The Aria Resort & Casino will host its first blockchain poker tournament during the 3-day inaugural World Crypto Conference event in Las Vegas, Nevada – also known as one of North America’s gambling hubs. Starting October 31^st, the World Crypto Conference will host numerous influential speakers, celebrity guests, and poker stars until November 2^nd. This event sponsored in part by Decent.bet will combine live action poker and blockchain technology to showcase blockchain poker capability in real-time on a global stage.

This conference welcomes investors, experts, developers, businesses, and attendees to revel in the latest technological advances, breaking news, and applications concerning crypto and the blockchain. The World Crypto Conference has announced special events to differentiate itself from other crypto conferences such as a Bloqchain Smart Vegas Hackathon, a CryptOween costume party, University Row research exhibition, a World of Mining gathering, and a Live Art with VESA showcase. The conference’s Blockchain Poker Tournament has hinted at giving attendees the chance to play with Poker’s biggest stars.

The conference in October is said to attract titans in both the crypto, and poker gaming industry. The World Crypto Conference hopes to link the gaming world with cryptocurrencies through this event and display gambling blockchain technology in action. While speculations about noteworthy poker stars such as Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Hellmuth, and Daniel Negreanu attending circulate there are no confirmations made by either player or the Aria Resort & Casino on this.

While this conference will introduce and share blockchain poker and other crypto applications to a wider audience, this is not the first time the technology will be used for poker gambling. In fact, there are a number of online poker sites which utilize blockchain technology for their poker offers. The Blockchain Poker Tournament at the Aria simply showcases application as did the Blockchain World Conference earlier this year in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Poker players exposed to the advantages of blockchain tend to prefer blockchain-based poker over standard online poker platforms for the security, timeliness of payouts, and intamperability. In addition, blockchain-based poker games utilize RNG technology to generate cards to ensure fairness. Some well-known blockchain poker hosts used Photon-based random number generators and always have their RNG systems monitored and checked by a 3^rd party testing agency for true randomness.

The World Crypto Conference may initiate a growing trend toward blockchain-based gambling and may even turn on a new generation to blockchain technologies and applications. The conference is said to be the first experiential event for cryptocurrency and blockchain while providing an interactive platform for attendees and industry leaders such as Charlie Lee, Bobby Lee, Charlie Shrem, Vinny Lingham, Brock Pierce, Maxine Ryan, and Arianna Simpson. Over 75 influential speakers will attend the 3-day event which will spread across 200,000 square feet of venue and hold over 5,000 confirmed attendees, general admission tickets per person start at $899.

Red Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas is now dealing with a bad-beat situation. Players Avi Shamir (83) and Len Schreter were playing June 7^th of 2017 when Avi lost his hand of a strait flush to Len who held a higher card strait flush. The bad-beat jackpot was at $120,000 when the incident occurred. 80 players who were playing at the Red Rock poker room and their sister casinos were also eligible for a payout in the deal. Unfortunately, Len Schreter turned his cards over before the hand was over, although all the cards were already dealt, and it did not affect the outcome, the Red Rock casino claimed his mistake invalidated the jackpot according to their house rules.

Avi Shamir stood to win $60,000, while Len Schreter was under the impression that he won $30,000 in the deal. The other 80 players involved would have won about $565 a piece, if the jackpot wasn’t invalidated. Since Red Rock Resort and Casino refused to pay the jackpot, both players filed a complaint with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. However, Schreter later withdrew his complaint.

This past Thursday, January 11^th, 2018, the Gaming Board returned the dispute back to the hearing officer since some members still had some lingering questions. Terry Johnson is one of those members on the Gaming Board and stated that he doesn’t feel like he has enough information to make a decision on the matter as of now. He cited three reasons why the Gaming Board decided to send the claim back to the hearing officer.

• He has questions about why Schreter withdrew his complaint.
• He wants the hearing officer to review and clarify materials submitted in the case.
• He also requests clarification to what rules were used to reach the determination from the hearing officer.

Johnson said it is important to get that information clarified in case Red Rock casino wants to appeal the decision to Clark County District Court.

Avi Shamir and Len Schreter are both locals in the Vegas area now and have both been present in most of the case hearings. Len Schreter withdrew his complaint at the Dec 11^th hearing and stated that he felt sorry for his mistake that cost his opponent 60k. Avi Shamir attended the most recent hearing and was said to have shown no reaction to the decision. As of now a new hearing has yet to be scheduled.

