMan254's kicker. King2173 whiffed the [6s] turn and the [2d] river and was eliminated in ninth place, earning $11,518.05.
mindgamer's K-K KOs two.
Less than an orbit passed before mindgamer opened for a 600,000 min-raise from UTG. The action folded to Henwii22 in the small blind and he moved all-in for 3.3 million only to have Boxrod reshove for 6.8 million from the big blind. Mindgamer called and the cards went on their backs.
Mindgamer's pocket kings held up, the board running out [9d][7c][2d][4c][4d]. Henwii22, the shorter stack to start the hand, was eliminated in eighth place ($17,834.40) while Boxrod took seventh ($31,953.30).
mindgamer makes it three in a row, Doommy outruns Joe Santana
Mindgamer moved up to 22.9 after the double elimination and got his chips in the middle again only three hands later. Holding [2d][5s], mindgamer min-raised to 600,000 and leggieblufs1 called from the big blind. Mindgamer hit an open-ended straight draw on the [Jh][4s][3c] flop and bet 504,900 when leggieblufs1 checked to him. Leggieblufs1 raised to 1,543,034 and mindgamer called. The [7c] turn didn't improve mindgamer's hand, but nevertheless, he called leggieblufs1's 1.85m bet. However, the [6c] river filled out mindgamer's seven-high straight. Leggieblufs1 did his bidding for him and moved all-in for 5.85 million, and midngamer snap-called. Leggieblufs1's [Kc][Jd] went up in flames and he was eliminated in sixth place, good for $46,072.20.
Then, on the very next deal, Joe Santana opened for 600,000 with pocket tens in the cutoff and Doommy three-bet to 1.5 million on the button. Both blinds folded and Joe Santana four-bet shoved for 14.2 million. Doommy called, revealing [As][Kh]. Doommy hit an ace on the flop, the board finishing [Ad][Qs][Jc][8s][6d] to end Joe Santana's run in fifth place ($60,934.20).
Doommy dominates marbog12345
The breakneck pace continued as blinds rose to 200,000/400,000. With 4.04 million remaining, marbog12345 moved all-in from the cutoff with [Ad][7c] and Doommy called on the button with [As][Jh]. Doommy's dominating hand held up on the [Ac][8d][5c][2c][3d] board and marbog12345 departed in fourth place, earning $78,768.60.
Hard bargain
As play turned three-handed, mindgamer, Doommy and MagicMan254 all agreed to pause the action and discuss a potential deal. Here's how they stacked up at the time.
Final table host Jorge "Baalim" Limon ran chip count chop numbers for our trio, producing the following shares.
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): mindgamer:$180,906.77
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): Doommy:$176,463.74
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): MagicMan254:$128,491.56
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): Left To Play for place 1: $20,000.00
Short stack MagicMan254 wanted to boost his share to $135k, saying he didn't want to settle for only $10k more than third-place money when he could gamble and potentially win another $100k if he took first place. Mindgamer was unhappy with the proposal as well, citing his desire to lock up at least $185,000.
"LOL guys, you wanna take all that from me?" Doommy wrote.
With negotiations at a stalemate, cards went back in the air and action resumed.
mind gamer makes MagicMan254 disappear
As three-handed play resumed, MagicMan254 quickly doubled through mindgamer, his [Ks][Ts] rivering a king against pocket sevens. A few minutes later, Doommy did his part when his [Th][7h] fell to MagicMan254's pocket eights. MagicMan254 doubled again, this time to 19.7 million. After picking up a 13.4 million pot with a three-bet on the flop, MagicMan254 moved up to 26.1 million, good for second in chips, while Doommy fell to 16.3 million.
MagicMan254 hung on to second place as mindgamer turned his attention to Doommy, whittling his stack down to 10.8 million. However, only a few hands later, MagicMan254 picked up [Ac][Js] in the big blind and three-bet shoved for 20.4 million. Initial min-raiser mindgamer snap-called with [Qc][Qs], the board running out [8h][7s][5s][5h][9h] to end MagicMan254's run in third place ($118,896.00).
