According to eGaming Review (content is behind a firewall), Facebook could be offering real money gambling in the UK in early 2012. Zynga is not on the list of companies slated to offering real money gambling, despite its hugely popular poker game (over 53 million likes at the time of this article). However, some reputable names in the online gambling business in Europe are, including 888 Holdings and Gamesys. eGr’s sources report that not only is Facebook in talks with various partners to host these games, but also that Facebook itself is building staff for the specific purpose of supporting these gambling efforts.

Would you gamble online on Facebook? Let us know in the comments.

Although there appears to be a push by Facebook to utilize credits as the currency of choice to gamble, real money gambling is expected to still be involved when these Facebook casinos launch.

Interestingly, Facebook’s current Platform Policies explicitly prohibit any applications that provide “[o]nline gambling, games of skill or lotteries, including online casinos, sports books, bingo, or poker”. Presumably, this has always been intended for applications that utilize money to participate, as the aforementioned free Zynga Texas Hold’em is one of the largest apps on Facebook.

When could other countries expect to see something similar? Online gaming is a huge industry, and Facebook integration could only help the industry grow, so it’s safe to assume that if things go well in the UK that we’ll be seeing other countries offer varying degrees of online gambling for real money in Facebook. That is, of course, if you live in a country that Internet gambling is permitted. If you live in the United States, you’re unfortunately out of luck. The “Land of the Free” explicitly bans companies from offering real money gambling over the Internet to its citizens.

Hat tip to 2+2.

Three months after their gambling license was suspended, Full Tilt has now been hit with the revocation of said license by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. The AGCC runs out of U.K.’s Channel Islands. The regulators at the AGCC control the gambling licenses that allow Full Tilt to operate worldwide.

On Thursday, the AGCC revoked the license, saying that Full Tilt had fundamentally misled the licensing authority about its funds. This included false reporting, unauthorized provision of credit and failure to report material events.

Things have been pretty bad for Full Tilt Poker since the initial Black Friday crackdown on major online poker sites also including PokerStars and Absolute Poker. After the DOJ reached domain-name agreements with the targeted companies, player funds were supposed to start being reimbursed. PokerStars started doing that at the end of April.

Full Tilt was slow to cashout players from the start, and they didn’t even contact players about possible payouts until a month after Black Friday. In August, with players still waiting on their funds, Full Tilt released a statement that blamed the DOJ indictments and seizures for holding up payouts.

And then last week, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara released a scathing statement labeling Full Tilt Poker a “massive Ponzi scheme.” It has been claimed that Full Tilt used player funds to pay off the board of directors which included famous poker stars Howard Lederer and Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson. According to the U.S. Attorney, Full Tilt had just $6 million in the bank while owning more than $300 million.

The AGCC said that the revocations do not mean that they can’t be reactivated if the business were to come under new ownership and management.

And that’s what Full Tilt is arguing – that they had a possible investor who was taking steps to acquire the company and the revocation of the licenses has thrown a wrench in that deal. Full Tilt issued a statement about the AGCC hearing and what they feel is a decision by the commission that harms players.

During the hearing, Full Tilt Poker offered the testimony of an investor interested in acquiring the company. The interested investor testified before the Commission as to its advanced status of negotiations with the company and the terms and conditions of a potential purchase. Full Tilt Poker requested a 30-day adjournment of the hearing to allow for transition of the company to the new investment team.

Today, the Commission announced its decision to revoke three of the four Full Tilt Poker operating licenses, despite the weight of evidence presented at the hearing by Full Tilt Poker of investor interest in acquiring the company. The Commission’s decision to revoke Full Tilt Poker’s operating licenses makes it more difficult to execute the sale of the company and hence repay its players.

Full Tilt also says that they have been totally committed to repaying players in full – something that the U.S. Attorney’s office would thoroughly contend.

Poker Pro BJ Nemeth has been discussing the news extensively on Twitter –

Another common discussion on Twitter involves the regulation tactics of the AGCC –

The executive director of the AGCC Andre Wilsenach spoke out about the claims that they should have known something was up –

Wilsenach refused to accept any responsibility for the AGCC being unable to spot the $331 million, that was seized by the Department of Justice between 2007 and 2011, sooner. He put the blame firmly on Full Tilt Poker when he was questioned about it:

“Are you suggesting that we are wicked? I blame it absolutely on Full Tilt. In my view it’s absolutely right that the commission has decided to revoke their licences.”

