Call it the calm before the storm.  A brief respite in the schedule of major spring poker events meant for a relatively quiet week for poker. Several peripheral issues connected to the United States and the UIGEA led the way, from Barney Frank and his upcoming anti-UIGEA legislation, to online poker rooms Ultimate Bet & Absolute Poker curtailing their U.S. player-representation deals for Stateside advertising. And if you’re coming to Vegas to play poker this summer, you’ll have plenty of choices besides the Rio, home to the WSOP:

No Carve-out for Poker, 'Frank'-ly Stated --  Reuters broke the news on Thursday that Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) attempted repeal of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act [UIGEA] would not include any poker-specific language.  Frank’s mode of attack is a broader based assault citing civil freedoms and the U.S.’s failure to heed potential WTO sanctions, not to mention ignoring billions of dollars in potential tax revenue.

Absolute Poker, Ultimate Bet End U.S. Player Endorsements --  The two-headed beast known separately through the sites Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker -- now part of the same parent company -- quietly ended its U.S.-based player endorsement agreements last week.  Among the players affected are Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Antonio Esfandiari, Mark Seif, and Michael Mizrachi, who will no longer be used for promotion of sites within the U.S.  The move is generally viewed as an attempt to shield these players from potential legal repercussions in the event the U.S. Justice Department would try to make something of a grandstand play, a high-profile arrest or detainment regardless of facts or legal viability of any future case.

'I Bet You'... Won’t Skip a Hot Date to Watch It... --  Instead of one poker "buddy" program featuring best friends making outrageous proposition bets with one another, we’ve now got two.  High-definition channel MOJO (which actually goes under its previous name of INHD until May 1) announced a new program, I Bet You, premiering in early May.  The show serves up poker buddies Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari in all kinds of crazy escapades, including trying to teach poker to non-card-player strippers and coaching YMCA kids’ basketball teams for fun and profit.  Don’t ask why.  It’s a prop bet, and prop bets are just because.  We recommend TIVO.

Find the Vegas Casino NOT Hosting a Poker Gala Concurrent with the WSOP This Summer --  First the Bellagio, now it's the Venetian, which has just announced its Deep Stacks Extravaganza II poker event, running this summer while the WSOP is in in town over at the Rio. With lots of poker players in town for several weeks, what’s a casino to do?  Expect several more sidelight events to be announced as these casinos vie to bring in the best of the world’s players, who are more or less committed to the Nevada desert for the better part of June and July.

More Poker Busts in Georgia, Texas --  All right, this is getting silly.  Two large, semi-private tournaments in Georgia were taken down by authorities in separate raids early last week, one of which included a celebrity of sorts: professional wrestler Glen Gilberti, who wrestles under the moniker Disco Inferno.  Elsewhere, Dallas saw several more private clubs shut down by the police, who in recent months have taken unusual interest in putting the clamps on certain games.