Nevada has made a good deal of progress on the intrastate online poker front in the last few months, culminating with a recent Nevada Gaming Control Board meeting. With that meeting a plan has been hatched that would see online poker available before 2013 begins. Mark Lipparelli, Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, announced that the very first licenses will be issued within the next 30 to 60 days. After that period of time will be an up to eight month wait for games to go live.

Numerous heavyweights of the gambling industry were at the important meeting, including Jim Ryan. Ryan serves as the CEO for Bwin.party Digital Entertainment. He was at the meeting to make a presentation to the board about online poker security. Nevada appears to be taking security seriously as the six to eight month time span prior to online poker being live in Nevada will be used to analyze the technology and software of licensed sites.

Casinos such as the Bellagio and Mirage are some of the most well-known casinos in the world. Their parent company (MGM Resorts International) has linked up with Bwin.party and will be looking to make a splash in Nevada when online poker is up and running. Given that this is the same company that handles the Bwin Poker download, the venture between MGM Resorts International and Bwin.party should be a great one.

Though eight months is a long time to wait for online poker to return, there are other games you can play in the meantime. Online slots for real money are a fun an exciting way to spend your time while you’re waiting to hop back on the virtual felt.

The most recent link between online and brick-and-mortar is between Bwin.party and the United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC). The Thunder Valley Casino Resort, which is in Lincoln CA, is operated by the UAIC. Since California is popular amongst professional poker players, Bwin.party thinks that the partnership will benefit them in the future.

If online poker were to become legal within the state of California, the UAIC and Bwin.party hope to work together to offer it. The UAIC would work to get the licenses needed, and the folks that operate the Party Poker download would also run the Californian site. If the agreement were to go through, it would be for a ten year period.

The legislation needed to regulate and tax online poker in California is written in the Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public-Private Partnership Act of 2012. This act was introduced in February earlier this year by Senators Wright and Steinberg. It is currently unknown how much longer we have to wait for this to become law. The good news is that this still gives other online entities time to link up with brick-and-mortar entities in California.

If you like other popular casino games aside from poker, this legislation should also suit your needs. Sites operating within California will almost certain offer other games such as War, Undersea Treasure slots, or Roulette. Let’s just hope that the legislation is passed sooner than later!

Two of the most famous poker pioneers are Doyle Brunson and Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston. These two men were friends from the start, as they played together in many of the early games. You could probably guess that they have aged quite a lot since then, however. On April 29th, Brunson tweeted that Slim had passed away at 83 years old.

As one of poker’s first celebrities, Slim was responsible for making the public more aware of the game before TV poker was more frequent. This was made possible thanks to his four World Series of Poker bracelets and the fact that he won the third WSOP Main Event in 1972.

Slim was a gambler in every sense of the word, and it didn’t stop at poker. He was willing to bet on anything, and his shenanigans earned him the self proclaimed title of the “World’s Greatest Gambler.” I almost feel like it’s a shame he wasn’t able to play Craps online back then because I am certain he would have been great at it!

Another unique quality of Slim was that he was willing to be in the spotlight whereas most players back then were not. He went on “The Tonight Show” many times with Johnny Carson in the 1970s, for example. And he was always happy to be on camera when he was playing in any televised WSOP tournament.

Despite the fact that Slim had finished being in the poker spotlight by then, his importance to poker was highlighted when his name was mentioned in the popular poker film “Rounders.” We will forever remember him as one of the trailblazers of poker. If he were still around today, chances are that he might be keeping his skills sharp on some of the best Euro poker sites!

Before FTP disappeared from the online poker world last year, they introduced Rush Poker. The idea behind it was relatively simple: cut down the waiting time and increase the number of hands a player could see. Once you were done with a certain hand at a table, you were whisked off to the next table. There was also an option of a quick fold button if you didn’t feel like waiting until the action got to you. The format began in cash games and eventually spread into tournaments with numerous Rush Poker MTTs being run during FTOPS. The success of Rush Poker forced sites like PokerStars and the Everest Poker download to look at their software and see if they could offer something similar.

