Somach: Online Poker Site CEO has No Fear of Being Arrested

Thomas Somach’s San Francisco Examiner piece on an Internet poker company operating right from San Francisco is now out.

The company is Pure Play and it operates in what many believe is a legal grey area.

If you run a website that allows U.S. citizens to play poker for cash, you're breaking U.S. law and we're coming after you, Somach writes.

Pure Play claims to have a way to get around the legality issue.

"What we're doing is legal," declared entrepreneur Jason B. Kellerman, owner and CEO of Pure Play, one of the largest online poker rooms in the world. "We're not a gambling site. We're a subscription-based poker site."

Kellerman claims his company is based on the sweepstakes model.

"We operate under a different business model than other online poker sites," the 44-year-old said. "Ours is a subscription model, patented by me. People pay a $25 monthly fee to become a member of Pure Play. Then, once you're a member, you can play in all the online poker tournaments you want for free, and win cash prizes."

And here are where those McDonald’s hamburgers come into the picture as Gambling911.com teased in regard to this upcoming story the other day.

"Legally, what we do is no different from what McDonald's does with its Monopoly contest, where you collect game pieces to win cash prizes," Kellerman said.

"When you buy a burger, you get a Monopoly game piece. What makes it a legal sweepstakes and not gambling is that you can get a game piece without buying anything if you write to McDonald's and request one. Pure Play operates under the same legal principle."

Kellerman told Somach he has zero fear of being arrested.

"There's not a lot of concern about that," he said. "We have never ever had an issue or even an inquiry or concern on the part of any authority, federal or state."

- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher