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The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) confirmed receipt of MGM’s $12 million payment required to apply for a complete PA interactive gaming license.

The post MGM Leverages Borgata Presence To Enter The PA Online Gaming Market appeared first on .

This November, Florida voters have a constitutional amendment on the ballot–Amendment 3. The issue is “voter control of gambling in Florida.”

Supporters of the liberalization of gambling–and especially online gambling–may mistake this for a pro-gambling amendment. According to big operators like DraftKings and FanDuel, nothing could be further from the truth.

The sponsors behind the measure tell you all there is to know–Disney and the Seminole Tribe. Both have been longtime opponents of any expansion of gambling in Florida.

The Seminole Tribe hands over $250 million a year to the state government in return for what is almost a monopoly on gambling in the state.

Disney is opposed on principle, but additionally doesn’t want to see any more competition for its Disneyworld theme park.

Gaming companies oppose the amendment

The Tampa Bay Times reports that the “Voters In Charge” committee has spent over $31 million to promote the amendment. Committee Chair John Sowinski positioned the issue as a right for voters to control gambling.

“This comes down to, who do you trust: the voters or the politicians and the gambling lobbyists? Their burden is to suggest with a straight face that things are better in the hands of politicians and the lobbyists who contribute to them and who influence them.”

Opposition to the amendment is led by “Citizens for the Truth about Amendment 3” and “Vote No on 3.”

They are supported by the pari-mutuels and racinos together with international operators like DraftKings. According to them, supporting amendment three is going to hand control over to the Seminole Tribe.

The argument is that no further gambling expansion will occur if the people have to vote on it directly. That means that only the gambling under Seminole control will continue to be allowed.

At the moment, Florida pari-mutuel cardrooms host “designated player” card games. The Seminole Tribe objects to this, saying that the games breach their exclusive rights.

Jamie Shelton, president of pari-mutuel bestbet Jacksonville stated:

“Amendment 3 will clearly eliminate designated player games in cardrooms throughout the state of Florida. Period.”

A federal judge has ruled with the Seminoles, so depending on appeals, it is likely that these games will have to stop. And if amendment three passes, there will be no new legislation enacted to provide alternatives.

Amendment 3 could end hopes of legal sports betting

State Senate President Bill Galvano told The News Service of Florida that legal sports betting could create huge revenues. He believes that amendment 3 would kill all hope of sports betting legalization:

“The revenues are substantial. If Amendment 3 is passed, we’d lose that opportunity and we’re hamstrung.”

Florida has not had much success with legislation to expand gambling in recent years. In 2014, the legislature failed to pass Senate Bill 7052 which would have expanded legalized gambling.

The bill included text for:

• The creation of a gaming control board;
• Increased authority, control, and enforcement over gaming by the regulatory agency;
• Authorizing the governor to renegotiate the gaming compact with the Seminoles;
• Consolidating all forms of gaming other than the lottery into a single statutory chapter;
• Authorizing the possibility of two destination casinos in Miami-Dade and Broward County; and
• Reduced requirements for operating a poker room.

In 2018, Florida is looking at three pieces of legislation, all to do with daily fantasy sports (DFS):

• H223 House Bill sponsored by Rep. Jason Brodeur–defines DFS and proposes its removal from gambling statutes.
• S374 sponsored by Sen. Dana Young–a Senate version of H223 with some minor changes.
• S840 introduced by Sen. Travis Hutson–an omnibus bill to overhaul almost all of Florida’s gaming legislation.

None of these bills looks like it will proceed this year. If the constitutional amendment gets the 60 percent of votes it needs, they will probably not proceed at all.

The post Florida Amendment 3 Vote Could End Hopes Of Gambling Expansion appeared first on Play USA.

The Borgata Fall Poker Open (BFPO) will kick off on Election Day, Nov. 6, and run until Nov. 21. During those two weeks, players will compete for over $3 million in guaranteed prize pools. The tournament series will feature 20 events and 17 secondary tournaments, and online qualifiers are now underway.

The main course has plenty of meat

The BFPO Main Event itself is a whopper of a tournament.

Day 1A will begin on Nov. 17. The second flight will run the next day.

The event is a five-day clash. Borgata will crown a champion on Nov. 21, the last day of the series. The Championship winner will take home the lion’s share of a $1 million guaranteed prize pool.

With two starting flights, it’s possible that the total prizepool could jump over that number. New Jersey casinos have seen increased volume and traffic since sports betting debuted in June 2018, and that might send the attendance through the roof.

Long story short, there will be quite a few people who pay the $2700 entry fee. $2500 of that fee will go straight towards the pot.

There will also be unlimited re-entry in the early stages of both Day 1 flights. Players can play both Day 1s if they choose. They can take the higher of their two stacks forward if they are still alive at the end of both flights.

If you can afford to play, the tournament structure looks to be outstanding. Players will begin with 30,000 in tournament chips, and blind levels are at least 60 minutes long.