In the meantime, Red Rock Resort and Casino is dealing with a public relations nightmare. The first investigator on the scene for the Gaming Board reviewed the case and determined that the players should be paid. In Red Rocks defense, their casino operator has a rule that if players discuss their hands during the game play then that action could potentially void any jackpot. That is the reason why the casino operator initially refused to pay. Len Schreter has recently claimed that his mistake has hurt Avi Shamir financially, while giving him a bad reputation and emotional distress.

As of now it is unclear how this bad-beat situation will turn out but in the public’s eye it looks like Red Rock Resort and Casino just doesn’t want to pay up. What players find most upsetting is that the bad-beat jackpot money is funded by poker players and the house doesn’t get a cut, so them withholding the jackpot over a mistake that had no effect on the game is leaving a bad-beet taste in their customers mouths.

What is their issue? Both Feinstein and Graham believe that the Federal Wire Act encompasses all forms of online gambling. The US Department of Justice issue a Formal Opinion back in 2011 stating that the law only applies to online sports betting. They also went so far as to grant states the authority to vote in legal online casinos and poker, should they choose to do so. This does not sit well with people like Feinstein and Graham. They believe the federal government should be in control of all gambling efforts. This extremely conservative view on the matter is echoed by supporters of RAWA, which aims to grant the Federal Wire Act full enforcement authority.

The only problem is the Federal Wire Act was passed in 1961, when the Internet wasn’t around. The exact wording of the letter states that the DOJ’s 2011 opinion overturned “50 years” of believing the Federal Wire Act applied to all forms of online gambling. If you go back 50 years, there was no online gambling. And, it is a stretch to argue that everyone believed the law applied to all forms of online gambling—the language of the Federal Wire Act includes wire transmissions, which has been vaguely applied to other digital venues.

Another argument made by the pair is that the FBI discovered that online casinos are a breeding ground for illicit criminal activities such as money laundering, tampering and more. In actuality, the FBI case study they’re referencing was a broad stroke aiming to identify the possibility of money laundering through online casinos. They determined that illegal offshore gambling was more prone to this type of activity and it was also detectable and preventable. What’s the best way of detecting and preventing crimes with any business venture? Regulation. States like Pennsylvania, Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey (all of which have legalized online gambling) can impart their own regulatory practices to keep things in check.

Perhaps the weakest argument the letter makes is that states that have legalized online gambling are “infringing” on states who have not, and should therefore be stopped. Geolocation technology is used to ensure that only residents of states who have authorized gambling can access the sites. To highlight the absurdity of this argument—not all states have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational purposes, yet you don’t see those states being forced to shut down because it is infringing on other states.

This whole letter seems more like a pointed conservative agenda than anything else. The DOJ will likely not do anything, and RAWA efforts will continue. With more states trying to push through online gambling, Senators like Feinstein and Graham will lose traction on their case quickly.

When the United States Department of Justice issued a Formal Opinion in 2011 declaring that the Federal Wire Act only applies to online sports betting, it granted states the authority to legalize online casino and poker gambling. Out of all 50 states, only 3 jumped on the opportunity—Nevada, which makes sense because of Vegas online poker and brick-and-mortar poker options, Delaware and New Jersey. Ever since the 3 states authorized the online markets, talks of forming an interstate compact were bubbling beneath the surface. This agreement is good news for players, as the size and quality of these states’ poker offerings will increase and make for more attractive options.

New Jersey’s online casinos have been performing well revenue-wise. They have hit consistent marks over their existence. However, the online poker sector has left something to be desired, falling short of the original projections. Analysts believe that this compact will help increase online poker revenue. It will also help attract new customers. Perhaps the most significant impact of these states joining forces is that it will provide a baseline for other states to examine when weighing the idea of legalizing online gambling. After all, the goal is to expand this interstate network to as many states as possible, thus creating a larger player pool and creating incentives for players, advertisers, gaming operators, etc.

What does this compact specifically do for New Jersey? On top of expanding the player pool, it allows the state to increase the size of their progressive jackpots. All 3 states will share liquidity within the online poker network, leaving all parties involved satisfied. This was part of what took so long to get things going with this interstate network—states had to agree on a regulatory framework that supported equal profit sharing.

The World Series of Poker, one of the largest online poker operators in the US, services both New Jersey and Nevada. The group issued a statement supporting the decision and is already taking steps to officially bring New Jersey into the existing Nevada-Delaware compact, per approval from the appropriate regulators.

