Before he became PokerStars lobbyist, NV regulator warned companies about doing business w/web giants

Saturday, April 16, 2011 | 9:45 a.m.

That's what Randy Sayre, now a PokerStars lobbyist, told a licensee in a May 28, 2010, letter. Indeed, Sayre told the attorney for a company that the Gaming Control Board would consider the applications on a case-by-case basis and that regulators would not look favorably on Nevada companies that did business with web poker outfits still taking U.S. bets. That letter was for a time posted on the GCB site. And don't forget: One of the points of the original PokerStars bill, before it was gutted and reduced to blather, was to lower licensing requirements for these companies -- even as the feds were pursuing and indicting them. And this letter was written long before Wynn Resorts and Station Casinos -- just a few weeks ago -- announced business deals with companies now under indictment.

I have posted Sayre's letter at right.

I also have posted a 2009 affidavit from an FBI agent that indicates the probe had been going on ever since the 2006 federal Internet gaming law was passed.