Probably Old News to Anyone Reading

I received the following press release and thought it might be of interest to the one or two people still checking this blog. I in no way am profiting by passing along this press release:

FORT WORTH, Texas – Gatlin Education Services announced today its Casino Poker
Dealer course is now available for immediate enrollment. The 100-hour course,
supplied by poker industry’s elite high-roller and founder of Johnny Chan Academy , will be offered through Gatlin’s partnership with major colleges and universities.

The online course, offered in both English and Mandarin, will prepare students for a career in the casino industry’s table game environment by providing direction from 10-time winner of the World Series of Poker, Johnny Chan. This highly interactive training program teaches the methods, techniques and mannerisms of professional poker players through the use of streaming multimedia and instructional video e-mails.

Casino Poker Dealer is the first of three courses to be released in 2007 as part of the
Casino Gaming program. Gatlin plans to provide Learn to be a Black Jack Dealer and Learn to be a Baccarat Dealer in September.

“We are really excited to have this partnership with Gatlin Education Services,” said Kevin Upton, Director of Distance Learning for Johnny Chan Academy . “A career as a casino poker dealer is not only well-paying, but it’s gaining more interest as the game of poker has increased its popularity worldwide in the last few years. We are happy to provide students with the opportunity to be successful by learning from the best in the industry.”

Casino Poker Dealer is a perfect course for long-time poker fanatics as well as individuals who are new to the game. The course covers basic fundamentals such as shuffling, limits and how to handle cheques in today’s most popular card games including Seven Card Stud, Omaha and Texas Hold ‘Em. Students will have their skill progression critiqued by a professional poker dealer instructor, and after successfully
completing the program, the advisors at the Johnny Chan Academy will assist with
job placement and support.

Established in 1989 by Stephen Gatlin, Gatlin Education Services is the largest provider of Web-based, instructor-supported training to community colleges and universities. Gatlin’s online career training courses are open enrollment, allowing interested students to start their desired training immediately. Gatlin’s courses are designed to provide the skills necessary to acquire professional caliber positions for many in-demand occupations.

The Johnny Chan Academy offers the only poker school on the Internet that features lessons, tips and insight from poker legend, Johnny Chan. Chan has been described as the world’s most famous professional poker player, holding two World Series of Poker championship titles (in 1987 and 1988) and an impressive ownership of 10 WSOP bracelets. He is a founding member of the World Poker Association and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2002.

I am in no way endorsing this. If you find it useful - great.

As always, Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

A Message from the PPA

I received this in an email yesterday and got permission to reprint it here. I think this is something that everyone who plays poker online needs to hear. The situation won't get any better unless WE speak out. The PPA is giving us a voice that will be heard.


The State of Poker
by Michael Bolcerek

Tonight, in an annual tradition, the President of the United States will address the Congress, his cabinet and our country on the "state of the union" and the goals of the government for 2007. It is not likely the president will include the "state of poker" among his crucial national issues. Thus, I would like to take this moment to provide an update on where poker sits today and examine how you and the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) can continue to work together to preserve and protect the game we love.

As we know painfully well, poker has come under vicious attack over the past year. We continue to learn on a regular basis about home and tavern poker games being raided by law enforcement and how charitable Texas Hold 'Em tournaments are being shut down. Perhaps even worse, we have seen the federal government's full force efforts to curb this American tradition from the Internet. Legislation aimed at prohibiting you from funding your online poker accounts passed the U.S. House this summer, then was quietly slipped into a port security bill, literally in the dark of night, which was signed into law on October 13. During these troubling times, the PPA has given you a voice to express your opposition to the government's intrusive actions and to rally in a united fashion against these constitutional incursions.

The impact has been jarring, as the largest, publicly traded online poker operators shut down services to U.S. players. While many reputable sites still offer services to U.S. players, recent actions to close down payment processors and to subpoena banks are clear indications that the federal government is aggressively pushing the online gambling prohibition.

We don't have to tell you that a prohibition won't work, and in fact will likely cause many more problems than it aims to solve. The unintended consequences will soon be apparent and all the good intentions of protecting children, helping problem gamblers, and ensuring the integrity of financial transactions will be lost as rogue sites and unregulated payment methodologies surface to replace the trustworthy operators the government is driving out of business.

The PPA is not standing idly by. Poker should be exempt under the new law and that exemption is our primary goal. I have spent a good portion of January in Washington, D.C., meeting with lawmakers and others to get support for legislation that would provide a "skill game" exemption for poker. We hope to have a bill introduced very soon and then bring to bear the voice of more than 135,000 members of the PPA to push Congress to do the right thing. This would be a very positive development for the game. For the past year, we have been on the defensive, but now is the time to go on the offensive and get a bill introduced.

This year we will also be taking the issue directly to Members of Congress in their home districts, to truly nationalize the debate. We had a tremendous response from our members about becoming PPA grassroots representatives on the state and regional levels. Soon we will be announcing our positions across the country and engaging U.S. Representatives and Senators where they used to feel safe from facts and spirited debate.

While we are working toward the short-term goal of a poker exemption, the PPA will also be laying the foundation for the eventual U.S. regulation of online poker. This is the only proven public policy for online gaming. Licensing, regulating, and taxing online poker is technically feasible and the sensible and fiscally responsible thing to do. We will be working with others in Washington to move Congress in this direction.

Finally, we not only rely on your active participation but also on your active support to achieve our goals. Our new site now offers no cost introductory annual memberships. Please help us build our membership to enable us to deliver a full house to Congress and stop further threats to our game. Tell your friends, family, and fellow players to become members of the PPA. We also offer an ability to upgrade your membership from introductory to full membership and beyond. Our new and improved Web site, http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/, gives you tools and information to help our cause, as well as make it easier for you to donate to the PPA. I hope you will make a contribution at http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/donatenow.php.

2007 will be an important year for poker. With your help and continued support we are optimistic that poker will remain a great American tradition.

Michael BolcerekPresident,
Poker Players Alliance


Help out so we can continue to Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!