As if they understood what was going to happen a full five months later, in June of 2011 the state of Nevada in the US legalized its online poker gaming industry. At that time the federal government in the United States still considered online poker illegal, but Nevada has always been at the forefront of gambling in the brick-and-mortar casino industry, so they decided to push the envelope and position themselves at the forefront of any possible federal legislation which allowed for interactive gaming for money in the US.

Their crystal ball has been functioning fine and in apple pie order, because in December of 2011 the United States Department of Justice flip-flopped their age old opinion. They stated that intrastate and interstate online sales of lottery tickets and online poker were not illegal. This opened the virtual doors for the World Wide Web to offer online poker to American citizens, with one catch. The DOJ dictated that each state must develop their own online poker destiny.

That was just fine with Nevada, who in early 2012 became the first of the United States to pass a comprehensive piece of  online poker legislation. Residents of and travelers to the Silver State would soon be allowed to step up to the virtual felt and enjoy some responsible poker play for cash, but the online infrastructure had to be created first. Here we are in January of 2013, and the groundbreaking and history making first hand of legal online poker provided by a United States online poker company has yet to occur.

However, since Nevada has already licensed multiple interactive gaming companies in the fields of software, hardware, support and marketing, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval recently tasked the state’s Gaming Control Board with delivering actual online poker play “within 30 days.” He publicly made that declaration on January 19, and there is no doubt that the license holders who paid a nonrefundable $400,000 deposit for simply a chance at offering online poker in Nevada are ready to virtually shuffle up and deal as well.

Once approved, an undisclosed licensing fee was paid by companies such as Caesars Entertainment Corp., MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts on top of the 6 figure viability application fee. No doubt on Sandoval’s mind is the positioning of Nevada as the leader in online poker in the United States, and it appears that a February delivery of online poker is going to happen. Travelers to the state of Nevada can also legally enjoy online poker play from any computer with an internet connection any time day or night, and the Silver State appears ready to take its long-awaited seat at the head of the US online poker table.