He went on to say that the only person who could have made them aware of the frozen funds were Full Tilt themselves, claiming that “If your operator doesn’t tell then there’s no way you would know.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – if Full Tilt emerges from this mess remembered as a giant Ponzi scheme (which it’s looking more an more likely that they will), it is simply a horrible thing for online poker. Many forces in the U.S., both governmental and private, are working for the legalization and regulation of the game online, and this is truly hurtful to the cause. It just drains consumer confidence. On the flip side, you could certainly argue that this serves as a prime example for why tight regulation is needed to ensure online poker can exist and thrive.

In a statement, Bharara said that “Full Tilt was not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme. Full Tilt insiders lined their own pockets with funds picked from the pockets of their most loyal customers while blithely lying to both players and the public alike about the safety and security of the money deposited.”

Federal prosecutors are now charging the major players with a new civil money laundering complaint that alleges Full Tilt Poker used online poker players’ money to pay its board of directors. That would include famous poker stars Howard Lederer and “Jesus” Ferguson. The alleged fraudulent payoff is claimed to be $440 million over the last 4 years.

Here’s how the poker world is responding on Twitter –

Poker star Daniel Negreanu commented on the situation indirectly, responded to a tweet from a fan that read “Wonder if I have better odds of getting a RT from @RealKidPoker or seeing my money from Full Tilt? #LOL” with this –

Just a week after the initial Black Friday events that shut down on Full Tilt, Absolute, and PokerStars, the DOJ reached domain agreements that allowed the sites to begin using them again to process payments to players.

The first to slowly begin to process payouts was PokerStars, who began payments near the end of April.

From the get-go, Full Tilt Poker players have complained about how the company handled the whole situation. It wasn’t until nearly a month after Black Friday that they contacted users about cashouts. In June, Phil Ivey famously announced that suing Full Tilt and boycotting the World Series of Poker on behalf of all the players who had yet to receive their money.

At the end of August, Full Tilt released a statement about its inability to pay back its players, blaming the U.S. government’s original indictment and cash seizures for the hold-up. They also claimed a “massive theft perpetrated by one of its payment processors.”

And now, this new Ponzi scheme accusation hits. Federal prosecutors have amended the original complaints to include Lederer, Ferguson, and CEO Ray Bitar. Apparently, Full Tilt payed off its board members with player funds while keeping miniscule amounts of funds in the bank. From Forbes –

Federal prosecutors claim that Full Tilt’s board members got rich because the company used player funds to pay them massive amounts of money that largely was transferred to their accounts in Switzerland and other overseas locations. Specifically, the feds allege that Bitar pocketed $41 million and Lederer got $42 million. Jesus Ferguson allegedly was allocated $87 million in distributions and received at least $25 million, federal prosecutors claim. Another owner, described by the feds as a professional poker player, received at least $40 million in distributions, as well as millions of dollars more characterized as loans from Full Tilt that have only been partially repaid. The government claims Full Tilt continued to make payments to its owners of up to $10 million per month even after the company was insolvent.

The indictment alleges that soon after April’s original crackdown, Lederer told others at Full Tilt that the company only had $6 million.

Sadly, with legislation ramping up for the legalization of online poker, all this news does is hurt the game.

States, however, would still be able to “opt out if they don’t want to participate,” according to the press release. It also stated, “The lawmakers believe this is an issue of personal freedom and that the government shouldn’t stop people from playing a game of skill.”

Do you agree with the lawmakers and believe that this bill is based on “personal freedom”? We’d love to know.

It’s no secret that the online poker industry has had a troubled past, which was evidenced by the recent “Black Friday” event when the FBI shut down three popular online poker sites for alleged bank fraud. Because of this event and other controversies around online poker, Representative Barton (R-TX) introduced the bill in hopes of providing clarity to the industry.

According to Eli Lehrer, the Vice President of The Heartland Institute, the proposed bill makes “common sense.” He said, “It contains some common sense protections against people being defrauded, which right now in the current netherworld of online gambling is all too common and way to easy.”

On the topic of the taxes the bill would impose, Lehrer pointed out, “At a time when we need more revenue and there’s an enormous resistance to raising taxes of any sort, it cannot be bad idea.”

Incidentally, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act was also introduced recently, which focuses on all Internet gambling and not just poker. Lehrer believes that it is actually a “better idea” because it has more freedom and creates more revenue. It does not, however, have bipartisan support, which is not the case with Barton’s bill.

