The argument is aimed at crippling a prosecution that seeks to permanently shut down the three largest Internet poker companies operating in the United States.

I hope this strategy works. I really do.

The lawyers made their arguments in papers filed in federal court in Manhattan on Friday and Monday, seeking to have charges dismissed against the bank executive, John Campos, and co-defendant Chad Elie.

The government alleges that Elie persuaded Campos to let SunFirst Bank, based in St. George, Utah, process money for foreign-based online poker sites, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.

Both men had pleaded not guilty.

Lawyers challenged various gambling charges brought against the men for several reasons, saying the government had stretched gambling laws to bring charges against 11 individuals.

Lawyers for Elie cited the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, enacted in 1988, which they said puts poker in the same category as bingo and card games, but not with such card games as baccarat or blackjack.

The lawyers said poker differs from gambling games because the company that charges a fee or “rake” to provide a venue for the game — in this case the Internet — does not participate in the game at all.

They said online poker is a game in which the players have some control over the outcome.

“The players compete against each other on a level playing field, using an array of talents and skill to prevail over their opponents,” the lawyers wrote.

So we’ll see.

Stay tuned.

If it would help bring more revenue for the cash-starved state.

The Field Poll (which I’ve never heard of, I must confess) released one of the first public indications of voter sentiment on an issue that has consumed Capitol negotiations without producing a deal.

Fifty-three percent of registered voters want to license online poker and have the state tax its proceeds, and 41 percent oppose it, according to the survey.

Support for the idea is highest among younger voters, Democrats, independents and people who have played poker in a casino or card club.

What do you do when your leading sponsors have been busted by the U.S. feds?

Obviously, the World Series of Poker officials have a problem.

The WSOP is on the search for new interested sponsors.

Current WSOP partners are longtime sponsor Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, and new sponsorships Dearfoam Slippers and GoDaddy.com.

The GoDaddy logo will appear on all televised WSOP tables this year.

GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons says their Internet loving fans are happy about the partnership, though there were some issues pertaining to specific Gaming Control Board rules and regulations.

No doubt, the usual host of big online poker site advertisements are not present this year.

Most of the focus now is on the action, though the issue of Internet poker advertising crossing over into the WSOP may come up again prior to the Main Event.

We hope the feds come to their senses and stop prosecuting online gambling sites.

The American Gaming Association (AGA) is now working towards an online poker bill, which will likely be introduced to the U.S. Congress in the next month or so, as lawmakers and casino executives have been in discussions since the events of April 15, according to Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., President and CEO of the AGA.

The legislation would align with the constitution, allowing states to decide on the issue.

This is as it always should have been.

Let the people decide. Let them vote.

“You have to make sure each state has the right to say yay or nay,” said Fahrenkopf.

While the AGA’s job is to promote and protect the country’s gaming industry, it has remained neutral to online gaming bills that have come before Congress in the past, as well as individual state bills to provide internet poker.

The only real solution to the problem is to have the federal government get its act together.

If a blanket law was passed for the United States, the country could protect an estimated 15 million Americans who go online to gamble, and tax a poker share that could provide about $2 billion annually in tax revenue.

For Fahrenkopf, one of those benefits takes priority, as the major selling point of federal legislation is not dollars or an estimated 10,000 new high-tech jobs.

“I view online poker legislation as an anti-crime-consumer-protection bill,” he said.

“Now the result is also that it will generate some revenue. It will generate some revenue for the states involved, the states where the bettors are, and revenue generated to the federal government because there will now be tracking on winnings. People who are winning at online poker will have to pay income tax.”

One of three online poker companies named last month in a federal indictment will be forced to enter bankruptcy, leaving American card players with money on deposit with the Absolute and UB poker sites at least temporarily empty handed.

I’m not one of those with money on deposit, but I am pissed off on behalf of those  who do.

News from the poker websites’ parent company, Blanca Gaming of Antigua, said it planned to file for bankruptcy protection in Norway after being informed that the latter company had “no cash on hand and no prospects for any cash flow for the foreseeable future.”

“Most importantly, Blanca Gaming has provided notice … that it is currently unable to make any payments toward its debt obligations,” said officials in an email to shareholders.

“Additionally, Blanca has further advised that there will be no future payments.”

Meantime, a source in Costa Rica, where Absolute Poker and UB (formerly Ultimate Bet) have their operations centre says that more than 300 customer support and marketing employees – approximately 95 percent of the staff — had been laid off.

Judicial officials in Costa Rica have been on the heels of  Scott Tom and Brent Beckley, named in the April 15 U.S. indictment, raiding homes and offices in San José and Santa Ana.

On Monday judicial officials continued the raids, capturing several key figures associated with operations in Costa Rica.

The U.S. indictment alleges that the sites committed bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling offenses by “tricking” U.S. banks into processing online gambling transactions, a violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.

The indictment seeks at least $3 billion in penalties and forfeiture.

The bankruptcy means that players will never receive the money they deposited with Absolute Poker and UB, said a well known player (who asked to remain nameless).

What a shame.

Don’t you think?