BOOK NEWS

To the readers,

I am making progress on edits for ELLA and the light at the end of tunnel-- a finished book-- gets closer. 

Draft three is nearing completion and a final edit to smooth out rough edges will be next. I do not have a time frame for when the book might be available on Amazon, but will update when I figure it all out. 

I want to take this time to thank all the readers that have followed this novel as I have posted it serial style, chapter by chapter, over the last year and a half. The feedback I have received truly has helped more than I can tell you. I owe a debt of gratitude especially to Joshua Neary, who was there to read each new installment, hot off the press. 

At present the novel is getting close to 'readable' status. Any of you that have followed this serial that wish to read the collected draft and give feedback towards the final effort, feel free to contact me or comment on this post. Also, when the novel does finally hit the streets, those that have followed along will get a special thank you. 

I am excited and nervous about the next stage-- getting this book ready for publication. There is so much to be done, but hopefully soon I will return to this space with a date and time to share. 

Thanks again to all that have taken the time to read and comment. 

From Las Vegas,

Stephen Moran 

REVIEW OF ULTIMATE POKER AND WSOP.COM

WSOP.COM went live on Thursday the 19th of September, joining Ultimate Poker as the only legal, regulated poker sites in America. In this post, I'll give a brief review of both sites and a brief summary of the current state of online poker in America.

As of this writing, there are only two Legal Sites in America-- both of Nevada- Ultimate Poker, run by Station Casinos with a close alliance with UFC and WSOP.com, run by Caesars Entertainment, which owns the WSOP brand. 

Ultimate Poker went live April 30th and has developed a solid base of regulars that play the site. It exclusively offers Texas Holdem in both cash and tournament versions. Average daily volume of players-- 150. 

WSOP.com offers Holdem, Omaha and Stud poker. Average daily traffic is 75 (http://www.pokerscout.com/) at present and climbing steadily as Caesars is now beginning to ramp up advertising for this site.

Neither site at present has enough traffic for poker players to grind out a living. As other states come online (New Jersey on November 26th), the player pool will expand and offer a better experience to all. 

Both sites have positive and negative points.

Ultimate Poker has superior customer service and has answered every complaint and suggestion thrown its way by players. However, their software lacks many of the usual bells and whistles poker players have come to expect such as waiting lists, the ability to take notes, among other features. 

WSOP.com has far superior software, but trails UP in base numbers, as it charges higher rake by 11% and has an inferior VIP program. 

All in all, these two sites are on a learning curve--- both have a presence in the 2+2 forums and interact with players on various issues to get up to speed. Both have opportunities to improve-- UP must improve its software and WSOP.com has experienced complaints with customer service.

Bottom line--- legal online poker in America is in its infancy, but improving by the day. 

http://www.wsop.com/

http://www.ultimatepoker.com/