I have sucessfully recloated to Vancouver canada. Everything went ok with opening bank and crossing border. Once you get the call for verification you should be able to start playing the very next day.
I can start playing now..but I want to figure out the best ways to withdraw my money. Stars usually gives us two option before black friday..Check 2500.00 max..or Wire transfer directly to your bank.
Now they have added something called moneybookers. Trying to figure out what this means...let me know if you or anybody can help explain how to use moneybookers. THanks

Krazymonkey

This is a great idea. Get together all poker players and protest.

It'd be like seeing a Star Trek convention on tv.

the bank i went to stating i was an online poker pro was not a problem. i didn't have to fill out an application. just walked in and asked lady at front desk about opening up an account and some banker (iuno the term to use for this) met me out front an we went back to his office. asked me questions and opened up the acct for me. all i had to do was sign some paper.

got a USD saving and CDN checking.

They asked me profession part way through, I just said "ex-lawyer" which is true. My impression was I could have said poker player and they wouldn't have cared, but who knows. CIBC is the bank I used.

I've also been withdrawing form my US B of A account through Scotiabank ATMs given the no fee + great conversion rate. Great way to get CAD $$.

I actually went to my bank today and had them give me a letter, signed, stamped, addressed to PokerStars along with a copy of a voided check. When he asked me the company the letter was for and I said PokerStars, he started laughing and told me I should play on PartyPoker, they always send him stuff in the mail.

Does anyone have info on Spain becoming like France/Italy. I've searched on here but it just looks like speculation. Are there any articles I can read to see for myself?

Does anyone have any info about Poland? It's legal to play there and this looks to be that way for the forseeable future I believe but I just want to make sure.

I told them I played poker, and they said to just put Self Employed. Really, I don't think it matters much. If I was to hazard a guess, it's just for their own stats/customer profiling anyways.

Update on my status. I decided to go the school route and applied for college abroad. Not sure if I will get accepted this late in the season. But, you never know. At least I'll get to play, and perhaps learn some ****.

A student visa is an option for the young players, or people who can't get another type of visa. Find a community college, or a major university even, take a few classes and you are good to go for a few years.

http://tinyvid.tv/show/2zzyqz519pywx

but on a serious note, Australia has no language barrier and still lets you do what you want with your money, the climate is nice and the people are smart and friendly. I don't work for Australia but I wish I did reading back on my last sentence

Has anyone going to Vancouver talked to a lawyer about living there with a DUI? I'd like to stay closer to my friends if possible, and Vancouver sounds like the hot spot.

If someone could PM me the contact info of a decent emigration lawyer I'd be very grateful.

I do not believe you can legally enter the country with a DUI conviction that has occurred within the last 10 years.
edit: you need to obtain a Temporary Resident Permit then apply for "rehabilitation"

Hmm looks like that it could take months to find out if I can get a TRP at an embassy here, or risk going to the border to see if I can get it immediately. If not, I'll need to apply for the Criminal Rehabilitation (dui was >5 years ago). Do you happen to know if I'd be denied a TRP with a DUI for sure?

On a serious note, Australia has an immigration barrier. It's one of the more difficult places to establish the documentation required by Stars. You can't get a bank account unless you're living here, and you can't live here without at least a temporary resident Visa. Easy to come visit with a valid passport and purchase on-line of an ETA, but this won't help.

Its just an ewallet, basically just like neteller if you were around in those days. Think of it I guess like paypal, but they do business with gambling sites while paypal wont.

I've honestly never had to deal with any of that paper work so I'm not sure.

I am heading to Ottawa next week to scout. I have spoken with 4 banks in the Ottawa area about opening an acct as a US citizen visiting for up to 6months. I called all of their 800 numbers first. 2 said I needed residence in Canada. The other 2 said that I could open an account but when I called to set an appointment with a branch, I got the same needing residence story. I am under the impression that just having a place to stay while "vacationing" isn't enough. Its not a canadian law, just bank policy stopping me etc. It sounds like some of you are just walking in to the branch and getting an accout. If any of you would pm me with the banks that worked, I would appreciate it. Also, do you think it could have anything to do with me looking in Ottawa area instead of Vancouver like most of you?

