Supremes, Pokerstars say no to Washington poker

How'd I miss this? From the September 23 Seattle PI:

High Court upholds state ban on Internet poker, online gambling
The state ban on Internet gambling does not violate the U.S. Constitution, the Washington Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a decision released Thursday morning.

Hearing a lawsuit by a Washington online poker player, the state's high court heard argument that the Legislature violated the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution when it enacted a ban on Internet gambling. ...

Writing for the court, Justice Richard B. Sanders disagreed, finding that the Legislature did not overreach in restricting online gambling.

The immediate result? As of September 30:

Same for real money tournaments. (EDIT: And freerolls.)

Happy Days: paperwork filed, but back taxes remain

According to an October 2 story in the News Tribune, Happy Days finally filed their accounting paperwork with the state on September 16. Expect a slap on the wrist from the Gambling Commission.

Its next deadline: paying the city of Lakewood $35,500+ in back taxes before the end of October, or risk losing its business license.

And, well, these contrasting paragraphs don't sound good:

Happy Days owner Douglas Searle said the Aug. 28 closure is temporary and that interest is high among potential investors who could provide capital to help reopen soon.

[T]he Washington Recreational Gaming Association of Washington, a card room trade group, said the chief “killers” of the businesses are the economy and Indian casinos, which can offer more games – including craps and roulette – higher limits and more tables than card rooms. “Happy Days is a complete victim of that... It just can’t compete with the Emerald Queen,”