Lehrer said that bipartisan support is especially noteworthy given the current divisions in Congress.

“Anything significant that gets bipartisan support is a big deal,” he added.

As for the passing of this bill, Lehrer told us the chances are “possible” but were “by no means guaranteed.”

In, what may be a blow against the bill, the American Gaming Association is not in support of the bill. It is reportedly working on its own version of legislation for online poker.

Would you like to see this bill pass?

According to a release from the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, some members of the house are looking to regulate the game.

Today, “influential member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce” Joe Barton introduced the Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection, and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2011 on the House floor. Besides being quite the mouthful, the bill would, among other things, assign regulatory powers to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Barton is a Republican Congressman from Texas, but the bill has bi-partisan support. It is being co-sponsored by Shelly Berkley (D-NV), John Campbell (R-CA) and Steve Cohen (D-TN).

Here’s how it would work: The U.S. Commerce Dept. would become the overall regulators of this brand new industry. The bill would leave some power to the states, as their individual commissions would have the job of issuing the licenses to qualified applicants. To be a qualified applicant, operators would have to agree to certain regulations that would help protect against things like gambling abuse and such.

And of course the taxes collected from America’s love for online poker would hopefully “stimulate U.S. economic expansion.” You want new jobs and more revenue, people? Online poker is the way to do it says Barton.

According to market research, regulation of all forms of internet gambling would generate $67 billion over five years and create over 25,000 new jobs. Sounds pretty good to me.

Now, before you run along and get too giddy about this bill, it has one serious flaw in the eyes of some – the prohibition of credit card use to fund internet gambling. Here’s what Michael Waxman of Safe and Secure has to say about that:

“It simply doesn’t make sense to limit the use of credit cards for those seeking to gamble online. Consumer protections for users of credit cards are much greater than those involving most other forms of payment. If someone is interested in using funds from their credit card to gamble online, they are not going to be stopped from doing so. They’ll find less transparent mechanisms to move funds from cards to other payment mechanisms. The solution is to have broad consumer protections in place overall, and the law needs to require that in any case.”

Amen, brother.

Is there a real chance that this bill could gain enough support to survive? It’s tough to tell at this point. It’s important to note as well that this isn’t the only internet gambling bill on the table right now. H.R. 2230, introduced by three members of both parties, would charge a 2% tax at the federal level on internet gambling and would give the states the option of imposing an additional 6%.

Online poker has been on the minds of many since the DOJ seizures of many popular sites dubbed “Black Friday.” ICE seized even more domains recently.

As we are all well aware, people are going to find a way to play poker online. I guess the question becomes, does the government want to make money on it? Let us know what you think about the regulation of online poker.

Ivey, one of poker’s biggest stars and a long time member of “Team Full Tilt,” has been pretty quiet since the Black Friday Department of Justice seizures of PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker. But now It looks as though the 8-time bracelet winner is taking up the cause of the people by working to settle the millions of player accounts that he believes Full Tilt has handled poorly.

Just a week after the initial crackdown on the big three sites, the DOJ announced that they had come to domain agreements with PokerStars and Full Tilt. They decided to open the .com domains back up to facilitate fund returns. By the end of April, PokerStars was slowly beginning to process cashouts.

Full Tilt has drawn the ire of many players for their handling of the situation. It was not until the middle of May that the company contacted customers regarding refunds. This was the first mention of cashouts that Full Tilt customers received following the April 15th shutdowns. The vague email made the statement “We apologize for the delay and the fact that we underestimated the time it would take to work through these issues.”

Phil Ivey is not pleased with Full Tilt and has made an announcement via multiple Facebook posts:

Phil IveyFor many years, I have been proud to call myself a poker player. This great sport has taken me to places I only imagined going and I have been blessed with much success. It is therefore with deep regret that I believe I am compelled to release the following statement. 9 hours ago · 782 likes · Comment

Phil IveyI am deeply disappointed and embarrassed that Full Tilt players have not been paid money they are owed. I am equally embarrassed that as a result many players cannot compete in tournaments and have suffered economic harm. 9 hours ago · 659 likes · Comment

Phil IveyI am not playing in the World Series of Poker as I do not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot. I am doing everything I can to seek a solution to the problem as quickly as possible. 9 hours ago · 664 likes · Comment

