Prosecutor Shocks Court – USA Online Poker Game of Chance Not Skill
Black Friday
On November 4, the prosecutor in charge of the Black Friday indictments of USA online poker shocked a Federal Court by disclosing that American online poker is officially classified as pure gambling, a game of chance/luck without much skill required to win.
The shocking revelation came late Friday when the US attorney filed a 51 page rebuttal with the Manhattan Federal Court in New York which for the first time revealed the official position of the US government regarding online poker.
According to casino gambling news, the U.S. Attorney official rebuttal came as a result of an earlier defense motion to dismiss all charges against two of the defendants indicted on Black Friday – a banker (John Campos) and an alleged owner of a payment processor (Chad Ellie).
For the first time, all sides in the struggle to criminalize or legalize and regulate online poker and online casinos in the United States finally can examine the US Department of Justice views of online poker and those people who play it.
DOJ Says Online Poker is Gambling: Always Was & Always Will Be
It is finally official. The US government classifies online poker as a game of luck (chance) with little or no skill component or requirement. The DOJ states in the 51 page rebuttal that the US online poker industry and everyone else who believes that poker is a game of skill is incorrect.
The US DOJ views online poker as a criminal, illegal gambling activity for players, operators, promoters, and payment processors.
To back up that statement, the government reminisced about the Old West of the late 1800s’ – and the late night poker games in saloons of frontier towns in the days of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.
Prosecutors explain that poker has been historically referred to as ‘gambling’, a word associated with ‘luck/chance’ by its very definition. Prosecutors go on to build on this historic association their argument for the classification of online poker.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who probably prefers Bollywood music to country, made a mistake in one section submitted to the court.
The Black Friday prosecutor confused country singer Willie Nelson for Kenny Rogers – erroneously claiming that Willie Nelson sung The Gambler (Song Lyrics) … ‘You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, Know when to walk away and know when to run.’
In the eyes of the US government, the lyrics area part of the irrefutable proof of the deep historical roots that the words ‘gambling’ and ‘poker’ share, and that the two terms are practically interchangeable.
Such a clear connection, US DOJ alludes, between an ancient outlaw country song and poker is yet another indication that American society has always understood that poker is gambling.
The prosecutor’s undertone regarding online poker here is obvious – poker players are gamblers, uncouth individuals, fringe elements, cowboys, gun-fighters, card cheats, cattle rustlers, uneducated, base men – no chess players here (skill game), just the criminal element testing their luck by gambling with cards.
But wait! There is more! Look out for more every few hours as we dissect, analyze and comment on the 51 page US Department of Justice Report on Black Friday and online poker in America.
Part 2: DOJ Says UIGEA Targeted Specifically at Online Poker
Part 3: DOJ Says Online Poker Skill Component Same as Sports Betting
Part 4: DOJ Says Online Poker Infiltrated by Italian Mafia Organized Crime
6 Comments
Well at least the cards or on the table now.
Well at least the cards or on the table now.
If that is indeed part of their case, it can be absolutely refuted by an statistician able to analyze hand histories of ‘good’ players vs ‘poor’ players. A six sigma outcome in favour of skill should be easy.
Blackdog,
It’s the part of a rebuttal which attempts to show that up until a decade ago or two ago poker was treated as a form of gambling by the majority who only had a vague understanding of the game. They may be right that in the past very few people knew the rules or ever played poker therefore they believed it to erroneously be a game of chance. However the prosecutor is wrong since as poker became more popular and more people understood thee game, the number of people who saw poker as a game of chance decreased.
I doubt they will use this more that just an introduction and also perhaps to appease a conservative traditional judge,
I still am shocked Obama is pushing this prosecution and agreed to this distorted caricature of poker, especially since he supposedly enjoyed playing in the past.
Nick Meisher
If that is indeed part of their case, it can be absolutely refuted by an statistician able to analyze hand histories of ‘good’ players vs ‘poor’ players. A six sigma outcome in favour of skill should be easy.
Blackdog,
It’s the part of a rebuttal which attempts to show that up until a decade ago or two ago poker was treated as a form of gambling by the majority who only had a vague understanding of the game. They may be right that in the past very few people knew the rules or ever played poker therefore they believed it to erroneously be a game of chance. However the prosecutor is wrong since as poker became more popular and more people understood thee game, the number of people who saw poker as a game of chance decreased.
I doubt they will use this more that just an introduction and also perhaps to appease a conservative traditional judge,
I still am shocked Obama is pushing this prosecution and agreed to this distorted caricature of poker, especially since he supposedly enjoyed playing in the past.
Nick Meisher