An Interview With AGA’s Frank Fahrenkopf
March 24, 2010
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Frank Fahrenkopf is an very interesting man with experience in both the political and the business worlds. After serving as the Chairman of the republican National Committee during the Reagan Administration, he accepted the job as Chief Executive of American Gaming Association in 1995. American Gaming Association was a newly formed group and he agreed to accept the job for one year in order to help the organization get off the ground. 15 years later, he is still there, serving as CEO and President of what is now a major lobbying organization for the commercial casino industry.
He recently discussed his thoughts on the AGA’s position on internet gaming, the UIGEA and many major issues facing the gaming industry with Stephen A. Murphy of Card Player.
SM: What is the AGA’s current position on online gaming?
FF: We are open to the concept of legalized internet gambling, so long as there is a regulatory regime that is put in place that protects the consumer and protects the integrity of the game. We’re at this point in time open to the question of whether it’s a federal or state regulatory regime, although I must tell you I think a majority of the board would favor the states. But until we have something that we’re really going to look at, we can’t get to that question.
Now Harrah’s, as you know, has been working very hard along with others in pushing the Barney Frank bill. The Menendez bill has been sitting there. We don’t know where it’s going. Barney at the last hearing had indicated in response to the request by the ranking Republican [Spencer] Bachus that there would be another hearing where Justice Department would come and testify. The word is, and it’s rumored, because Barney has not said it and his staff is not saying anything, if anything they are going to mark the bill up.
They’ll mark the bill up and try to get it out of committee and onto the floor — or attach it to something that is a guaranteed pass, very much how like UIGEA passed, where they put it on a port security bill. So that’s where it is. At this point in time in the Senate, we don’t see any movement on the Menendez bill, but we understand that there is a lot of effort being made now, saying, “Maybe we ought to just go with a poker carve out. It’s too much to think that we’re going to get everything, so why don’t we focus on the Menendez bill?”
SM: A lot of poker players are fearful that if regulation is done at the state level, it’ll affect who online poker players will be able to play with, creating a much more restrictive pool of players and therefore smaller prize pools. Do you think online poker could be regulated at the state level, but still be open for players to compete against others outside of their states?
FF: I think so. If I were doing this — and I’m not — but one of the ways it could work would be if there were a federal oversight with minimal standards, which would be delegated to the states. Therefore, to be a state regulatory agency, you’re going to have to have a lot of experience. The net result would probably be that Nevada and New Jersey are the places where regulatory control would take place, but it would be done in a way where each state didn’t have to deal with it.
Let’s say a state like Alabama said they wanted internet poker. Well, they don’t have a regime that could regulate it. They don’t have the law enforcement, they don’t have the experience. I think it would be natural that the regulatory controls and licensing would be done by experienced jurisdictions, like Nevada and New Jersey.
The question is going to be — and this is an unanswered question — but one that we are concerned with: what about those offshore companies that have been taking sports betting and other bets that is in violation in what is perceived to be U.S. law? Could they come in? I think there’s going to be some real questions as to what the legislatures provide in terms of that.
SM: I would assume that the AGA would not want those companies in the market, correct?
FF: The board has not made that decision, but that’s my assumption. If they’re blatantly violating the law, why would you invite them in? It’s not like people don’t know. There have been a number of executives who’ve been arrested and fined. But there are still people in spite of that who are continuing to take wagers, knowing that it’s the official position of the United States government that it is illegal.
SM: What are some of the major sticking points on the Frank bill that’s preventing the AGA from taking a stance of it?
FF: The No. 1 issue is the federal regulatory control, the federal system. At this point in time, that’s the major sticking point. Now that’s not to say that if Barney Frank’s bill starts to move and it appears like it’s got a shot to be legalized with the federal regime, the board might not say, well, we think it’s important that internet gambling is the next step, and we might approve it. But I’m just trying to guess, knowing the folks on my board, clearly the federal and regulatory taxation is part of the reason we’re neutral.
You can read the full Interview here.
German Police Arrest Fifth Man in Poker Tournament Robbery
March 22, 2010
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Police in Berlin, Germany have announced the arrest of a fifth man involved in the March 6 poker tournament robbery that netted the robbers $327,300 in tournament jackpot money. Suspicions are that the man arrested is the mastermind behind the robbery.
