All the signs point towards the end of the road for Jao Poker as the unregulated US-facing online poker room advises customers of its closure, with no word on the location of player funds.
On one extreme you have my boy, 17, and afraid to open a Paypal account because he doesn’t trust this Internet stuff, and then at the other end of that tug-of-war, you have the people who deposit money on unregulated online poker sites like Jao Poker.
When will it end?
It won’t.
Standing in the midst of all the poker tables, when the machine guns sing you hear it. But if you’re Uncle Bob, done with killing deer for the day, opening up a can and a few tables on Jao, how are you supposed to know your money is going the same way as a baked potato left in a campfire for too long?
The people in the know have been blowing those embers for a long time. 2+2 poster, OilSpill, looked into his crystal ball back in July 2017.
“This site just seems like it’s going down in flames.”
You can’t blame the California fires on this one. It’s burned to a crisp and from what I can tell nobody wanted to put them out.
According to numerous press reports, Jao Poker has sent an email to all users explaining that the site has closed.
“If we have any updates on Jaopoker and members poker balances we will let you know in the communitypokerchat.”
The unregulated US-facing online poker room that operated from Cambodia is the latest in an ever-growing list of similar online poker options that are turning out to be as welcome as the smell of burning bacon in a vegan’s kitchen.
Here’s a Facebook post from Jao Poker rep Tam Nguyen
“I don’t have anyone’s money. I didn’t own the site. Jao is like any other business. You do well and thrive or try to do well and still fail. For those who joined the ride, it was good while it lasted.”
The comparisons with Lock Poker are apparent. However, Jao Poker doesn’t even show up on Pokerscout’s radar, so traffic must have been minimal, although one 2+2 poster complained about requesting a $1,500 Bitcoin withdrawal at the beginning of the month, and has since heard nothing but the sound of a giraffe
And the moral of this story is?
Don’t trust anyone, even your mum.
