One of the most powerful men in the gaming community has expressed his thoughts on the current drive in the United States for online gaming, coming down on the side of a complete ban.

After a new round of action in the courts, the U.S. Government is now the rightful owner of the player e-mail lists and software for Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. With that ownership, the Federal Government can now proceed to sell those assets in an effort to pay for the fines imposed on the companies, but nothing has been said about the players affected by the shutdown of the two sites.

During a conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday, a former Congressman who is now a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. blamed the U.S. gaming industry for the failure of past efforts to regulate online poker on a Federal level.

Monday was a good day for the #2 ranked player in the PocketFives Rankings, as Calvin cal42688 Anderson (pictured) not only scored a deep finish in one of the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) events, but also was able to take his fourth ever title later in the day. He is just the second person to win four SCOOP titles.

It has now been one week since the first regulated online poker site in the United States went online in Nevada. In that short time span, the site in question, Ultimate Poker, has demonstrated a great deal of success while working through a variety of issues.

In an interview with Reuters' Keith Weir, the Chief Executive Officer of 888 Holdings stated that the company will be ready to go with its Nevada real money online poker site this summer. Read the interview.

After a bruising battle through a difficult final table, Phil Ivey (pictured) etched his name further into the history books by taking down his ninth bracelet in Event #3, an AUD $2,200 Mixed Event, at the World Series of Poker Asia/Pacific (WSOP APAC).

While the debate continues in the state, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has conducted a survey that shows nearly unanimous support for the busiest online poker site in the industry, PokerStars, and its efforts in New Jersey.

After what has been a hectic week in the online gambling world with the announcements from both Nevada and New Jersey that the two states will officially enter interstate gambling, one company is attempting to position itself as a social outlet.

The decision in New Jersey last week in which Governor Chris Christie conditionally vetoed Assembly Bill 2578, the proposal for intrastate online gaming and poker, was met by the poker community with a great deal of enthusiasm. The hype was also displayed on various stock exchanges around the world.

With only about a week to go in his allotted deliberation period, it is still unknown what Governor Chris Christie (pictured) of New Jersey is going to do with the online gambling and poker legislation that is sitting on his desk. While the time may be running out on the bill, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

According to several mainstream media outlets, PokerStars has officially made an offer to purchase an Atlantic City casino. ABC News, the Washington Post, and other mainstream outlets are reporting that PokerStars has made its first overtures to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission regarding its potential purchase of the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel.

Just moments into the New Year, the online social gaming giant Zynga is trying to further its presence in the real money poker world and improve its profitability by striking games from its roster of offerings.

888 Holdings has announced that it has an agreement in place with Facebook to enter the real money social gaming industry in the United Kingdom.

After many delays, it appears that a bill that would open up New Jersey for online gaming is once again under consideration by the state’s legislature.

After several months of virtually no communication, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement on Tuesday to United States online poker players who are expecting repayment of their funds from Full Tilt Poker.

After only two days of operations, the new Full Tilt Poker, under the ownership of PokerStars, has retaken its place as the second largest online poker room in the business in terms of real money ring game traffic.

Demonstrating that it isn’t just poker players who are interested in the subject, a top investing website has weighed in on Federal regulation of the online poker industry in the United States. Poker players, however, might not like what it has to say.

As it prepares for the re-launch of the new Full Tilt Poker next month, PokerStars is stepping into another fight, this one over the patent rights to speed poker games. The speed poker phenomenon began in 2010 when the original Full Tilt Poker introduced Rush Poker. The software, which would immediately move a player to a new table upon folding a hand rather than wait for that hand to finish, ...

Taking the long way on a journey sometimes yields the greatest rewards. After battling through FPP qualifiers, two days of play, and enduring a lengthy negotiation period, Russia’s maratik emerged as the champion of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker Main Event early Tuesday morning.

In an intriguing court battle in New York last week, the “true” owners of Absolute Poker filed a motion to contest the seizure of the assets of the company by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Although Nevada is moving forward for online poker within its borders, state gaming officials are worried over the inaction on the Federal level. Casino personnel are also concerned – perhaps even more – about other states passing them in the intrastate online poker race. Remember, Nevada recently granted its first two online poker licenses.

In a statement on Wednesday from its Las Vegas offices, Pinnacle Entertainment announced that it has sold the Global Poker Index, which it obtained from its purchase of the now-defunct Federated Sports and Gaming, to the new gaming company Zokay Entertainment.

In another twist to the ongoing Full Tilt Poker saga, a Federal judge has temporarily delayed the civil suit against former Full Tilt Poker Chief Executive Officer Ray Bitar (pictured). According to a report from eGaming Review, Federal Judge Leonard Sand has temporarily halted the proceedings in the civil case against Bitar due to the Federal Government’s continued pursuit of a criminal case ...

