Ethics

A couple of weekends ago, I headed down to a local theater to catch Harry Potter on the IMAX. It's a long movie, and I have the bladder of a six-year-old girl, so I had to hit the head about halfway through the movie.

While taking care of business at a stall, I was reading one of the convenient ads placed at eye level. Personally, I prefer newspapers, but hey any entertainment is welcome. However, this one kept my attention for a bit longer than typical.

It was an ad telling readers about Party Poker -- except that it was advertising http://partypoker.com -- not http://partypoker.net like Party's television ads normally do - plus, this ad was saying you could play for real money; again, something Party's normal advertising shies away from.

Reading on, the ad writer says you can get a $25 bonus if you use the listed bonus code (which was tied into St. Louis --- I don't want to publish it) and if you had any questions, to write the writer - AT A YAHOO ADDRESS!

It hit me after a second; this dude is trolling for bonuses!

I'm torn by this:

• On the one hand, I admire him for thinking up a fairly clever way to build up some bonus money; however,
• He's essentially passing himself off as a representative of Party, something he's clearly not. In addition, he's not mentioning that HE gets a $50 bonus for every person he signs up, and they get $25 after playing x number of raked hands.

When my brother, Dimebag, used me as a referral when he signed up on Party, he knew I was getting a bigger bonus. I wasn't hiding anything from him, and on top of that, we can't play on the same table. This is not a big deal, but I know I'd be a little curious as to why I was kicked off a table when I don't know anyone else playing on it, yet Party says I do.

Another issue that I think bears consideration is that EVERY ad I've seen for the poker sites stresses that they are NOT gambling sites -- you go to their .net version, where it's not real money. Internet gambling is currently under debate in the House (more on that in a later post); I don't think the sites are too willing to rock the boat much; realistically, everyone knows why they're there, but if you're not going to obey the letter of the law, you'd better look like you're at least honoring the spirit. Granted, an ad in a movie theater men's room isn't getting much exposure, but let's say someone takes out a similar ad in a local paper or on late-night television?

I think what this guy (or woman, for that matter) is being more than a little sneaky and dishonest; I'm not planning on contacting Party about this, because, frankly, it's really not any of my business. However, if you want to lie to me at the poker table, that's one thing -- I expect it and welcome it, it's part of the game, after all. If you want to be dishonest away from the tables, that's something else entirely, and passing yourself off as a representative of Party is a pretty weak way to make a few dollars.