Here’s my teaser:
“At home I can multitask,” the manager said. “I cleaned out my entire fish tank one day and never missed a hand.”
What”s this guy talking about? Playing online poker at home, something that is, unfortunately, a misdemeanor in Nevada.
From the LV Sun:
Every day hundreds of Las Vegas residents break the law for a shot at fame and fortune or just a bit of fun.They work in casinos and in offices. They pay their taxes and hold steady jobs.
And many don’t even know they are lawbreakers.
Among them is Jeff Larsen, a casino worker at the Bellagio who has turned a hobby into a part-time job.
From home, Larsen now plays up to eight games of online poker at a time on two computers. Gambling in Internet poker rooms up to 40 hours a week nets Larson about the same kind of money he makes at his casino job.
“It’s convenient, the games are really good and you’ve got people on the Internet just giving their money away,” he said. “Playing in a casino is just getting old for a lot of people.”
David Matthews, a webmaster for the Las Vegas Advisor consumer newsletter, said he makes about $150 per hour for the 20 or so hours per week he plays online poker.
“I can’t afford not to play,” Matthews said. “If I decided to play full time I could probably make $30,000 a month. “I know people who’ve given up their day jobs.”
Online poker is faster, doesn’t require tipping a dealer and often features cash bonuses for players, he said. It also draws players who are “fast and loose,” translating into good games at all hours, he said.
It’s a little-known fact that Nevada is only one of a handful of states that specifically prohibits both players and Internet operators from engaging in online betting.
A state law passed in 1997 barred the placing of wagers on the Internet. Persons who break the law are guilty of a misdemeanor.
The law doesn’t exclude Internet poker.
Online poker players in Nevada and online poker rooms that take bets from state residents are breaking the law if they are dealing in real money, according to Nevada’s top gaming regulator.
This is a very long and very good article that is as good a summary as the current situation in the US viz. online gaming as I’ve seen in any newspaper. Check it out.
If anyone wants to, I’d be interested in hearing the answer to this question: What do you do while you’re playing online poker?