IS SEALS WITH CLUBS DONKDOWN??? (Update: Micon charged with a felony in Nevada)

[MICKEYMORANDINI]

A couple of thoughts:

1) Micon's wife has to be playing the free rolls and microstakes on his account, right? She is probably home alone with their baby while he is running around Antigua trying to set-up shop.
2) As others have mentioned I doubt Micon is worth > $1 million. My reasoning is simply based on him selling pieces at the WSOP. If he really were rolling in dough from an online poker site he would not be selling action.
3) I had a $5,000 teaser on some team who covered earlier in the day and the 49ers +7.5 (against the Seahawks on SNF). I watched the episode below of Breaking Bad and was scared shitless and decided to hedge the 49ers bet at halftime. The 49ers ended up not covering the 7.5 and Walter White saved me $5,000. This situation with Micon reminds me of that moment in Breaking Bad. Obviously, Micon is dealing with an extreme case, but it is still sobering for someone who makes a living playing poker.




4) Maybe a 9-5 job with a fixed salary isn't such a bad thing?

[cmoney]

Here is something else to think about.

Lets say Micon has 2 mil to his name. Why would he flee to Antigua and start seals over, ensuring he cant come back to the US ever again. If he was truly balling he could get a badass attorney and squeeze off the hook ray bitar style, maybe serve a short prison stint & get out mostly unscathed. His actions with fleeing & restarting seals are those of a desperate man who still needed an income to survive & was out of options to support himself.

I think your spot on here, I mean if he had millions why run?? I think him running is a very bad decision IMO, As far as I know no one has ever been charged in the U.S for bitcoin gaming, trading etc etc, This is a very gray area in the law, I believe micon had a chance in court, The nevada gaming would have to prove he was running a gambling site(Among other things) which no "CASH' was ever exchanged on the site, I mean in the eyes of the U.S laws bitcoin is considered play money as far as I know. The only thing that makes sense here is micon needs to keep the site running for cash flow.

I think it is a real possibility that his banks accounts were frozen. If they were able to get a warrant, they would certainty be able to freeze bank accounts. If I was in his shoes, I would probably have done something similar. However, instead of launching a new bitcoin website, I would be hiring the 1000 an hour attorney to be doing negotiations with the government to drop the charges. If the terms that were agreed to were not favorable, I would either stay on the island or move to another country that has no extradition treaty with the US. The unfortunate thing is that these countries with no extradition treaties are mostly shit holes .

People have already mentioned this but it is so important. Had he not been doing this from Nevada, he may have never gotten busted. Ironically, the more anti gambling the state was, the better it probably would be to run an operation like this. If you ran this from a state that doesnt have any casinos for example, there would less likely be any kind of gaming regulatory body of any sorts. There would also be no gaming entities to "rat you out." This would mean that in order to get shut down you would have to get on the radar of the federal government. I dont know if Seals would have ever been big enough to garner that kind of attention. He basically ran this from not only the worst state possible but the worst city possible. You would think that if he consulted with any gaming attorney in Las Vegas for even a few hours this would have come up.

I feel bad for him. I cant imagine the stress he is going through.

[cmoney]

Btw here is the list of awesome countries you can live in that don't have extradition treaties with the USA.

Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bosnia and

Herzegovina, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Central

African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, Congo (Kinshasa), Congo (Brazzaville), Djibouti, Equatorial

Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan,

Kosovo, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands,

Mauritania, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal,

Niger, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé & Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia,

Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu,

Vatican, Vietnam and Yemen.

[chinamaniac]

2) As others have mentioned I doubt Micon is worth > $1 million. My reasoning is simply based on him selling pieces at the WSOP. If he really were rolling in dough from an online poker site he would not be selling action.

I don't agree with this reasoning but not ruling it out. Present day poker everyone sells packages/pieces and buys and sells pieces etc.... Even the best players that have 7 figure bankrolls sell pieces/packages and swap lots of action to reduce variance.

