By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer

In a trying economic time when the Barack Obama administration has stressed creating jobs and putting Americans back to work, the judicial branch of the government has seen fit to essentially put an entire sector of the work force into the unemployment line.

Online poker players based in the United States, like Poinciana High School grad Justin Smith, have no way of playing on reliable poker sites after the U.S. Department of Justice took heavy-handed action on April 15, now known in the poker world as “Black Friday.”

Smith, 23, started out years ago playing for virtual pennies on a $50 bankroll as catharsis from a high-school motorcycle accident, and now plays in the biggest tournaments and cash games running. He is part of a young legion that has made most or all of its income online during the poker boom of the last half-decade or so.

Many poker professionals were immediately shut down and cut off from their income — and in many cases, their savings — when the Department of Justice opened up an indictment against the three largest and most reputable online poker sites (PokerStars, UltimateBet and Full Tilt Poker) and brought up on charges their CEOs or top operators on April 15.

Those three sites, representing the lion’s share of the industry, had their websites seized and shut down by U.S. Attorney’s Office that day, but were reopened to allow the sites to pay back players’ online accounts.

Some were able to cash out. Others, because the sites are trying to find a way to pay out while staying federally compliant, have stalled, leaving some players in the lurch to buy into the WSOP.

Smith, who these days splits his time between bases in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, where the 42nd annual World Series of Poker is now in full swing, said the entire poker community — from the online world to the physical tables in card rooms and casinos — has been shaken up.

“I knew this was coming, though I think it’ll be reversed,” he said. “I know guys with all their net worth online. A lot of them have absolutely nothing.

“The vast majority of online pros are young. It’s going to come down to their options: go back to school, get a job, play live or play overseas.”

Ashton Griffin, a UCF student and a friend of Smith, fits that profile.

“I got a lot of mine out before Black Friday. I was lucky,” he said. “Staking players has been tough because money’s now an issue.”

A few online poker sites are still available to American players, but they are small and perceived as less-than-stable than the three indicted. Neither Smith nor Griffin would consider playing them, they said.

The act of playing real-money poker online was never illegal. The way the poker sites were processing online buy-ins and payouts, allegedly using third-party companies that listed them as payments for goods and services instead of for gaming payments, went afoul of U.S. law.

That’s the premise Smith had been under since Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006 (which was tacked on to a ports bill and passed on the last day before Congress adjourned for the 2006 elections) that prohibits financial institutions from accepting payments used “in connection with the participation of a bet or wager that involves the use of the Internet.”

“I’ve read and listened to legal advice, and everything I took in is that what players were doing — playing — was legal,” he said. “The government said that what the sites were doing in paying us out wasn’t within the letter of the law.”

Since this was action taken solely by the U.S. government, players who live outside the country are still free to play those sites.

Smith said it’s been the main topic of conversation away from the tables at the WSOP.

“People have pictures of their future, they’ll make a decision as soon as the World Series is over,” he said. “It comes at an interesting time. After this summer you’ll see people moving out of the country or getting regular jobs, or moving to L.A. or Vegas or the Northeast to play live poker exclusively.”

Smith said the thought of moving overseas crossed his mind.

“I have things outside of poker that might keep me here,” said Smith, who married his high school sweetheart four years ago. “If I was single and had no business interests out of poker I’d definitely move and enjoy another culture.”

Griffin said the U.S. online poker ban made him step back and take stock of his situation.

“A few weeks ago, I realized over the course of four years I was making $500 to $600 per hour, and that money doesn’t grow on trees,” he said. “I went on a great run two years ago, but taxes started catching up with me, so I’m going through a rough time like a lot of people in my position.”

He said that playing live poker, rather than over a computer, is an adjustment that many (former) online players are learning the hard way at the WSOP.

“In my three weeks here, the online players haven’t done well,” he said. “The live reads and patience required are different.”

Smith said he traveled quite a bit to lucrative tournaments worldwide before Black Friday because it was beneficial to his standing as a marketable professional. Now the bulk of his travel will be between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

“I’ll still commute because there’s good games in my level in Vegas and some games and non-poker-related things in L.A.,” he said. “If the games don’t remain good I may have to consider moving (overseas).”

What hasn’t changed is his rugged World Series schedule, where he’ll play most of the 56 events that award a coveted WSOP bracelet. After five in-the-money finishes in the 2009 and 2010 events, he values the jewelry now over the cash.

“Black Friday didn’t impact that, I’ll play as many I can, though I hope to play deep into fewer of them,” he said. “Few people will play more than me.”

The government maybe has squashed online games in this country, but not Smith’s continued enthusiasm for the game.

“I’ll still be involved. I like the games more and more,” he said. “I think online poker is taking a break, it’s coming back. And now I have some sense of direction doing other things. I love to stay busy and keep working.”