how long before PS UB and FT drop?

[zombies kill]

unfortunately, all the "chicken littles" were apparently right. firepay, neteller, party, mansion, paradise, now doyles room, etc etc are all off limits to the u.s. some neteller funds are being seized by the doj, and even some particular banks are not wanting to honor checks from certain sites/companies. virtually everything that can go wrong, has.

i have to assume that all of these companies shut out u.s. players because they felt they were (at least very soon were going to be) forced to. how long before stars, fulltilt, and ultimatebet (and the few other little guys that are left) just give up?

this latest fiasco with doyles room illustrates that a site (or a representative) can tell you theyll definitely be open for the foreseeable future, and then literally hours later slam the door. im thinking ps, ft and ub happen to just be the smartest/greediest/boldest and are trying to make every last dime possible during their last few months in the u.s. market. there have been a lot of people predicting the slow but eventual falls of all these rooms/companies, and we all sat here and shot them down repeatedly. but every day the people who were accused of "overhyping" the ban are being proven right. gaboonviper is starting to look like a genius with all of this.

the bill was signed on october 13th, so the 270 day enforcement rule marks july as the big showdown date. i wouldnt be surprised to see the last few remaining companies stick it out til may or june and suddenly just pull the plug on the u.s. im guessing stars will be the last major site left and drops in may.

[gonebroke2]

I think Stars will be next. The rest won't be able to survive without Americans, Stars can. I would guess within 6 months.

[MiltonFriedman]

Good call, perhaps

[Tofu_boy]

I hope it not going to happen. If either stars or FT leave U.S. then people start worry.
Just so many bad news and really none good news since Neteller. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Dennisa]

[ QUOTE ]
I hope it not going to happen. If either stars or FT leave U.S. then people start worry.
Just so many bad news and really none good news since Neteller. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Try walking into a B&M card club now and asking the fish if they can play online poker. Most will say they their Party account was closed and they can not play on any other site. I think people are worrying.

[ozziepat]

Napster wasn't illegal per se. However, it did enable bad little boys and girls to violate copyrights and acquire music libraries without paying for them. It was the old "something for nothing" scam with a middle-man profiting from the illegal transactions. The basic technology was, oh, maybe 20 years old.

Neteller is/was also an enabler, but in the financial realm. It enabled users to move money from domestic (regulated) institutions offshore to (unregulated, by the US) gaming institutions. Stable "workarounds" (as inappropriately illustrated by the Napster follow-on) aren't going to happen because there already exists a body of laws and regulations, both domestic (UIGEA is only the most recent) and international, to prevent it. Which leads me to

See:

http://drsanity.blogspot.com/2007/02...of-denial.html

for a good explanation of the denial mechanism (in another context). Sorry I couldn't find one specific to poker. Ignore the politics and focus on the general descriptive material.

And finally: Re state vs federal rights. If it (for very broad definitions of it) crosses state or national boundaries, the federal government can, and frequently does, get involved. This country (the US) was set up so that any rights not specifically granted to the federal government were implicitly granted to the states. That fundamental went by the wayside long ago, and the trend continues. An amazing number of laws exist under the umbrella of (interstate) commerce, for example, and there's nothing concrete to suggest that the Feds wouldn't become involved if domestic interstate online poker ever became a reality - which it could any day. This is not to suggest it would be banned, but it sure as hell would be monitored and regulated in some manner, as would the "enabling" businesses.

[LeapFrog]

[ QUOTE ]

gaboonviper is starting to look like a genius with all of this.


[/ QUOTE ]

[MegaDisgruntled]

You gotta remember, back in October when the fallout started, each site stated their intentions shortly thereafter. FT, UB, STARS, ABSOLUTE, said they were staying for good.

The others, including Doyle's Room said they would be leaving. I know they hoped to be able to service the US, but why bother? Without Tribeca, they are nothing and I fully expect Doyle's Room to be gobbled up into an IPOKER brand.

Let's not all panic just yet, the sky is not falling. The sites that said they are staying are still here. Let's not go down without a fight.

Mega

[zombies kill]

[ QUOTE ]
Let's not all panic just yet, the sky is not falling. The sites that said they are staying are still here. Let's not go down without a fight.

Mega

[/ QUOTE ]

seriously man, if youre not "panicing" now, then what would it take? im so incredibly sick of this "the sky is falling" dig at everyone to make them sound like unreasonable fanatics. the sky clearly is falling, its just a matter of how much.

[mikeroddick]

If I recall, when the sites all pulled out, as well as firepay, Neteller said they were staying....

Neteller also told PokerStars that if they ever abandoned the market, they would give them 90 days notice, they gave them 1 day notice (or less).

Point is, it is in no site's benefit to give a long notice or intention to withdraw. I assume if the big 4 exit the U.S. market, we will not have more then a few days notice.

The sites will do what is best for their owners, not the players. Same as Neteller did.