[4BET]

I think your spot on here, I mean if he had millions why run?? I think him running is a very bad decision IMO, As far as I know no one has ever been charged in the U.S for bitcoin gaming, trading etc etc, This is a very gray area in the law, I believe micon had a chance in court, The nevada gaming would have to prove he was running a gambling site(Among other things) which no "CASH' was ever exchanged on the site, I mean in the eyes of the U.S laws bitcoin is considered play money as far as I know. The only thing that makes sense here is micon needs to keep the site running for cash flow.

I think it is a real possibility that his banks accounts were frozen. If they were able to get a warrant, they would certainty be able to freeze bank accounts. If I was in his shoes, I would probably have done something similar. However, instead of launching a new bitcoin website, I would be hiring the 1000 an hour attorney to be doing negotiations with the government to drop the charges. If the terms that were agreed to were not favorable, I would either stay on the island or move to another country that has no extradition treaty with the US. The unfortunate thing is that these countries with no extradition treaties are mostly shit holes .

People have already mentioned this but it is so important. Had he not been doing this from Nevada, he may have never gotten busted. Ironically, the more anti gambling the state was, the better it probably would be to run an operation like this. If you ran this from a state that doesnt have any casinos for example, there would less likely be any kind of gaming regulatory body of any sorts. There would also be no gaming entities to "rat you out." This would mean that in order to get shut down you would have to get on the radar of the federal government. I dont know if Seals would have ever been big enough to garner that kind of attention. He basically ran this from not only the worst state possible but the worst city possible. You would think that if he consulted with any gaming attorney in Las Vegas for even a few hours this would have come up.

I feel bad for him. I cant imagine the stress he is going through.

I dont think so, I doubt micon ever had much money in the bank(At least not in his name), Also I think he would have mentioned in the video that they froze some accounts

[phantom]

if micon was really planing on going to Antigua in a couple of weeks time anyway that might have inadvertently forced nevada gamings hand to do the raid earlier than it would have otherwise?

assuming they have the power to pull his banking/ credit card info while they were investigating him they would have seen purchase of plane tickets to Antigua.

surely would have made it easier to get a warrant asap if you tell the judge hes booked tickets to Antigua.

or maybe i watch too much tv and timing is just a coincidence

[MICKEYMORANDINI]

2) As others have mentioned I doubt Micon is worth > $1 million. My reasoning is simply based on him selling pieces at the WSOP. If he really were rolling in dough from an online poker site he would not be selling action.

I don't agree with this reasoning but not ruling it out. Present day poker everyone sells packages/pieces and buys and sells pieces etc.... Even the best players that have 7 figure bankrolls sell pieces/packages and swap lots of action to reduce variance.

I don't sell action or swap. It's always going to be a rip off for one of the parties. Either the one selling or the one buying. Very difficult to find a deal that makes sense for both parties.

Also, Micon is the kind of person who would want to have complete freedom. If he has over 1 million I can guarantee he wouldn't want to answer to a backer.

[4BET]

I think your spot on here, I mean if he had millions why run?? I think him running is a very bad decision IMO, As far as I know no one has ever been charged in the U.S for bitcoin gaming, trading etc etc, This is a very gray area in the law, I believe micon had a chance in court, The nevada gaming would have to prove he was running a gambling site(Among other things) which no "CASH' was ever exchanged on the site, I mean in the eyes of the U.S laws bitcoin is considered play money as far as I know. The only thing that makes sense here is micon needs to keep the site running for cash flow.

I think it is a real possibility that his banks accounts were frozen. If they were able to get a warrant, they would certainty be able to freeze bank accounts. If I was in his shoes, I would probably have done something similar. However, instead of launching a new bitcoin website, I would be hiring the 1000 an hour attorney to be doing negotiations with the government to drop the charges. If the terms that were agreed to were not favorable, I would either stay on the island or move to another country that has no extradition treaty with the US. The unfortunate thing is that these countries with no extradition treaties are mostly shit holes .

