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Attention all seasoned Caesars customers! Come January 2013, privileged high rollers can indulge in Caesar’s new charter jet hire, specifically catered to all affluent “regulars” who frequent the casino resorts. 1500 annual flights will be provided by Republic Airways as part of the Caesars Rewards Program, ensuring prompt travel across the multitude of Caesar-owned properties. In addition to flights, special hotel rates and vacation packages are available as an extension to this gambling getaway.

The rewards program is great incentive for all big spenders to drop bigger bucks, but I can’t help but wonder how much this frequent flyer perk actually costs. Though rates were non-disclosed, I can safely assume this aircraft premium is truly a sky-high hit to the wallet!

We all know that poker is a game of skill. Now others are starting to take note, as a federal judge ruled in a recent decision.

Poker is a game of skill that is not covered under the federal Illegal Gambling Business Act, Eastern District Judge Jack Weinstein ruled yesterday.

Weinstein (See Profile) reversed the jury conviction of Lawrence Dicristina and found that, as a matter of law, Congress did not clearly intend to criminalize poker when it passed the act. Part of the judge’s reasoning was that poker games, in this case Texas Hold’em, are not purely games of chance.

“Bluffing, raising and folding require honed skills to maximize the value of the cards dealt by Lady Luck,” Weinstein said in United States v. Dicristina, 11-CR-414.

In a 120-page decision, Weinstein noted that New York courts have long considered that poker contains a sufficient element of chance to constitute gambling under state laws, N.Y. Penal Law §225.00(2). But the federal law is ambiguous as to whether it federalizes state gambling offenses, he said.

Even the attractive lady above can use her “assets” to help distract players. There are so many factors that go into winning money at poker. It’s nice to see some feds finally agree.

If you look at the history of poker, cheating has always been part of the game. This was true even in places like Las Vegas, particularly when one-deck games were prevalent.

Here’s an interesting video that discusses this history and some of the specific cheating scams. It also discusses strategies to help you establish or hide your poker face.

There have been some startling developments in the poker world recently, and an article in Grantland sums up the future of online poker:

After 15 months of speculation, frustration, and general inertia, the former online poker players of America finally heard the good news on Tuesday. A deal had been struck between the online gaming sites Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and the Department of Justice. Another deal between the DOJ and Absolute Poker was reported with details forthcoming. The early details are startling: PokerStars, one of the three companies shut down last April, will purchase its former competitor, Full Tilt, and pay the U.S. government $547 million to settle a civil lawsuit the government brought against Full Tilt. A portion of that money will be used to reimburse U.S.-based Full Tilt players who had their accounts frozen during the shutdown. PokerStars agreed to directly pay back another $184 million to non-U.S. customers to settle their outstanding balances.

The agreement signaled the imminent return of online poker in the United States after a lengthy hiatus that damaged the poker industry with dropping television ratings, waning interest, and a litany of lawsuits against sites like Full Tilt. Nobody thinks that PokerStars would have invested $731 million without some certainty that online poker would soon be legal in the United States.

It’s worth asking, though: Has poker’s moment passed? Has the biggest fad in the past 25 years of gaming — one that spawned movies, TV series, clothing companies, hundreds of books, and its own pidgin language — given up the ghost?

It will be fascinating to see the rush of services out there once regulations are finally in place.

“Rounders” is the ultimate movie for poker fans, and here’s the last poker game scene. Enjoy it if you’re a fan, but don’t watch if you haven’t seen the movie. Go out and rent it now!