Friday, September 01, 2006

Sunday's Iditarod Fundraiser has been Cancelled

Sorry to report that Sunday's Iditarod Fundraiser has been cancelled. The Department of Revenue has notified Iditarod that they think it is illegal...this is despite the fact that Iditarod and other charitable organizations have previously been given the green light!!??

We have, however, not given up on a rescheduled date but it may have to be with an agency other than Iditarod. The DoR has mentioned their gaming license status might be negatively affected. This is obviously something we would never want to happen and our relationship has always been exceptional with them and we certainly hope it can continue.

We have retained legal counsel and will be seeking a meeting with the Department of Revenue to hopefully iron out a solution, and obtain something in written form, that we can move forward with.

In the meantime, Iditarod has started refunding monies on tickets they have sold at their office and the APA will do so at our Monday tourney in Wasilla. Monies received from our Anchorage sanctioned venues will be returned to those locations.

We would welcome your comments and will keep you informed here as things progress.

1 Comments:

Blogger Alaska Poker Association said...

The folowing e-mail was sent to all our members with valid e-mail addresses. IF you didn't receive it please let us know so we can update our records


Alaska Poker Association - Latest News

Dear Members,

It has been a pretty dark week for poker in Alaska.

Firstly, a social poker game in Anchorage was busted by FBI agents and APD officers. The fact the "bust" took place on the same night that two people were being shot in another part of town, plus the fact the group of friends had been playing together for the better part of 30 years, speaks volumes....anyway, enough of that for now, I will address it more in the blog on the website. Please feel free to voice your opinions...in fact I really hope you do!!

Secondly, our Iditarod fundraiser and poker tournament scheduled for Sunday had to be postponed when The Department of Revenue approached Iditarod officials and told them they didn't think it was legal in it's current form, even though they had told them previously it was o.k, and if it went ahead it could cause them problems. (Remember Iditarod needs a gaming license to operate and guess who overseas the issuance and renewal???)

So, what is happening here?? Is it an election year? oh yeah it is! Is this the real reason? I have no idea, but regardless of motivation we will continue to cooperate with the various agencies trying to govern our game. We have no reservations that what we are doing is legal and have made every effort to conform with whatever advice they give us...even though it has been very inconsistent. However, we believe it is time to secure legal counsel going forward and not take someone's word over the phone as the correct response to our questions. This is what we have done and will operate in the future with written decisions in hand.

As far as the fundraiser goes we will be meeting with the DoR later this week and the indications are that we can reschedule if we market the event in a slightly different way. To be fair to the DoR they do seem to want to cooperate with the Iditarod and allow them to find a solution to this problem. We will post on the blog the moment we know anything.

To you ticket holders, we really appreciate the way you have supported us. Over 90% of you turned down a refund and told us you would keep them until the event takes place...this has helped more than you can imagine. The approximately $3,000.00 worth of prizes the Iditarod
secured for the event is obviously a hefty investment to have to carry. We appreciate it and as a special thank you, the APA and FullTiltPoker are in the final discussions of providing you with a special freeroll. If you still have a ticket please e-mail me your name and ticket number and I'll get you signed up. I will also be at our Wasilla, Lake Lucille, venue this evening to collect this information.

As always, we REALLY appreciate your support and welcome any of your ideas or concerns,

Wayne

www.AlaskaPokerAssociation.com

"If you insist on living on the edge of the envelope -- you should expect to get licked occasionally"

8:51 AM  

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