The aftereffects of the actions by the U.S. Department of Justice against online poker sites continue to be felt.
After the Federal Government announced the indictment of the founders of the three major U.S. facing online poker companies – PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and the CEREUS Network (Absolute Poker and UB.com) – the deals that had been established earlier this year between brick-and-mortar casinos and online sites fell apart quickly.
Wynn Resorts, owned by Las Vegas gaming entrepreneur Steve Wynn, entered into an agreement with PokerStars on March 24 to offer online poker in a regulated environment. Following the indictment of PokerStars founders Isai Scheinberg and Paul Tate by the Federal Government on Friday, Wynn Resorts issued a press release that terminated the barely three-week-old agreement. In the announcement, Wynn Resorts stated that the company had “terminated its alliance with PokerStars. The decision was reached as a result of the indictment.”
Fertitta Interactive, which is owned by Station Casino owners Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta, had entered into a deal with Full Tilt Poker on March 30 to operate a site should internet gambling become legalized and regulated in the United States. After Full Tilt Poker founders Ray Bitar and Nelson Burtnick were named in the Federal indictment, a representative for Fertitta Interactive announced that their deal had also ended.
“The deal between Full Tilt Poker and Fertitta Interactive was contingent upon the passage of Federal legislation legalizing internet poker, our own internal due diligence, and a finding of suitability for gaming licensure,” the representative read from a prepared statement. A Tweet from a Wall Street Journal reporter claimed that the deal had merely “expired.”
In Nevada, AB 258, a bill proposed by Assemblyman William Horne, would set up the structure for the state to offer online poker to its constituents. The bill, which recently was discussed in committee, has drawn its share of fire following the indictments due to PokerStars’ lobbying efforts on its behalf.
Howard Stutz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported over the weekend that Nevada State Senator Greg Brower, a former U.S. District Attorney, is calling for Federal and state investigations into PokerStars’ lobbying efforts behind AB 258. “The fact that a foreign company, which has been charged with operating a criminal enterprise, could play such a large role in Nevada campaigns is troubling,” Stutz quotes Brower as saying.
He continued, “I will be discussing this matter with both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Nevada enforcement authorities to determine whether Federal and state investigations into PokerStars’ activities in Nevada are warranted.”
According to the Review-Journal article, PokerStars contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Nevada politicians through political action committees (PACs). Those politicians who received contributions include newly elected Governor Brian Sandoval, his opponent in the November 2010 election Rory Reid, Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, and Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford.
Stutz reports that PokerStars also donated to several organizations in Nevada, including A Better Nevada PAC, Leadership 2010 PAC, the Assembly Democratic Caucus, the Assembly Republican Caucus, and the Senate Republican Caucus.
Following the Las Vegas news outlet’s report, the campaign of Governor Sandoval reported on Saturday that it had returned its PokerStars contribution, stating that an internal investigation by the campaign showed that a PAC had one contributor “who was not an American citizen.” As of this moment, the future of AB 258 has yet to be determined.
ALL THE STATES ARE LOSING HUNDRED OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BY NOT MAKING ON LINE POKER LEAGAL AND TAXING IT. ARE OUR SENTORS AND CONGRESSMAN SO STUPID THAT DON’T KNOW HOW TO MAKE MONEY, BESIDES TAXING TO MIDDLE AND POOR CLASS OF AMERICANS. I THOUGHT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO ELECT SMART PEOPLE TO OUR GOVERMENT, GUESS WE WERE WRONG