BOOKMAKER.COM SPONSORS WORLD POKER SHOWDOWN

San Jose, Costa Rica – October 9th, 2007 – BookMaker.com, one the leading online sportsbooks on the web, today announced a sponsorship deal with the World Poker Showdown (WPS) in Costa Rica.

The WPS Tour hosts events at many exotic locations around the world including Costa Rica, St. Maarten, and the Bahamas along with offering a Poker Tour Cruise. Recognized throughout the poker industry, the WPS caters to the professional player looking for more excitement and the opportunity to play under the sun.

“We are very excited to be sponsoring the World Poker Showdown,” stated Ed D’Lyne, Casino Manager at BookMaker.com. “Considering this tour event and its size, and the fact it is going to be broadcasted, it’s an excellent sponsorship opportunity for BookMaker.com to maximize the exposure from this event and continued to strengthen our brand.”

The WPS Tour lands in Costa Rica on October 20th for eight days of competition. The event is hosted at The Jazz Casino in Playa Jaco, and event coordinators expect between 3,500 and 4,000 players. For details visit www.worldpokershowdown.com .

Added D’Lyne, “The event also provides BookMaker.com the opportunity to personally reach out to the 2,000 plus players participating in the event by inviting each and every one of these players to visit our casino.”

“In addition, our Casino at BookMaker.com offers many exciting games. We’ve just launched our new real-time blackjack tournament which we’ll be showcasing at the WPS event. This network has become a huge draw for many poker players who enjoy the speed and strategy involved. We plan on reserving a couple tables at the event to run Sit n Go and Mano a Mano blackjack tournaments to give these players a taste of our new game. We’re really looking forward to this event!”

About BOOKMAKER.com

Following a Legacy of quality in service and renowned bookmaking experience of more than two decades, BookMaker.com is born to serve both professional and recreational players. Always the first sportsbook to post lines, the phrase “Where the Line Originates” will continue attracting the world’s sharpest and biggest players.

BOOKMAKER.com provides Safe and Secure sports betting on sporting events, as well as horse racing, online casino games, poker, bingo and mobile betting from any location in the world, 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Thus, whether you are betting from your office computer or calling from the comfort of your home you can rest assured our service will be first class and completely confidential.

BookMaker.com hosts $10,000 BlackJackBowl and Blackjack Tournament Playoffs

San Jose, Costa Rica, September 25, 2007

BookMaker.com announces the launch of its 2007 Blackjack Tournament Season. Beginning in October, players on BookMaker’s new Real-Time Blackjack Tournament Network can compete in weekly and monthly qualifying tourneys in hopes of earning a free seat and shot at winning a lot of money in their $10,000 BlackJackBowl.

“We are extremely excited to launch our first Blackjack Tournament Season,” said Ed D’Lyne, Bookmaker Casino Manager. “Not only is it a great opportunity for us to showcase our new and exciting Blackjack Tournament game to our customers, but it’s an opportunity for them to compete in a progressive style of blackjack tournament for no small sum of money. At the end of the season we’re going to name one champion, and that champion is going to have a wad of cash in his pocket. After all, that’s why they are playing.”

BookMaker’s Blackjack Season starts on October 2^nd, 2007 in their regularly scheduled Tuesday Night tournament at 9:30pm EST. The season lasts for five months and ends with the BlackJackBowl in late February/early March.  Every week BookMaker we’ll be hosting a couple of cash-heavy tourneys, also granting the top places a free seat into their month-end qualifying event. The Monthly tourney prize pot will be infused with an additional $1,000 dollars above and beyond the customer entry fees everyone competes for. The top six places of the month-end event will also be awarded free seats into the $10,000 BlackJackBowl.

“We are throwing tons of cash into our Blackjack Network, and the savvy casino players and blackjack players out there are not only going to enjoy themselves and this game, but they are going to reap the financial benefits of this new tournament play,” exclaimed Mr. D’Lyne.

About BookMaker.com
Following a Legacy of quality in service and renowned bookmaking experience of more than two decades, BookMaker.com is born to aim and serve both professional and recreational players. Always first sportsbook to post lines, the phrase “Where the Line Originates” will continue attracting the world’s sharpest and biggest players.

BookMaker.com provides Safe and Secure sports betting on sporting events, as well as horse racing, online casino games, poker, bingo and mobile betting from any location in the world, 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Thus, whether you are betting from your office computer or calling from the comfort of your home you can rest assured our service will be first class and completely confidential.

