Friday November 17, 2006

poker politics

I found it suprising that an article in our local pro Nevada casino conservative newspaper wasn't written (or edited to have) a completely anti online casino bias. Its even more suprising that it was on the front page.

Unforunately I don't think we have a prayer that UIGEA will be repealed nor that the real indecenciess of how it was passed end up getting reflected in what kinds of people get elected to our governing bodies. I guess we have some hope that those making up the rules by which UIGEA will be executed will be political in nature and will create rules that are kind to online poker. But at best thats an uneasy and unspoken truce.

I wouldn't be completely suprised if we hear about the President playing poker in his youth at some point in the near future. Not for real money of course 'cuz that would hurt his abilities to attract the moralists but for fun so he can "connect" with the blue collar player who might vote for his party next time around. ( Nov 17 2006, 05:01:58 PM PST ) Permalink

Casino Royale

Its been a while since the last 007 came out. As outlined here this isn't the first production of Casino Royale although the articles author's did seem to forget that it wasn't (in movie time) bond's last attachment to a woman.

I saw and enjoyed the movie today. I very much enjoyed the young Bond. I thought the brash aggressive style could be made much of in coming episodes. The opening African chase scene was out of this world crazy. Nice seat on the edge building tension with a nice twist. The plot line was typical 007 although due to the need for what seemed like more setup then normal and what seemed like more time spent on the twist at the end the core story was a little rushed. I applaud the studio for not focusing on some sort of middle east terrorist plot and using less politically incisive but very relevant villians.

The less then stellar parts about the movie include the title track and the technical aspects surrounding poker. Either nobody on the set understood the basic rudiments of the game or they though the audience woudn't care. I suspect I'm going to see a bunch more silly river slow rolls in the coming months.

One of the best poker lines was the one that went something like "oh, and the valet ticket also". Of course 007 didn't have enough money on the table to cover the bet of the Austin Martin, but that was par for the poker course. ( Nov 17 2006, 04:48:49 PM PST ) Permalink