On Thursday morning, the Nevada Legislature met to discuss an online poker bill that would allow Gov. Brian Sandoval to expand the state’s customer base by entering into interstate compacts. Less than 12 hours later, Sandoval signed the bill into law, ending a whirlwind day in the Silver State.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee voted unanimously Thursday to amend and pass the bill that would allow Nevada to move forward with Internet poker as the state attempts to beat Delaware and New Jersey to the finish line. The bill then quickly moved through the State Senate and Assembly before making its way to Sandoval’s desk for final signature Thursday evening.

Nevada is the first state to sign an interstate online poker bill into law.

“This is an historic day for the great state of Nevada,” Sandoval said as he sat in front of the bill with pen in hand. “Today I sign into law the framework that will usher in the next frontier of gaming in Nevada. This bill is critical to our state’s economy and ensures that we will continue to be the gold standard for gaming regulation.”

With finances generated by casinos serving as one of Nevada’s leading sources of revenue, interstate agreements with regulated U.S. states would provide more tax revenue and boost local business. Licensed operators are preparing to launch in Nevada’s intrastate market, but liquidity is a cause for concern for the Silver State because it ranks 35th in the country in population.

The amended bill also addressed the licensing fee hike that was introduced by Assembly Majority Leader William Horne last week. Language in the bill sought to double online gambling license fees from $500,000 to $1,000,000 and the renewal fees from $250,000 to $500,000. However, Horne backed down from the fee increases after compromising with Sandoval this week. The two men sat side by side during Thursday’s legislative session.

Last month, after Gov. Chris Christie showed his support of online gambling in New Jersey, Sandoval stressed to Nevada lawmakers that the state’s online gambling be passed within 30 days. Sandoval said it was “critical” that Nevada move quickly on the bill now that other states are making progress on the issue.

We’ll have more on this story as it develops. Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us both Facebook and Google+!

Check out the original source here! Originally from PokerNews.com

April 13 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

Tony G is just one of the players scheduled to take part in the PartyPoker Big Game V this weekend. Want the power to vote someone off the show or watch it live with hole cards? We’ll tell you how, catch you up on the Full Tilt Poker $1K Monday drama, and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

There has been plenty of talk regarding AB 258, a bill regarding online poker that was introduced into the Nevada Legislature. The bill has passed through the state assembly judiciary committee, but very much altered than the way it was introduced.

Do you sometimes raise after only looking at one card? Ronnie Bardah does, and in this hand he recounts from the NAPT Mohegan Sun, it worked out for him, maybe we should add this poker strategy to our repertoire.

The World Poker Tour Hollywood Poker Open was set Tuesday night and Erik Seidel has found himself there, although not leading. Check out the WPT recap to find out who else made the final table and who’s sitting with a monster stack.

Last month, the 6th Annual Full Tilt Poker Miriam Foundation Montreal Open was held in Quebec, Canada. If you missed it, you missed playing with the pros, and your shot at one of five WSOP Main Event seats. Here’s a look at the event, and who’s headed to Las Vegas to play for the WSOP seats.

The PartyPoker Big Game V kicks off this weekend. We’ve got some pretty cool promotions running during the event, and we’ll be streaming it live with hole cards.

Greg Raymer was at the WSOP Circuit stop in St. Louis to play, and host a Fossilman Training course. We always wondered about his split with PokerStars, so we asked him.

Watch | Play | Win

If you skipped down to this, then you missed the link to the article telling you all about the PokerNews Big Game Interactive. You should already know that the PartyPoker Big Game V is kicking off on April 15, (that’s Friday) at 1900 GMT, and you might be wishing you could be there to watch it. Don’t worry, PokerNews will be streaming it live with hole cards. And if you don’t like a player on the show, you’ll have your say in evicting him or her. Not only that, but we’ll also be running $5,000 in exclusive promotions during the 48-hour cash game.

“The innovation of introducing streaming and evictions will make for engaging viewing. This is no ordinary poker live stream, you will get hole cards, graphics and the TV commentary from Jesse May and a variety of co-commentators over 48 hours – it will be like watching it on TV. Who’s a nit? Who don’t you like? You have influence! The only exceptions to eviction are that statistically the most active player is exempt and that each of the “PartyPoker.com Wildcard” online qualifiers are guaranteed four hours play. You will be able to watch the stream, get involved with the action, and vote on all PokerNews.com home pages worldwide,” a PartyPoker spokesperson said.

Click here for a breakdown of the $5,000 in exclusive promotions, and more on the coverage of the PartyPoker Big Game V we’ll be bringing you beginning Friday.

$1K Monday Drama

On Monday, the Full Tilt Poker $1K Monday ran as a Multi-Entry tournament with a $1 million guaranteed prize pool. The tournament drew 995 entries, with $225,000 up for grabs for outlasting the field. Things were business as usual until, the final three players were told the servers were being reset at 0600 EDT and the tournament would be cancelled if it wasn’t over before then and the players would be paid out by a chip chop if a deal wasn’t made.

The dialogue (too long to post here) that ensued after that announcement is in a thread on PocketFives, but you should know that a deal was not reached and the tournament was canceled. Through all the angry posts in that thread, FTPDoug, the Full Tilt director who was involved in this situation, posted his explanation and mentioned that he would be willing to work with the three players to make it up to them. He also said he is working on getting the site maintenance moved to Wednesday to avoid any future complications.

Read the entire thread on PocketFives.com.

Failed to Get There

Both Florida and Hawaii had introduced bills to legalize online poker (and in Hawaii, live poker as well). However, it seems that both bills have been killed.

Florida

The sun is no longer shining on the online poker bill Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla sponsored, which would have regulated intrastate poker. The bill was voted on by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee and with a 2-2 tie, it was stopped in its tracks.

“What we’re trying to do here is create Florida intrastate poker network and do it with Florida companies with regulations here — protecting from identity theft and protecting the consumer — and having revenue go to the state,” Diaz de la Portilla said.

Half of the committee didn’t see it that way. According to Bradenton.com, Frank Messersmith, with the opposition, called it “Internet crack” and a “form of digital escape to the anti-social people.”

Hawaii

According to BusinessWeek.com, the legislation that would have legalized poker, both online and live, in Hawaii didn’t get a hearing in the House Finance Committee before the deadline for bills to advance.

Hawaii is one of two states (Utah is the other) that have no form of legalized gambling. According to Finance Committee Chairman Marcus Oshiro, “there wasn’t enough public interest in the bill to merit additional consideration.”

“For the silent working majority of Hawaii, this offered revenue to the state without the social ills of other types of gaming, and it was a way to avoid nasty tax increases,” Rep. Angus McKelvey, chairman for the House Economic Revitalization & Business Committee, the committee the bill made it though, said.

Chippin’ Up

So, as you know, the PartyPoker Big Game V is coming up this Friday (yes, we’ve mentioned it a couple of times today). While you’re watching the action, why not have a little vested interest in what goes on. Tony G has put up 10 percent of his buy-in on ChipMeUp.

You can buy a share (0.01%) for $3.05. There are currently 871 shares still available and you have just under two days left to buy some.

Head on over to ChipMeUp to get in on the action.

Hall of Famer

While at the Mohegan Sun for the PokerStars North American Poker Tour, Sarah Grant checked out the Michael Jordan Sports Cafe where she talked to the executive chef and laid her eyes on the monster that is the Hall of Famer burger.

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