DALLAS--I decided to do some image hunting at the State Fair of Texas this weekend. About 50 feet inside Fair Park, towering over me was PartyPoker.net's white and green tent. I was a little shocked to see it in light of new laws and Party's American pull-outs ... but apparently it was merely a sign of Party's marketing left-overs.
Inside the tent, it seemed like business was running as usual. A hired Dallas marketing firm was operating the tent and cute girls in Party attire and khakis were giving away t-shirts and hats. Free tournaments boasting Party Poker luggage for the winner ran about every three hours.
I decided to stick around for the 4 pm tourney hoping to find out how my fellow Texans felt about the recent online gambling prohibition. I found only two who played online poker, and only one played for real money, former University of Michigan math professor Dr. Shane O'Neill (above). O'Neill said the new law was intrusive and described it as "pure robbery" of poker players rights, but said it wouldn't stop him from playing on Party. He plans to play under an "international alias" if his American Party account ends up giving him trouble. I imagine he won't be alone.
