http://www.gambling911.com/Barclays-...er-101206.html

The rollercoaster ride continues.....

Yes, this is the bank that pokerstars uses. I think that maybe we are staring to see the writing on the wall. The online sites are willing to accept US cusomers, but what bank is willing to do business with the companies that are doing business with us??? This could be a huge problem.

I would imagine international banking is a large network so finding a reputable standalone entity might prove difficult. I have no clue.

What is really starting to hit home for me is how little disaster preparedness went on prior to Black Friday (OK, maybe thats superfluous but I have a reputation as a pedantic, so wtf). With all of the investment money lost, the weird differences in stances, etc, it just seems like these guys didn't do any wargaming at all.

What was probably necessary (and impossible) was for the majors to get together and approach the issue as members of an industry group. They could have pooled resources, hired lobbyists and determined the best method to get the word out. I bet the business itself is just too hyper-competitive and filled with entrepreneurs to encourage cooperation.

I suppose the good news out of all of this is the survivors (assuming a non-apocalyptic resolution) will likely have to form some kind of group; hopefully one that includes player's voices.

BTW, and its just jealousy talking but how does one get to be one of the best players around and have time to be a CFO????

neteller users will have 270 days after the bill is signed to be safe.. after that who knows

dudes seriously, if i have to read another paranoid panic attack about this before one of the sites gives us reason to freak out, i will NEVER respond to another post...and i KNOW you don't want that...neteller said business as usual...stars has said business as usual...do you think they just made these announcements without legal advice that took into account all kinda of possibilities?

i will requote sheets who was requoting someone else...Worry is like paying interest on a debt that never becomes due

if you are posting this with the intention of coming up with alternative plans or suggestions should things significantly change, fine...post the alternatives or suggestions...but what good is it to just say OMG WRITING ON THE WALL...how can that POSSIBLY help?

ty

i was not referring to the original poster obv...since he did not say "WRITING ON THE WALL" or "omg we are done" etc...and yes, everyone wishes people were more proactive than reactive to this issue...but the point is it does no good to say "WE ARE FUCKED" without adding something productive...last i saw, there are TONS of sites saying they are staying with U.S. customers and the biggest path to deposit and withdraw has made an official announcement indicating it is staying too

i am only saying that being negative without including any thoughts or using any energy to think of other options is a WASTE OF FUCKEN TIME

ok so everyone should plan on not playing online poker by next june

that was a VERY helpful post ty

>> i am only saying that being negative without including any thoughts or using any energy to think of other options is a WASTE OF FUCKEN TIME

Actually, most of the posts with constructive suggestions that I have made since February about the possible ban mostly were ignored and drifted off page one within minutes. Here's my suggestion; I can appreciate some folks are not interested in what is happening because they have no control over it. I believe you can put a poster on ignore.

But here's the deal. Somewhere, sometime we are going to get an opportunity to slug back against a government who is far more intrusive than the founders envisioned. I hope when that time comes folks will stand up. I felt this news was important because it seems to hold the potential of causing turmoil with pokerstars; one of the few to remain steadfast. Today, Paradise has announced it will be going dark to the US. Whether you want to pay off on a debt of worry is your business, but here's my favorite relevant saying. "If you can keep your head while all others are losing theirs... you clearly don't understand the situation."

Congrats on your recent success though. Here's a piece of advice, if Sheets took you in as a protege, take an interest in Private Equity markets and get the real education from him. Poker is small potatoes.

In other news, heres Excapsa (the creator/licensor of Ultimate Bet). The meaning of this is still unclear.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...p;refer=canada

i like sheets' outlook to this.. i mean he's right. just play until u can't anymore. all this time spent discussing it is taking away from possible money making opportunities while they still last.

>> I prefer to play poker than discuss legislation and things over which I have no control.

I wouldn't think I would need to convince you how -EV this statement is. I will say this; control is illusory. Individuals sometimes can make a difference and sometimes whole groups get shafted.

Frankly, for my part I am borderline on the road to finding a new direction as this year has been less kind than the previous two. But I pulled several hundred thousand dollars out of this game while it was here and I feel a responsibility of some sort. We do live in a free country (mostly) so you certainly can take any approach you want. I'm not sure how it is whining to want to inform/stay informed, but as in most things I defer to you.

Sheets' apathy and attitude is a disgrace.

With as much as he has to lose and his position (big time, big name online player, his training site) he ought to be out front fighting this travesty.

It is of course his right to sit back and do nothing but belittle those who are trying to stay engaged and informed, but I think it's pitiful.

I for one wish he would just stop posting on the subject since he apparently has nothing worthwhile to offer.

There's ironing here.

My essential stance is people we paid money to, failed to use their financial abilities and contact databases to pull us together so that we could affect/impact this issue. I have also been a little surprised the players themselves were pretty well split on whether they believed this could happen.

Now major changes are occurring and so it is pretty easy to feel we have no power as individuals, so we might as well sit back and see how it plays out. The ironic part is this feeling of a lack of control can then pit player against player in the kind of debate seen above. Poker is already adversarial enough, we don't need to turn our anger inwards.

The thing is, we are never without power, never without ability to stand up for ourselves. Up til now, none of this has resulted in a player losing any past profits. Right now, all of this is related to future profits and that future is rushing down on us with the bill signing tomorrow. Now, any individual can sit back and keep their powder dry. But almost everyone agrees the first impact of this will be to further cloudy the legality of what we do and maybe in some cases drive it outright underground. The problems with this should be clear; having a lot of money held in an outright illegal scenario opens up nightmares of federal forfeiture laws.

This isn't over. The sites are waking up and making decisions one way or the other. The players can choose to take the position of wait and see or they can begin to stand up, converse and ultimately find some creative ways to fight back. BOKE wants to riot and while I'm always down for violent civil unrest, I bet there is probably some better ways we as players can come together and actually accomplish something.

I would just remind you Sheets if online poker is crushed, I won't be able to spend time watching your videos and even if that isn't important to you, it is to me.

In the spirit of your last message, I will promise to try and find positive suggestions and real ideas when I post future messages about the legislation.