You are going to have to build a bit of a posting history before you can use PMs. Perhaps start by asking a few more questions, about Ottawa for instance.

I see, thx for the info. Ship post 2...

Rephrase from above...Multiple banks in ottawa are telling me that I need residence to get an acct as a us citizen. I get mixed answers from them but am lead to believe that just having a place to stay while I am there doesn't establish residence. I would need something more govt issued. It sounds like some of you have just walked in to a branch and easily got an acct. Do those of you who have had success think that it could be because I'm looking in Ottawa instead of Vancouver. Maybe its easier to get one there. Or, do you think that I could have success in a face to face situation at a branch more than just asking some customer service rep? Why are Ottawa area banks telling me that I wont be able to open an acct when some of you have done it easily?

From what I understand after talking to a couple of the major Canadian banks, it's up to the individual branches to decide whether they would accept non-Canadian clients. So just talking to different banks using their 800 number might not be enough. You will need to talk to the individual branches themselves.

Ottawa isn't all that close to the US/Canadian border. I'm guessing that cities closer to the US/Canadian border are probably going to be friendlier to US residents than cities farther away from the border.

Like MrPlow said, proximity to the border may have something to do with it. Also, Ottawa being a federal government town, may be a bit more officious and stand-offish. OTOH, with all the diplomatic staff in town, branches in Ottawa must be used to having customers from other countries.

You might try to get an account in a border town. If you do, you will still be able to access it and use services at branches in Ottawa. Kingston is the closest border city with a population over 100,000 and Brockville is the closest over 20,000. I don't know if they'll give you an account in a border city branch if your address is going to be in another city, though.

Is there any particular reason you are thinking of Ottawa? It is a lovely city, population just under 1M, very green and open, but after Toronto and Vancouver, just about the most expensive city in which to live in Canada. Ontario border towns would all be cheaper. They'd also be smaller, and would be less attractive in appearance or amenities.

I noticed in your first post that you contacted four bank chains.


In Canada we have five large nationwide banks, plus some smaller players. The big five are:

• Royal Bank of Canada
• TD Canada Trust
• Bank of Montreal
• Bank of Nova Scotia, and
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)

Each of these will have many branches in Ottawa. Make sure you call branches from each of these.


Other Schedule I banks with presence in Ottawa include

• National Bank of Canada (about a dozen branches in the area)
• Laurentian Bank (1 branch)

Both of these are mostly oriented to Quebec and Francophone customers.

HSBC Bank of Canada is a schedule II bank with 2 branches in Ottawa. I believe it is mostly oriented to business customers.

Also check out Credit Unions: Caisses Populaires d'Ontario has about 8 branches in Ottawa. There is some indication they might want to see a student visa or permanent resident card, but call a branch.

Thanks for the info all. To answer the question of why Ottawa...Mainly I wanted to be on the Eastern side of Canada as I am from SC and would like to have a reasonable drive home in case of emergency. With that in mind, Toronto is too busy and expensive for me to move there to just stick my face in front of a computer. Ottawa is big enough get an apartment in a downtown setting where you can walk to get all of your major needs on any day. At the same time it seems to be somewhat of a quiet historical/govt town. Low crime, low cost of living compared to other big cities, not as many days below 0 degrees...there seem to be a lot of good reasons to go there. Besides all of that, mainly I just had to make a decision and roll with it, so I picked Ottawa. I guess I will find out one way or the other during a scouting trip starting monday.

Providing you plan on maintaining your car, why not check out Niagara-on-the-Lake on the way up or back. Lovely, pastoral, and highly-civilized border town that's many hours closer to SC; it's a short drive to some of the better land-based poker rooms (in the Niagara Falls area) and less than 90 minutes to Toronto at non-rush hour driving; and it has MUCH nicer winters.

I've been trying to look into this. Can you do this with only a few classes, or would you need a full-time courseload?

The student visa requires that you already be accepted into a Canadian University to apply, but I'm not sure if this implies full-time or not. I love to be able to do this just taking a couple classes, obv. Apologies if this has been covered already.

edit: should clarify, looking at Canada specifically.

Somewhere in this thread someone said you need to be a full time student. If that definition is the same as the US, it would be 12 credit hours. But I'm just going on the hearsay.