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I'll preface this by saying I haven't looked at the law that the DOJ is relying on, but I highly doubt that what you say is true. Pretty much all serious criminal offenses have intent/knowledge components (one exception is statutory rape in my state, which has an intent requirement that's more or less irrelvant to that actual offense, and arguably DWI's where the intent requirement is only peripherally related to the crime). I would expect that if a site bans US players and has enforcement mechanisms in place to prevent US players from playing, that one US player is able to circumvent that would not subject the US executives to criminal penalties.

Again I haven't looked at the actual law though.

--Zetack

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Well, it's been argued that the original law, the wire act, does not cover internet gaming. The current administration has taken the tack that it's up to the gamblers to prove it, the justice department will prosecute based on "their" interpretation and use their unlimited resources to crush defendants in court.

So even if you are right, a hostile administration can still make the WPT's life miserable over the most technical violations of any internet gambling ban.

So why would the WPT want to ban internet poker in the U.S.? It will help kill their ratings, and forever tarnish their image with potential U.S. customers. If the WPT wants to go to China, go, but why burn all your bridges here? There is literally no benefit to the WPT spending millions to lobby for a poker ban.

Oh, and if the WPT thinks getting Chinese rights is a slam dunk, they should read todays wall street journal.

"China's government has been throwing up some new hurdles for foreign investors in recent months, including increased scrutiny of foreign-backed mergers and proposed restrictions in areas from banking to retailing to manufacturing.

It's not a wave of popular anti-foreign sentiment, of the kind that was on display, for example, after the U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999, that is motivating Beijing. Rather, it is the government's growing preoccupation with helping China's expanding universe of domestic companies"

"In automobile production, for instance, a business long dominated by foreign companies operating through joint ventures, the government said in March that it won't approve any new expansion of capacity unless companies meet requirements, as yet unspecified, to make local brands and support domestic product development."

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1. Unlike WSEX, BetOnSports, and Bodog, WPTE has NEVER marketed WPTOnline.com in the U.S. as a real money online gaming site.

The DOJ has prosecuted executives of WSEX and BetOnSports because those businesses openly solicited sports bets from the U.S. via all forms of advertising, in direct violation of the Wire Wager Act, which was intended for sports betting all along.

The House of Representatives passed legislation to strengthen the Wire Wager Act to put in barriers between U.S.-based banks and offshore "e-wallets". The Senate has NOT passed similar legislation.

2. WPT's ratings in the U.S. have been in freefall. Furthermore, NONE of WPTE's serious competitors have been able to get rights fees in the form of CASH up front from the U.S. based TV networks. Not even Harrah's got any cash from ESPN for the 2006-2010 WSOP Main Event (Harrah's got the "rights fee" in terms of advertising inventory, which Harrah's had to sell on behalf of ESPN and share revenue with ESPN.)

WPTE clearly is retooling for "version 2": an online poker business OUTSIDE the U.S., along with a TV business OUTSIDE the U.S. (where WPTE can still get rights fees) to promote the WPTOnline.com business EXCLUSIVELY.

WPTE is all about "vertical integration" in each market it chooses to compete in, with its own real-money online poker business, its own TV show, its own magazine, its own internet poker news and information portal, its own branded license merchandise, and its own "world championship" event that no one else in the poker world currently recognize, etc. etc. etc.

WPTE is currently unable to execute its preferred "vertical integration" model in the U.S. and may never be able to do so.

The only reason why WPTE still airs its TV shows in the U.S. is because Travel Channel is still willing to pay cash up front for rights fees. When that contract is over, there is no reason why WPT should still air in the U.S.

For WPTE to lobby the U.S. Congress to restrict and ban online poker in the U.S. actually makes sense strategically if and when WPTE obtains the exclusive monopoly to operate an online poker business in China, in conjunction with a local partner such as Stanley Ho, so that WPTE's competitors will have their "air supply" of cash from their U.S. online poker business "choked off", leaving WPTE in total control of the online and poker industry around the world, displacing PartyPoker, PokerStars, UB (no love lost between Steve Lipscomb and Annie Duke), Full Tilt (no love lost between Steve Lipscomb and Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, and Phil Gordon), and Harrah's.