In fact, levels after 11 will jump to 75 minutes until the final table. Blinds begin at 100 – 100, and the big blind won’t exceed 1,000 until level 8.

The final table will live-stream on PokerGO. The broadcast will run with a 30-minute delay.

How to enter the Championship

Most poker players should find their mouths watering about this tournament. However, $2700 may be a bit steep for some.

Thankfully, Borgata is hosting a multitude of satellites and qualifiers to gain a ticket. In fact, online qualifiers are already underway on Borgata’s online poker site in New Jersey.

Players can begin their journey towards the BFPO Championship for as little as $5. There are daily $5 qualifiers that feed into $45 satellites.

Those $45 satellites also run daily and feed into $400 Super Satellites. From these Super Satellites, one in eight players will receive a seat at the big table.

The Super Satellites will run on Nov. 10, 11, 17, and 18. All Super Satellites begin at 7:40 p.m. EST.

Other options besides the Main Event

Even if you can’t make it for the Main Event, the BFPO has several fine tournaments on its schedule. One of the very best of the entire series is the first one on the slate.

The Deepstack Kick-off is a no-limit hold’em clash that begins on Nov. 6. This $540+$60 tournament features a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool right off the bat.

There are a whopping five opening flights for this tournament over the first three days. In theory, a player could enter, finish each flight, and select the best stack of the five to continue the tournament.

Another tournament of note is the Almighty Stack tournament. Entrants to this NLHE event will start the tournament with a massive stack of 100,000 in chips, and blinds begin at 100-100.

This three-day event costs $400+50 to enter. There is a guarantee on its prize pool of $300,000.

Aside from these three tournaments, five others have guarantees on their prize pools that exceed $100,000. None of the primary events features a guarantee lower than $25,000.

The series features several events beyond standard no-limit hold’em tournaments. There is an Omaha Hi-Lo clash, a H.O.R.S.E. event, and several variations like six-max to keep players fresh.

Since the structures for Borgata tournaments are so gradual, the skilled players are most likely to find success here. For as little as $240, a skillful card player could advance his or her bankroll by thousands of dollars.

The secondary tournaments have buy-ins even lower than that. Most of the larger tournaments also offer satellites for entry.

All in all, the BFPO is shaping up to be an excellent edition of poker on the Jersey Shore. Don’t miss it!

Image from WPT/Flickr

The post Online Qualifiers Now Running For $3 Million Borgata Fall Poker Open Series appeared first on .

California’s Bureau of Gambling Control (BGC) is poised to begin a crackdown on card rooms offering games like blackjack, as the latest lines in the battle over what games the would-be casinos can legally spread are drawn.

In 2000, Native American tribes were given what they believe is a constitutional guarantee that only tribal casinos can offer casino-style gambling in California. However, California card rooms, which had been traditionally poker-only, wanted a piece of the pie.

A year later, the card rooms successfully lobbied California lawmakers to amend the law. It now allows card rooms to offer games like blackjack and Pai Gow with one caveat. It states players must act as the bank, not the house.

The card rooms began referring to the games as California or Asian games. This simply means games like blackjack and Pai Gow with a rotating player-dealer position.

Soon after, many of the states’ now 74 card rooms started skirting around the law by hiring proposition players to bankroll the games and cut them in. In fact, a cottage industry has been born out of it, with third-party proposition player firms establishing themselves to work with the card rooms.

Some card rooms simply ignored the law altogether and started banking their own casino games.

Native American gaming tribes cry foul

Native American tribes have long cried foul, claiming the activity infringes upon their exclusive right to offer casino-style games in California.

At the end of last month, the BGC, an arm of Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s Department of Justice, suddenly decided to do something about it.

BGC Director Stephanie Shimazu issued a memo on Sept. 25 stating the BGC plans to take away card room approvals for those with games that are much too similar to the casino games prohibited by state law, including blackjack.

Shimazu said the BGC is planning to notify card rooms across the state and delay enforcement for now. A move that would give the card rooms time to prepare for the inevitable action against them. She also swore to uphold regulations for California and Asian games requiring the games to be player banked.

On the surface, the crackdown would appear to appease gaming tribes in the state, which own California’s 63 tribal casinos. However, Steve Stallings, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, told CDC Gaming Reports it’s all political posturing:

“It’s a delaying tactic. At this point, we’re suing.”

Of course, California gaming tribes have been threatening for years to sue regulators and card rooms. The tribes claim allowing casino-style gaming at the card rooms is a violation of various tribal-state compacts. Plus, tribes claim it goes against the 2000 California ballot initiative that promised the tribes exclusivity on casino-style gambling.

All sides angered

Obviously, the card rooms are not happy about the crackdown either. Austin Lee, executive director of Communities for California Cardrooms, called the BGC’s move unprecedented:

“The Bureau’s announcement to revoke game approvals for various versions of blackjack on a statewide basis is unprecedented. It would require cardrooms to significantly adjust operations.”

