I actually got an answer from this guy!
After reading that little note, I send an e-mail to him. Very polite, not disaggreeing with his goals, just telling him he was wrong. Got a response the very next day, kinda funny and pathetic. Here is my e-mail and his response:
Just read a short article by Mr. Katz re online poker.
Unfortunately, Mr. Katz doesn't know what he is talking about. There are
plenty of good reasons not to gamble. Gambling destroys thousands of lives
and negatively influences the lives of millions more. However, making
things up and/or lying about certain types of gambling is, in my opinion,
counter productive to the cause of gambling prevention.
What Mr. Katz's piece offers is an incentive for people to find out more
about online poker. Why? Because it is so obviously wrong. How do I know
it's wrong? I support my family by playing online poker, and have done so
for several years, as do many of my aquaintances.
Look, you can't just go around saying "you can't beat the rake!". Whether
or not the rake can be beaten depends on the size of the rake relative to
the game, and your skill relative to the other players in it. No matter how
noble your motives, the ends don't justify the means, and in these case the
means are counter productive to the desired end.
Just thought you should know
Some of your comments are good and that is appreciated.
But unless you PROVE your claims of winning, anyone stating that they are winning money in the long-run playing online poker, is only a rumor. Don't take it personal - I say that to EVERYONE.
You probably realize that gambling income is taxable and so you have paid taxes on the money. So simply do the following. Post in a public forum, not to me because anyone can photoshop items, do it in a public forum whereby everyone can see it including the IRS which also canvases the internet looking for tax cheats. No one should ever publicly post a false tax return. To the best of my knowledge this is a federal offense.
So...post copies of your last years federal tax return. Post two years since you said "several years." Also post copies of your credit card transactions and documentation from the gambling websites regarding deposits and withdrawals. Before posting though, take all this documentation to a very reputable accounting firm and have all the information audited. They will matchup the documentation with your bank statements, etc. And also post a signed letter from this accounting firm regarding the audit and the accuracy of your documentation. Since you've been paying your taxes and have filed and previously calculated all these figures anyway, this should all be quite easy for you to quickly hand over to the accounting firm. The audit will probably cost you around $2,000 but since you are making all this money playing online poker, a couple thousand bucks should be peanuts to you.
Everyone who I have asked to do this has refused despite the simplicity. If you want to do it...fine, e-mail me back with the public website info after it is posted and of course I'll take a look at it. If you don't want to do it...fine, but the article stands as fact. We both know that there is not any formula for "proving" that online poker can be beat. The best hand doesn't always win - it can be bluffed out. So again...the only way to prove claims of winning money would be showing documented and audited proof of this income. You made the claims, so prove it!
Best Regards,
Steve
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