For more information contact:

Esteban Siles
Public Relations Coordinator
pr@bookmaker.com

Bill Frist, then Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate and now ex-would-be presidential candidate, designed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (”Prohibition 2.0″) to cover Internet poker.  He defined “bet or wager” as including risking something of value on the outcome of a contest, sports event “or a game subject to chance.”

Is there any game, even chess, that is not “subject to chance?”

But Frist, whose arrogance was matched only by his incompetence, actually created the greatest explosion of creativity in the poker industry that I have ever seen.  Everyone wants to be the next PartyPoker.com, to figure out a way to spread legal poker games online.

The cleanest way to run a traditional Internet poker site that does not violate any federal or state law is to be licensed by a state and limit players to people who are physically present in that state.

Even in this situation, it is possible the federal Department of Justice might say there is a violation of the Wire Act, since a phone line might pass temporarily into another state.  But the DOJ would lose this argument for many reasons.  The sole purpose the Wire Act was enacted in 1961 was to help the states enforce their public policy, which, at the time, was prohibition.  What could possibly be the justification for preventing a state, like Nevada, from allowing its residents to bet with its own state-licensed poker sites?

The main obstacle to every state licensing, regulating, and of course, taxing, their own Internet poker sites is politics.  Utah is not the only place where legislators would hesitate to authorize even the most limited form of online gaming.  In Nevada, the problem is the opposite: there are already so many (landbased) licensed poker rooms that it is difficult to work out the details for sharing the new online revenue, and there is fear of diverting players away from the existing gaming floors.

In general, the answer is “skins.”  Players will log on to Caesars Palace’s future online poker room and choose which game they want to play, say $5 - $10 Hold’em.  They then are placed at a table that has a Caesars Palace logo on it.  They probably will not know, or care, that other players may see different logos because they signed up through different casino websites.  Computers ensure that each casino gets its correct share of the table’s revenue.

But there are at least three other ways to have legal online poker.  All gambling requires prize, consideration and chance.  Eliminate any one, and it is not gambling.

A site could charge money, even for games of chance, so long as it does not give valuable prizes.  Bragging rights don’t count.  So, someone could start a contest for the world’s greatest poker player, if all they win is a trophy, no cash.

Some poker sites allow players to play for free.  For example, at BetZip.com (one of my clients), anyone from more than 20 states can enter by merely mailing in a hand-written card.  This is not gambling, even though players can win up to $10,000 cash.  Since there is no consideration, it does not violate federal law or the laws of most states.

Others are looking at showing that poker is a game of skill.  I am writing a Legal Opinion for one of the biggest operators that at least tournament poker is predominantly skill, and therefore legal under federal law and the laws of most states.

There may or may not ever be lawsuits on the issue.  After all, is there any government lawyer who wants to be made a public laughingstock by claiming that poker is a game of chance?

By http://www.eog.com

The roller coaster ride they call the online poker market has experienced major ups and downs. New stats help clarify how the online poker market is really doing. Many US accepted sites like Poker Stars have bounced back to almost full potential.

(PRWeb) March 7, 2007 — Poker sites have bounced back according to the latest blog post at the US poker updates page at www.compatiblepoker.com/usa.php. The stats show what average player volumes are doing this month compared to the signing of the legislation, the closing of Neteller to US players and other major events.

The statistics are showing that many players have gained confidence in playing online poker once again. The numbers show that there are still record numbers at US accepted sites like PokerStars com.

Poker players also got some positive news according to earlier blog posts. D’Amato, an ex-Senator along with the Poker Players alliance will continue fighting to secure online poker as a permanent place in the United States. Many poker sites have begun pushing the support of the Poker Players Alliance by offering bonuses to players who sign up.

The closing of Neteller to the US customers forced many online poker providers to re-arrange their business plan. Many sites began offering new deposit providers in order to satisfy the large supply of customers.

Non-US customers were also affected by the Neteller closing and many have since lost faith in the company. Players from the US are still seeking payout of funds. Many believe it won’t be until March 16th, that a possible solution comes about.

All of the information regarding the US poker scene has been tracked and recorded at www.compatiblepoker.com/usa.php since the beginning of October, almost 5 months ago. The brands and companies stance on the US market is highly accurate and up to date.