Full Tilt's Own Al Capone

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -- George Santayana

When the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1919, the evangelical churches and political right wing of the day celebrated their “moral” victory with ginger ale parties and layered cake and ice cream. The sin of alcohol consumption was now going to be eradicated, they thought, once and for all. We just have to make it illegal, the do-gooders’ thinking went, and now all those misguided sinners who consume the Devil’s drink will surely stop. They will see the error of their ways and no one will ever drink again. Hallelujah! 

Yeah, right. It turned out that instead of creating Utopia, the final result of Prohibition was actually more booze consumed per capita then before it went into effect. The Amendment also spurred more crime, including rampant black markets and violent boot leggers, lower tax revenues, and more deaths due to a huge increase in dangerous and lethal forms of alcohol sold to unwitting patrons of speakeasies and parlor back rooms. In one fell swoop of the Prohibitionist's pen, organized crime received an HGH-steroid shot in the arm, and the otherwise average law-abiding citizen of the USofA became a criminal for simply taking a midnight sip.

Fast-forward to 2006, when do-gooding Senators Leach, Frist and Kyl tacked the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) onto the SAFE Port Act in the form of a midnight drop. We just have to make it illegal, the thinking went, and now all those misguided sinners who play poker online will surely stop. They will see the error of their ways and no one will ever play poker online again. Hallelujah!

I’m sure our government has more than a few good men and women working within its bowels, honestly trying to make improvements and better our society. But I’m afraid there are an equal number of hypocritical and short-sighted idiots like Jon Kyl about, who care more about reelections, backroom deals, and Indian casino PAC donations then they do about what’s actually right and reasonable for the American public. The common working person just wants to be left alone, allowed to spend his or her money however they see fit. If pols make an American pastime like playing poker illegal, the resulting ugliness, crime, and outrage should not be a surprise. Online poker won’t go away because of the UIGEA; it will simply be driven deeper underground, to shadier sites and locations with less protections afforded to the patrons of those sites.

Now, I realize that the owners and operators of Full Tilt, et al., are going to get what they deserve; they allegedly partook in deliberate bank fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering. In no way am I excusing their behavior. I am, however, not surprised that it occurred. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize that history has come full circle once again. Full Tilt’s Raymond Bitar may simply be the modern day equivalent of Al Capone. Well done, Jon Kyl. You should be proud of the Utopia you've created.

All-in for now...

-Bug