Online gambling casinos

When Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo recently revealed his proposed legislation to legalize casino gaming in the Bay State, many in the gaming industry welcomed the news. Speaker DeLeo acknowledged that Massachusetts was in dire need of the additional funds that both the casino licensing fees and the revenue generated from the games would create to fill the state’s depleted tax base. Also, the new casinos would stem the tide of gaming monies that flowed to the large resorts, such as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, across the border in Connecticut.

One provision of the bill, however, has earned the scrutiny of the online gaming industry. Section 36, Subsection (v) states that “Any person who knowingly transmits or receives a wager of any type by any telecommunication device …for the transmission or receipt of wagering information shall be punished by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 years, or by a fine of not more than $25,000, or both such fine and imprisonment.”

The provision criminalizing online casino play startled many industry observers. One of those interested parties was John Pappas, the Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), a group lobbying for the legalization of online poker. Mr. Pappas said that he had received assurances from Speaker DeLeo and other state officials involved in drafting the bill that the criminalization clause would not be included in the final version.

Mr. Pappas posted a response on the PPA website, which mentioned that the group is not opposed to the expansion of brick-and-mortar casino gaming in the state, but that it stood against the language that would “make it a crime” to play online poker. Last year, a court of appeals upheld a similar measure passed in Washington State, which punishes those convicted of playing online poker with a US$10,000 fine and up to five years in state prison.

The criminalization clause in the Massachusetts bill is buried deep in the 172-page document. Governor Deval Patrick has stated that he will not sign the bill as it stands. He proposed that the bill undergo a public hearing so that “people who have strong feelings on all sides” can air out their opinions.

Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested six men in connection with two home invasion robberies of high-stakes private poker games. The robbers stole several thousand dollars’ worth of cash, credit cards, watches and jewelry in two heists last month, the first on 12 March and the second on 22 March. A police spokeswoman said that the home games might have been pre-selected as targets due to their high visibility and the large amount of cash available at the tables.

According to police reports, one of the robbers dressed in a black T-shirt with the word “POLICE” displayed in bright letters, possibly in an attempt to coerce the hosts into opening their doors. The other gang members, all dressed in black and wearing black ski masks, showed handguns and forced the players to give up their wallets, jewelry, cell phones and keys. No injuries were reported as a result of the thefts, although some players fell victim to the robbers in both cases.

Police arrested four of the six men after a traffic stop in Rockville, Maryland, where they found marijuana and robbery tools in their 2008 Nissan Altima. The men arrested were identified as:

• Kevin Guzman, 18, of Silver Spring, Maryland
• Dalio Guzman, 20, brother of Kevin Guzman
• Kadeem Haynes, 19, of Rockville, Maryland
• Francis Voysest, 18, of Greenbelt, Maryland

The four men face charges of marijuana possession and two counts of robbery, among other charges. Police also arrested two other men in connection with the thefts:

• Samie Niel, 20, of Silver Spring, Maryland
• Hung T. Nguyen, 31, of Germantown, Maryland

Lucy Caldwell, the spokeswoman for the Fairfax County Police Department, said that the suspects may have been involved in other robberies at home poker games, but that any other possible victims have yet to come forward. She also said that the players who were victimized by the thieves would not face illegal gambling charges.