Caesars Online Poker for Money starts this Thursday, Sept 19

[Alan Mendelson]

Caesars Entertainment has announced that its play for money online poker site WSOP.com will start live play for money for Nevada residents and visitors in Nevada this Thursday, September 19, 2013.

Here are parts of the press release and announcement from the company:

LAS VEGAS (September 16, 2013) – Beginning Thursday, September 19, Nevadans and the nearly 40 million annual visitors to the state enter a new era of poker as the world’s most-trusted, oldest and most prestigious poker brand – the World Series of Poker (WSOP) – offers real-money online poker in the United States in the State of Nevada for the first time – exclusively at WSOP.com.

From Elko to Reno, Las Vegas to Lake Tahoe, Henderson to Mesquite, Boulder City to Carson City, Summerlin to Spring Valley, and Paradise to Pahrump – whether a resident or just visiting, anyone of legal age in the Silver State with an internet connection and a mobile phone can now play real money online poker with the game’s most trusted brand, at WSOP.com. Participants must be 21 years old or older, age-verified and vetted through our responsible gaming screening.

WSOP.com will be the exclusive destination for online players in Nevada to win seats into the land-based World Series of Poker, which has given away more than $1.8 billion to players during its history, including more than $197 million in 2013 alone. WSOP.com will offer satellite and ladder tournaments that could qualify a player for a seat at the $10,000 WSOP Main Event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for the price of a movie ticket. WSOP.com kicks off its unique offering with an opportunity for players of all skill levels to win their way to the WSOP Europe (WSOPE) in Paris, France, with a €10,000 WSOPE Main Event seat and $3,000 in spending money up for grabs for the live land-based event October 19 in Paris.

•Cash games, Sit & Go’s, Satellites and Multi-table Tournaments
•Buy-ins for cash games that start as low as 1¢-2¢ and tournaments that start at $1.10
•Daily $100 and $25 freerolls for players of all levels
•Limit and No-Limit Hold’em with full table and short-handed games, plus the popular Omaha variant will be offered, including Omaha Hi-Lo, as well as Seven Card Stud
•Deposit methods including ACH (e-Checks), Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards and withdrawal methods including ACH and paper checks.

In order to begin playing on WSOP.com, players should go to www.WSOP.com and follow the instructions to register and download the poker client.

WSOP.com officially launches at 9:19 am PT on September 19.

[Dan Druff]

It launched early. You can play as of yesterday (September 17), provided you pre-registered at the WSOP this year.

[Alan Mendelson]

I am curious about the security they have on the site? I was talking to someone today who said they could get a cheap room for rent in Nevada, have a computer there and then link it to their computer in Los Angeles.

And from the description that Caesars gave, all you need to do is drive across the state line at Primm, park in the shopping mall and you can play. Well, if that's true why do you have to cross the state line? Why not play from the parking lot of the California lottery store a few yards outside of Primm?

[a2a3dseddie]

I am curious about the security they have on the site? I was talking to someone today who said they could get a cheap room for rent in Nevada, have a computer there and then link it to their computer in Los Angeles.

And from the description that Caesars gave, all you need to do is drive across the state line at Primm, park in the shopping mall and you can play. Well, if that's true why do you have to cross the state line? Why not play from the parking lot of the California lottery store a few yards outside of Primm?

Any idea if the U.S. based sites will ever allow non-residents to play? Seems sort of strange that you have to be in Nevada in order to play. I know about the law governing money transfers between states, but it seems like it will be very restrictive.

Does this mean that once New Jersey and other states pass online poker laws, the WSOP will have to open an office in each state and obtain separate licenses and website domains?

I currently still play on Pokerstars / Full Tilt and it's mostly Europeans. It sure isn't as good as it was before Black Friday...

[Alan Mendelson]

Online poker is legal within each state. Each intra state operation needs a license.

[Dan Druff]

Any idea if the U.S. based sites will ever allow non-residents to play? Seems sort of strange that you have to be in Nevada in order to play. I know about the law governing money transfers between states, but it seems like it will be very restrictive.

Does this mean that once New Jersey and other states pass online poker laws, the WSOP will have to open an office in each state and obtain separate licenses and website domains?

I currently still play on Pokerstars / Full Tilt and it's mostly Europeans. It sure isn't as good as it was before Black Friday...

