Toronto Star runs feature on PokerStars

[The Buzz]

Online gambling talk has been a very hot topic up in Canada, and some of the country's major newspapers are weighing in. The Toronto Star ran a piece on PokerStars this morning, which has a few high-profile Canadian connections.

For one, the software that has dealt 48 billion hands, is developed in Richmond Hill, Ont., by PYR Software. The firm was created by PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg in 2000.

Scheinberg, a former programmer himself, had worked with IBM in Canada and Israel before he and his son Mark started what would become one of the most instantly recognizable online gambling brands in the world.

Mats Sundin, formerly of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Vancouver Canucks, had a stint as one of website’s international celebrity ambassadors.

But PokerStars most interesting connection to Canada could be its now-severed ties to the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve in Quebec.

Kahnawake hosted PokerStars operations before the company moved its system-wide servers to the Isle of Man (a British Crown dependency located between England and Ireland in the Irish Sea) in early 2008, said Paul Telford, general counsel for PokerStars.

[davenewgates]

Great news! Online gambling had really captured the enthusiasm of Canadians. They see online gambling as an addition to their revenues. If you'd ask PokerStars the question "Are Canada, online gambling a good fit?", they'll be answering "Yes!".