Heads-up chip counts
Seat 1: mindgamer (63,845,386 in chips)
Seat 5: Doommy (10,464,614 in chips)
Down but not out, Doommy scored a double up on Hand #6, his [Kd][3d] flopping a three against mindgamer's unimproved [Ac][Js]. Doommy moved up to 16 million, but got those chips in the middle again on the next hand. Doommy opened for 1.2 million, mindgamer three-bet to 2.7 million and Doommy shoved for 15.94 million. Mindgamer called and his [Ah][Qs] held up against Doommy's [Ks][Qh] to lock up the win.
Congratulations to Stefan "mindgamer" Jedlicka on an incredible victory! He banked $222,934.18 for the win while runner-up Doommy collected $164,031.89.
Signage and wayfinding displays—MOZ DIGITAL IMAGERY
Móz Designs Digital Imagery Collection has been expanded to include creative new concepts for signage and wayfinding displays for airport terminals, hotels and resorts, shopping malls, arenas and stadiums and more.
Móz Digital Imagery integrates the visuals of a photograph or abstract art with the textural grains of Móz metals for a unique multi-layered effect. Images are printed on solid core and perforated aluminum, ranging from .040” to 125” thick, and durable finishes are available in gloss or matte. Móz colors and gradients can be added to create a custom look.
Digital Imagery allows exceptional flexibility for design creativity. Customers can select professional quality images from the Móz portfolio, or can submit their own high resolution photos or artwork for printing.
Standard printable sheet size are 4’ x 8’ and 4’ x 10’ offering precise panel-to-panel registration and edge matching capabilities. Custom sizes can also be ordered. All Móz metal artwork is shipped ready to install on walls, columns or display signs.
Móz metal products are fabricated from 80 percent post-industrial recycled material and contribute to LEED 2.0 MR Credit 4, recycled content.
The Móz team offers a range of professional services, including: image consultation, design assistance, concept-to-completion production, color proofing, and shipping with all hanging accessories and instructions.
A complete overview of the Digital Imagery program is featured on the Móz website with a step-by-step guide to selecting and ordering prints. Images from the Móz portfolio with a range of themes can be viewed and ordered. The online guide also includes printing and submission requirements, FAQs, copyright terms, file transfer links, and a gallery of Móz colors, grains and finishes.
The Warriors have steamrolled opponents through their first four games and are a perfect 4-0 ATS.
USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors (-7.5, 218)
The Golden State Warriors endured jabs from opposing players and coaches over the summer after winning the NBA championship and have come out this season on a mission to prove they are still the best team in the league. The Warriors will try to continue their historic pace when they host one of the teams that did the most talking over the summer - the Los Angeles Clippers.
Golden State took three of four from the Clippers in the regular season last year and missed out on a chance to see them in the playoffs when Los Angeles squandered a 3-1 series lead against the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals. Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers suggested the Warriors may have been the recipients of some good fortune in their run through the playoffs, prompting Golden State guard Klay Thompson to respond by saying, “I wanted to play the Clippers last year but they couldn’t handle their business.” Los Angeles has handled its business so far this season and heads into the matchup 4-0. The Warriors are 4-0 as well after beginning their homestand by blasting the Memphis Grizzlies 119-69 on Monday.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
LINE HISTORY: The Warriors opened as 7-point home favorites and quickly moved to -7.5. The total has held steady at its opening number of 218.
INJURY REPORT:
Clippers - N/A.
Warriors - C A. Bogut (questionable Wednesday, concussion), SF K. Looney (Late January, hip).
COVERS POWER RANKINGS: Clippers (-13.8) - Warriors (-16) + home field (-3) = Warriors -5.2
DANCE TEAM WAR:
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (4-0, 2-2 ATS, 2-2 O/U): Blake Griffin has been at the front of several battles with the Warriors over the past few seasons and is leading his team in Wednesday’s clash. Griffin is averaging 29.5 points on 62.2 percent shooting and 9.3 rebounds during Los Angeles’ hot start and is benefiting from an improved bench that now includes Paul Pierce and Josh Smith helping to take some of the pressure off in the frontcourt. Griffin has even improved at the free-throw line, where he is connecting at a 74.3-percent clip. ABOUT THE WARRIORS (4-0, 4-0 ATS, 1-3 O/U): Golden State has outscored its first four opponents – all of which were Western Conference playoff teams last season – by a total of 100 points, bettering the 1961-62 Boston Celtics’ 99-point margin through four contests. “I think we’ve taken our intensity to a different level,” Draymond Green told the San Francisco Chronicle after Monday’s win. “It’s just a maturity. We’re getting more and more games together. We know what it takes.” Reigning MVP Stephen Curry is leading the charge and notched his third 20-point quarter of the young season in the third against the Grizzlies. TWEET BEAT: TRENDS:
* Home team is 13-5 in the last 18 meetings. * Clippers are 5-17 in the last 22 meetings in Golden State. * Under is 10-1-2 in Warriors last 13 home games. * Over is 8-1 in Clippers last nine games playing on 1 days rest. COVERS CONSENSUS: The public is giving the slight edge to Golden State, with 51.67 percent of wagers backing the Warriors.
