[Skallagrim]

Look Milton and JP, I am not trying to prove the accuracy of my statements in the post above (you guys should know me better than that by now [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] ). I am only trying to find a way for us to spin this story so it is not used against us, or at least we have a counter better than "there is crime everywhere" when it is used against us.

That said, it is pretty clear that my statement "it is easier for your coke dealer to rip you off and get away with it than your pharmacist" is true. I am not talking about coke dealer to coke dealer rip-offs (where your Meyer Lansky quote applies) but coke dealer to customer rip-offs (where anyone who has ever gotten baking soda instead of coke knows I am right).

The point to be made somewhere is that this guy can avoid legal consequences (is Costa Rica really gonna get him? - is Absolute gonna have someone beat him up) as things stand. If there were no question about poker legality, then if Absolute didnt do anything, and if Costa Rica didnt do anything, US players could still do something - they could sue themselves, or pressure the DOJ to extradite and prosecute (fraud is an extraditable offense even if running a poker site isnt).

Again, the point here is spin, not sticking up for party's credibility (which was indeed always less than stars IMO) or attacking other sites credibility or debating the virtue of being private or publicly traded.

If we cant come up with some spin better than "every business has criminals" poker will suffer and the only thing we can really hope is that this story doesnt break through to the MSM.

Skallagrim