Abraham Gray Rumors

There are rumors floating around the Las Vegas poker rooms and the internet that Abraham Gray was arrested at the Wynn Casino for cheating at the poker table. The rumor is that he was marking cards and he was approached at the poker table by the gaming commission and he was immmediately handcuffed and taken out of the casino. This is a rumor that I have heard and I will have more information to come as I get it.

Pokerstars still accepting US players

Here's the latest on the online poker sites that are going to remain open to US Citizens. Full Tilt, Bodog, Full Contact Poker, Doyle's Room, and Absolute Poker are all staying in the US and accepting US players. At the present time Ultimate Bet has intentions to continue to accept players from the United States.

In huge news, PokerStars just recently announced that they will continue to serve and accept US players even if George Bush signs the legislation. Tell Bush to beat it! This is huge news for all those involved and good for these companies for taking a stand and not conforming to want the government wants. Also, NETeller has confirmed that they will remain working in the US. These announcements are great for the American public for now anyways, it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Online Poker Ban

The online poker industry has definitely taken a severe hit because of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. However, since the passing of this bill several online poker sites have come out and released statements on the passing of the bill. Some of the online gambling companies are closing up shop while others are going to play the waiting game.

Calvin Ayre from Bodog.com came out and spoke about some of the proceedings from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and he is stating that Bodog.com will monitor the situation closely as he feels the ramifications from affecting them are still a few months away. However, he feels his company is not dependent strictly on online poker to continue to run a successful business and they will be focusing on the international market. He does realize that there are other avenues that Bodog.com will have to venture into to stay a leader in the industry.

PartyGaming (the home of party poker) has felt the adverse affects of this new bill and they realize that it is practically impossible to provide their existing US players and future players access to its real money sites. Here is a quote taken from PartyGaming on the situation: "the Board of PartyGaming has determined that if the President signs the Act into law, the Company will suspend all real money gaming business with US residents, and such suspension will continue indefinitely, subject to clarification of the interpretation and enforcement of US law and the impact on financial institutions of this and other related legislation."

Now, for all those players that are not US Residents the tables are open to play poker and to collect your winnings. PartyGaming is now turning their attention to further developing their existing markets that are outside of the US and to continue to work on hitting new markets and products. This is definitely a huge hit to this company and we will all have to wait and see what is going to happen next.

888 Holdings has also taken a serious step as they will also suspend US participation on their websites. They are going to implement the suspensions as soon as the legislation takes effect. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 is going to have a serious impact on their business as a whole but they like Bodog.com and PartyGaming feel they have enough resources to continue to run their business and look for opportunities in different markets.

This bill has generated a lot of angst amongst the public and company owners and it is not going to dissipate any time soon. For all those players that want to make a difference and try to keep playing online poker, make sure you sign the petition at the poker players alliance.