3-Barrels of a PokerStars flavour including a last minute amendment to the California Online Poker Bill that will see the giants sitting on the sidelines for five years; Daniel Negreanu starts a new podcast; and the PokerStars sponsored Bobby Moore Golf Day raises £38,000 for the Cancer Trust UK.
Legislation to regulate online poker in California could move forward by the end of the month after a last-minute amendment was submitted in a bid to gain some much-needed traction.
Assemblyman Adam Gray’s AB2863 bill moves along in snail-like fashion because of a conflict of interest between 10 powerful Indian Tribes who want to see PokerStars pay their pound of flesh after remaining in the US market post the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA), and a coalition led by PokerStars who do not.
The amendment to the bill takes a page out of the Nevada rule book, opting to penalise PokerStars or any other company that operated or facilitated in an operation of an online poker business in the States post-Dec, 31 2006, with a five-year ban.
The LA Times reached out to Assemblyman Gray for a comment on the bill changes and his chief of staff, Trent Hager, told them in email that they were confident the revisions would result in the two-thirds vote needed in the Assembly, and that it would be ‘fairly received in the Senate.’
The 11th-hour amendment is designed to beat the Aug, 31 state Legislature adjournment date. In addition to the amended ‘Bad Actor,’ clause the taxation rules also moved from a sliding scale of 8.64% – 15% to a flat rate of 10% annual gross gaming revenue.
Anonymous tribal sources speaking to OnlinePokerReport called the prospect of securing a two-thirds vote a ‘steep climb.’
Daniel Negreanu The Podcaster
Whether or not PokerStars gets early action in California doesn’t stop the red machine moving onwards and upwards. Barcelona is currently housing the 13th Season of The European Poker Tour (EPT), and figurehead Daniel Negreanu is hosting daily Q&A sessions with the online qualifiers.
Negreanu kicked off his new podcast this week. It’s available on Soundcloud. It’s called the Full Contact Poker Podcast, and Negreanu aims to probe the inner workings of the poker machine. His first guest is Brain Balsbaugh, agent to the poker stars, and they talk about the ebb and flow of sponsorship models over the years.
PokerStars Help Raise £38,000 for The Bobby Moore Fund
The PokerStars sponsored Golf Day held on the Isle of Man in aid of the Booby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK has raised an all-time high £38,000 for the charity.
This special day has been running for six years and Sue Hamnett, the head of PokerStars charitable arm, said it was great to see so much money raised during the 50th anniversary of England’s World Cup success. Moore was the captain that day and remains the only English captain to lift the World Cup trophy in history.
The golf event has raised £151,000 since its conception.
Bobby Moore died of cancer, aged just 51, and his former club West Ham retired his #6 shirt in his honour.
