On the downside, not many people seemed to know they were closing down for a few days while they were updating their online poker room. Also, BetOnline’s poker players are having their funds transferred to their sportsbook account during this process. But don’t be worried if you have money tied into the poker room, although it may get transferred you will still have access to it.

If any new significant information comes up during this process, we will be sure to put up updates. In the meantime, if you are looking to play at reputable online poker rooms during the temporary closing of BetOnline, we recommend the following:

CarbonPoker.ag – They always have great bad beat jackpots along with nice bonus promotions.

Bovada.lv – Previously named Bodog, accepts US players only but has quick electronic payouts.

Fairly recently, Bodog.com switched its domain name to Bovada.lv to continue to accept gamblers within the United States. Bovada is the same as Bodog, so don’t be confused. With all the recent U.S. regulations and issues facing the online gambling world, Bodog.com just changed its name to Bovada.lv so they still could accept wagers from the U.S.

For those looking to gamble online that are within the United States, including people from Washington, New York, Utah and Maryland, we recommend BetOnline.com as a trusted and reputable online gambling site.

For those that are outside of Washington, New York, Utah and Maryland, and are looking to wager online to play casino games, poker, or place sports bets, Bovada.lv will still accept and payout any wagers placed.

The win was made through the promotion offered by Harrahs where players are paid out cash prizes if they manage to draw a royal flush. The sum of the prize depends on the make-up of the royal flush, and whether it is in clubs, spades, hearts or diamonds. The payout also depends on how much money is bet on the hand by the poker player.

Harrah’s top payout of $1 million was earmarked for a royal flush in diamonds – the exact hand landed by the woman, despite her very low wager.

Harrah’s Resort would not divulge the identity of the woman when approached, but did confirm that she had only been playing for two hours at the table before she hit the winning jackpot. The casino also said that the woman had notified them that she had only ever played Three Card Poker 6 twice in the past.

Harrahs’ promotion kicked off at the end of September and this marks the second time that the $1 million payout has been won since then. The first jackpot was won in October after another unidentified man wagered just $19. In November, 2011, a man from Virginia bagged $100,000.

The three issued press releases this week outlining the creation of a company that would set up web platforms and would put Bwin.Party in a position to enter the market when it becomes legalized and regulated.

Bwin.Party will have a 65% majority stake in the company, while Boyd Gaming will have a 10% stake. MGM Resorts will own the balance. According to the press releases, all three companies will have board representation.

According to a separate contract, Boyd Gaming entered into an agreement with Bwin.Party that it would use the online company’s technology to establish its own poker brand in the United States once the appropriate legislation has been passed. Although not yet confirmed, MGM is also thought to have entered into a similar 15 year agreement with Bwin.Party.

The President and Chief Executive of Boyd Gaming, Keith Smith said: “We see online poker as a compelling future growth opportunity for our company, and this agreement would position Boyd Gaming to quickly become a leader in the online poker market in the United States.”

Although Bwin.Party cannot predict when changes will come about in the US online poker market, the group was sure that it was gaining “significant momentum” by entering into these agreements. The venture also allows Bwin.Party to apply for a Nevada Gaming Commission gambling license.

A hearing scheduled for July 26th was meant to enable representatives of Full Tilt Poker to explain to the AGCC why it could not pay back its players since an FBI indictment against 11 executives in the online poker industry. The Commission wants Full Tilt to prove that it can protect its player’s funds and pay them out under any circumstances – something that the poker room has been unable to do.

Full Tilt was hoping that by the time the rescheduled hearing’s date came up, it would have good news regarding an acquisition deal, which would have allowed it to start paying back its players. Unfortunately, nothing concrete has happened between July and now, and analysts believe that the Alderney Gambling Control Commission will not be so quick to re-license the online poker room.

Full Tilt will have to come to the new hearing with better news and a full explanation of how it plans to pay back the millions owed to its players. If not, the chances of the group receiving an operating license by the AGCC are slim.

In the statement, the online poker room blamed the government for seizing its funds repeatedly over the years.

“As is obvious from the events that have transpired since April 15th, Full Tilt Poker was not prepared for the far-reaching, US government enforcement effort of Black Friday. Full Tilt Poker never anticipated that the DOJ would proceed as it did by seizing our global domain name and shutting down the site worldwide.”

In April, the group managed to reach a deal with the Department of Justice with the objective to help its players access their funds, however this never came to fruition and players are still left frustrated that they haven’t been paid out yet. The group claims that the money seized over the years by the government meant that $115 million was lost. It also claimed that one of its payment processors stole $42 million from the company, leading to more financial woes.

