Hawaii man reportedly
wins $176,688 in
illicit online poker

Police investigate a vague
press release from a Web casino

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By Treena Shapiro
Star-Bulletin

Honolulu police will investigate a report that a Hawaii resident has won a $176,688 jackpot in an Internet gambling casino. "It is illegal," said Lt. Michael Fujioka of the Narcotics/Vice Division. "You can't do Internet gambling from Hawaii," he said.

Fujioka said officers would have to determine whether this case falls under HPD jurisdiction.

InterCasino, which describes itself as the world's largest Internet gaming casino, issued a press release Tuesday saying that a man identified as "moosed" from Hawaii drew a royal flush while playing Progressive Caribbean Poker on May 26. Casino manager Ryan Hartley did not reply to an e-mail query asking for verification of the win.

A search on the Internet turned up a few positive reviews of the gambling site, which is licensed and operated by CCMH Ltd. from Dominica. Casinomeister.com, which keeps lists of reputable and "rogue" casinos, recommends InterCasino. Casino Newswire, an online gaming news directory, ranked InterCasino third among Web-based casinos.

Fujioka said that the casino appeared to be geared toward drumming up business and could possibly be phony. He added that while there have been reports of people gambling over the Internet, this is the first time he had heard of anyone winning.

Dean Seki, deputy director of the state Department of Taxation, said that the state would not be able to collect taxes on illegal winnings unless the taxpayer voluntarily claimed the money on his income tax forms or the winnings came up in an audit.

The Tax Department does not ordinarily investigate illegal winnings unless someone calls in to report them.