The timeline for this expanded player pool is still unclear. It could take months for all the logistics to be figured out. World Series of Poker stands to benefit greatly from this agreement, while other online poker sites like PokerStars could miss out on increased revenue streams. There are other online poker options in Bovada and BetOnline, both of which accept players from outside states.

Expect more developments to come out of this. Once things get going, and pending a successful launch and follow-through, other states may soon authorize online poker. If this happens, the interstate network will likely grow, which is great news for online poker enthusiasts.

Links

1. https://www.vegasonlinepoker.net/reviews/wsop-poker-review/

Pham is an intriguing player who burst onto the scene with an accidental victory back in 2015. He mistakenly registered for a 2-7 Single Draw event. Pham learned the game before the start of the tournament and successfully beat out 219 other players to win $1,500 in cash and a World Series Of Poker Tournament bracelet. This type of adaptability and coolness under pressure has established Pham as a legitimate player, though his presence atop the current leaderboard is surprising given he has been participating in smaller Rio Daily Deepstack evets for most of the year. He has accumulated a chip value to the tune of $31 million, which should be enough to grant him a seat at the final table unless he botches Day 7 play.

As with any sporting event, there is the underdog/redemption narrative. This materializes in the form of Ben Lamb, who currently sits in fourth place. Lamb was awarded 2011’s WSOP Player of the Year and finished third in the Main Event. Lamb recently told PokerNews that he doesn’t care about the status that comes with making the final table and that he just wants to win the “whole damn thing.” His experience at the final table will aid him in his quest for redemption, as well as his current chip count.

Day 7 features Christian Pham ($31,440,000), Valentin Messina ($28,590,000), Jack Sinclair ($27,535,000), Ben Lamb ($25,685,000), Pedro Oliveira ($22,540,000), John Hesp ($20,880,000), Randy Pisane ($18,370,000), Scott Blumstein ($18,125,000), Richard Dubini ($14,975,000) and Bryan Piccioli ($14,500,000) in the top 10 positions. Messina is the only player in this list to have final table experience.

Just because you are not in the top 10 doesn’t take away from your chances from sitting at the final table. Antoine Saout is a testament of this. Saout took third place in the 2009 Main Event and 25^th in the 2016 WSOP. While his experiences play a factor, he has a hill to climb as he currently sits at 15^th place. Benjamin Pollack (17^th), Alexandre Reard (18^th) and Michael Ruane (16^th) also have some final table experience, with Ruane having the most recent as last year’s fourth place finisher.

The 2017 WSOP Main Event has already provided some exciting action. Pham’s sitting could make for a fascinating storyline, but as past tournaments have shown, the top 27 players can shift within a day given the game action. There are 26 other players looking to move up in the rankings before the WSOP final table action begins. With a cash prize and WSOP bracelet on the line, there is plenty to fight for.

Obst, an Australian player, claimed his bracelet in WSOP’s Event #26, the $10,000 Razz Championship. He has made a name for himself over the years in poker circuits. Obst has gone on to the final 2 tables of 11 different poker events, advancing to the final table in 6 of those instances. His ability to keep cool under pressure and play at a high level has merited some notoriety from within the industry.

This particular tournament featured 97 entrants and the final table featured Obst and Anthony Zinno, former WPT Player of the Year. Aside from the bracelet (and the cash), this victory grants the Aussie on a shortlist for WSOP Player of the Year. While a high honor, Obst is remaining focused on keeping his cash pool intact while simultaneously trying to add to it. He currently sits in second in the running for WSOP Player of the Year.

Chris Moorman is an Englishman and has built a reputation as one of the best No-Limit Hold’em players in both live and online circuits. Moorman won his WSOP bracelet in WSOP’s Event #27, the $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed game. The Brit on has been on run of success with a recent victory in a WPT tournament, putting him in the running for a Triple Crown if he can win in a PokerStars Championship.

Moorman walked into the final day of the tournament fourth in chips. Max Silver, another accomplished British player, sat atop the table but could not stave off Moorman’s comeback. This is not the first time the two Brits have faced off. The duo played in another WSOP Final Table in 2011, though that tournament resulted in losses for both players. This year, Moorman beat out Silver and then won the 3-hour final table against Brazil’s Bernando Dias.

The Brit has been more known as an online poker player, but he showed his skills off in this face-to-face encounter. As an 888Poker Ambassador, Moorman has racked up upwards of $15 million in profits, with $5.1 million coming from his WPT tournament win. He also has a book out with another on the way.