People have already mentioned this but it is so important. Had he not been doing this from Nevada, he may have never gotten busted. Ironically, the more anti gambling the state was, the better it probably would be to run an operation like this. If you ran this from a state that doesnt have any casinos for example, there would less likely be any kind of gaming regulatory body of any sorts. There would also be no gaming entities to "rat you out." This would mean that in order to get shut down you would have to get on the radar of the federal government. I dont know if Seals would have ever been big enough to garner that kind of attention. He basically ran this from not only the worst state possible but the worst city possible. You would think that if he consulted with any gaming attorney in Las Vegas for even a few hours this would have come up.

I feel bad for him. I cant imagine the stress he is going through.

I dont understand why you would make this move, Why not stay in U.S? When they come knocking with a arrest warrant bond out and fight the case state side, No need to run and fight the case outside the U.S IMO.

[cmoney]

I think it is a real possibility that his banks accounts were frozen. If they were able to get a warrant, they would certainty be able to freeze bank accounts. If I was in his shoes, I would probably have done something similar. However, instead of launching a new bitcoin website, I would be hiring the 1000 an hour attorney to be doing negotiations with the government to drop the charges. If the terms that were agreed to were not favorable, I would either stay on the island or move to another country that has no extradition treaty with the US. The unfortunate thing is that these countries with no extradition treaties are mostly shit holes .

People have already mentioned this but it is so important. Had he not been doing this from Nevada, he may have never gotten busted. Ironically, the more anti gambling the state was, the better it probably would be to run an operation like this. If you ran this from a state that doesnt have any casinos for example, there would less likely be any kind of gaming regulatory body of any sorts. There would also be no gaming entities to "rat you out." This would mean that in order to get shut down you would have to get on the radar of the federal government. I dont know if Seals would have ever been big enough to garner that kind of attention. He basically ran this from not only the worst state possible but the worst city possible. You would think that if he consulted with any gaming attorney in Las Vegas for even a few hours this would have come up.

I feel bad for him. I cant imagine the stress he is going through.

I dont understand why you would make this move, Why not stay in U.S? When they come knocking with a warrant bond out and fight the case state side, No need to run and fight the case outside the U.S IMO.

If he stayed in the US and was then charged , he could be insta shipped to jail. I dont even know if they would grant bail, and if they did, it could be a shitload. As it is now, if he gets charged he has options. They are shitty options but options that could potentially allow him to remain free. Also, him being in another country could give him leverage to a certain extent. It may be easier to settle with the government if they know in order to prosecute you they need to chase you around the world.

Also, a lot of this "fighting the case" mentality is based on the idea that no laws were broken. it is also based on the idea he has the money to even bankroll a case like this. I actually think this is an easy case for the government to win, and fighting the government in court, would not only cost you a ton of money but also your freedom when it was over.

[NaturalBornHustler]

After all this shit there is no way Micon is sitting on millions. None. Zip. Nada. Too much evidence to the contrary, too much saying he doesn't have much of anything. Some people seem to want to give Micon the benefit of the doubt here, which I have been saying since the first page (actually years now)of this thread was stupid. Oh he had a "backup plan" and this was in the works remember? Jesus fucking Christ get a clue. The guy just fled the country with the clothes on his back basically, the exact opposite thing someone would do if they had "millions" to fight any case they might bring.

It makes no fucking sense that he would pack up and leave like that, especially with not even being charged with anything yet! He isn't some huge fish they are trying to get he is a loser running a poker site. Even IF they charge him with....something it likely will be bullshit and he isn't looking at serious time. This is easily a fightable case, if he had 1/10th of what some "think" he has.

Instead he just bounces to a remote island and basically exiles himself from the US with all this money sitting around to fight this? Fuck.no.

Most of the time in life people who you think have all this money, really don't have as much as you think. This is no different. Micons actions are of a guy who probably would have a hard time paying even a moderate bond, and would be sitting in jail for a long while until his case was heard. Not some multi millionaire who would be out the next day and have a team full of Jew lawyers fighting the case with all his "millions".

