Fabrizio interviews Jay Rosenkrantz – a screenwriter, producer, and former high stakes online poker pro. He produced and starred on the G4 TV series 2 Months $2 Million, co-founded the poker training site DeucesCracked, and is the writer and co-creator of the YouTube animated poker comedy The Micros. BET RAISE FOLD: THE STORY OF ONLINE POKER shows how this multibillion dollar industry met it’s fate on “Black Friday,” – not the shopping day, but the day that online poker was shut down. There will be a special showing at the Alamo Drafthouse Slaughter Lane on Dec.9th. Tickets are available for purchase HERE
INTERVIEW
BET RAISE FOLD: THE STORY OF ONLINE POKER is a coming-of-age story for an entire generation of young poker professionals. The film follows Danielle, a young mother from rural Minnesota who used online poker to support her family; Tony, a Las Vegas tournament pro who co-hosts the World Poker Tour on television; and Martin, a world-traveler from Australia obsessed with understanding the intricacies of the game. These players used online poker to build a life, only to have it all stripped away in one fell swoop by forces beyond their control.
BET RAISE FOLD: THE STORY OF ONLINE POKER follows three online poker players – Danielle Anderson from Minnesota, Tony Dunst from Nevada, and Martin Bradstreet from Australia (but living in Canada). The film reveals the politics of the day and what led to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA). The UIGEA made it illegal for online gambling sites to establish transactions with American financial institutions. The biggest American sites – PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker – kept their money offshore and it did not slow down their members’ activities. This enabled the Department of Justice under President Obama relied on the UIGEA to shut down all American online poker sites in what became known as Black Friday. Online poker sites’ money was frozen, including all the funds kept in the sites’ “banks” by online poker players. PokerStars was eventually able to give players their money back, the famous poker-player owned and operated Full Tilt Poker had mismanaged funds including players’ money. In 2012, a federal judge declared that poker was a game of skill, not chance, and thus could not be considered gambling. Online poker was thus no longer illegal under the UIGEA. The online sites and the Department of Justice eventually entered into a settlement resolving the financial and legal issues. As of 2013, players still have not had their money from that site returned although the Federal Government has decided to repay the players the money that Full Tilt Poker had lost through mismanagement.
VOD Release Date: DECEMBER 1, 2013
Runtime: 100 minutes
Director: Ryan Firpo