Meanwhile, the many California municipalities that have come to depend on tax revenues local card rooms generate are also concerned.

California card rooms generate an estimated $300 million in federal, state, and local taxes. Some municipalities across the state depend on municipal taxes from card rooms to cover up to 60 percent or more of the municipal budget.

City of Commerce City Manager Edgar Cisneros told CALmatters a crackdown on card rooms would likely force Commerce to make 25 percent cuts across the board. The cuts would impact things like libraries, sheriff’s services, and parks. The local Commerce Casino & Hotel is the largest card room in the world. It features 240 tables spreading poker and a variety of “Cal Games” including baccarat, blackjack, Pai Gow, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, and 3 Card Poker.

Impacting California sports betting and online poker

The fight between card rooms and tribes over the type of gaming each can offer continues to have an impact on other gambling expansion initiatives in the state as well.

Lawmakers efforts to legalize sports betting have been caught up in it. Plus, gaming tribes stand firmly against a private ballot initiative by Californians for Sports Betting to legalize sports betting. Particularly because it would also permit card rooms to offer casino games.

The two sides have also spent a decade arguing over online poker operator suitability. A part of the card room-tribal gaming battle that has prevented the state from moving forward with online poker legislation.

At this point, Stallings said the tribes stand opposed to any kind of gambling expansion. Particularly anything that threatens the tribes’ exclusivity on casino-style gambling:

“Right now our position is we do not support expansion of gaming in California. We’ll wait to see how things develop.”

The post Regulators Ready To Crack Down On California Card Rooms appeared first on .

US online poker players have spent the past few weeks winning big and moving on to the inaugural Global Poker Championships – Tournament of Champions as a part of Global Poker’s Eagle Cup series.

In fact, winners of last week’s Global Poker Eagle Cup Main Events won over SC$40,000 in special versions of its Sunday Scrimmage and Sunday Teaser events.

Global Poker Eagle Cup Main Events

Mississippi’s ‘Chiprekt’ booked a win in the special Sunday Scrimmage Eagle Cup High Main Event SC$100,000 Guaranteed, earning SC$18,850. However, Global Poker was forced to cover a slight overlay in the $218 buy-in SC$100,000 Guaranteed event, as it drew 457 entries.

After a little over six hours of play, ‘Chiprekt’ beat Pennsylvania’s ‘Jamesyant195’ heads up. ‘Jamesyant195’ was forced to settle for an SC$13,850 second-place haul.

Meanwhile, the special Sunday Teaser $110 buy-in Eagle Cup Medium Main Event SC$40,000 Guaranteed drew 396 entries. A little over five hours in, Indiana’s ‘Spicoli2494’ booked the win, beating California’s ‘ShoeStoreClerk’ heads up. ‘Spicoli2494’ earned SC$7,580 for the win, while ‘ShoeStoreClerk’ collected SC$5,600 in runner-up money.

Additionally, Global Poker awarded the winners of both Eagle Cup Main Events a Champion’s Pack. The Champion’s Pack includes a Global Poker t-shirt, and a Global Poker hat. Plus, it includes a personalized trophy inscribed with the player’s name and that of the event.

Plus, Global Poker also awarded the top two finishers in both Eagle Cup Main Events entry in its upcoming Global Poker Championships – Tournament of Champions.

Global Poker Championships – Tournament of Champions

The first-ever Global Poker Championships – Tournament of Champions starts Sunday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. ET. Global Poker will be awarding $10,000 worth of prizes through the Tournament of Champions, with the winner earning the right to represent Global Poker at the live poker tournament of their choice.

In fact, all players who finished first or second in all 135 championship events on the Global Poker Eagle Cup schedule are invited to play. The series-closing event will actually award the winner $5,000 to cover a live tournament buy-in and travel expenses.

Global Poker has evolved into the top option for US residents who want to play online poker outside of states that have legalized and regulated the activity.

That means everywhere outside Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware. Pennsylvania will also launch legal and regulated online poker by the end of 2018 or early 2019.

The Global Poker Sweepstakes model

Global Poker launched in December 2016. It uses its own patented Sweepstakes model to offer real-money online poker to customers inside the US.

Players can get money on and off the site using trusted and easily accessible online money transfer site Worldpay.

Global Poker’s patented Sweepstakes model involves players using Worldpay buy Gold Coins on the site. However, the Gold Coins come with bonus sweepstakes prizes called $weeps Cash. Players use $weeps Cash to buy into $weeps Cash tournaments. Plus, they use $weeps Cash to buy into the equivalent to real money $weeps Cash ring games.

Any money players win is in $weeps Cash. Players can accumulate $weeps Cash in their accounts and cash it out through Worldpay. Worldpay converts it into real money.

The post Global Poker Eagle Cup Winners Move On To Tournament Of Champions appeared first on .