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Here is a recap of today’s poker news for January 18, 2012 evening edition including Phil Galfond’s big week and Maine becoming the latest state to explore legalizing online poker.
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Maine is the Latest State to Look at Benefits of Legalized Online Poker – Following the US Justice Department change of stance as it relates to essentially giving individual states the green light to legalize online poker, we’ve seen a number consider the benefits including New Jersey, Nevada, Iowa, Connecticut, Ohio and now Maine.
Eric Russell of The Bangor Daily News:
Lawmakers said the expansion of online gambling allowed by a recent U.S. Department of Justice ruling will spread quickly to Maine and urged the establishment of regulations just as quickly to address that inevitability.
Legislators from the state attended a gaming conference in Las Vegas this week and arrived at the same conclusion: “Online poker is about to explode and Maine needs to be a part of this”.
Maine alone probably cannot sustain an adequate enough industry with just over 1 million residents, but joining forces nearby states the likes of Connecticut, New Jersey and even New York, which has not expressly discussed the possibility of legalized Internet poker but is very much seeking gambling expansion, would likely prove viable.
More from the Bangor Daily News article:
On Wednesday, members decided to create a small subcommittee to research and determine whether Maine should pass one comprehensive bill on gambling regulations or consider several individual bills.
That subcommittee will report back to the full committee, which will then decide how to proceed.
Asked whether a bill could get passed during this session, Valentino said: “We can’t not do something because we don’t have enough time. It’s our duty.”
Phil Galfond Wins $400,000 This Week – High stakes poker pro Phil “MrSweets28” has won $400,000 in just a matter of 7 days at the high stakes pot-limit Omaha tables on PokerStars. [CardPlayer.com]
Rollercoaster Ride for Ben “Ben86" Tollerene - It hasn't been the best of starts for Ben “Ben86" Tollerene in 2012 as he racked up losses of over $300k in the first two weeks of the year. Yesterday saw a little return to form however as the young American topped the leader board with a $109k score. [HighStakesDB.com]
Real Money Online Poker Industry Would be Huge for Zynga – Forbes.com on Wednesday noted that the online gambling market could be worth more than $40 billion by 2014, with online poker and casino games accounting for a major portion of the total market. Zynga already operates Texas HoldEm Poker, which is its most valuable game. [Gambling911.com]
2012 Aussie Millions Poker Championship Welcomes More Top Pros - More of poker's top pros have been arriving at Crown daily including Jeffrey Lisandro, Gus Hansen, Randy Dorfman, and Erik Seidel, all of whom have had past success in Melbourne. There are still plenty of pros on their way, as well. [PokerNews.com]
Money Seized From 3 Players Leaving PokerStars Caribbean Adventure - THE $26,000 that was confiscated from three Americans yesterday in Magistrate's Court was revealed to be a percentage of the more than $1 million overall winnings of a recent poker tournament at the Atlantis Resort.
This disclosure was made by 18-year-old Sean Ruane of Maywood, New Jersey, who with his elder brother Michael Ruane, 23, pleaded guilty to falsely declaring the amount of money in their possession while going through the US pre-clearance at Lynden Pindling International Airport. [The Tribune]
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