Both players have made a remarkable achievement with winning WSOP bracelets. They have joined an upper echelon of poker players and will continue to rise. If Moorman can go on to win the Triple Crown, he will create a poker legacy. Obst, the younger player, looks poised to win more over time, but all poker fans can do is watch in anticipation. Keep an eye on these two as more tournaments roll out throughout the year.

The World Series of Poker Tournament Director, Jack Effel, will be working his 13th WSOP event and enjoying his second decade in poker. He commented on WSOP.com about the main objectives for this year’s event, “The focus of the schedule remains squarely on two core principles: the biggest prize pools possible and diversity in offerings to provide something for everyone. The 48th running of the globe’s biggest poker series promises to deliver on these core principles and ensure another action-packed summer at the Rio. Can’t wait to see you soon.”

The World Series of Poker is internationally known as the world’s top prize in poker. Each year, players from over 100 different countries attend the event in hopes of winning big money and that globally esteemed championship gold bracelet. With more than 100,000 entries, the largest prize pools offered throughout all the variants of poker are going to be located at the Rio started May 30th. There will be 74 official WSOP gold bracelet events over the course of 50 days starting at 11am and 3pm each day with the massive field events mainly on the weekends starting at 10am and 4pm. You can view the entire event schedule at WSOP.com

Poker is a unique form of competition where new comers can join in on the world’s premier event and in fact, are encouraged to. WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart was quoted on WSOP.com, “This 2017 schedule reflects our continuing goal to broaden poker’s appeal and encourage first timers and recreational players to come experience the WSOP for themselves… Whatever your game or bankroll, let the bracelet chase begin.”

There are several hotels in the Las Vegas area that are offering reduced hotel room rates for participants of The World Series of Poker if they book in advance. All Caesars Entertainment Properties, one of the largest hotel and casino companies in the world, owns 5 properties right on the Las Vegas strip all offering reduced rates. The Rio is offering a deal as well, making its weekday special available for everyone attending this year’s tournament, at only $71 per night.

In 2016, the gold bracelet tournaments at The World Series of Poker set the record for participants with 107,833 people, awarding over $220 million dollars in prize money. There were 48 events that had prize pools of over $1 million, 25 with over $2 million and about a dozen or so reaching beyond $3 million and this year they plan to top those numbers. The average gold-bracelet winner in 2016 walked out of those halls with $555 thousand dollars.

If you live in Nevada or New Jersey, you might check out our WSOP poker review for a chance to win your entry through a satellite. They are one of our featured Vegas online poker sites that allow you to play for real money in the United States.

Currently, players are able to create a type of wagering account that can be used for sports betting and a limited selection of online poker games, but the proposal up for discussion would expand this to include all slots, video poker and bingo, as well as other forms of betting.

This hearing, held in Carson City and Las Vegas simultaneously via video conference, allowed the Nevada Resort Association, the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers and other industry participants to discuss ideas and ask questions.

Are These New Regulations Actually Necessary?

The president of Sightline Payments, Harry Hagerty, seems to believe that this proposed “expansion” of the legislation is actually unnecessary and questioned the need for new rules at all.

First, he argued that regulators should not change the “prepaid access instruments” phrasing of the current regulations, as this is what has allowed players to essentially operate in the same manner as the proposed changes would.

“Much of what you’re trying to create already exists,” Hagerty pointed out. “A prepaid access instrument, like a credit or a debit card, requires opening an actual account in a bank and has all of the FDIC protection and all other protections that state and federal banking laws provide to debit and credit cards.”

He then continued on, raising the point that the use of debit, credit and prepaid cards is something that the state of Nevada’s gaming regulators actually already approved in 2014. The 2014 measure simply used different phrasing to describe what they are now calling a “wagering account.” In fact, according to Hagerty, the current version of the regulations provides a smoother experience than the addition of new “wagering accounts” would be.

So if the Nevada gaming regulators have already more or less approved the issue they came together to discuss, it begs the question of what these supposed “new” regulations would do differently.

Potential Issues With the “New” Regulations

Hagerty had quite a bit to say on the matter of the proposed wagering accounts, as well. He informed the board that implementing something like these accounts could actually do more harm than good in the long run, which makes sense if players have already been able to function well without this intermediary step thus far.

