In his second show back from a long summer off, Jon Stewart took on the “Groundhog Deja Clusterf@#k” that is the debate over military action in Syria. Stewart had a particularly good time ribbing Sen. John McCain for his unabashed iPhone poker play during yesterday’s Senate hearings. “Hey, man, is this possible global conflagration interrupting your video poker time?” Stewart asked McCain. “You know what, Senator? Go. There’s a rascal scooter and a bucket of quarters with your name on it over at the Golden Nugget… Instead of playing pretend poker in the actual Senate, go to an actual casino…

From Pokerati Trust us, they’re not the same! First and foremost, it all boils to down to whom you’re playing. In a traditional game of poker, even online, you’re putting up bets against other players. You’re trying to win for yourself, but you’re also trying to beat them. But with video poker, it’s all about you. Maybe you’ll win and maybe you’ll lose, but you don’t have to focus on anyone else’s hand. Really the only commonality between the two games is the system of ranking cards. A good hand in poker is a good hand in video poker, but…

From Card Player Wired reported Tuesday that federal prosecutors in Nevada will no longer pursue hacking charges against two men who, in 2009, allegedly found a bug in International Game Technology’s “Game King” video poker device and used the glitch to win a six-figure sum. The case now focuses on a single charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for both. There was a long battle over whether the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act could apply to the case. “The United States of America, by and through the undersigned attorneys, hereby moves this Court to dismiss Counts 2 and 3…

On Monday, July 6, 2009, a video poker was the center of attention. Two engineers from Nevada’s Gaming Control Board showed up at the Silverton Casino Lodge. The off-the-strip South Las Vegas casino is best known for its mermaid aquarium, but the GCB geek squad wasn’t there to see swimmers in bikini tops and zip-on fish tails. They’d come to examine machine 50102, a Game King video poker unit on the casino floor that had been waiting for them, taped off like a crime scene, all weekend. Manufactured by International Game Technology – a gambling leviathan that boasts $2 billion…