In what appeared to be his first ever sojourn to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Jordan Batt definitely made a statement that he can play the game and – if he ever steps away from his business obligations – he may have a career in the works.

Making the largest score in his seven-year poker career, Clearwater, Florida’s Paul Siem recorded his first six-figure payday by finishing in 42nd place in the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event for $191,000.

In earning his biggest payday of his poker career, Lansdowne, Virginia’s Shahriar Assareh added to a poker resume that promises bright things for his future.

The hopes of the nation of Australia for a second World Series of Poker Main Event title were on the shoulders of David Balkin, who, while not compiling a lengthy of a poker resume, was responsible for disabling of one of the toughest competitors still in the game during Day 6 of the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event. He finished in 18th place for $369,000 and is a Game Security Manager for ...

PocketFives’ very own Daniel Deoxyribo Strelitz is well on his way to making a huge name for himself with his performance in the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event. This isn’t shocking for those who have followed him over the years in the PocketFives Poker Rankings, however.

East Coast poker player Michael Esposito finds himself in the hunt for the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event title, but it has been something that he has been building toward for several years. He'll enter the 2012 WSOP October Nine in sixth place with a stack of 16.2 million.

Amid the hubbub of Phil Ivey’s five final tables and Konstantin Puchkov’s record 11 cashes in events at the 2012 World Series of Poker, Jeremy Ausmus quietly had an excellent performance, including being among those in contention for the Main Event’s final table in October as a member of the 2012 WSOP October Nine. When play resumes, he'll be the short stack at 9.8 million in chips.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) usually has its share of drama. One of the biggest issues over the past few years has been the appearance of male players in the Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship, which starts on Friday and has, in the past, featured celebs like Mimi Rogers (pictured). The debate got an early start this year on many message boards due to comments from several top poker ...

The long-debated bill that would open up the state of California for internet poker seems to be shut down for the rest of 2012, as the Senator pushing for the legislation pulled it from consideration by the appropriate committee on Tuesday.

According to reports from eGaming Review (EGR), there will be a slight delay in the opening of the Spain online gaming market. The setback is not related to previous issues regarding the payment of back-taxes.

There are many legends about players enduring marathon poker sessions and, for the most part, many of those stories are exactly that, just legend. In trying to break what is officially recognized as the world record for the longest time spent in a poker cash game, a British man is looking to not only knock off one of the most popular pros in the game, but also raise funds for a cause close to ...

With its deal to purchase the besieged Full Tilt Poker now dead, Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT) seems to be looking at a completely different angle for its online poker dreams: starting its own site. According to a report on Diamond Flush Poker, GBT front man Laurent Tapie (pictured) allegedly sent an e-mail to several of the prominent members of the staff of Full Tilt Poker.

On Sunday, Lee Jones, Head of Home Games at PokerStars, answered the questions of several posters on the TwoPlusTwo forums. While discussing matters such as Zoom Poker and a recent player summit, Jones revealed that PokerStars is ramping up its battle against PokerTableRatings (PTR), which has been simmering for years.

While there has been no formal announcement that the long-rumored deal between the French investment firm Groupe Bernard Tapie and the shuttered Full Tilt Poker has been completed, there are indications that Full Tilt could be opening its doors again, potentially within the next few weeks, or paying back players in the near future.

One of the online poker world’s best known names, Terrence Unassigned Chan (pictured, known as TChan on PocketFives), wants to get some kicks outside of a poker table as he looks forward to his debut in the Mixed Martial Arts arena on March 30th. He has multiple PokerStars SCOOP and WCOOP titles, including two SCOOP titles in the same night in Six-Max events four years ago.

After the seizure of the now-dormant by the U.S. Government last week and the Black Friday seizures of the three largest online poker rooms' dot-com domain names last April, questions once again have arisen as to how the Feds can legally take an international company's domain name. A recent article that appeared on dove into that issue and answered that key question.

In a recent blog post on his website, Doyle Brunson (pictured) seemingly came to the defense of the figures allegedly involved with the downfall of Full Tilt Poker. On Monday, Brunson used his official blog to offer his opinions on the Full Tilt Poker fiasco and included inside knowledge he had regarding the situation.

After more than a year of debate, the District of Columbia’s City Council has decided to repeal legislation legalizing internet gambling. On Tuesday, the full City Council met for discussion of the issue, which was passed in 2010 after council member Michael Brown (I-At Large) tacked on language authorizing the regulation and taxation of internet gambling to a supplemental budget measure. Read ...

Earlier this week, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) issued a report outlining dispute resolutions for the 2011 calendar year. Overall, there were a large number of disputes reported to the KGC last year, a stanza that included Black Friday and subsequent industry upheaval. Read the report.