Full Tilt Poker Shut Down by FBI - Alternative Poker Sites Revealed
The FBI and DoJ were undoubtedly proud to boast their official seals of authority on the blacked-out websites of the world's largest US-facing online poker rooms last week as Full Tilt, PokerStars UB and Absolute Poker were all shut down by the US government.

April 20, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The FBI and DoJ were undoubtedly proud to boast their official seals of authority on the blacked-out websites of the world's largest US-facing online poker rooms last week as Full Tilt, PokerStars UB and Absolute Poker were all shut down by the US government. Fortunately, there are plenty of other sites accepting American poker players, and MyPokerBasics.com is more than happy to reveal them.


It was a fine day for US authorities, but a veritable cyclone of emotions and outrage for American online poker players, as the FBI and Department of Justice finally achieved something they have sought to do for the last five years. They shut down the world's largest US-facing online poker sites Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, UB and Absolute Poker.

Last week, the FBI and DoJ put their official seal of authority on the web site home pages of all four leading poker sites, followed by a menacing communique that accused these operators of money laundering. The domain names had been formally seized by US courts after the FBI opened an investigation into the allegations of criminal activity.

Even more disturbing for many American poker players was the following text, which basically stated that any American who willingly and knowingly placed bets for real money at these poker sites was guilty of unlawful internet gambling. The affects have reverberated throughout the online poker community since the missive appeared on the afternoon of April 15, 2011.

The initial shock was nervously dismissed by many members of Full Tilt Poker who assumed there must be some mistake. The whole fiasco had to be some sort of prank by hackers, if not a belated April Fool's joke from the head of the poker room. As players realized it was not just Full Tilt Poker, but also its biggest rival PokerStars and both occupants of the Cereus Poker Network, UB and Absolute Poker, waggish tension turned to ominous anxiety.

It was finally confirmed later that afternoon that the FBI had indeed seized control of FullTiltPoker.com and the other poker sites in question when an US Attorney released a statement that he had filed formal charges against the poker operators. Thus the US government had confiscated the domain names in lieu of the FBI's investigation into allegations of money laundering.

Where does this leave American online poker players, the majority of which spent their time wagering dollars at these leading poker sites? Confused, anxious, perhaps a bit frightened by the portentous notice, but also questioning whether they would be able to continue enjoying their electronic pastime.

MyPokerBasics.com was quick to evaluate the situation, revealing to American online poker players the top qualified poker rooms that still proudly accept US players. There are indeed some safe alternatives to Full Tilt that still accept US players.

MyPokerBasics's examination exposed one very interesting detail. The new leader in US online poker provision is the Merge Gaming Network. Though the network always held a strong foot in the door of American online poker enterprise, it simply could not compete on a parallel level with the sheer size of Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and the Cereus Poker Network as a whole. Now that they are temporarily, if not permanently, subdued by the US government, Merge has inevitably fallen directly into the limelight.

MyPokerBasics.com unearthed the top three US-facing poker sites for Americans to be Sportsbook Poker, established over a decade ago in 1997, along with Players Only (2006) and Lock Poker (2008). Each is a prominent and distinguished member of the Merge Gaming Network, recognized for its soft competition, appreciable round-the-clock activity and intense devotion to American player acceptance.

As the online poker world sits in apprehensive wait for an end, or at the minimum a definable declaration of portent, there is at least some comfort in knowing that, thanks to the hasty efforts of MyPokerBasics.com, Americans are still able to fulfill their leisure pursuit of playing poker over the internet in a safe, secure and accepting environment.

For more information please visit http://www.mypokerbasics.com.

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