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Alessandro Adinolfo wins IPT Saint Vincent Main Event
Italian Alessandro Adinolfo beat a field of 390 players to win the IPT Saint Vincent Main event this week, earning a first prize of €80,000. The field amassed a prize pool of €378,300, paying the top 55 players. Adinolfo's defeated Giuseppe Caridi heads-up, with Caridi collecting €45,000 for second place.
The final action saw Adinolfo go all-in with A♥J♣, which was called by Caridi holding 7♦6♣. The board of 8♣5♥5♦J♥8♥ sent the spoils to Adinolfo.
Adinolfo has earned more than $250,000 in tournaments during ten years in the game. The title marks a career high for the man from Turin, whose other results have come from across Italy, notably in Venice and Sanremo.
The IPT now heads to Nova Gorica from September 10-15, 2015.
The full result from the IPT Saint Vincent Main Event is below:
IPT Saint Vincent €1,000 + €100 Main Event Entrants: 390 Prize pool: €378,300 Places paid: 55
1. Alessandro Adinolfo (Italy) € 80,000 2. Giuseppe Caridi (Italy) € 45,000 3. Enrico Consales (Italy) € 32,000 4. Giorgio Soceanu (Italy) € 26,000 5. Christian Cipriano (Italy) € 21,000 6. Giuseppe Mancini (Italy) € 16,000 7. Paolo Antonio Pellegrini (Italy) € 12,000 8. Micha Renaldo Hoedemaker (Netherlands) € 8,500 9. Matej Adamic (Slovenia) € 7,000
Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.
Tom Holke beats all-comers to win inaugural Eureka Hamburg Main Event
Sometimes it's just written in the stars. Despite everyone trying to take your destiny down another route, you stay on path until you reach your goal. Tom Holke came in today dressed in all the accessories he could find that matched the colours of the German flag- hats, scarfs, you name it - he had it on, and it was a signal that he already knew he was going to win. Come to think of it, he's been wearing the same gear since day one!
Tom Holke - your winner
He's also played with the carefree style of a man who knew he was going to win. He had the look of a man who thoroughly enjoyed himself at every moment. If he lost a pot, no bother, he'd just go and win the next one. Poker is a zero sum game though, and if he was feeling that elated, others were feeling the opposite. None more so than the second and third-pace finishers, Alexander Lemme and Steffen Kessler, who had the look of men who had been told they weren't going to win whatever they tried. Maybe Holke let them in on his secret.
Alexander Lemme - runner-up
Lemme should be happy with coming second for €67,100 - by far the biggest score of his career - but, as the start of day chip leader, he had eyes on top spot and nothing else. He busted after 12 hands of heads-up play when his ace-seven couldn't find a way back against Holke's dominating ace-jack. Kessler busted a short while before that when his pocket kings were beaten by Holke's ace-jack (again) that made a straight on the river.
Steffen Kessler - 3rd
Only six of the official final table of eight came back for the final day here inside the Spielbank Schenefeld casino, the tenth of ten days that filled up this inaugural poker festival. That number was quickly reduced to four after the elimination John Forst and Nils Maibaum.
John Forst - 6th
Forst three-bet all in with nine-ten but was felled by Holke (who called behind) and his mighty pocket deuces. Nils Mainbaum lost most of his stack in the final three-way all in hand that concluded Day 3's play and wasn't in a position to fold to a flopped top pair. Unfortunately for him, Lemme had him out-kicked and he was on his way.
