In recent weeks, it was revealed that if the online poker industry were to be legalized and regulated in the United States, then PokerStars and Wynn Resorts would team up to launch PokerStarsWynn.com. On Thursday, a Forbes article contained additional details about the joint venture and recapped how it came to fruition.
PokerStarsWynn.com is a 50-50 joint venture, according to Forbes, and Wynn Resorts is responsible for the regulatory aspects of it if the industry moves completely above board. Posters on TwoPlusTwo appeared surprised that a 50-50 split was forged.
According to the article, which features an interview with Wynn Resorts namesake Steve Wynn, “Wynn says there is a written contract that obligates him to be responsible for the joint venture’s regulatory compliance if online poker becomes regulated in the U.S. For now, PokerStars is getting a powerful ally who has been close friends with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for some 40 years.”
Following meetings in the Mediterranean Sea and off the coast of the Bahamas between Wynn and PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg, the two forged a deal. Wynn felt comfortable resting the future of his land-based casino empire with PokerStars, telling Forbes, “In the United States of America, the Justice Department has an opinion, but several states have ruled and courts have agreed that poker is a game of skill, it’s not gambling. PokerStars rests their argument on that.”
According to Forbes, PokerStars has a total of 1,300 employees, many of them based in the Isle of Man, and the average salary is over $100,000. Wynn was amazed that the site’s staff could stunt underage gaming as effectively as it does. He expressed his amazement to the news outlet: “One of my concerns was about young people playing. It turns out they have more control about young people playing than we do.”
To that end, one poster on TwoPlusTwo recalled the extensive ordeal he had gone through when signing up for PokerStars: “They’re sure putting me through the ringer about proving my age and identity. After two years of refusing to send them a picture of my shiny bald head (and them refusing to let me play), I’ve finally knuckled under and sent them a passport photo.”
In land-based casinos, security guards critique government-issued IDs that could potentially be falsified.
PokerStars has separately been pushing for legalized intrastate online poker in Nevada. According to the Las Vegas Sun, the world’s largest online poker site met with Assembly Majority Whip William Horne in London in late 2010. There, Horne sat down with PokerStars lobbyist Richard Perkins, who is a former Nevada Assembly Speaker, as well as company executives.
As a result, Horne introduced AB 258 in Nevada earlier this year, but the measure has not yet been voted on. According to the Sun, “Horne’s bill is in limbo, although he told me today a compromise with state gaming interests, who along with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid say the Feds should act first, may be at hand.”
PokerStars, Wynn, and other companies interested in servicing the U.S. market on a national level appear to be staking their rolls on HR 1174. On March 17th, Congressmen John Campbell (R-CA) and Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced the bill, dubbed the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. It contains many of the same aspects as HR 2267 did during the last Congress.
Frank’s HR 2267 sailed through the House Financial Services Committee by a 2:1 margin last July, but was not voted on in the full House or Senate. When the clock struck Midnight on the 111th Congress, HR 2267 was declared dead. With the prospects of a government shutdown looming at Midnight tonight, HR 1174 may be pushed even further down the pipeline.
Keep it tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest poker legislation headlines.
