Black Friday will be a time forever etched into the annals of poker history. For thousands of Americans the events surrounding Black Friday were life changing. Many people packed up their bags and emigrated to different continents so they could continue to earn a living they were accustomed to, while thousands of others had to consider alternative modes of paying the bills besides playing on online poker sites.
Without doubt the poker world changed but there were those that saw light ahead of the tunnel. These people said that over time poker would return to the great nation and a new regulated monster would soon be born. In preparation for the new awakening, the Nevada State Gaming Control Board (GCB) has announced that it will accept applications for online poker licenses as early as February 2012.
The announcement was made at the U.S Online Gaming Law conference held at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas last week. The slight twist to the tale is the fact that the licenses will only allow the operators to offer internet games to the residents of Nevada. For now, it seems as though interstate online poker is a few leaps behind intrastate legislation. Who knows, maybe soon we’ll be able to play poker for free
Creating an intrastate online market would be seen as a loss leader as it would not be able to create the mass of clients needed to earn a substantial profit. It seems that the casinos of Las Vegas have one eye on intrastate and a very big eye on the eventuality that they will be able to stretch their mighty claws to the rest of the United States.