Home / Poker News August 2013 / The Poker Grapevine – Opportunities in “Runner Runner” for Poker Industry?
The Poker Grapevine – Opportunities in “Runner Runner” for Poker Industry?
Posted by: Randy Williams - Thu, 2013-08-29 09:58
“Runner Runner” starring Benn Affleck and Justin Timberlake is a movie due this fall and it marks Ben Affleck’s first ever role as a villain. For the online poker industry though, it carries a much further reaching significance, and it is this significance that AGA president Geoff Freeman plans to exploit to further the US legalization of the game.
The motion picture is basically about a cash-strapped student (Justin Timberlake) who happens to be a math genius and who decides to
play online poker to cover his tuition. While playing, he realizes that he’s being fleeced, so he decides to fly to Costa Rica and to track down the operation, in order to eventually confront the mastermind behind the business, Ivan Block (Ben Affleck). Affleck makes Richie (Justin Timberlake) an offer he can’t refuse, but before he can get to pocket the money and begin enjoying the fabulous online poker tycoon lifestyle, the FBI gets to him. Richie suddenly finds himself between a rock and a hard place, trying to maneuver his way between the two forces aiming to consume him.
The inspiration for the film may well have been the Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet cheating scandal, which saw rank-and-file players cheated out of their bankrolls through the use of backdoor programs that made their hole cards visible to certain opponents.
According to AGA President Geoff Freeman, the movie shines a light on the very problems that proponents of legal US online poker are fighting against. Online poker may be called the internet’s “dirty little secret” in the movie, but it doesn’t have to be that. By putting a proper regulatory framework into place, the US government can effectively bring online poker into the light, taxing the activity and guaranteeing players the safety of their online poker funds.
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