Not much to post about the anti-gaming regs since . . . they don’t seem to be here yet.
On a side note: Now that the final numbers are in for the WSOP Main Event, it’s funny to see how different people see the same information. The Poker Biz views the 6,358 number as proof that poker isn’t dead. Meanwhile, Live Action Poker seems to focus on the gap in signups from last year to this year. Who’s right? Anybody’s guess.
The numbers are off 28% from last year. That’s certainly true. And as has been commented elsewhere the silly money being spent at the lifestyle show has dried up a bit. But is a 28% drop in numbers really an indicator of the popularity of poker?
The numbers we really need to see are how many people who won WSOP qualifiers actually took the $10,000 the sites deposited into their accounts and bought into the main event. Some may have gone to the WSOP and played several smaller events. Some may have taken the $10,000 and paid off some bills. Most guesses were anywhere from 20% – 30% of the players who won would actually see a hand at the main event. If that’s the case then a 28% drop is actually an overall increase (yes, that is strange logic).
A lot of folks seem to be pretty smug about the fact that the regs haven’t been published yet, but they shouldn’t be. A review of the OMBs Web site confirms that Treasury submitted their proposed regulations on June 18, so I suspect that they will show up on regulations.gov at any time and in the Federal Register shortly thereafter.