Poker Winnings still won’t be Released

If you’re a poker player then just thank god that you don’t live in New York.  Not only did the Southern District of New York decide to seize the funds of over 20,000 poker players, but the government has decided to hold on to the money for quite some time into the future.  In fact, it has reported that it could be years before the millions in online poker money will ever be seen again.

But at least I’ve heard a semi-good reason as to why the money is being withheld now – although it’s not that good of a reason.  A refuted money launderer named Douglas Reddick is at the forefront of the case and, for some reason, he is the main reason why the money won’t be unlocked.  I haven’t heard the full details of the case, but I’m still wondering why charges against the Canadian Reddick is the reason why over 20,000 players had to have their money frozen.

The one good thing about the case is that Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars really took the brunt of the money being seized.  That’s because, when players’ checks started bouncing, both sites reimbursed their players for the cash that was frozen.  So from what I’ve heard, Full Tilt and PokerStars are the ones who are eating the costs of the money that’s been seized.

Still, I think it is ridiculous that New York could potentially hold on to this money for years because of a pending case against one man.  I know the UIGEA has a lot to do with this as well so maybe once it’s repealed, states won’t be able to do crazy things like this with online poker money in the future.