[TheEngineer]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Because not one thing the PPA has said the Poker World would do to gain entry into the US market in the form or a regualtory mix will every come to pass.

Sure the market will open up and others who are in the wings or who let the market will try to re-enter, but who's position is the strongest? The major off-shore operators!

They "own" the current portion of the US market and to some degree will get to shape the future of on-line poker market for some time. Any inovation that they can live with in their business model they can implement quicker than anyone else and keep market share. Think M$ and Apple.

[/ QUOTE ]

This doesn't make sense to me at all. A company like Apple didn't gain its market share by providing a service that a huge portion of its potential customer base stayed away from because they feared it was illegal.

I love PS. I played my first hand there, and haven't left except to whore during the Bonus Rush. With that said, if poker were exempted tomorrow and MGM Poker opened Friday, I'd be one of the first people to open an account there -- along with every Joe S. Pack who thinks online poker has been shut down since last October.

Expressly legal poker in the United States is not a bad thing. Even the aforementioned Apple could open its own site and compete quickly with monsters such as Party. The off-shore operators' market share is based on supply only.

This is somewhat analogous to saying marijuana dealers would still own the market share if a 20-pack of pre-rolled joints were available at Smoker Friendly for $15.

And, IMHO, the competitive market will make all of the fears about regulated poker (high rake, more fees) moot because sites will be willing to accept lower profit margins in order to construct their own legal cash cow.

Where am I wrong here?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well said.