Online dang nhap w88 is currently illegal in the United States. Efforts are being made to regulate the game both at state and federal levels, but nothing substantial has yet been pushed towards legislation.

There are many parallels between the ban on online poker and the years of Prohibition in the 1920s. Business has been diverted from legitimate operations to underground and/or foreign operators. Instead of protecting consumers, government actions have infringed on the rights of citizens to decide what to do in the privacy of their homes and how to interact with society.

In both cases, the bans became increasingly unpopular and advocates of change emphasized that repeal would generate enormous amounts of much needed tax revenue.

Former Senator and poker advocate Alphonse D’Amato told the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade last month, “The problem that we have now seems to me very parallel to what we had in Prohibition. Billions of dollars that today flow across our borders and onto offshore websites could be kept here… yielding billions of dollars in revenue for the federal government, all without having to raise taxes.”

“We’re well behind the rest of the world,” said D’Amato. “If we do nothing, [the problem] will grow and we will have no opportunity to fix it.”

Advocates of legalizing online poker in the United States argue that not only would the move generate income through taxation, it would also create jobs in the U.S.

Working within the law, regulators would be able to prevent gambling abuse, money laundering, and underage gambling.

D’Amato, speaking on behalf of the Poker Players Alliance, concluded his testimony to Congress by stating, “For over a century, poker has been a reflection of America’s entrepreneurial and competitive spirit and has been a positive ambassador of our culture throughout the globe. Over the years, the way people play the game has changed and, like other recreational activities, more and more are turning to the Internet to enjoy this pastime.

Pius Heinz from Germany Wins WSOP Main Event

Pius Heinz from Germany, who plays on Titan Poker under the nickname “MastaP89”, defeated Martin Staszko from the Czech Republic in a long, drawn-out battle to win the 42nd World Series of Poker (SOP) 2011 $10,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship Main Event.

Heinz’s first place prize was $8,715,683, while Staszko had to settle for second prize of $5,433,086.

Crowd favorite American Ben Lamb had to settle for third place after being eliminated very quickly on the final day of play in Las Vegas.

After Staszko held the lead for most of the heads-up play, a major turning point came when Heinz’s A Q was able to hold off against a flush draw that never panned out. This gave the German a monstrous lead for the first time, leading in chips by 161,500,000 to 44,400,000.

Heinz, a 22-year-old who has only recently turned from online poker to live tournament action, scored a 7th place finish in the WSOP $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event in June for a prize of $83,286.

Staszko scored four cash-outs in different WSOP events, including a 58th place finish in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament for a prize of $10,156.

A total of 6,865 players from around the world competed this past summer in the WSOP Main Event, and the final nine resumed their play after a few months’ break earlier this week. Play stopped when only three players remained in the action, only to resume on November 8th.

First to be eliminated today, in third place, was Ben Lamb, who has already been selected as Player of the Year of the 42nd World Series of Poker. Previously this summer, Lamb had captured a WSOP bracelet by winning the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship for a prize of $814,436 and he also finished 2nd in the $3,000 Pot Limit Omaha event.  Lamb won $4,021,138 for his third place finish in the Main Event.

Martin Staszko and Pius Heinz were the first players to make the Main Event final table from their countries. With seven different countries represented among the November Nine, this was the most internationally diverse Main Event final table in WSOP history.

The other payouts at the Final Table were:

4th) Matt Giannetti, USA, $3,012,700

5th) Phil Collins, USA, $2,269,599

6th) Eoghan O’Dea, Ireland, $1,720,831

7th) Bob Bounahra, Belize, $1,314,097

8th) Anton Makiievskyi, Ukraine, $1,010,015

9th) Sam Holden, United Kingdom, $782,115