The irony is that the sites have been operating for the better part of a decade, in the wide open for that matter, and now the feds click the doomswitch. It is easy through the simplest of investigations to find out that they are operating illegally- according to a legal standpoint, distinctions of right and wrong aside. Politics, bureaucracy, and corruption at their best. Pure bs.

I don't get why people are so optimistic about it either. I don't see any reason to be optimistic about online poker in the US anytime soon. People are so misinformed when it comes to poker.

Yeah, I'm sure Stars has never heard of VPNs.

Because it's exactly what happened in the UBS case.

Tons of people said exactly the same things, too: "That will never happen. It's never happened before. The U.S. has no jurisdiction over banks in country X".

Then ------------------------> BOOM.

I really find it amusing that the rest of the world is regulating it and the USA is going for an all out ban. Thinking and rationale in US politics seems to backwards compared to the rest of the world.

Yet why do people assume everyone that has been playing poker has no money outside of what is in their accounts? I know I have plenty to live on from my poker earnings that is not online in an account.

i''m from EU, and I tried to withdraw to credit card, 3 days ago.
the transfer is still "processing"

anyone from EU encounter this? is just a matter of time?

Pathetic to see how the US government one days hands a bank that has laundered $400bn for a drug cartel what is essential a bar tap, and the next it cracks down on poker sites and their processors wanting $3 billion and people to go to jail.

Or what about wall street anno 2008?

Go nuts with non-regulated, high-risk betting bonanza on the stock market, literally gambling away people's life savings, bail out the culprits and give them even more money, then blame muslims and poker players.

It's all such BS, and you should know what kind of people you are electing into office.

It's a disgrace, and bears witness of an increasingly sick political culture where everything goes as long as you pad someone's back long and hard enough.

I could go on - what a f****ng joke.

On topic, a rather comprehensive/decent rundown of the events from poker.org here. worth a read, although it may not bring anything new.

It worked for me . I withdrawn the money on Thursday and the withdrawal was accepted.

This guy practicing for Rounders 2?

Withdraw 3 x since Friday on STARS via Netteller.. All have been processed.

Tis a woman. Everyone I've talked to about this indictment has the same thing to say about her rhetoric. It totally set me off. Enough to make you barf, no?

Perhaps destitute online grinders can get jobs writing poker analogies for FBI agents when they talk about this case to the media...


( I actually read it as "float the law" initially, which would have been impressive)

As Kenny Rogers said, sometimes you gotta know when to fold em.

Agree with everything EXCEPT the financial business is the MOST heavily regulated of all industries. Regulation creates more problems than it solves.

ChiliPoker now offers 200% up to $1k first deposit bonus AND pays for fpp's from Stars and Tilt in another bonus $$ if you provide screenshot (100fpp from Stars = $1.6) AND matches the vip level accordingly to what you had on mentioned rooms. That's just awesome.

Some major Affiliates are saying their players on FT & Stars are unable to withdraw...


Dominik Kofert, CEO of power affiliate PokerStrategy.com...

...He added the priority for many of his players was to ensure their funds are secure, with many of them currently unable to withdraw from Pokerstars and Full Tilt...

“It is an issue of trust, and it is important that this element gets sorted out as quickly as possible,” he said.



FT...
Onyx Cup Cancellation No Official Statement yet

STILL NO Statement from Mr. Lederer...


Stars...
ESPN withdraws Stars Inside Deal Sponsorship - No Official Statement NAPT up in the Air.

Fulltilt currently showing 28,560 tables and 62,120 players.

Either a) everyone is heads up for rolls, or b) smoke and mirrors. I'm going for B.

There is of course the much more reasonable c) there's 62,120 players on full tilt right now

yeah... poker puns in the press release are kitch lol

lolz

At an average of just over 2 per table. WTF?

Pro Poker Players Have Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars Locked In Accounts Seized By The FBI

I cannot tell if this statement is actually justified, though. I normally don't follow the news and it seems to me that everything is full of shoddy reporting--unsubstantiated statements and no sources.

I don't see much else that is timely and relevant in the mainstream news thus far.

That's just journalists being journalists - like you say shoddy reporting.

The 75 accounts haven't been seized, they've had restraining orders served on them - that's a very, very different thing.

But, all the US accounts have been - and that's probably where all the US player money is, so that part of his commentary probably isn't scaremongering too much.

Apples and Oranges comparison.