Department of in-Justice Gets Some Cheese from the Big 3 Engines

In another move that pisses off free market economists like me, the Department of Justice forced Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft to pay about $31 million dollars in a settlement that goes back to a 2004 ruling, in which the Department of Justice decided that the 3 big search engines should not run any advertising for online casinos. The engines halted those practices in 2004, and now the DOJ wants a settlement? Come on. But hey, at least the government will spend that money wisely:

- $4.5 million from Microsoft to the government
- $7.5 million from Microsoft to the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- $9.0 million from Microsoft to a public service ad campaign, telling college-aged kids that online gambling is illegal
- Google and Yahoo fork over $6 million to the government
- Yahoo agrees to run $4.5 million worth of ads for public service announcements

Way to go, Uncle Sam. Just like the drug war, I'm sure that $31 million will stop online poker.

World Series of Poker Circuit, Day 2

Holy crap. It seems that John Racener was the last man standing at the final table, making him the Atlantic City champion in the circuit. It was Racener's second straight year at the final table, and it took less than 5 hours to see him walk away from the final table with the $379k in winnings. At 22, this is his first victory at a major tournament.

World Series of Poker Circuit: Day 2, Atlantic City

Well, talk about a marathon day of card playing. Day 2 of the World Series of Poker at Harrah's in Atlantic City saw 9 players left standing after 118 players had entered. Even Montel Williams showed up. Don't worry, he got beat. A tentative final chip count looks like this:

Samuel Skolnik – $572,000
Feming Chan – $371,000
Eric Buchman – $340,000
Adrian Velez – $320,000
James Nelson – $210,000
John Racener – $210,000
David Fox – $200,000
Joseph Brooks – $160,000
Thomas Fee – $160,000

Skolnik actually took the lead very close to the end of the day. I wonder who will walk out with all the cash. Stay tuned for more...