So you live outside the US?

Do you know who I am from the poker community?

[Dan Druff]

I am curious about the security they have on the site? I was talking to someone today who said they could get a cheap room for rent in Nevada, have a computer there and then link it to their computer in Los Angeles.

And from the description that Caesars gave, all you need to do is drive across the state line at Primm, park in the shopping mall and you can play. Well, if that's true why do you have to cross the state line? Why not play from the parking lot of the California lottery store a few yards outside of Primm?

It has two methods to determine your location.

First, it sees the cell phone tower you're using, and approximately locates you through that method.

Want to test it yourself?

https://instantlocatedemo.loc-aid.com/

It's free.

Your e-mail doesn't matter. Enter a fake one. Leave the birthdate as that 1/1/1960 value.

Click "Test My Mobile" and enter your phone number.

Leave the location as "Least Expensive" (this is the methodology used -- it doesn't cost you any money either way).

Then click "I accept" in the check box and click the FIND button.

The first time, you will get a text message, which you need to respond to with "YES TEST1". This is giving it permission to locate you. You can revoke permission at any time by texting "STOP TEST1" to the same number.

It found me within about a mile of my actual location.

-----

Anyway, the second method to locate you depends upon your IP.

This prevents you from leaving a cell phone with a friend in Nevada, and then going back home to another state and playing.

The Primm example might have some problems, because a lot of the IP addresses in "marginal" locations such as Primm (i.e. close to CA) come back as California, as do some of the cell tower locations.

[Dan Druff]

Online poker is legal within each state. Each intra state operation needs a license.

Online poker is legal in two states and one territory: New Jersey, Nevada, and Washington DC.

There are no online poker rooms in Washington DC. It's impractical. The population is too small, and there aren't many poker players in the city of DC, anyway.

New Jersey will have several poker rooms launch on the same date -- November 23, 2013.

Nevada already has two: Ultimate Poker and WSOP.com.

Nevada and New Jersey are working together, and soon they will share their player pools.

You are correct that all operations need to be licensed by their own state in order to operate. In most cases, licenses are only granted to existing brick-and-mortar operations (meaning that we couldn't start up a new online company in Nevada and get licensed).

[Alan Mendelson]

You are correct that all operations need to be licensed by their own state in order to operate. In most cases, licenses are only granted to existing brick-and-mortar operations (meaning that we couldn't start up a new online company in Nevada and get licensed).

I'm not sure that Nevada and New Jersey will work together... they still must have independent operations but I know that part of the industry talk is to somehow link states to get around the federal ban on interstate online casinos.

Wynn wants to get in on the New Jersey online market so it is shopping for a brick and mortar casino to associate with as a key to open the door to online gaming.

[Dan Druff]

I'm not sure that Nevada and New Jersey will work together... they still must have independent operations but I know that part of the industry talk is to somehow link states to get around the federal ban on interstate online casinos.

Wynn wants to get in on the New Jersey online market so it is shopping for a brick and mortar casino to associate with as a key to open the door to online gaming.

I have inside information that this is already in the works.

It is possible that the federal government might interfere with it, but for now they are working hard at making this actually happen (the partnership between states).

If this does happen, California might join in sometime soon after, but the Indian tribes will have to come to an agreement. Right now some are for it, and others are against it.

[Alan Mendelson]

I can tell you the feeling in California -- and this is from inside information. California doesn't want to link up with any other state. There are already so many poker players in California (this is the poker capital of the world) that California doesnt want to export any California poker money outside of the state.

The only issue is will the brick and mortar casinos share the poker revenue with an online system or just keep it in the B&M casinos. The B&M casinos are divided on this.

[Dan Druff]

Interesting. I knew that the B&M casinos were divided. I didn't know that they were anti-cooperation with other states, but it makes sense.

CA has 1/8 of the US population, and more than 1/8 of the active/semi-active poker players

[Alan Mendelson]

Dan, the California advocates of online poker think that with their muscle that they can control the nation and instead of allowing Nevada to be the leader of nationwide online poker, the California casino-advocates want their consortium to be the leader of nationwide online poker.

[a2a3dseddie]

So you live outside the US?

Do you know who I am from the poker community?

Canada. I know a few famous "Dans", but I'm a terrible guesser when it comes to figuring out who's who based on their online name.