First, if you haven’t heard, you can play poker online
LEGALLY in America again. In Nevada,
exclusively (for now). Ultrimate.com went
live last Tuesday. This site should not
to be confused with the old Ultimate Bet site, as this is from Palace Stations
Casinos in Vegas, owned by the same folks that bring you Ultimate Fighting. According
to Poker News, the site has 243
players in action on Friday. That’s not
too bad for a 4-day old site…in one state.
Compare that to the old PokerStars site where there might be 33,000
players at one time – that’s tiny.
Compare that to, say, Wednesday night at Spirit Mountain Casino’s poker room
in Grand Ronde, OR where 8 players sat on one table (I was there – net loss for
the whole trip was $6, thank you) – that’s huge.
Now you begin to understand why online poker is seen as the
Holy Grail by so many – the potential is tremendous.
And as for Oregon…as
in the last week there were legislative rumblings about poker, but not for expansion
(and certainly not for anything online – perish the thought). A new bill – LC3928 – would amend the laws in
Oregon regarding “social gaming” in cards rooms across the state. There are about a dozen in all, mostly in the
Portland metro area, and they serve maybe 50-300 poker players depending on the
time and day. Social gaming players pay
a fee to play, and the house takes no rake.
Why the bill? Good question. In an article in The Oregonian, the two
legislators pushing the bill cite the rooms’ proliferation. Apparently, when they pass the original laws
they didn’t think anyone would do this? Really?
But look at these
quotes:
"These things have exploded," says Rep. Julie Parrish. "It's kind of like hookah
lounges."
"Apparently, if you go into them, you would think you were in
Las Vegas," says House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland.
Here’s the bill’s ONE change to the law (in BOLD):
(21b) If authorized pursuant to ORS 167.121, a
game, other than a lottery, between players in [a private business, private
club or place of public accommodation] premises operated and controlled
by a charitable, fraternal or religious organization where no house player,
house bank or house odds exist and there is no house income from the operation
of the social game.
I don’t mean to cast
aspersions, but I’ll bet a dollar neither rep has set foot inside one of these places. Why on earth would you have a law, watch
people follow the law, and then say, “Oh, wait, we decided we don’t like the
law we thought was OK because people are actually following the law, so, we’re
gonna change the law”?
It’s hard to believe
that in 2013, we still have that “icky” reaction to gambling. I think THAT is what this is all about. I could be wrong, but PEOPLE ARE GOING TO PLAY POKER NO MATTER WHAT. Been doing it for 150 years. Not gonna stop – might go underground (that’ll
make things safe for America), but don’t waste time creating laws to stop people
from doing things that are harmless (as well as fun).
For now, it’s one
giant leap for forward for Nevada, and as for Oregon…well, I’m not planning on
moving, but this isn’t a trend that makes me want to stay put.
The Oregonian
article is here: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/04/portland_poker_rooms_face_shut.html
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