美国职业扑克选手还是没能摆脱黑色星期五的厄运

　　一年前，美国成千上万的专业在线扑克选手被剥夺了在线参赛和谋生的权利，选手们眼睁睁地看着司法部对全球最大的三家在线扑克网站提出诉讼。

　　去年四月，随着美国政府继续加紧对在线博彩业的掌控，PokerStars、Absolute Poker和Full Tilt Poker 受到来自司法部的起诉，诉讼的结果引起了职业选手的愤怒，他们不得不寻找其他途径来养家糊口了。

　　“这是我人生最终最糟糕的一个日子” Stanley Kline说“我曾经靠在线扑克这个职业过了几年好日子，但是噗的一声，一天之间这一切就都没了，我找到了另一份工作，但是我还是希望有一天能回到依靠职业扑克过好日子的时光”

　　Kline的说法代表了全国扑克选手的心声，甚至一些选手在网站被关闭时搬出了美国，Tommy Dansby就是一个发现自己五位数的收入突然因为“黑色星期五”而消失的扑克选手。

　　“前一天，我还有一份年薪75000美元、我喜爱的并能够养活家人的工作，第二天，我就失业了，这是一个非常时期。幸运的是我能够重新振作起来，但是我想不是每个人都能像我这样幸运”

　　一名不愿意透露姓名的前职业在线选手声称，他在失去扑克工作后不到六个月就申请破产了。

　　“我尝试去赌场打牌，但是它们是截然不同的两回事儿”这位匿名选手说“在线上，参加比赛的都是真正热爱并全身心投入其中的人们，而在赌场里，我碰到了太多的临时玩家，而这样有时候就会伤害到职业选手，我们习惯了面对其他的顶级比赛选手，所以当一名业余玩家加入进来时，有时就会影响比赛”

　　政府已经知晓了数十万职业选手的抱怨，立法者开始着手修改现行法律，司法部去年12月份发表的声明称除了体育博彩之外的所有线下博彩形式都是合法的。

　　这份声明影响到一些州来谨慎制定法律管理控制网络赌博，新泽西州和内华达州是全球在线博彩管控的先行者，而佛罗里达州、爱荷华州、夏威夷、伊利诺伊州和加利福尼亚州都在讨论如何紧跟新泽西州和内华达州之后进入这一领域，这些州的立法者相信在线博彩是一个能够创造成千上万就业机会和亿万美元财政收入的机会。

　　译文：

　　Poker Players Still Not Over The Effects Of Black Friday In US

　　One year ago, thousands of professional online poker players were stripped of their right to make a living online in the US. The players sat back and watched as the Department of Justice issued indictments against three of the biggest online poker sites in the world.

　　Last April, PokerStars, Absolute Poker, and Full Tilt Poker drew the wrath of the DoJ as the US government continued to tighten the reigns on the online gambling industry. The result of the indictments was outrage by the pro players, who were left having to find different avenues to feed their families.

　　"That was one of the worst days of my life," said Stanley Kline. "I had been surviving for several years making a good living playing poker online, and then poof, one day it was just gone. I found another job, but I would love to someday go back to doing what I do best for a living, and that's playing poker."

　　Kline's sentiment is shared by poker players from around the country. There were even some players who moved out of the country once the sites were shut down. Tommy Dansby was a player who suddenly found himself without a five figure income because of Black Friday.

　　"One day, I was making $75,000 a year, with a job that I loved which helped me support my family, and the next day I was unemployed. It was quite an adjustment period and luckily I was able to rebound. I don't think others were as lucky as me."

　　One former pro online player who wished to remain anonymous claims that he filed bankruptcy less than six months after losing his poker playing job.

　　"I tried to play in the casinos, but it just wasn't the same," said the anonymous player. "Online, there are people who really love the game and treat it seriously. At the casinos, I was running into too many casual players, and sometimes that can hurt a professional player. We're used to facing other players who are the top in the game, so when an amateur comes in, it sometimes shakes up the game."

　　The government has heard the complaints of hundreds of thousands of players, and lawmakers are starting to work on changing the current laws. The DoJ issued an opinion last December that claimed all forms of gambling, outside of sports betting, were legal under the Wire Act.

　　That proclamation led to several states crafting laws regulating Internet gambling. New Jersey and Nevada are leading the way into the online gambling regulation world, but Florida, Iowa, Hawaii, Illinois, and California have all had discussions regarding following New Jersey and Nevada into the industry. Legislators in these states believe online gambling could be an opportunity to create thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue.