Wed, 03/30/2011 – 01:26 – PokerPages Staff

The first owner of a Las Vegas casino to publicly support legalizing Internet poker has spoken out. South Point Hotel and Casino owner Michael Gaughan has recently expressed his view that online games and poker are definitely coming and he has no doubt in his mind about that.

He was speaking as Nevada Assemblyman William Horne’s Assembly Bill 258 is up for consideration by the state legislature. The bill would allow online gaming to be licensed and regulated by the Nevada Gaming Association and is regarded as the most poker-friendly bill to be proposed in the U.S. 

Although supported by the giant online poker site PokerStars, it is opposed by another gambling behemoth – Caesars Entertainment. When Caesars declared its opposition, hopes for the bill’s survival began to fade and most observers assumed that other bricks-and-mortar casinos would simply follow suit. Until, that is, Mr. Gaughan spoke out and he’s made it pretty clear exactly why he supports the bill. AB 258 would, he said, “make us a pioneer in the nationwide movement.” By passing the bill into law, Nevada would become a leader the rest of the country may wish to emulate.

Financially, legalization makes a lot of good sense especially given that Nevada’s finances are the stuff of nightmares and nervous breakdowns.  There is a yawning $1 billion-plus deficit to be made good and unemployment in the state currently runs at 13.5 per cent. In one move, the legalization of online poker would generate an additional $500 million for the state budget and bring many desperately needed new job opportunities in its wake.

So far, bills that have been discussed at either state or federal level have contained wording that many poker enthusiasts find unnecessarily frustrating, desperate though they are to legitimize their game. Senator Harry Reid’s bill, which fell after the mid-term elections last year, included a punitive 15-month blackout period, during which no one living on American home soil could play online. Congress is currently considering a licensing bill proposed by Representative John Campbell, but it contains wording to imply that current operators are guilty of illegal gambling activity. These inclusions appear to be aimed at appeasing opponents but would have serious consequences should they succeed in becoming law.

By contrast, Nevada’s AB 258 specifically states that it will not discriminate against existing operators (possibly one major reason why PokerStars is supporting it so fulsomely). The measure would also allow the Nevada Gaming Association to enter into agreements with other jurisdictions, such as foreign countries, where online gaming is not illegal. Additionally the Nevada Bill makes provision that should other states pass bills legalizing online poker, they would be included too. Such a development would place Nevada, as Mr. Gaughan envisages, at the very heart of the online gaming industry in addition to its central place in the bricks-and-mortar casino business.

Commenting on PokerStars’ and Full Tilt Poker’s inclusion in the Nevada system under the bill, Gaughan said that he didn’t mind at all stating that no one group of people should be eliminated. Gaughan considers the bill a good move for the state, and believes it will benefit smaller casinos there. Caesars has got some opposition to its “Federal only” approach at last, it seems.

Tue, 03/01/2011 – 00:43 – PokerPages Staff

#5 – Live players are much older than online players
You imagine tech-savvy young guns like Viktor Blom being online whizz-kids while seasoned veterans like Doyle Brunson stick to the old-school bricks and mortar poker rooms.  But the number of 18-20 year-old grinders frequenting casinos is surprising – and pros of Doyle’s vintage aren’t strangers to playing online either.

#4 – Good players win frequently
Even most experienced pros usually win no more than 60 percent of the games they enter.  Yup – 40 percent of the time they leave poorer than when they went it.  The trick is to minimize the losses by knowing when not to raise or when to fold – sometimes small battles must be lost before the war is won.

#3 –Tip generously and you’ll get good luck from the dealer
There’s zero mathematical justification for this belief, but if you believe that what goes around comes around, it’s a fair enough principal to play by.  Just don’t expect magic – you get what you’re dealt, and the Gods of Poker don’t slip prime cards to the dealer just for you.

#2 – It’s good to mix your play up frequently
If you’re enjoying a good run and no one else has shifted gear, why should you?  A good rule of thumb is to switch tactics only if your table image starts to look too close to your natural playing style – that’s when your opponents will make very few errors about your strategy.

#1 – Aces are the most common card on the flop
By far the most common poker myth.  People tend to believe that Aces appear on just about every flop, making a KK useless against an AQ or an AK. Balderdash!  Studies show that Aces flop no more frequently than other cards, and all online poker sites are checked by a third party gambling commission to make sure there are no irregularities or glitches like this.