Phil IveyMy name and reputation have been dragged through the mud, through the inactivity and indecision of others and on behalf of all poker players I refuse to remain silent any longer. I have electronically filed a lawsuit against Tiltware related to the unsettled player accounts. As I am sure the public can imagine, this was not an easy decision for me. 9 hours ago · 616 likes · Comment

Phil IveyI wholeheartedly refuse to accept non-action as to repayment of players funds and I am angered that people who have supported me throughout my career have been treated so poorly. 9 hours ago · 576 likes · Comment

Phil IveyI sincerely hope this statement will ignite those capable of resolving the problems into immediate action and would like to clarify that until a solution is reached that cements the security of all players, both US and International, I will, as I have for the last six weeks, dedicate the entirety of my time and efforts to finding a solution for those who have been wronged by the painfully slow process of repayment. 9 hours ago · 679 likes · 120 comments

According to BLUFF Ivey was a no-show at the $25,000 heads-up event on the opening day of the WSOP, prompting many to wonder about his whereabouts, as he was expected to compete in the event. Everyone got their answer last night as these Facebook posts began rolling in around 11 pm EST.

The rest of the Poker World has responded to the announcement via Twitter:

What do you think about the announcement? Everything about Phil Ivey in the past suggests that he is a truly genuine person. This decision to sit out the WSOP comes at great financial and emotional cost to him, I’m sure. Is he right to go to bat for the common poker player? Or would you rather see him in action at the WSOP?

[Photo Courtesy of Ivey's Twitter Account]

Three people have also been indicted on charges of money laundering. Eleven bank accounts located in Charlotte, NC, Guam, Portugal and the Netherlands were also seized.

The indictments come from a long investigation of online gaming software company ThrillX and online payment processing company BMX Entertainment. The investigation involved the US Attorney in Maryland, the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security.

From the press release on the indictments:

“These indictments are the direct result of impressive undercover investigative work by our agents, along with the close collaboration of our law enforcement partners here in Maryland,” said William Winter, Special Agent in Charge of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Baltimore. “The proceeds from illegal Internet gambling are often used to fuel organized crime and support criminal activity. ICE HSI will work diligently to uncover illicit transactions involving these types of financial crimes. Together, with our law enforcement partners, we will disrupt and dismantle organizations that commit these crimes, regardless of their location, whether here in the United States or abroad.”

These indictments are unlikely to affect DoylesRoom’s famous namesake, Doyle Brunson. Texas Dolly just recently parted ways with the site due to uncertainty in the online poker landscape following Black Friday. In a statement to Gambling911:

Reluctantly, I have decided to terminate my endorsement contract with Doylesroom.com. It pains me to leave at this time. I have aspirations of reentering the online poker business when the United States Government passes legislation, that officially legalize online poker sites. Doylesroom management has decided to continue to serve U.S. customers. Although they believe they have the right to market the name Doylesroom and to use my name and likeness for a period of time, I have asked them not to. Good luck-Shuffle up and deal.

Doyle isn’t the first big name to cut ties with online poker since the initial crackdowns. Vegas Billionaire Steve Wynn nixed a burgeoning partnership with PokerStars just a few days after they were seized by the DOJ.

Poker players on Twitter commented on the DoylesRoom situation:

After the initial seizure of the big three sites, players’ first concern was naturally the security of the money they had locked up in the sites. The U.S. attorney’s office and the sites came to a domain agreement that allowed for the facilitation of the return of funds shortly after the crackdown. And since then, PokerStars was the first to slowly began to refund U.S. players, and Absolute Poker just announced that they would be doing the same.

But some are less concerned about that and more concerned about getting back into the fray. PokerStars, Absolute Poker, and Full Tilt are still completely closed for business for real money play in the States, and these new seizures mark a disturbing trend that suggests we may see more and more sites go down.

But the tactic of domain name shifting seems to be working for some sites. As of right now, both DoylesRoom and True Poker are up and running and saying “business as usual” via .ag extensions. Although functioning, U.S. players might feel a little wary to deposit funds into a possibly sinking client, however.

One new client is announcing it’s launch on May 31st. Rise Poker looks to fill the void by offering rake-free online poker for real money to U.S. players. They say that they will be totally legal.

“The market could not be better for a new, innovative rake-free site to fill the massive
void created by the recent U.S. departures of the largest offshore online gambling sites. We want to obliterate what the market thinks of a typical membership poker site,” says Steve “Chops” Preiss, RISE Poker Executive Vice President of Business Development to Bluff Magazine.

