Nevada Online Poker Review February 27, 2014

The online poker industry in Nevada has had quite a week in terms of legislation.

Senator Dean Heller first insinuated that a federal ban on online gambling, excluding online poker, could be forthcoming. However, a more tangible development occurred on Tuesday when a historic agreement was signed by Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and Delaware Governor Jack Markell. This agreement will lead to the formation of an interstate online gambling compact between the two states.

In this week’s review of Nevada Online Poker, we’ll bring you up to date on both these stories and much more.

Nevada partners with Delaware in online gambling

This story is significant, not due to its potential to alter the US online gambling scene (as the player pooling between Nevada and Delaware likely won’t bring about much change), but because the pact inked between Delaware and Nevada on Tuesday unveils a plethora of new opportunities in the US.

Delaware and Nevada not only established an online gambling partnership that crosses state lines, but they also paved the way for other states to do the same.

Joining the interstate group that currently includes Nevada and Delaware may not appeal to larger states like New Jersey and California. However, the opportunity to pass an online gambling bill is now more attractive to smaller states, as concerns about sufficient player liquidity are no longer an issue.

Chris Grove provides an excellent breakdown of the agreement here.

Dean Heller’s online gambling ban; will it happen?

Nevada Senator Dean Heller announced last week that there might be a renewed push to enforce a federal ban on specific types of online gambling. However, online poker, which is legal in Heller’s home state, will obviously be exempted.

This section is dedicated to explaining why this bill is unlikely to progress and the likely fate it will meet in the US Senate. If you missed the previous story, you can find the details here.

It puts most republicans between a rock and a hard place

The proposed legislation is facing opposition from two core principles of the Republican Party, namely state’s rights and social conservatism.

Primary voters, who are predominantly Republican, will perceive support for this bill as an endorsement for a substantial increase in online gambling due to the bill’s allowance for poker and possibly other types of gambling. Simultaneously, they’ll view it as an infringement on states’ rights.

Opposing this bill may pacify those advocating for state’s rights, but it could also be perceived as giving a green light to a much wider expansion of online gambling.

Essentially, Republicans find themselves in a no-win situation with this bill. Convincing senators and House of Representatives members to handle the backlash from irate social conservatives and/or supporters of state’s rights, regarding this seemingly harmless issue, is a challenging proposition.

What will likely happen?

I wouldn’t be taken aback if the bill is introduced and, following Senate regulations, dispatched to a committee. I would, however, be startled, though not entirely flabbergasted, if some version of this bill made it through a committee. If this bill ever came up for a vote in the Senate, I’d be absolutely astonished.

Keep in mind, the decision of what to focus on lies with the committee chair, and currently, the committees are under the control of the Democrats. Therefore, it’s entirely possible that this bill may remain stagnant for the entire session.

Moreover, if the bill reaches the floor, it will have to withstand various amendments that different senators may wish to append. These could potentially send it back to the committee. Additionally, it needs to attain cloture before any vote on the bill can take place.

Weekly Guaranteed Tournaments in Nevada

We’ve commented on two major stories earlier, so we’ll keep this section brief and concise this week.

WSOP.com Sunday $15K Guaranteed

The WSOP.com’s $15k Guaranteed event gathered 82 participants last week, generating a prize-pool of $16,400. It seems that Tom McEvoy (unconfirmed) and Christina Lindley (confirmed) reached the final table, ending up in the 5th and 6th places respectively. Let’s take a look at how the final table players performed:

Boomerfancy: $4,674.00, Juantoo3fore: $2,706.00, Redmike99: $1,640.00, Mnbass1: $1,312.00, Mcevoy: $1,131.60, Lindleyloo: $967.60, Newhippy: $803.60, Forthekids: $557.60, Butters: $442.80.

The $10K Guarantee tournament at Ultimate Poker

This past week, Ultimate Poker’s $10k Sunday Guaranteed with a $100 buy-in ($91+$9) attracted 115 players. Once again, the number of players was just sufficient to meet the guarantee, leaving an excess of $465.

1. AC Slater $2,658.78
2. Ted Sticle $1,862.08
3. SinCityLover $1,270.05
4. CROOK $946.70
5. telemere $732.69
6. LoungeMode $568.68
7. unlvrebel74 $464.01
8. BigHarryLV $359.34
9. Slowbedon $252.67

Traffic trends in Nevada

According to www.pokerscout.com, Nevada’s online poker traffic remained relatively unchanged this week. WSOP.com maintained its average traffic numbers of 110-120 cash-game players. Ultimate Poker saw a slight decrease in average cash game players, from 75 to 70. Meanwhile, Real Gaming, which recently launched, continues to operate a graveyard.

The word on the street

Pro-Online Gambling advocates getting more vocal

As Sheldon Adelson and his associates persist in their public condemnations of online gambling, pro-online gambling advocates are increasingly making their voices heard. Several supportive editorials have recently emerged, including one from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, suggesting that those in favor of online gambling are stepping up to their own soapbox.