“One of the remaining two people charged in connection with allegedly illegal poker games last fall has pleaded guilty to one charge of being found in a gaming house.
However, 40-year-old Bradley Sean Anderson has been given an absolute discharge and will not have a criminal record as a result of the plea he entered in provincial court here Tuesday afternoon.
Many hours later, there will be one last man standing, and his victory will be the catalyst for a year’s worth of corporate sponsorship, publicity tours, countless interviews, lucrative endorsements and serious TV time in the world’s major poker tournaments. It is the dream of every poker player, from the battle-hardened pros to the amateur recreational players who try to qualify for the $10,000 buy-in event by winning cheap online tournaments.
With its world-wide popularity boom over the last few years, poker is no longer just a great American pastime, but a global phenomenon. More than half the final table are from overseas. Along with the four Americans, there is a Vietnamese-born Canadian, an Englishmen, a Dane living in the UK, a Russian and a South African.
Categories: Canada · Russia · South Africa · UK · Vietnam · WSOP
“Casinos in Quebec hope the province’s plan to legalize Texas hold ‘em poker will bring in a full house.
“It’s something that we’ve been waiting for for some time,” said Catherine Schellenberg, spokeswoman for the Lac Leamy Casino in Gatineau, after the new law was published in Wednesday’s official Quebec Gazette. “This is great news.”
“One of the players involved in an illegal poker game busted by police last week says the police action was heavy-handed.
“We didn’t think we had anything to hide,” said the player, a local businessman who didn’t want his name used because he was concerned about reprisal from his clients. “We’re not mafia – we don’t have connections to organized crime. We’re just ordinary businesspeople. It is just an enjoyable game.”
Last Wednesday night about a dozen local police and members of the RCMP’s Integrated Illegal Gaming Enforcement Team (IIGET) arrested 20 people who were involved in a Texas Hold ‘Em poker game inside Ironwood Billiards on Ironwood Road.”
“Although operating an online casino is technically illegal in Canada, online poker websites are able to avoid governmental regulation by operating out of Caribbean countries, such as Antigua.
It is not illegal, however, for a Canadian to venture online and bet on poker, with many of these foreign operators vying to tap into a growing market. According to PokerPulse.com, a Vancouver-based company that tracks the online poker industry, there were 1.7 million online poker players in January 2005.
The explosion of poker as a game will force governments to loosen regulations when it comes to online poker sites, Lazarus said.
“From a general consensus, the increasing popularity of poker — the game of poker has become such a popular game throughout the United States and Canada, driven by television — that it’s only going to get bigger and larger and become so much a part of the culture and landscape of both Canada and the United States that governments are going to have to find a way to carve out poker as a game that can be played in a legal setting without having to fear of having some sort of reprisal or prosecution by the regulatory authorities.”
“The chips are down — and angry Winnipeg poker players are speaking out. Dozens of local gamblers have turned to a Winnipeg-based poker website to vent their frustrations following the raid of several private gaming establishments last week.
Many are questioning the logic of pouring police resources into “Project Kaleidoscope”, including some who were apparently inside the clubs when police showed up.
“They should have called this Project ‘Waste taxpayers money on something no one cares is going on and put these funds into real police work,” a member named pegcitypro wrote on the message forum at www.pegcityhustling.com.”
“Poker tables, chips and stacks of cash were all swept up in raids on Texas hold ‘em games that resulted in the arrests of 63 people in Winnipeg, police revealed Tuesday. Officers hit three establishments — a private club, a lounge and a pool hall — last Thursday. Of those arrested, 57 face charges of being found in a common gaming house and six are charged with running illegal poker games.
Investigators started working on the case last November after the Manitoba Gaming Control Commission received complaints that several establishments were hosting unsanctioned events, said commission spokeswoman Liz Stephenson. Hundreds of complaints are made to the commission in a year, but this case was unusual.
“This is the first time we’ve been involved in this kind of major activity,” Ms. Stephenson said.”
The Globe and Mail (06/05/07)
“The conviction of a Truro bar owner for permitting a game of Texas Hold’em poker should not deter similar games at Dooly’s in Amherst.
“We’re aware of the charges and the fine but we’re moving forward as normal,” Rod Wilson said Friday. “That’s the direction we’ve received from our head office.”
Kevin Dawe, owner of Calico’s Lounge, was fined $1,000 after pleading guilty to permitting gambling at his establishment.
Dooly’s has been holding Texas Hold’em events for more than a year but there are strict controls on the games with a portion of the proceeds going to support charities such as the breast cancer foundation.”
Categories: Canada
“Two men suspected of running an illegal casino from a café have been dealt a losing hand, as Halton Region police raided their operation yesterday.
After obtaining a search warrant, police raided Speers Café, on Pinegrove Rd. in Oakville, and uncovered a quantity of cash, four poker tables, four video lottery terminals, poker chips and video surveillance equipment…”
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