New Jersey Online Gambling Brief: Ivey Lawsuit, WTP Championship, Opposing Adelson
Hey you! Take your eyes off of California for a minute, there is still plenty of news coming out of New Jersey this week that you’ll want to stay current on.
So here is what you may have missed while you were focusing on the current goings on between PokerStars, the Morongos, and the rest of California’s gaming industry.
First on the agenda this week is a little tournament called the WPT Championship that is currently going on at the Borgata, and at the same time NJ.PartyPoker.com and BorgataPoker.com are running an online tournament series; we’ll let you know how this has worked out for them.
We’ll also fill you in on the Borgata’s lawsuit against Phil Ivey, which is far from over, we’ll let you know what people are saying about it — SPOILER ALERT: There is no consensus.
We’ll also let you know about several key legislators from New Jersey that have voiced their opposition to Sheldon Adelson’s proposed federal ban of online gambling.
Keep reading to find all the details for these stories and a whole lot more below.
NJCOP and WPT Championship do little to increase traffic
Borgata and partypoker were hoping that the Spring Poker Open tournament series, culminating with the WPT Championship, would bring about a surge in online gambling play at their New Jersey sites, as the duo anticipated plenty of poker pros heading into town, and figured at least some of them would create an online poker account.
Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any noticeable increase.
I can think of several potential reasons for this:
- The players in town may not feel the games are worth their while, as the stakes are well below what they are used to playing in overseas or on unregulated rooms.
- The players may not want to submit to the registration process which includes player verification, geolocation, and divulging information including their Social Security Number.
- The players in town are participating at offshore sites where they already have money.
- There are plenty of live games to choose from.
Phil Ivey and edge sorting: What you need to know
The Phil Ivey edge sorting (AKA “The Turn”) fiasco is still unfolding, and we’ve seen plenty of opinions (some expert and some not so expert) and it seems like everyone from Daniel Negreanu to Doyle Brunson has weighed in on the matter.
Here are a few articles I’ve come across that may shed some light on the matter for you:
A Deeper Look at the Edge Sorting Allegations
The Law Behind the Edge Sorting Debacle
New Jersey lawmakers make their case to DC lawmakers
If the federal government bans online gambling, than New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware will have basically flushed millions of dollars and countless man hours down the toilet… but if a federal ban ever passes you can expect lengthy lawsuits from those three states before it ever goes into effect… but I’m getting ahead of myself.
This week several New Jersey lawmakers let their opinions be known as John Brennan reported in his NorthJersey.com blog, essentially telling Congress to leave online gambling to the states. Or as Senator Raymond Lesniak said, “Congress should leave us alone.”
Senate President Stephen Sweeney was a bit more verbose in his criticism, stating, “It is disappointing that certain elements are working to dismantle New Jersey’s landmark internet gambling law… we simply cannot afford to have all our hard work and effort undone by the whims of a few down in Washington.”
New Jersey traffic numbers
As we mentioned above, the Borgata Spring Poker Open may not have had a significant impact on the site’s online traffic, but there was some movement, with Party / Borgata up slightly this week, from 170 to 180 average cash game players according to www.pokerscout.com’s data.
The slight bump hasn’t extended to other rooms in New Jersey as WSOP.com remains at 120 average cash game players, 888 dipped from 85 to 80 players, and Ultimate Poker moves further and further down the board, with average cash-game traffic of just 6 players.
For more details on tournament traffic from the NJCOP you can read Robert DellaFave’s terrific column here: NJCOP response mixed
We thought you should know…
Poker Players Alliance cites even more reasons to regulate
A report released by MacAfee on Thursday appears to highlight the need for regulated online gambling, and the Poker Players Alliance was quick to point this out to the naysayers, who think banning online gambling is as easy as compiling a list.
The PPA’s statement reads in part:
“The author’s suggestion that potential issues can be addressed through strong regulations hits at the core of why licensing and regulating online gambling is so important,” said John Pappas, executive director of the PPA. “Licensing requires that operators utilize effective technologies including identity verification and anti-collusion technologies to detect and prevent money laundering. These technologies have effectively protected consumers for many years in Europe and today are being used by responsible licensed operators in the U.S. to detect fraud and stamp out any illicit behavior.”
PokerStars making a serious play in California
PokerStars made a power move on top of a power move at Wednesday’s online poker hearing in California, as the site formally announced an agreement with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians , The Commerce, The Bicycle Casino, and Hawaiian Gardens.
Here is what you need to know: Hearing Wrapup: PokerStars and Their CA Partners Have Drawn Their Line in the Sand
