Author Jennifer Newell's poker week in review for April 29-May 5.

Our consolidation of the week's news is quick and to the point — seven stories, to be exact — for the week ending May 5. Let's go.

No. 1 — Ultimate Poker Launches in Nevada

Ultimate Poker became the first real-money online poker website to launch in the United States on April 30. The Nevada-based company opened for business with geo-location technology that allowed players within Nevada borders to sign up for an account with real money, while those outside the state could register for future trips to Nevada.

There were some initial problems with registration, the primary one being that Verizon cell phone customers were unable to register, as Verizon is not allowing the use of geo-location for Ultimate Poker. A few software issues and download problems also plagued the company over the first few days, but most of those were resolved.

The mixed reaction was one that required Ultimate Poker to emphasize that the launch was a field test of sorts, one that will lead to more and more improvements as the Nevada oversight committee signs off on progress at every step. The first day of action saw an average of 75 players on the site, and that number increased through the first $10,000-guaranteed tournament on Sunday, which sold out with 200 entrants ponying up $100 each for the buy-in, hitting the tournament’s cap.

No. 2 — PokerStars Casino Deal in New Jersey May be Dead

It became apparent last week that there was trouble brewing between Rational Group, PokerStars' parent company, and the Atlantic Club Casino in New Jersey, as rumors swirled that the acquisition deal was dead. The Atlantic Club confirmed it with a statement that the contract with PokerStars was terminated and the casino would actively pursue another opportunity. PokerStars' communications head, Eric Hollreiser, then responded with a Twitter-released statement. PokerStars had been under the impression that a closing deadline was to be extended and that the company was "entirely invested" in a resolution that kept PokerStars in New Jersey.

As this is posted today, May 6, Rational Group filed a lawsuit regarding the situation. The defendants include those involved with the Atlantic Club, and the lawsuit claims that those defendants acted in bad faith with regard to the contract's termination. In addition, Rational seeks a temporary restraining order to void the termination, prohibit Atlantic Club from seeking other buyers, and impose a lien on the property for the money that Rational has invested thus far. A judge already granted that order.

No. 3 — King to Introduce US Online Poker Bill

As three states have now legalized some form of Internet gambling, and more are in the process of considering it, some in Congress feel that a federal bill is necessary to set a national standard for the online gambling industry. U.S. Representative Peter King of New York revealed last week that he is working on a bill to introduce to Congress in the near future.

King has released little information about the proposal except that it will be mostly relevant to online poker instead of a wider range of games, though it will include some provisions for state lotteries, presumably for their forays into Internet sales of lottery tickets. There is a desire to introduce the bill to Congress and push for a vote before states like Delaware and New Jersey are able to officially launch their online gambling ventures.

No. 4 — Delaware Chooses Online Gaming Operating Partners

The state of Delaware is finally making progress with its online gambling process, as months of applications and reviews led to an announcement of the winners of the online gambling software and services contract. The winners are the three members of a joint venture — 888 Holdings, Scientific Games, and Williams Interactive. Those who were rejected included IGT, PokerStars, and SHFL Entertainment.

The three winning companies joined together in February to bid on the contract. Scientific Games was already a partner with Delaware Lottery Products and offers online gaming products, and that company will work alongside Williams Interactive of WMS to provide the platform and support services. The poker offering will come from 888, and WMS will then be able to offer those products to land-based casinos, as well.

No. 5 — Country Online Gaming Updates

Sweden's government-run Svenska Spel online poker venture signed a new agreement with Spielo G2, its digital software provider. The contract runs for another four companies and signals a strong relationship and significant potential for continued growth.

In the UK, the Department of Culture Media and Sport gave approval for the point-of-consumption tax that will require offshore gambling sites to pay a tax on gross gaming revenue to operate within the UK. Many companies in the industry have complained that the 15% proposed tax is too high, and there will be an opportunity to assess that further. Meanwhile, the bill now goes forward in the legislative process.

Mexican Senator Maria Espinoza has proposed a repeal of the country's 1947 gambling law and put forth a new bill to replace it. The law will include a National Gaming Commission that will handle all facets of the business, from licensing to inspection and enforcement of online gambling sites. The proposal includes strict regulation for the industry as Espinoza views it as a "highly questionable activity" and cites the need for regulation to prevent "tragedies" that have occurred.

No. 6 — States Online Gaming Updates

The bad news comes from one state: Massachusetts. There had been an amendment to the state budget that would include online poker as part of the revenue-generating part of the upcoming year's budget. However, the budget recently moved forward without that amendment, meaning that online poker will have to be proposed in a unique bill at some point in the future.

The good news came from Victor Rocha of Pechanga.net in an interview with QuadJacks regarding online gambling in California. He stated that he is 75 percent sure that new legislation will be introduced in the state by June, and it could be passed by August. The difference between this and other bills is that this has broad support from Indian tribes and cardrooms alike. It is currently being drafted.

Two online poker initiatives for the 2014 Washington state voter ballot have been released in full. The first is I-582 that would legalize and regulate online poker in the state through the Washington State Gambling Commission. And I-583 would repeal the current law that penalizes online poker players with the threat of a Class C felony, including up to five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. Each proposal needs at least 300,000 signatures from residents of the state before they reach lawmakers.

No. 7 — More Player Complaints for Lock Poker

Previous complaints from online poker players about long wait periods for cashouts from Lock Poker were compounded last week with new revelations about players being denied cashouts at all. Much of the scene played out on the Two Plus Two forums with a representative from Lock Poker addressing players who were denied the ability to cash out funds that had been the product of transfers from other players. Lock Poker was trying to discourage the selling of funds on the site for less than face value, but the complications arise when players contend they played on the site with those funds before trying to cash out.

Later in the week, it was reported that Lock Poker funds were trading even lower than $.50 on the dollar, as a new rumor sent that number even lower. That rumor contended that a substantial part of Lock Poker funds had been invested in a Cyprus bank, which lost much of its value in the Greek banking crisis. There is still no confirmation to this assertion, but Lock funds continue to drop in value.