Even personalities in the media have expressed their thoughts on this law. Matthew Lynn, the respected columnist from Bloomberg, has voiced out his opinion as well. According to him, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act is “illogical and misconceived.” He goes on to say that as a bad decision, “it will be reversed one day – the issue is whether the companies can wait until then.” He further predicts that the passing of the law would result in one of the worst crisis in the history of gambling – short as it is – and that despite the law, the online gambling companies would still achieve success.

In his column, Lynn outlined his argument against the law clearly. First, he says that the law isn’t consistent. The premise behind the law is that gambling has damaging effects. Yet this law only touches on Internet gambling. Quite obviously, gambling in Las Vegas will not suffer a scratch. Indeed in this respect, the law is very much skewed.

His second point was that Internet gambling is not necessarily worse than offline gambling. He agrees that having access to a casino 24/7 from the comforts of one’s home does have its dangers. Yet he also notes that responsible online casino operators have their own measures to limit the potential harmful effects of such freedom to log on to online casinos. I find his argument here a bit lacking but then again, if online casinos really do enforce such policies effectively then Internet gambling is definitely not any worse than real life casino gambling.

Lynn also points out that the US government is barking up the wrong tree in this case. Regulation and monitoring, he says, is easier to carry out in Internet casinos than in real life ones. As all transactions are carried out electronically, it is easier to track down the players and how much they spend. The bottom line? Regulation is more possible online than offline.

Online gamblers would be encouraged by the wide response the law has elicited. It means that they are not alone in this issue. When the media takes up for your side, then more often than not, some action may be stirred up. Lynn posed a crucial question: “Can the US Ban hold?”. To this he gave the answer “Probably not.” To those of us who do not have much power to do anything at this point, all we can do is sit it out and hope and pray that those were prophetic words that he just penned.

Technorati Tags: Gambling, US Gambling Ban, Internet Gambling Ban, Bloomberg, Matthew Lynn, Party Poker, 888 Holdings, Las Vegas

It is thus no wonder that the Ultimate Blackjack Tour has decided to make a stop at this prestigious casino in Vegas. Known to be a trendsetter in the gambling industry, the Palm Casino Resort will host a UBT stop on the 20th of April next year. Russ Hamilton, the founder of UBT and a 1994 World Series of Poker Main Event Winner acknowledges the management’s (Palm Casino Resort) knack for finding the next big thing. He said, “Since its opening, the Palms has never been afraid to try new things, so they make a perfect partner to host the first Las Vegas charter tour stop for Ultimate Blackjack Tour. Initial reaction to the UBT has been overwhelmingly positive and the Palms has a knack for recognizing the next big thing.”

From the other side of the partnership, excitement runs high as the management of Palms Casino Resort gear up for the momentous event even as it is still months away. George Maloof, the owner of the Palms, expresses his thoughts on the matter: “We are thrilled to be a charter member of the Ultimate Blackjack Tour. The series is filled with fun and excitement, which is what the Palms is all about. And the elimination format will bring our customers the hottest blackjack tournament around.”

The formation of this partnership, which is well into the future is proof of how much of a hit the UBT has become. The fifth episode of the first season is still due to air on the 4th of November and a stop is already in the works for April 2007! UBT’s unique format as well as 2 one of a kind episodes seem to be making it big for the show. The Ladies of Blackjack features the best female gamblers, which include Annie Duke, Jennifer Tilly, Monica Reeves and Erica Schoenburg. The other episode, The Legends of Blackjack, gives the viewers a very exciting and intense show when the best players in blackjack meet each other. These include Stanford Wong, Anthony Curtis, Kenny Einiger, and many others.

Furthermore, even the average person like you and me can grab a chance to play an actual part in the show! Just log on to the UBT website and join the free online tournaments they are holding. If you are good – and lucky – enough to win in these free online tournaments, then you will win a seat to the UBT season two final tables! Talk about motivation. See you there!

Technorati Tags: Blackjack, UBT, Palms Casino Resort, George Maloof, Russ Hamilton, Ladies of Blackjack, Legends of Blackjack, free online tournaments

Blackjack Switch is just a recent blackjack variation first seen on the internet at Playtech casinos. It is fast gaining popularity and is even now being played at some land-based casinos in Las Vegas and Russia. Its popularity comes not only from its crazily low house edge but also because of its very unique feature. The
Blackjack Switch boasts a house edge of only 0.16%. Unbelievable? Well it’s true. The house edge is this low because of the defining feature of Blackjack Switch. As the name implies Blackjack Switch allows you to switch or trade cards between two hands. Switching cards is of course not allowed in standard blackjack games and is even considered to be a cheating maneuver. In this game you must make two bets of equal size on the two hands before you are allowed to make the switch. You are allowed to only switch the second card dealt to each hand. Since being able to switch a card of course increases your chances of hitting a blackjack and getting better cards some special rules (aside from the switching) were put in place to “help” the dealer.

The rules include:

• mandatory 2 equal bets on each hand
• cards are dealt face up
• player allowed to double on any two cards and       after a split
• dealer hits a soft 17
• player gets paid 1:1 for blackjack instead of       a 3:2
• dealer gets to push all bets, except for a       blackjack, when he gets 22

Las Vegas, Russian, and Playtech Casinos have different rules though when it comes to the number of decks used, dealer peek, and splitting.

In Playtech Casinos 6 decks of cards are used, the dealer does not peek for a blackjack, and resplitting is not allowed. You can only split once.

In Las Vegas casinos the number of decks used varies from 6 to 8 with 8 being more commonly used. The dealer is allowed to peak for a blcakjack when he has an ace or a ten up. Resplitting is allowed and you can split up to four hands.

Russian Casinos is significantly different from the first two in that the dealer stands on a soft 17 and does not take a hole card, players are allowed to take early surrender and in the process gives up one bet while surrendering both hands, and in that a blackjack is treated as 21 points if it is achieved through a switch. Russian casinos also usually uses 4 to 6 decks of cards only. As for the rest of the rules though Russian Casinos follow that of the Las Vega Casinos.

The 0.16% house edge applies for a Blackjack Switch game uner Las Vegas Casino rules with 6 decks of cards. House edge for Las Vegas Casino rules with 8 cards is 0.18% while for Russian rules it is 0.20%. With Playtech rules though it has been said that the house edge is just a mere 0.02%!