Although more domain seizures looks like really bad news for online poker in the U.S., there looks to be some hope on the legislative level. The State of Nevada approved an online poker bill on Tuesday, ensuring their right to license and regulate the game should the federal government legalize it.

But of course, we have to wait on lawmakers in Washington to make a move. And call me a pessimist, but I’m not holding my breath.

The long term concern is about the uncertain future of the game in the United States.  Will online poker ever get the national go-ahead along with federal regulation?  Will state governments butt heads with the federal government on the legality issue?  Will under the radar real-money sites continue to operate, or was the takedown of the big three a sign of things to come?

The more immediate concern has been about the money.  Many if not most serious online poker players have some degree of funds tied up in either PokerStars, Absolute Poker or Full Tilt.  Concerns that the money might have simply disappeared were partially assuaged last week when the U.S. government reached domain name agreements with PokerStars and Full Tilt to allow to facilitation of returns.

It looks as though PokerStars is now beginning the process of cashing out American players.

According to Bluff, PokerStars representative Steve Day announced in the Two Plus Two PokerCast (a podcast) yesterday that payouts could begin as early as yesterday the 26th in the best-case scenario.  From Bluff:

In an interview for the Two Plus Two PokerCast, PokerStars representative Steve Day announced that US players may be able to start processing cashouts starting Tuesday in a best-case scenario. Reports from players attempting to cash out after hearing the announcement noticed several different options available: Wire transfer (minimum $50,000), Check (up to $2,500), and Cashout Request to Direct Bank Transfer. The latter method states processing will take up to 72 hours with payment appearing in player’s bank accounts within five business days.

UPDATE: Selecting the “Cashout Request to Direct Bank Transfer” option now asks for additional banking information.

And apparently they have begun. PokerNews reported that sure enough, when they logged into their PokerStars account they were greeted with a pop up that said, “ We are pleased to announce that the Cash Out option in the PokerStars Cashier is now available.”  They were also told to expect delays in processing and delivering of funds.

CardPlayer posted a copy of the email sent to PokerStars players:

In light of recent developments, PokerStars is no longer offering real money play to residents of the United States of America and its territories.

The PokerStars Cashier is now available for you to cash out the funds in your real money account balance. We strongly recommend that you use the bank transfer option; to use it, you will need to have your current banking information at hand.

Please note that due to the expected high volume of cashout requests, we anticipate a delay in processing and delivery of your funds. Rest assured that your funds are safe and we will process your request as soon as possible.

Please contact paymentservices@pokerstars.com if you experience any issues.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

So it looks like PokerStars users can proceed with extracting their winnings.  Although if you believe in jinxing, well, you might want to leave just a fraction of your funds in the account, as a good faith measure that the service will be up and running soon as the federal government extricates its head from its ass.

Some in the poker world are a bit concerned about the cashout process.  But c’mon, BJ! Don’t freak everyone out…geez.

Where’s my money?

As we told you last week, the U.S. government, PokerStars and Full Tilt poker reached domain name agreements a few days after the initial crackdown.  As part of those agreements, the .com domains for those sites will be restored in order to “facilitate returns of U.S. player funds.”

As of today, however, cash-outs are not yet available to U.S. players.  On the Pokerstars.com homepage, they link to a FAQ section that details where the company stands on money returns:

Your account balance is completely safe. You will be allowed to cash out your balance.

PokerStars has reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice that will allow players to cash out as soon as a suitable processor is found. This publically available agreement includes assurances from the DOJ that player cashouts can be processed safely. Cashouts for US residents are expected to be available within several weeks.

The Cash Out option in the PokerStars Cashier will temporarily be unavailable, to allow us to prepare the technical solutions and formulate the plan and processes required to allow you to cash out your balance. We will notify all US players as soon as this option is available again.

Providing you with the facility to cash out is our top priority right now, and hopefully US players will be able to cash out via the PokerStars Cashier in the near future.

Cashouts that have already been requested will be reversed and postponed to a later date, when they become available for everyone.  Money transfers to other players are also prohibited at this time.

