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The first two events of the 2008 World Series of Poker did not go as well as expected for Greg Raymer.

After describing how he pushed most or all of his chips into the pot as a solid favorite several times, only to watch his opponent outdraw him, Raymer explained why he figures his luck will change as the six-week poker extravaganza progresses at the Rio.

Only Raymer doesn’t use terms like “luck.”

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The California Gambling Control/ Intrastate Online Poker Legalization Act (AB 2026, authored by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys) passed another historic legislative milestone on May 29 as the bill advanced from the Assembly floor to the State Senate for action. Within the next week, the Senate Rules Committee will assign the bill to the appropriate Committee in the upper house for consideration.

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ALBANY – A social club that was hosting underground poker games was shut down by the city today, two days after a group of armed men robbed the game and some 40 players of their money and jewelry.

The city’s order was tacked to the door of the Azzurri social club at 192 North Allen St., stating the location was being used “as a gambling club” with no certificate of occupancy or building permit.

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The pulse of the online poker world has been centered in the Pacific Northwest in recent weeks. In the great state of Washington, former horse racing handicapper turned lawyer Lee Rousso has carried the banner for online poker, attempting to overturn a heinous state law that makes playing online poker a Class C felony, the equivalent of being convicted of child pornography. In a hearing on May 15th, a judge ultimately sided with the State; however, Rousso plans to appeal directly to the Washington State Supreme Court. Rousso joins the PocketFives.com Podcast this week to talk about the law in question and his vision of the future.

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CONCORD – Charity poker tournaments could see bigger bets but would pay a new state tax under a tentative agreement that key legislators approved Thursday.

The tax would raise at least $2.2 million a year from this popular form of gambling, which is used to generate profits for charities at sites across the state.
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“We are aware of it,” said South Precinct Lt. James Koutsky, when asked of the alleged illegal gambling taking place at the café. “And our community police team is following up on it.”

But there is a chance that what they’re doing is not illegal. According to Washington state gambling laws, it is not illegal to play poker unless the house, in this case Tong, is taking a portion of the winnings or charging a fee to play.
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Las Vegas, NV (May 30, 2008) – Poker players and poker enthusiasts attending this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) are now able to express their love of the game to policymakers. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy organization, today unveiled its new Poker Advocacy Booth as play began at the WSOP.
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An archaic statute

In the fall of 2005, there was a police raid made on a group of people who were playing poker in an apartment-complex recreation room near Greenville, South Carolina. After several discussions with some of the busted players and their lawyer, I decided to do some legal research, based on the way the state law there governing poker is worded. Based on that research, I wrote a series of three columns in Card Player, stating that the law under which the players were charged was unconstitutional.

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