the real solution to US regs

[fasteddy1970]

Bill; If your estimate is correct that we are 70-80% of stars, that makes me feel even more hopeful that they will come up with something better than ePassport in the near future.

[Billman]

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and as for the "brave man...jail" post. i would think the companies would take the chance of jail (which is moot if they stay off US soil...duh) just for the shot at some of the US money. again...if the money is big enough to justify the risk.


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Well, the brave man post was in response to you calling other people cowards for not wanting to go to jail. You're free to go down to Costa Rica and open up your own poker room. Why are you venting at people just because poor Chopper can't enjoy his hobby? If you're so willing to risk 20 years in jail then the opportunity awaits you. All you have to do is have the balls to quit posting on 2+2 long enough to go down there and do it.

[Billman]

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Bill; If your estimate is correct that we are 70-80% of stars, that makes me feel even more hopeful that they will come up with something better than ePassport in the near future.

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Well there's hope and then there's reality. Unfortunately how money travels through the banking system pretty much means that any sort of eWallet idea is dead. The online gaming industry has been facing the account funding problem for 7 years now. It's unrealistic to think that some revolutionary idea is going to come up that will save the day.

[LuckyTxGuy]

Billman, I was going to quote some of your posts in this thread but I don't know where to start....they are all 100% dead on accurate.

I'm a business owner myself and people who call these online poker sites and e-wallet sites cowards, idiots etc for pulling out of the US market have no understanding of business and the real world. As has been stated over and over and over, all the big names like Party are publicly traded in England and they cannot break the US law for that reason. And to say, "they should pull out of the stock market" just goes to show how little a poster really understands about the situation.

Bill has hit the nail on the head with all of his posts. As for the people who say they will risk going to jail for 2 million dollars, go for it. There are plenty of illegal activities you can get involved in, right here in the US that will give you the opportunity to make millions of dollars, while risking a very serious jail term. I do not expect a company in another part of the world to break US law and face penalties so I can play a card game over the internet.

[barryc83]

Billman and Lucktxguy I agree with your posts. No offense but anyone saying Party should pull out of the stock market is a moron.

However, there is a lot more than 2 million dollars at stake here. If site like PS, FT, and UB can find a way to deal with these funding issues (and I think they will come up with something), they will still gladly welcome US players. There is just too much money at stake for them not to. Greed is powerful and IMO too much money would be left on the table if a site like PS pulled out of the US. However, I would agree that there is a strong possibility that the games become less profitable.

[Billman]

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Billman and Lucktxguy I agree with your posts. No offense but anyone saying Party should pull out of the stock market is a moron.

However, there is a lot more than 2 million dollars at stake here. If site like PS, FT, and UB can find a way to deal with these funding issues (and I think they will come up with something), they will still gladly welcome US players. There is just too much money at stake for them not to. Greed is powerful and IMO too much money would be left on the table if a site like PS pulled out of the US. However, I would agree that there is a strong possibility that the games become less profitable.

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I agree with that but what will be the cost? Are you willing to use a payment processor that just popped up last week and is operating out of some hole in the wall in Costa Rica? It's a two-way street. The rooms have to be able to offer methods to get money onto their sites and customers have to feel safe and secure about using those methods. As another thread highlighted, this is not about the average 2+2 player. This is about the fish. If the fish are unwilling to use El Guapo Payments what's the point of fighting over a market that will be on a steep decline path?

[fasteddy1970]

I too am concerned with the damage to this rare marine eco system ie. the loss of edible fish. Although I'm not a great player (or even very good) I've been a consistent winner and the only time I've redeposited is to take advantage of the bonus system. I suspect that the same is true with most 2 plus 2 players. Any check of Sharkscope confirms that 80% of the people we play against are steady losers and once they stop playing because of the dificulty, unreliability and cost of re-deposting, the party is over.

The truth is that all of this may be moot if and when the government sets out to really enforce these new laws. To date it's all been over reaction by the Netellers and partypokers of our world to some small moves by the govt. But once the govt. really gets in gear, it could end in a few weeks. The last few months have shown what they can do when they're barely trying and the weak reaction of the sites tells you that there will be very little opposition when push finally comes to shove.

I'm preparing myself for the eventual (two to six months) loss of this great, convenient and profitable hobby because there's no way I'm sitting in a brick and mortar for eight hours not to mention driving there, waiting on line and hoping for a game. I love poker only on the Internet and I suspect that my attitude is representative of over 50% of the players who will mostly quit playing once this ban becomes reality. The rest will find their way back to the brick and mortar places and spend their money which is why this legislation was inacted. Aren't you folks who elected a Republican Congress and Senate of the past few years happy with your votes?