“Until April 15th, Full Tilt Poker had always covered these losses so that no player was ever affected,” said the group. It also said that it had “unprecedented issues with some of its third-party processors that greatly contributed to its financial problems.”

Fill Tilt said that its Dublin heaquarters has received visits from around six investment groups who expressed an interest in investing in the online poker site. It has also hired a financial advisor, not named in the statement, “to assist us in our search for an infusion of cash as well as a new management team to restore the site and repay players.”

A-Rod said that the parties did not discuss any disciplinary measures and he is now waiting to see if anything comes out of the meetings.

“In fairness to them, I said what I had to say,” he said. “I answered all their questions until they were tired, and then I’ll let them come back to us. I don’t know what they’re going to do with the information.”

In July this year, tabloids published an article claiming that A-Rod was seen attending underground poker parties in homes that were also frequented by stars such as Leo DiCaprio and Matt Damon. One tabloid also said that drugs were used at one of the parties and that a fight nearly broke out.

After the stories broke, the MLB issued a statement saying that it took these claims very seriously and would be investigating the matter. “As part of the investigation, the commissioner’s office will interview Mr. Rodriguez,” read the statement.

This is not the first time that Alex Rodriguez has been involved in poker games. In 2005, he was warned by the Yankees and the MLB to stay away from poker parlors after he was seeing playing in a New York based parlor with legendary poker pro, Phil Hellmuth.

The meeting began in London this week, with a request by Full Tilt’s solicitor, Martin Heslop, to postpone the hearing, citing fears of jeopardizing ongoing buyout negotiations by interested European investors as a reason. He also asked for future meetings to be held in private, away from the eyes of the media and players who were not only invited, but also encouraged to attend by the AGCC.

The Alderney Commission discussed the request for a private hearing, and an hour later, frustrated players and the media were ushered out of the room. There are no minutes of the meeting that transpired between the two sides in the private hearing, and the only statement that ended the day was that the meeting was going to be adjourned until September 15th. Poker forums, however, have noted that one of the reasons why the AGCC capitulated to these demands is that Heslop told the commission in no uncertain terms that Full Tilt would promise to pay back the GBP 250,000 in unpaid licensing fees owed to the commission if it granted the motion to have the hearing adjourned. The media went one step further and called this blackmail.

Watch this space as more details of the ongoing Full Tilt saga.

However, now that push comes to shove, there are efforts being made to repeal this provision. The Democrat Councilmember representing DC’s Ward 6, Tommy Wells, announced this week that he is making plans to introduce legislation after the summer that would put a halt to online gambling before it gets off the ground, and is hoping to get the provision repealed.

Wells claims that he did not fully understand the consequences of the provision when it was entered into the budget bill by his colleague, Brown and that he objected to the way that it was introduced.

He told the media: “It’s not good government. It’s not transparent.”

Following a hearing prompted by the Council’s chairman for the committee of finance and revenue, Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 3), the DC Lottery agreed to delay the implementation of online gambling until the beginning of the fiscal year, in the fall. Another hearing on the matter will be held in October and it is said that Wells is not keen to repeal the provision altogether until more information is heard by the lottery group.

Evans said: “I’m not going to do it until I’m very comfortable that this thing is OK. It could be a long time or not. I don’t have a timetable in mind. It’s not going to go into effect certainly until October, if at all.”

The DC Lottery said that it plans to implement an online gambling model that would limit anyone under the age of 19, and to cap deposits in accounts at $250 per week. The platform is already being designed by Intralot, and the idea has the potential to generate $13 million for the local government over the next four years.

Barton wants to introduce a bill very similar to Barney Frank’s last on that failed last year when it was steered through the House Financial Services Committee, except that Barton’s will go through the Energy and Commerce, of which he is chairman emeritus. And the simple reason that Barton wants to back the bill, besides the fact that fifteen million people play it online and that it has the potential to earn millions for the US economy, is because he is a huge fan of the game.

“I love to play poker,” he told the Vegas Sun in an interview. “When I was in the minority, I told the other lawmakers, ‘you’re in the majority, do something about it.’ But now I’m in the majority and I’m trying to get it going.”

Barton has a few obstacles ahead of him. He needs to enable the Commerce Department with the authority to issue new poker operators with licenses. In addition, he needs to ensure that his new legislation takes into account the recent legal developments in the online poker industry, namely Black Friday.

Barton has the support of the PPA and director, John Pappas noted: “We think he can bring a very strong coalition of conservative-minded Republicans to support it. He’s respected, not only with the more socially conservative, but the more fiscally conservative caucus within the House, and brings a really credible voice to this issue … because he understands why regulation makes sense, not only from the perspective of a lawmaker, but also that of a poker player.”