In breaking news from California, the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) has pulled its branding from this weekend’s event at the Bicycle Casino. A representative of the world’s largest online poker site posted on TwoPlusTwo earlier today, “The North American Poker Tour L.A. event scheduled for March 5th to 12th at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, California will proceed as planned, but not as an NAPT event. The NAPT and the Bicycle Casino reached the voluntary decision to hold the event without branding after constructive discussions with California gaming regulators.”
The series is now being dubbed the Big Event, whose Main Event is a $5,000 buy-in tournament that kicks off on March 5th and has two starting days. According to the same post, the Bike will also lose part of its exposure on ESPN, as the Main Event will no longer be filmed for television. However, interested poker fans can still catch the action online as part of Live at the Bike.
The Bounty Shootout will proceed as planned on ESPN and take place from March 10th to 12th. On the rest of the schedule, the same post on TwoPlusTwo revealed, “The Main Event structure will not change and the full schedule of side events will still provide an incredible experience for all players. We have been working closely with the Bike for the past few months to provide a great schedule for players, and the Bike is dedicated to the success of the whole festival.”
The Bicycle Casino promoted the NAPT Main Event throughout the month of February to the media.
PokerStars representatives will still be present at the Bicycle Casino to assist players and, despite the setback, talk of a future event in California still exists on the NAPT’s website: “Both the NAPT and the Bicycle Casino look forward to working with California regulatory authorities as they consider the branding of such events in the future.”
Across town at the Commerce Casino is the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) L.A. Poker Classic, which is in the midst of trimming its field from 18 players to six this afternoon. The survivors will reconvene on Thursday to play down to a champion. On Wednesday, the Commerce Casino will host the finale of the WPT Celebrity Invitational.
In a joint letter issued by Commerce Casino Board members Tom Malkasian and Haig Papaian in August, it was revealed that the Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, and Hollywood Park stood united in their opposition to Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267, which would have established a Federal licensing and regulatory framework for internet gambling in the United States. The bill was marked up in the House Financial Services Committee in July, but not acted upon during the last Congress.
The letter labeled dubbed internet gambling industry lobbying organizations “special interest groups receiving funds from illegal offshore gaming operators,” which could refer to sites like PokerStars. In response, the Poker Players Alliance created PlayersBeforeProfits.com, an online petition that reached well over 10,000 signatures and called for the Commerce Casino to reverse its stance.
Malkasian appeared in front of the House Financial Services Committee last July to speak out against Frank’s bill. He spoke on behalf of “Los Angeles area poker clubs,” according to his testimony, and asserted that “HR 2267… allows illegal foreign sites to be licensed despite their past actions, when in fact they should be deemed ineligible to ever be licensed.” Malkasian then drew a comparison to Tijuana drug cartels.
PokerStars has also purportedly been in the hot seat with Nevada gaming regulators. One hacked off poster on TwoPlusTwo lamented, “For pete’s sake, learn how to grease a few palms to keep the regulators off your back. Every real estate developer or anyone who has to conduct business and get approval from civic entities understands and knows this.”
A phone call placed to the Bike was not returned at press time. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on this breaking story.