Notably left out of that domain agreement announcement last week was Absolute Poker and its Ultimate Bet brand.  Since that announcement they have issues a statement regarding similar actions:

Absolute Poker has retained Blank Rome LLP as United States counsel to provide legal advice in relation to civil and criminal matters filed in federal court in Manhattan and made public on April 15, 2011. Absolute Poker is aware that on April 19, 2011, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York entered into separate agreements with FullTilt Poker and PokerStars. These agreements concern the use of the respective www.fulltiltpoker.com and www.pokerstars.com domain names. The US Attorney, in a press release dated April 20, 2011, stated that the government is willing to enter the same agreement with Absolute Poker and UB.

Hopefully these refunds won’t take too long to begin.  Some people I know just might have rent money tied up in these sites. Ahem.

Real-Life Aftermath

Moving slightly away from the online impacts, Black Friday has led to some notable repercussions among the non-virtual world.  In the wake of the takedown, ESPN pulled poker advertising and certain televised poker events from its programming.  The PokerStars-sponsored North American Poker Tour as well as advertising paid for by online poker sites was axed.  The World Series of Poker will air as scheduled, however, to the collective delight of poker fans.

ESPN was not the only network to pull programming, as Fox and Game Show Network followed suit.  Fox pulled PokerStars’ The Big Game and Million Dollar Challenge while GSN has relegated its High Stakes Poker to only one night, Saturday from 10 pm to 3 am.

Some bricks-and-mortar tournaments have either been cancelled outright or downsized significantly.  Full Tilt’s Onyx Cup has cancelled its first two Las Vegas events and the World Team Poker championships in Vegas have been postponed.

Some online tourneys have reduced their prize pools significantly, for example Full Tilt’s FTOPS XX kicked off Saturday with a prize pool guarantee of $13 million as opposed to the original $38 million.  PokerStars’ SCOOP series downgraded from $45 million to $25 million guaranteed.  Thanks to Bluff Magazine for this tidbit.

Also, out of the 11 people officially indicted on April 15th, three have been arraigned and entered not guilty pleas.  These three include Utah bank exec John Campos and payment processors Chad Elie and Bradley Franzen.

Well, I still wanna play…what do I do now?

Even if the targeted sites being processing payouts soon, they have completely lost the ability to allow real-money play and to accept deposits. Playing on those sites isn’t an option.  Where else to get your fix?  Bluff has compiled a list of sites unaffected by this recent crackdown, many of which are offering deposit bonuses up to 200%.  These sites include DoylesRoom.com, PPNPoker.com and Bodog.com.

This obviously raises the question of security.  It’s fair to wonder how long these sites have before something similar to Black Friday happens to them.  But to the poker players with the cojones to pony up cash at this time, there are options.

As one commenter put it, “I think the best thing Poker players can do is flood these sites. If we force the government to play whack a mole… eventually this will force their hand into sensible legislation. If whenever they succeed at bringing one or two down, and others immediately arrive to fill the vacuum, they may soon see it as an overall losing battle with us.  I, for one, will be playing in a few of these rooms and hope to see many US and world players there”

Right on soldier.  I must confess that I may, unfortunately, lack the gumption to follow in those brave footsteps.  As hard as it is, the right thing might be to wait this one out – if only for a bit.  Or maybe I am over-thinking this, so…shuffle up and deal?

The Good, the Bad and the Funny…ish

The immediate aftermath saw poker lovers take to social media to vent their frustration, attempt to calm people down or to kick the online poker community while it was down.  The response has continued to be interesting if nothing else.

U.S. representative Barney Frank, always highly quotable, chastised the Justice Department and the White House for what he feels is a waste of resources and screwed up priorities.  He said the administration is “protecting the public from the scourge of inside straights” and asked that they “go after the people responsible for empty house, not full house.” (Yuk yuk)

While the poker-twitterverse has calmed, high profile individuals are still snark-tastic.  Take for instance Norman Chad’s tweet from earlier today:

The blame Obama train has seen its share of boarders.  Along with some representatives in Congress and Norman Chad, there’s this, whatever it is:

Where do you stand with all the online poker hullabaloo? Will you play at an alternate site or wait it out? What do you think the future looks like for the game? This writer is feeling somewhat of a rare emotion for him – optimism. Are you?

Reuters and CNBC have just reported that top online poker sites Pokerstars.com, Fulltiltpoker.com and Absolutepoker.com have been seized by the FBI and their owners, a total of 11 people have been charged.

The charges, according to Reuters were filed in Manhattan by federal prosecutors and are for violation of internet anti-gambling laws as well as fraud by “tricking regulators and banks into processing billions of dollars in illegal internet gambling proceeds.”

Going to one of these sites will yield this warning: