Yes, some things still ARE sacred

This kills me.

Law enforcement officers are tightening their stranglehold on Internet poker, Neteller are running scared, rumours of high-profile arrests abound and barely a day passes without news of some American cardroom being busted by the police.

Yet in one quiet corner of the USA, the game continues, loud, proud and unabashed.

Take a bow, Holy Rosary Parish Hall, Genesee, Michigan. Here's one Protestant who'll be raising a glass to the Catholic church this evening...
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Neteller, in fact, seem to be running so scared these days, that I'm glad my money's more or less out. And I'm British.

UPDATE - Oh dear, just read this, while searching for a relevant Neteller link. Seems my nationality may be soon be immaterial...
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Don't get your hopes up with the early reference to the dead man's hand in this New York Daily News report on the death of alleged Mob footsoldier Louis 'Louie Cigars' Mele. Reporter John Marzulli is clearly no poker player.

Every detail bar one is covered in his account of Mele's death from a heart attack during a poker game in Hicksville, Long Island.

No mention, alas, of the cards he held at the time.

In Marzulli's defence, his oppo at the New York Daily Post doesn't exactly cover herself in glory, either.

Sloppy journalism, people. This game needs its fables like the Mob needs its nicknames.