The man arrested Sunday night is a 28 year old Lebanese citizen. Authorities believe he drove the getaway car.
Four men, armed with revolvers and machetes, raided the poker tournament and made off with the jackpot money. Police in Berlin are still trying to locate the money. One bag of money was recovered by a security guard after a struggle with the robbers.
The tournament, held at the central Potsdamer Platz, was on the German part of the European Poker Tour. The tournament attracted approximately 950 entrants, including Boris Becker, the German tennis legend.
Last Monday, a 21 year old German national turned himself in to police. He then named his three accomplices. On Wednesday, a 20 year old suspect was arrested.
After the robbery, the tournament continued, with American online poker player Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee winning the €1million top prize.
Poker Players Alliance Working At State Level
March 15, 2010
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With the growing success and influence of Rep. Barney Frank’s, D-MA, efforts on Capitol Hill, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) is now turning it’s attention to working at the state level.
PPA Executive Director John Pappas, has testified before the Florida Senate Regulated Industries Committee in February. While he has testified in Florida, he, and the PPA, are reluctant to put their full support behind any legislation. The PPA recently notified their members of their reasoning behind their reluctance. “Florida is contemplating a single-source provider of online poker, i.e. one poker website. PPA is concerned that the lack of competition and consumer choice could also negatively impact the player experience.”
Pappas stated that the chances of one poker site staying liquid without competition will be difficult. “Players will be bored with one site and they currently like the ability to play on multiple sites. My pitch has been to look at what’s going on at the federal level.” Rep. Barney Frank’s bill, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, allows multiple sites to compete for U.S. players.
Many states have initiatives going to legalize table gaming, including poker. Pennsylvania and Delaware are two states that have passed legislation this year to do just that. “The PPA welcomes this as a first step in advancing opportunities for poker players to play games of skill such as Texas Hold’em in a licensed and regulated atmosphere.”
PPA announced that online poker players helped raise more than $1.5 million for the Haiti earthquake relief. Many major online poker sites matched player donations dollar for dollar. PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato had this to say: “Like the rest of the world, the poker community is eager to do anything it can to aid Haiti in the wake of the devastating earthquake. I applaud PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Cake Poker for providing poker players across the globe an easy way to make a contribution.”
Watch John Pappas LIVE testimony here.
UltimateBet To Sponsor Poker Tournament
March 12, 2010
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After having to cancel this year’s Aruba Poker Classic earlier this week, UltimateBet has found a way to get back into the game. UltimateBet’s brand UB.net has been named as an official sponsor of the inaugural Four Aces Pro Canada Classic poker tournament being held April 15th through the 18th. The tournament, being held in Montreal, Canada, has a $1,650 buy-in.
UB.net is offering fifty players a seat at the tournament, by playing a series of online satellite games starting this weekend.
CEO Paul Leggett of UB.com parent company Tokwiro, stated “It is with great regret that we are announcing that the Aruba event will not run this year but 2010 is going to be an exciting year for UB and its players. Over the last year, we have been redefining the UB brand in every way. We love the Aruba Poker Classic event but we think we can do a lot more for our players by investing in new events and rewards.”
Among those plans is the development of a monthly $500,000 guaranteed tournament, with plans to build it up to a million dollar event, all the while creating more competitions and hosting UBOC, UB.com’s flagship online poker tournament, two times a year.
UBOC celebrated it’s fourth year this January. It lasted 12 days and featured two $1 million guaranteed events and had more than $4 million in prize money.
Armed Robbers Storm Poker Tournament
March 8, 2010
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Police in Berlin report that armed robbers stormed into a poker tournament being held in the Grand Hyatt Hotel and left with the tournament jackpot of 800,000 euros, or approximately $1.1 million.
It was a 5 day tournament with about 1,000 players. There were several injuries from the ensuing panic, though none of the injuries were reported as serious.
The tournament, held by the European Poker Tour (EPT), was resumed approximately four hours after the robbery.
Read the full story and see the video tape of it!!
