Weekly Roundup April 17 2015
Americas Cardroom CEO: Daily Fantasy Sites Unregulated Like Poker Sites
Americas Cardroom CEO Phil Nagy published a post on the company blog comparing his business to the exploding daily fantasy sports industry. According to Nagy, daily fantasy sites face the same problem that offshore poker rooms so. They are not properly licensed and regulated.
Pokerfuse reached out to Nagy for more comment. In his response, Nagy pointed to his company’s flawless record of paying players since 2001.
Nagy is correct to point out that there has never been a serious complaint against his site. In fact, his company has been known to bail out players that were stiffed by other sites. Specifically, Americas Cardroom was reborn after DoylesRoom failed.
WSOP.com Reload Bonus
WSOP.com is offering a reload bonus to players in New Jersey and Nevada. Players in both states qualify for a 100% up to $400 reload bonus. The bonus releases at a rate of $10 for every $50 in rake or tournament admin fees paid. That is equal to 20% rakeback. Players have 60 days to clear the bonus. The offer is valid until April 19.
Pennsylvania Online Gambling Hearing
The Pennsylvania House Gaming Oversight Committee held a hearing on Thursday about online gambling. Unlike the one held by the U.S. House earlier this month, Pennsylvania invited experts in the field, including companies that are involved in the New Jersey iGaming industry, as well as player verification companies.
Las Vegas Sands sent Andy Abboud, the company’s lobbyist, to state the side of the largest casino company in the world. His statements were debunked by both Steve Ruddock and the Poker Players Alliance. The consensus in the online poker industry is that the hearing was a huge success.
PokerStars AAPT Tournament Raided
PokerStars Macau held a live poker tournament in Mainland China this week. On Friday, it was raided by local police. The tournament was held at the City of Dreams. World Gaming Magazine was there and reported the situation. Read the story on the company’s Facebook page.
Full Tilt Poker Drastically Changes Games Offered
Full Tilt Poker made a number of changes to the games it offers. It removed all full ring Fixed Limit Hold’em games. All Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud High/Low, and Razz cash games are now five-handed. The mixed game options were slashed, as were the number of high limit tables spread. The details were released on the Full Tilt Poker blog.
Merge Gaming Withdrawals Processing, But Still Slow
Checks from Merge Gaming, which processes payments for Carbon Poker, PlayersOnly, Sportsbook.ag, and SuperBook, are still not within a reasonable range. Some players have been waiting more than two months. The good news is that payments are trickling and have not completely stopped.
A handful of American players have access to Western Union payments. Players outside the U.S. have the ability to withdraw by Neteller or Skrill. These payments are being processed in about one week. We will continue to monitor the situation.