Poker Player Blog

Jonathan Duhamel Assault Update—Last week WSOP champion Jonathan Duhamel’s suffered a home invasion. His WSOP gold bracelet, a WSOP watch and a large sum of cash were taken. Duhamel suffered a physical attack during the break in. Authorities acted quickly and now PokerNews.com is reporting that four suspects are being held in custody. Calls to the local police in Quebec, Canada (where Duhamel resides) ended in the arrest of Bianca Rojas-Latraverse last Saturday. She has been charged with conspiracy to commit a criminal act. After being questioned by police Rojas-Latraverse offered up two more names: John Stephan Clark Lemay and Andre Robert Perron. The suspects ages are 20, 22 and 26 respectively. A fourth individual went into custody Friday morning although police have yet to release any personal details.

Wire Act Clarification Could Mean Booming Economy—Of course we are still in the possibilities stage with the Wire Act interpretation. There has been no official ruling or report regarding the relationship between online poker gambling and the Wire Act. The recent ruling regarding sports betting being different from state based lotteries is just the opening of a door. If online poker were approved a state based online gambling system, eventually back by federal mandate, could ostensibly boost a state economy and provide sustainable new growth. Besides the fact that online casinos will provide a place for state residents to spend their money it will provide a number of new jobs in related industries. If new websites are about to spring up across the country those new sites need web designers, computer programmers, app developers and content writers to sustain them. There needs to be publicist, marketing departments and accountants; not to mention lawyers, underwriters and policy makers. Job creation would be almost instantaneous.

UIGEA Needs Clearly Defined—In 2006 the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) passed through Congress on the back of another bill. This week the 1961 Wire Act was reinterpreted and many think the UIGEA is next. With the new clarification of the Wire Act it no longer appears to apply in the Black Friday cases. Prosecutors are holding on to the violation of the UIGEA but should they? The UIGEA is an American law applying to businesses operated in America. The Big Three poker sites actually hold licenses from other countries and have a physical address in other countries. They are not businesses in America. They do however have American players and that’s where the Depart of Justice finds its justification for the upcoming court cases. Look for an official clarification in the near future.