NETeller Begins Repayment of Frozen U.S. Accounts --  Beleaguered online-payment processor finally made good on its long-deferred promise to allow U.S. customers to retrieve their frozen funds.  NETeller opened the floodgates on July 30, with nearly 400,000 U.S. customers expected to quickly withdraw approximately $94 million held by the firm while its negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice were ongoing.  In that matter, NETeller made an admission of guilt in marketing to the U.S. (largely in regard to sportsbook operations) and agreed to pay a total of $136 million in fines, a portion of which is deferred.  U.S. customers were simply relieved to be able to access their frozen funds, with no major problems reported in the withdrawal process, and EFTs [Electronic File Transfers] hitting U.S. accounts in as little as 12 hours after requests were made.  NETeller confirmed that over $40 million of the $94 million in frozen U.S. accounts was withdrawn in the first day alone.  U.S. customers have until Jan. 26, 2008 to complete the withdrawal of their funds.

WSOP Announces 2007-08 Circuit Schedule --  The popular WSOP Circuit events will return for a fourth season, with 12 events (roughly one per month) running through late May of 2008, when the next WSOP looms.  Nine different Harrah’s properties in seven states will host the Circuit stops, the earliest one at Grand Casino Tunica (Mississippi) in late August and early September.  Grand Casino Tunica is one of the two-stop locales, along with Caesars Indiana and Harrah’s New Orleans.   A complete schedule is available at www.harrahs.com.

Tuff Fish for President --  No, no, he’s just circulating a California-wide petition seeking to start a state-run online poker game.  Anthony Sandstrom, whose forlorn "Tuff Fish" poker videos on YouTube have developed a cult following, wants California to start a state-authorized online game, something fully legal under the auspices of the UIGEA.   Sandstrom will have as tough a go of it as he will posting a long-term winning session, however; he’ll need to amass 430,000 signatures just to get his initiative on the ballot.

Second Life Bans Online Gambling --  Virtual-reality worlds might not share large audiences with poker players, but they do share an affinity in being hampered by the UIGEA.  New Jersey-based Linden Labs ran afoul of the new legislation, with virtual casinos -- created by the site’s users, not Linden Labs itself -- declared non grata.  The total banning of online gambling from Second Life was expected in the wake of an earlier policy shift banning U.S. residents from that portion of the site.  An unknown is the long-term effect of the gambling ban on sites such as Second Life, where virtual gambling had enjoyed unexpected popularity.

Rousso Gets Court Date in State of Washington Action --  State of Washington residents and poker players have to root for Lee Rousso, the Renton, WA attorney who is challenging the draconian 2006 law making the playing of online poker a felony in that state.  Rousso’s four-point challenge seeks to overturn the law on constitutional and fair-trade grounds.  Rousso is the Washington state representative for the Poker Players Alliance, making this case that organization’s footprint in the legalities of online poker.