After the meeting adjourned, Hagerty outlined the potential problems that could come with adding an unnecessary extra step to the process of getting money into and out of a player’s account. For example, limiting players to only using credit or debit could cause issues, he says, citing that “Only 60 percent will be able to get money in, and virtually none will be able to get money out back to the same debit or credit cards.”

The main issue that Hagerty brought to the board’s attention is the fact that many banks and credit firms take issue with processing any sort of gambling transaction. This would only be exacerbated by the added complication of players who wish to transfer only a portion of the money from a wagering account back onto a credit or debit card. This, he says, has been proven time and again in both in Las Vegas and in New Jersey, where banks will routinely not approve gambling-related transactions.

As of yet, the board has taken no action one way or another. They will most likely meet for one additional hearing before making their final recommendations to the Nevada Gaming Commission.

First and foremost, nobody expected that someone who made a name for themselves through online poker to be invited to be the new face of one of Sheldon Adelson’s poker rooms. He is a one-man force vehemently fighting the concept of the US based online poker industry. Everyone, including his own management team at the Venetian, knows he is passionately lobbying against vegas online poker and holds disdain for the fact that it is now available through state licensed online poker rooms. This fact makes the choice of Obrestad particularly odd. She is the known for having made her inroad as a poker winner through the online poker opportunities available to US players, and online poker knows Adelson as its most pronounced opponent.

In her prime, Obrestad not only represented the young poker community, but also the fresh face of female poker players. She won the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event in 2007, the day before she turned 19. She set the record for being the youngest WSOP bracelet winner in history. She enjoyed a successful online poker career where she is well known for building a sizeable bankroll without having made a deposit.

Twitter comments revealed that poker players were also questioning the choice due to the fact that despite her previous reputation as one of the best female poker players in the world, she hasn’t been on the map for years. Normally a prestigious poker room such as the Venetian would select someone to represent them who is currently popular, respected and trending throughout the poker community.

Obrestad being chosen for this role is also being questioned by local pros that frequent the Venetian poker room, such as Kathy Liebert, who is a member of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. She is a frequent player at the Venetian and claims that she has never even seen Obrestad playing in the poker room. Obrestad has claimed that she has played ‘a ton’ of poker at the Venetian, a claim that Liebert is not convinced of, and is upset that a non-regular was selected over frequent professional players.

The new ambassador claims that she has participated in many Deepstack events at the Venetian, however Obrestad doesn’t have a cash in those events. There are a number of people who remember that she was once the face of Lock Poker. This poker site lost its shirt and its reputation through making it difficult for players to withdraw their account funds. Reportedly Obrestad continued as their spokesperson despite the bad treatment to players, remaining with them until they closed their doors permanently. This was seen as a betrayal to players by some players and has affected her reputation. Will it affect the Venetian player base? That remains to be seen, but it has the potential, particularly with prominent players being rather vocal about their dislike of the situation.

Supporters of RAWA attempt to paint online gambling as predatory and dangerous. When asked what would happen in those states that have already established and invested in an online an gambling infrastructure, the response is that these states simply shouldn’t have taken the risk. There is no concern by them at all regarding the financial damage the states would incur and the job loss that would take place. These individuals believe that the Federal Wire Act should never have been restricted to sports betting, and that it was intended to prohibit online gambling in all its forms. They play the ‘our kids are in danger’ card, hoping to demonize the industry enough to get America behind them.

Another popular argument of the RAWA supporters is that online gambling traffic threatens to cannibalize the top existing land based casino and card room industry. This is unfounded based on Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey’s success at maintaining both a land based and online gambling presence. The sponsors of the bill also try to portray that there is a wide range of support for their legislation throughout the House and Senate. This is not the case, and the bill is not gaining momentum among congress or the Senate. However, this doesn’t mean that Nevada or any state is completely immune to it. Should the climate change in the House or Senate, this law could be very dangerous to Nevada’s online poker gambling initiative.

If passed, the law would redefine the reach of the Federal Wire Act and could eliminate all state regulated online gambling businesses, rendering their licensing null and void. Should the bill actually be embraced, it would ensure that the DOJ could not edit or alter the interpretation of the Federal Wire Act in the future. It is imperative that those players who love online poker, and those citizens who love states’ rights speak up and contact their representatives in the House and Senate and urge them to not support RAWA! Passage of this bill would limit access for US online poker players in Nevada and any other states to only legally licensed offshore online poker destinations that accept US players. The forced elimination of state regulated online poker sites that fought hard to exist would be a devastating defeat to states’ rights and the poker community.