Online Crack Down
A 41-year old player from the U.S. state of Virginia, only known as 'David', won $10,000 at Pokerstars.com on the Sunday before Memorial Day. The win made him eligible for the upcoming WSOP as he only had to cash the check and use the $10,000 to buy into the series.

However, when he went to cash the check that was cut by the company that processes payments for Pokerstars, the check bounced. Turns out that the U.S. government cracked down on online poker and this affected over 27,000 people, including David.

The federal government ordered five banks - including Wells Fargo and Citibank - to freeze a total of $30 million in payments owed to the players from companies that process payments from popular poker sites Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars.

A number of players who were affected by these actions finally realized what was going on last weekend when they could not access the funds in their accounts after checks issued from the companies bounced. Said David:"It's not like the government went after money that the site made, instead they seized money that belonged to me. There is no law that restricts citizens from recovering money."

No Legal Precedent
"There is no legal precedent for what the government is doing," said John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance (a group that represents the interests of the companies and players). "We contend playing online poker is not unlawful. The government is going after the players' money, not the sites'. The fact is, there is no federal law against playing online poker," he said.

In a letter faxed to Alliance Bank of Arizona, Arlo Devlin-Brown, the assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York said that accounts held by payment processor Allied Systems Inc. are subject to seizure and forfeiture "because they constitute property involved in money laundering transactions and illegal gambling offenses," according to the AP.

The alliance responded by saying that the laws cited by prosecutors "appear to allege violations of the Wire Act and the Illegal Gambling Business Act" and not to a more recent piece of legislation on online gaming called the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Though the government maintains that online gambling is illegal, Washington is still the only state with a law that bans residents from playing on the Internet.

"I can't believe the government is reaching into people's bank accounts like this," said Sam Friedman, a 24-year od accountant in New York who plays every night in tournaments at Full Tilt. "For a lot of serious players this is their lifeblood. This is how they make ends meet."

Fully Reimbursed
Both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars have reimbursed players who tried to cash out and were unable to.

Said Full Tilt Poker spokeswoman Michelle Clayborn: "In light of recent events involving the freezing of certain accounts, Full Tilt Poker would like to assure all players that their funds remain safe and secure. All players who were affected by the current situation have had their funds returned to their accounts."

As for David, he has been reimbursed by PokerStars and they even gave him an additional 10 percent credit. In the meantime, he used his own savings to buy into the WSOP and will pay himself back as soon as he gets his winnings.

It's one thing when the government decides to block access to gaming websites, but when the Feds start touching people's bank accounts, it takes things to a whole new level. U.S. players need Barney Frank and his pro-gambling bill now more than ever by the looks of it.