San Francisco Examiner – Over the past five years, the U.S. Justice Department has busted more than a dozen Internet poker sites that allowed Americans to play online for real money.
Websites were shut down, operators were arrested and millions of dollars were seized, even though all the websites were run from outside the U.S. and most of the operators were foreigners.
The message from the feds to the world is clear: If you run a website that allows U.S. citizens to play poker for cash, you’re breaking U.S. law and we’re coming after you.However, there seems to be an exception — and it’s right here in the heart of downtown San Francisco.
“What we’re doing is legal,” declared entrepreneur Jason B. Kellerman, owner and CEO of Pure Play, one of the largest online poker rooms in the world. “We’re not a gambling site. We’re a subscription-based poker site.”
Kellerman insists his Financial District operation breaks no California or federal gambling laws because the online poker tournaments — which award huge cash prizes to winners — are free to enter.
