By
Dan |
Published
Apr 29 2009, 10:30 PM
This week on the PocketFives.com Podcast sponsored by Carbon Poker, a breaking news story out of the state of Minnesota takes center stage. On Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety issued a press release revealing that it had served written notice to major internet service providers (ISPs) calling for the blockage of 200 online gambling sites by its residents. PocketFives.com welcomes Joe Brennan, Chairman of the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) to discuss the issue. We will also hear from Jonathan xxjondxx Delong, the 17th player on the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety leaned on a 48 year-old law to serve notice to major ISPs like Charter, Comcast, and Qwest: The Wire Act of 1961. The law has traditionally applied to online sports betting as judged by the U.S. court system and Department of Justice. However, recent admissions of Wire Act violations by individuals like Party Gaming Co-Founder Anurag Dkishit in December may be slowly blurring the line. Brennan told the PocketFives.com Podcast that Minnesota officials “refer to [the Wire Act] as a blanket Federal prohibition making internet gambling illegal. All of us following the many legal battles over internet gambling know that there is no blanket prohibition at the Federal level.”
iMEGA has gone on the offensive, hiring a lawyer who specializes in First Amendment rights to challenge the notices served to ISPs. Brennan explained, “It’s troubling to see that Minnesota’s Department of Public Safety has made such an abrupt and naked challenge towards not only igaming, but also free speech. What they’re saying is that not only can an individual not play, but they can’t even access the pages.” A press release distributed by the Department of Public Safety explained that the current list of 200 sites might be expanded into thousands if enforcement is successful.
Brennan reminded listeners of the PocketFives.com Podcast, “Congress has had a number of occasions to amend the Wire Act to include a special admonition against internet gambling and they’ve never done it.” iMEGA has enlisted the involvement of other industry organizations such as the Poker Players Alliance and Interactive Gaming Council. Groups that have supported the internet gambling industry’s efforts in Kentucky may soon follow suit in Minnesota. They include eBay, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the Internet Commerce Association.
The 17th ranked player on PocketFives.com, Johnathan xxjondxx Delong, also joins us this week. In the beginning of March, the PocketFiver sat atop the field in the Super Tuesday on PokerStars for $74,000. He followed up his performance with another win in the tournament three weeks ago for $69,000. A couple of years ago, he was turned onto poker by playing with friends. Then, he decided to try his hand in the online version. He recalled, “I used to grind freerolls on Absolute Poker. One time, I ran really hot in sit and gos and won some multi-table tournaments. I made the switch to PokerStars, got lucky in some big tournaments, and won a lot of money.”
Several top-tier players, including Delong, have found success by opening up their games. The PocketFiver explained, “I’ve been playing more aggressively, picking better spots, and opening a lot more. I used to play nitty until a couple of months ago. Opening my game up has helped me achieve success in a lot of the bigger tournaments.” Delong took 11th in the high-stakes Main Event of the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker for $65,000 and grabbed sixth in Event #4, cashing for $53,000. He banked well over $200,000 in tournaments that are tracked for the Rankings in April and, accordingly, holds the seventh best PLB score worldwide.
He got his start on Absolute Poker and UltimateBet before moving to PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, which required adjusting his game to fit the style of play found on each site. Delong explained, “I think you can play a lot more aggressively on Ultimate Bet because the players are just not that good. On PokerStars and Full Tilt, people are a lot more aggressive, so you have to tighten up in some spots.” He’s currently backed by one of the top poker players in the world, Mark dipthrong Herm (pictured at left).
Check out the rest of this week’s PocketFives.com Podcast sponsored by Carbon Poker.
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