Moscow going all-in with poker

MOSCOW, Russia -- As reported by The Moscow Times: "Despite a ban coming into effect July 1, the city's gambling business will survive, with many Moscow casinos preparing to reorganize as poker clubs.

"From the start of July, 90 percent of gambling companies are planning to continue operating in the capital, becoming restaurants, entertainment centers and concert halls, Deputy Mayor Sergei Baidakov said last week. There are currently 549 gambling establishments in the city, including 32 casinos, he said.

"The entire Russian gambling industry was supposed to relocate to four special zones by this summer. Of them, the government has signed orders creating three: Azov-City, on the border of the Rostov and Krasnodar regions; Sibirskaya Moneta, in Altai; and Yantarnaya, in the Kaliningrad region. An order to create a zone in the far eastern Primorye region has not been signed, and none of the zones is sure to start operating by July 1.

"Approximately one-third of Moscow's casinos will start holding competitive poker tournaments after the July deadline, said an executive at the Gaming Business Association..."