It now turns out that PokerStars did, in fact, work on a similar format. They are now offering Zoom Poker, although it is in Beta stages. One of the key differences of Zoom Poker compared to Rush Poker is the fact that you can stay at your table to watch a hand rather than being immediately moved (if you choose to do so). The table limit is four for the time being. At Zoom Poker’s inception, the highest limit a player could find was $.50/$1 and that was just at Pot Limit Omaha and No Limit Hold ‘Em. However, a few weeks later PokerStars was offering up to $2.5/$5 for No Limit Hold’em.

Knowing PokerStars, they’ll be sure to make further innovations of their own with this format. If you don’t feel like waiting for that to happen, you can always load up some real money slots in the meantime.

Utah was the first state to completely shut down the idea of online poker in their state in the future. Several states have been close, such as Iowa, Mississippi and New Jersey. The aforementioned states have seen bills get reasonably close, but they all fell just short of the final steps necessary to enact them. If your state allows online poker, then maybe you should try a Carbon Poker download.

The decision to effectively outlaw online poker in Utah isn’t too big of a shock. The state has never allowed gambling, including lotteries. With Governor Gary Hebert’s signature of HB108, online gambling is illegal in the state and classified as a misdemeanor crime. If a bill gains steam at a federal level, Utah has already chosen to opt out if there is an opt out choice. HB108 will need to be overturned if there are to be any online casinos for USA players there in the future.

The only positive news on the online poker front comes out of Nevada. State lawmakers are aiming for the end of 2012 for legal intrastate online poker. If you’re still looking to play some online poker in the meantime, then a Cake Poker download is what you need because they still accept Americans.

Said poker boom occurred thanks to the 2003 World Series of Poker when Chris Moneymaker won the Main Event. This win was very significant because Moneymaker was not a professional player. He was a normal person working a normal job as an accountant, and he won his way into the series via online satellites. People heard this story and started flocking to PokerStars and the Party Poker download, hoping to be the next poker success story.

“All In: The Poker Movie” is a documentary about the history of poker, and it was created by Douglas Tirola. The online poker boom involving Moneymaker’s win is an incredible story, and the documentary will describe it in great detail. The documentary will also describe the less happy times for online poker, which took place as recently as last year. If you are an online poker player yourself, you probably already know the details of Black Friday and how it greatly affected US friendly poker sites.

Something you might not know much about, on the other hand, is the history of poker in the United States. The documentary also looks at that, and it includes information about early icons such as Amarillo Slim and Doyle Brunson. While the movie’s content is geared towards those that live in the U.S., it should still appeal greatly to those in other parts of the world as long as they enjoy poker.

Many poker players were asked to participate in the movie, including big games such as Daniel Negreanu, Annie Duke, and Phil Hellmuth. Moneymaker, unsurprisingly, is in the movie as well, and fans of “Rounders” can also look forward to seeing Damon.

You can see the movie in theatres on March 23rd, or you can download it on iTunes on April 24th. Too long for you to wait? Unfortunately you have no choice, but you can do things to help pass the time faster. For example, give 3d slots a try. It’s a new and modern way to play a classic casino game.

Many players still wanted to play online poker, but options have been limited since then. Merge kept servicing players, as did Bovada and the Cake Poker download. One network that also allowed Americans has said that they plan to pull out due to a cease and desist order from the United States.

Everleaf Gaming certainly is a small network, but they got traffic thanks to the fact they welcomed Americans. Previously they only disallowed players from Malta. Now the list will expand to the U.S. and France.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigated and ended up seizing a payment processor that was servicing Everleaf Gaming. Funds were also seized in the process. The Malta Lottery and Gaming Authority, which licenses Everleaf Gaming, met with the owners of the network regarding the situation. They advised that the network prohibit Americans, which is why they have now done so.

