US Gov't Seizes Poker Stars, FullTilt and UB

[golddog]

Sugar or our other world-wide friends, can you hit fulltiltpoker.com or ultimatebet.com?

The .coms are the FBI warnings worldwide but they all have alternatives, eg http://www.pokerstars.eu and http://www.fulltiltpoker.co.uk. Can you guys see those properly or are they showing the warning because of your locale?

I can hit them both, no worries. Now I'm really disturbed that the US government has (once again) overstepped their jurisdiction by affecting traffic to servers (i.e., shutting down the .com sites from non-US IP addresses) which in no way are under the US domain.

I agree with BeerWench, let adults do as they please as long as no harm comes to anyone else. I wasn't planning on withdrawing anytime soon, I guess I'll let this plod along and see what happens.

God damn the government f*ck.

[jeffonline]

Thought the US players might like this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYiy7L1grVk&sns=fb

[Golden Holden]

Check this out.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/April11/pokerdomainnameuseagreementspr.pdf

Crazy that they would come to an agreement so quickly.

[groton]

that was fast.. but the sites are still closed for us players to play on them. This will hurt the ME for sure.

[miaowmiaowchowface]

lol yeah liking that one

[lwestatbus]

Check this out.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/April11/pokerdomainnameuseagreementspr.pdf

Crazy that they would come to an agreement so quickly.

I am definitely pleased I'll get my $29.95 out (actually a little more than that).

More than anything, this agreement indicates the objective of the action. Not only does the agreement address the domain name restoration it explicitly states that the gov't will not stand in the way of getting money back to the U.S. players. It could not have been reached that quickly unless that were the intention all along.

Did you catch this language from Golden's link?

...who allegedly engaged not merely in the operation of illegal gambling businesses, but in massive wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering, despite repeated warnings and clear notice that their conduct was illegal in the United States.

The poker was "merely" while the fraud was "massive". Not charging US players, standing aside to let us get our money back, and this statement all add up in my mind to say the US attorney doesn't care about the poker, possibly because it might be a tough case to win.

The bad news for us is that the law that forced the sites into the behavior that got them busted hasn't changed. Cracking down on the financial transactions has blocked the ability to deposit and cash out using existing mechanisms.

Here are some questions:

1. If the sites cease and desist from the fraud, would the DOJ still trouble them about U.S. players playing with existing funds on deposit?

2. If I write a personal check payable to PokerStars and mail it to the Isle of Man is it illegal for my bank to pay it? If not, there would be extra fees and obviously a time delay but the transaction would still take place.

3. Similarly, if PS sends me a check, with the PS logo blatantly printed on it, via international mail drawn on a British bank would it be illegal for my bank to accept it for deposit? Again, there would be fees and a delay.

[jeffonline]

The sites Stars, FT & Absolute, probably would not disclose who their US players are so they have done a plea bargain to release all the names to the FBI.

When you cash out they trace the payment and investigate, tax avoidance, wire fraud, money laundering. Some things that come to mind. “Better get a lawyer son better get a real good one”.

I’m sure the FBI will be interested if your cash out is substantial.

You Americans are funny.

[lwestatbus]

I’m sure the FBI will be interested if your cash out is substantial.

Fortunately I suck so bad at poker that I have no risk to me.

[Golden Holden]

The sites Stars, FT & Absolute, probably would not disclose who their US players are so they have done a plea bargain to release all the names to the FBI.

When you cash out they trace the payment and investigate, tax avoidance, wire fraud, money laundering. Some things that come to mind. “Better get a lawyer son better get a real good one”.

I’m sure the FBI will be interested if your cash out is substantial.

You Americans are funny.

Not so sure

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/31/usa-tax-budget-idUSN3112189920110331

[jeffonline]

I’m trying to make lite of a bad situation but I suppose it’s not that funny when you’re that close to it.

[BeerWench13]

I guess it's good to know that I can get my $32.50 back. I'd rather turn it into $3500. If that happened, I'd gladly pay taxes on it.

[golddog]

A thought occurred the other day. Since I deposited well before the UIGEA went into effect, and playing online poker is in and of itself not illegal for US residents, it seems as if the DOJ is restricting me from taking part in an activity about which there is nothing against the law.

I can't do anything about that, but once again, our government has cast the net far too wide.

I'm also sure the TSA will apprehend an actual terrorist any second now.

[Golden Holden]

Round Two. Fight!

http://www.texasholdem-poker.com/blue-monday

[lwestatbus]

Round Two. Fight!

http://www.texasholdem-poker.com/blue-monday

Great article. You have just got to wonder how much money the undercover payment processing site made.

[ppaker]

Yes, I like