Nils Maibaum
Armin Eckl was, by far, the shortest stack by that stage and struggled to find a spot to get his stack in. When he did - with five-deuce on the button- he ran into Lemme and his ace-queen.
Armin Eckl - 4th
Three-handed play was the only plateaux of the last couple of days - a three-level period without elimination. That doesn't mean nothing was going on though. Holke tormented his opponents with a style of play that his opponents weren't able to exploit, a style of play that big hands are the only ammunition that work. All you had to do was look at Lemme and Kessler's faces to realise their weapons were loaded with blanks.
Well done Holke, this is your time. Enjoy every single second of it.
To read back over how today's action went down, please click here.That concludes a hugely successful Eureka5 Hamburg festival. We'll be back for sure and keep a listen out for news about upcoming stops on the tour.
ESPT6 Barcelona: Prize pool info and the nationalities pie (super-sized)
The blitz of bustouts continued through the second hour of Day 2 of the Estrellas Barcelona Main Event. A third of the day's starters have already been knocked out in just two hours of play, as just 664 remain.
Where some of the eliminated players' chips went
That means the money bubble is suddenly starting to edge onto the horizon, which makes it as good a time as any to take care of the business of reporting some prize pool information for this record-breaking ESPT event.
It's the biggest freezeout tournament in PokerStars history as far as the number of players participating is concerned. With 3,292 entering, the prize pool is a massive €3,193,240, to be divided among the top 487 finishers with an eye-popping €491,000 to be awarded to the winner -- that's just over 446 times the buy-in!
Those making the final table (to be played Monday) will be scheduled to earn the following:
While were sharing facts and figures, we have information about nationalities to share as well.
Players from 81 different countries came to the Casino Barcelona to play this event, an especially high number that exceeds that of many past EPT Main Events. Spain is the best represented with 590 out of the 3,292 (21%), with France next in line with 445 entrants (16%). Italy (251; 9%), Germany (233; 8%), Russia (151; 5%), and the U.K. (143; 5%) each sent considerable numbers, too.
Enjoy the following chart showing how big of a slice of the field each of the nationalities claimed. We had to special order a really, really big pie for this one:
In the time it took to share this with you, another 100 players have fallen. Back soon with news from the bubble.
To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts from EPT12 Barcelona, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.
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Online Poker Bill Blocked by Would-Be Kennedy Replacement
The attorney general of Massachusetts prevented an intrastate online poker bill from advancing to the ballot and declared online gambling in all forms illegal in the state, just as she swore running for US Senate wouldn't influence her job.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who has used an anti-gambling stance to enhance public awareness of her, refused to allow state residents to vote on creating regulated intrastate online poker. Coakley told the Poker Players Alliance a measure to allow poker players to play online as long as both server and bettor were in Massachusetts wasn't written in proper form to be included on the fall ballot.
Coakley announced this week she would run for the US Senate seat vacated by the death of Ted Kennedy. Immediately she had to field questions about her ability to continue as Attorney General while campaigning, but insisted her political ambition would not affect her performance as AG.
“I will stay involved,” Coakley told the Boston Herald. "I have been and will remain involved in the major decisions in the office.”
While Coakley asserted her attention to tasks at hand, it was uncertain whether critics had thought she would neglect her job, or whether they had meant she now has political implications lying on legal decisions such as reviewing the online poker initiative.
Coakley told poker advocates that the wording of the bill left in question whether Massachusetts would be able to legally force the payment of a suggested five percent tax on Internet poker deposits.
Despite the presence of no state law against Internet gambling, Coakley's office states on its website that all online gambling is illegal.
Online casinos operating out of the United Kingdom are looking to the opening of the French gaming market as a way to keep growth going even while domestic markets show some signs of saturation. France has already arranged a structure for regulating online gambling that met approval by the European Commission, after some changes to the initial proposal.
An online poker player has filed a lawsuit against operator Full Tilt, in which the company is accused of being controlled from within the US and using software to control hand results. Lary Kennedy, a Full Tilt patron, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the company and pro players Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who has used an anti-gambling stance to enhance public awareness of her, refused to allow state residents to vote on creating regulated intrastate online poker. Coakley told the Poker Players Alliance a measure to allow poker players to play online as long as both server and bettor were in Massachusetts wasn't written in proper form to be included on the fall ballot.