For Americans that were still playing on the site at the time of seizure, it is unknown what will happen to their funds. Will they get paid in full? How long will it take? It remains to be seen.

It also remains to be seen whether or not some of the other networks that remain in the U.S. market will be the next target for the Department of Homeland Security. Are Merge and Cake Poker safe? I personally wouldn’t bet on it.

If I were American, I would be playing it safe and sticking to online gambling for now. Online video poker is almost as fun, and right now it seems a lot more safe.

In 2011, it was looking as if Washington D.C. would be the first jurisdiction to offer online poker within its district limits. As reported yesterday, however, a few council members disliked the way in which the online gambling bill was passed. Furthermore, there was doubt when it came to the company that was to operate the gambling site. It was not made clear how Intralot, a Greek company, was awarded their contact, and this made some council members feel uneasy.

At the start of this month, the Finance Committee had a vote. 3 out of 5 were in favor of repealing the bill, which means that Internet slots and other such gambling will not be a go in Washington D.C. in the near future.

Iowa is another state that is going to try to legalize online gambling. Supporters hope to see a bill in the Iowa General Assembly in the near future, perhaps as early as this month. State senator Jeff Danielson believes that “a handful of states will authorize it”, “it” being online poker. He wants to introduce the bill at the end of February.

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission estimates that the state will see between $3 and $13 million in tax revenue from legal intrastate online gambling. Despite this figure, there are still people not in favor of the bill. State representative Jeff Kaufmann thinks that gambling has a negative effect on families.

Other states considering online casinos for USA players are New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, and California. Yesterday we also talked about Nevada, the state that has the best chance of seeing legal online gambling the soonest. This is due to the fact that they have already passed the required legislation.

The bill to allow online casinos for USA players was originally passed via a budget bill. There was an objection period of 30 days for this bill, but since Congress had nothing bad to say about it, it became a law. There was no problem until a few council members discovered how the bill was passed.

Tommy Wells, one of the councilmen, went as far as to introduce a bill that would repeal the online gambling bill. He has garnered support from two of his fellow councilmen, but so far has had less luck with the other ten. Well claims that one of his huge concerns is with Intralot, the lottery vendor that Washington D.C. has given a $39 million contract to.

D.C. lottery officials met on January 26 of this year and announced that if and when online gambling becomes legal, they can have their site up and running within 30 days. Their games will include online video poker, poker, and more. Their goal is to be in business as soon as possible once they get the go ahead.

Many jurisdictions are considering the possibility of legal online poker, but only Nevada and Washington D.C. have approved it so far. It remains to be seen how much time will pass before online gambling is finally actually offered in either of these regions, however. Nevada is one jurisdiction that hopes to offer it before the end of this year.

Despite such a strong hold on the poker market, PokerStars hasn’t been having the easiest ride the last year or so. In addition to Black Friday, they have also had to deal with losing some very key staff members.

First Thomas Kremser, the European Poker Tour director since September 2004, quit his job in May 2011. And then the creator of the European Poker Tour, John Duthie, decided to refrain from renewing his contract with PokerStars in December of the same year. It’s currently unknown what Duthie will pursue next. Trying to download Roulette and get into the casino industry is one option.

The most recent key PokerStars departure has been that of Gabi Campos, the CEO. He has been the CEO of the site for only 16 months, and he will be leaving his job on February 1, 2012. He joined the team back in October 2010, making use of the 3 years of experience he had gained with 888Poker.

The official statement announcing the news was given by the PokerStars download in the middle of January. Officials said that Campos is looking to pursue other opportunities and that his hard work and commitment have been appreciated by the company. They also stated that they were currently searching for a replacement CEO.

People were shocked by all the PokerStars departures in the last year, and the resignation by Campos is no exception. Will the CEO spot be filled by someone already in the PokerStars system, or will the board search for someone elsewhere that has experience with another site? Online poker enthusiasts probably won’t have to wait too long to find out.