Did Online Poker Just Catch It's River Card?
I love online poker. I used to play full tilt all during school and basically up until the fiasco where it turned out to be a ponzi scheme. Luckily, I didn't have any money in there at that point so I felt like I dodged a bullet. The other day, It appears that poker starts swooped into the rescue buying and paying out the claims to the tune of $731 million dollars. That includes settling a civil suit, repaying player claims and buying whatever was left of the full tilt brand.
Now, I'm not the first nor the last to suggest that this seems a bit... well... interesting. I'd go so far as to say that we will be seeing online poker, and probably even online gambling, legalized in the coming future. I can't fathom that Pokerstars would have settled on those terms if there weren't some type of implicit guarantee of access to the massive US market. That said, this is a fantastic thing in my opinion as I've never quite undestood the resistance towards legalizing online poker and even online gambling. It's a massive market. Tons of people enjoy it already and the government stands to make a windfall if they legalize and tax it. Seems like a win, win to me.
As a side note, something that always intrigued me about professional poker was the nature of the people playing. There were always rumors and theories about side bets and massive amounts of money being thrown around. In fact, i'm pretty sure every pro was net broke at some point via a combination of overlapping side bets. It always made for interesting profiles and stories (some pretty cool ones of Phil Ivey a while back). It has a WWE like quality to it, where it almost seems to be written or scripted. It's not, I don't think, but I remember getting a kick out of it.
All that said, could legalizing poker actually bring players back to the well for more? I've noticed among my friends a decrease in the amount of poker nights and really an overall decrease in caring about poker in general. I can't help but wonder if many of the players will simply not come back should poker be legalized. It almost feels like it was a passing fad for a few years and many have moved on. Am I crazy? Do you guys think legalizing poker and online gambling are as much of a win as I do?






Comments
Very interesting points
Very interesting points
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All I know is that Daniel
All I know is that Daniel Negreanu is an annoying bastard and he needs to stop talking so much during his games.
“...all truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
- Schopenhauer
seabird: All I know is that
All I know is that Daniel Negreanu is an annoying bastard and he needs to stop talking so much during his games.
I met him...he was drinking cosmos
I eat success for breakfast...with skim milk
Great news for U.S. players.
Great news for U.S. players. It sounds like FTP will be returning player funds which would be fantastic, esp given that many online grinders had 10k+ stuck on the site after black friday. The best part will be if the fish return to Stars... the caliber of the play among the only remaining online sites open to U.S. players has been extremely high (relative to FTP/Stars) versus the level before black friday.
I'll sign up the day that it
I'll sign up the day that it gets legalized. Great way to spend a saturday/sunday afternoon playing the big tourneys..
This to all my hatin' folks seeing me getting guac right now..
Hell yes, legalizing online
Hell yes, legalizing online poker is a huge win.
To keep updated on current news and legislation: http://theppa.org/
Getting my 20k back!
Getting my 20k back!
Yeah I played right up until
Yeah I played right up until "Black Friday". I tried to play a little bit on Merge, but the competition was too good.
This bodes well for US poker and possible legislation. What do you guys think about ZNGA? The industry is worth billions and Zynga's poker app, while shitty, has millions of equally shitty players that should draw large crowds.
stvr2013: Yeah I played right
Yeah I played right up until "Black Friday". I tried to play a little bit on Merge, but the competition was too good.
This bodes well for US poker and possible legislation. What do you guys think about ZNGA? The industry is worth billions and Zynga's poker app, while shitty, has millions of equally shitty players that should draw large crowds.
Until they lose all their money and demand a refund.
I think the ZNGA thing is
I think the ZNGA thing is blown out of proportion. Too much credit risk because of how big their other operations are. The FTs and PSs of the world are much better for this.
I hate victims who respect their executioners
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I think it's great, firstly
I think it's great, firstly because players that had money online will get their money back. Whether $5, $50k, $200k, not having access to funds that are "legally" yours sucks.
The public is fickle so whether things go back to how they were online, I'm not sure. Poker is part of American folklore though. There will definitely be an increase of players, which can't be bad. I'll be depositing as soon as it's allowed. I've tried Merge and Carbon and these other sites and it's just not the same, and cashouts take forever.
I'm also excited about sports betting, assuming they legalize all online gambling. Opening more sites allows you to shop more lines, which is always a plus.
Legalize the shit already.
Legalize the shit already. Absolutely ridiculous why online gambling isn't legal in the US.
I know its part of his game,
I know its part of his game, but that knowledge doesnt make it any less annoying/me dislike him less.
“...all truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
- Schopenhauer
Online gambling is a gateway
Online gambling is a gateway to (insert bullshit) - concerned mothers.
"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." - IlliniProgrammer
stvr2013: Yeah I played right
Yeah I played right up until "Black Friday". I tried to play a little bit on Merge, but the competition was too good.
This bodes well for US poker and possible legislation. What do you guys think about ZNGA? The industry is worth billions and Zynga's poker app, while shitty, has millions of equally shitty players that should draw large crowds.
You think Zynga will go real money if online poker is legalized....? I just want PStars back, I know the fish would be incredible, but Zynga poker?
computerized: Getting my 20k
TDSWIM: Not trying to be a