Poker Player Tweets of the Week: Sheldon Adelson is evil

In April, online poker launched in Nevada. Halloween marked the beginning of online gambling in Delaware. And on Tuesday, nine casino websites will go live in New Jersey. Americans want online gambling. But Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson, afraid of the business the iGaming industry could take from his land-based casinos, is staunchly staunchly against the movement. Adelson is now seeking a federal ban of Internet gambling. Casino City's Aaron Todd outlined the top-10 reasons why Adelson's anti-online gambling stance is just plain wrong. The poker world is of course outraged at Adelson, and several pros took to Twitter to voice their opinion on the matter. We won't spend the entire column bashing Adelson, because that would just be depressing and, quite frankly, overdone. This column is all about diversity and degeneracy. But one tweet is just too good to pass up. Friday, Nov. 22: Andy "@Andy_Bloch" Bloch https://twitter.com/Andy_Bloch/status/403886391030861825

A casino owner against legal Internet gambling is like a bar owner against alcohol at home.
— Andy Bloch (@Andy_Bloch) November 22, 2013

This is an incredible analogy. During Prohibition, bootleggers loved the fact that they had a monopoly on the distribution of alcohol. And why wouldn't they? When you have an in-demand product and the supply is limited, you can charge high markups and get rich. But bootleggers were criminals, and criminals profit from black markets. No bar owner today would seriously advocate for a ban against alcohol at home because bar owners aren't evil. They probably value a person's right to drink wherever they want. Adelson is evil. He doesn't oppose online gambling for moral reasons. He opposes it because he thinks it would hurt his business. And the best part -- he couldn't be more wrong. Adelson could easily have a piece of every part of the market by introducing his own brand of online casinos. This would be like a bar owner also owning a liquor store, thereby profiting off drinkers both at home and in the brick-and-mortar business. Adelson has an incredible opportunity to profit from online gambling. Instead, he's resigned to be a cranky, old man who wants online gambling to "get off his lawn." Thursday, Nov. 21: Joe "@Stapes" Stapleton

"I'll be Bach." --Arnold Schwarzenegger, backstage at an improv show about Baroque composers
— Joe Stapleton (@Stapes) November 22, 2013

Well done, sir. Well done indeed. I don't want to add anything here other than that, during his power-lifting days, Arnold Schwarzenegger was famous for eating a post-workout meal consisting of an entire chicken and a pitcher of beer. That is all. Thursday, Nov. 21: Jeremy "@jeremyausmus" Ausmus

I just discovered something about myself I think you guys should know. I like brussel sprouts.
— Jeremy Ausmus (@jeremyausmus) November 21, 2013

I don't know where the prejudice against Brussels sprouts came from (comedian Jim Gaffigan, well-known for his praise/critique of Hot Pockets and McDonalds, recently said they are a "cruel joke by God."), because they are easily among my top-five vegetables in the game right now. But I, like Jeremy Ausmus, also took a long time to discover this. I don't think I ever even tried a Brussels sprout until I was 23 years old. Maybe the prejudice against Brussels sprouts comes from a poorly-cooked batch. I could see how Brussels sprouts would be worse than other badly prepared vegetables. But when done right, Brussels sprouts are meaty and delicious and serve as an excellent, filling side dish. Next time you make some B-sprouts, try frying them in bacon grease before dousing them in a butter sauce and a heaping portion of chopped bacon. You can thank me later. Thursday, Nov. 21: Xuan "@xxl23" Liu

When did Kanye start becoming such a jerk? Used to be so inspired by "Last Call" on The College Dropout... #zappos
— Xuan Liu (@xxl23) November 21, 2013

Umm, four years ago? (If not earlier.) Wednesday, Nov. 20: Dan "@dansmithholla" Smith

Somehow I've never seen Star Wars before, let's see if it lives up to the hype!
— Dan Smith (@dansmithholla) November 21, 2013

Dan Smith is roughly my age (24 years old). I, too, have never seen Star Wars. And I never plan to. Dan, once you reach a certain point in your life, you just need to continue to hold out. I don't care about your millions of dollars in tournament poker earnings. Sixty years from now, when you look back on your life, you are going to only think about your regrets -- namely, that time you took the plunge and left the "I've never seen Star Wars club" in your mid-20s. I, on the other hand, will die a happy man.