"Based on headlines alone, 2011 has been a bad year for Internet poker.

Federal indictments in April shut down three of the largest online poker sites that catered to Americans. Other popular Web portals cut their access to U.S. gamblers after the legal action was unsealed.

Also, four states and the District of Columbia failed in efforts to legalize the activity.

But the game has shifted.

Caesars Entertainment Corp. Chairman Gary Loveman optimistically told investors on Aug. 9 that members of Congress view the federal legalization of Internet "as inevitable."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D.-Nev., echoed those sentiments a few days later. In a meeting with members of the Las Vegas Review-Journal's reporting staff, Reid said he expects Congress to take up debate on legalizing Internet poker "soon," although he wasn't ready to commit a time frame."

Get the Story:
Inside gaming by Howard Stutz: Feeling grows that Net poker is nearing (The Las Vegas Review-Journal 9/4)