[Tony]

The reason he ran is because he would likely be facing certain jail time. The Nevada Gaming laws are very strict, you fuck with the life blood of Las Vegas you go to jail. If they do not make an example of Micon who was basically flaunting his status right in the face of the casinos, then why even have a law? I mean he was walking into casinos decked out with SWC garb every chance he got. That must have enraged the casino operators.

Jail and forfeiture of assets is why he left. Not sure why his wife left with him though. There comes a time when you have to cut your losses, unless of course she agrees with the lifestyle and the thrill of being on the run.

On a side note, this whole notion of the US being a Police State is laughable. It's only a police state when you knowingly violate the law and get caught. If you don't want cops showing up with guns Tuesday morning, you should not operate an illegal website and flaunt it to casinos.

[4BET]

I dont understand why you would make this move, Why not stay in U.S? When they come knocking with a warrant bond out and fight the case state side, No need to run and fight the case outside the U.S IMO.

If he stayed in the US and was then charged , he could be insta shipped to jail. I dont even know if they would grant bail, and if they did, it could be a shitload. As it is now, if he gets charged he has options. They are shitty options but options that could potentially allow him to remain free. Also, him being in another country could give him leverage to a certain extent. It may be easier to settle with the government if they know in order to prosecute you they need to chase you around the world.

Also, a lot of this "fighting the case" mentality is based on the idea that no laws were broken. I actually think this is an easy case for the government to win.

What case do you think the government can easily win? Money laundering, Illegal gambling, tax evasion or other?

[Tony]

Also, if this site was worth all these millions, why was Drexel offered a piece for $15,000?

Didn't Daniel N's site go under because he was bleeding money? It's my understanding these sites are very expensive to run, which is why so many of these have go out of business over the years.

[4BET]

Also, if this site was worth all these millions, why was Drexel offered a piece for $15,000?

Didn't Daniel N's site go under because he was bleeding money? It's my understanding these sites are very expensive to run, which is why so many of these have go out of business over the years.

That offer was made early on before the site was making any real money, I think bitcoin was worth about 5.00 then

[Tony]

If he stayed in the US and was then charged , he could be insta shipped to jail. I dont even know if they would grant bail, and if they did, it could be a shitload. As it is now, if he gets charged he has options. They are shitty options but options that could potentially allow him to remain free. Also, him being in another country could give him leverage to a certain extent. It may be easier to settle with the government if they know in order to prosecute you they need to chase you around the world.

Also, a lot of this "fighting the case" mentality is based on the idea that no laws were broken. I actually think this is an easy case for the government to win.

What case do you think the government can easily win? Money laundering, Illegal gambling, tax evasion or other?

I would say all of them easily. Violation of State gambling laws and the UIGEA are the most obvious. Tax evasion if he was not paying income taxes, which I find hard to believe he was.

This whole thing is laughable. WSOP.com exists for a reason. Do you really think they are going to let a rival's unregulated site exist with the owner living in Las Vegas?

[cmoney]

After all this shit there is no way Micon is sitting on millions. None. Zip. Nada. Too much evidence to the contrary, too much saying he doesn't have much of anything. Some people seem to want to give Micon the benefit of the doubt here, which I have been saying since the first page (actually years now)of this thread was stupid. Oh he had a "backup plan" and this was in the works remember? Jesus fucking Christ get a clue. The guy just fled the country with the clothes on his back basically, the exact opposite thing someone would do if they had "millions" to fight any case they might bring.

It makes no fucking sense that he would pack up and leave like that, especially with not even being charged with anything yet! He isn't some huge fish they are trying to get he is a loser running a poker site. Even IF they charge him with....something it likely will be bullshit and he isn't looking at serious time. This is easily a fightable case, if he had 1/10th of what some "think" he has.

Instead he just bounces to a remote island and basically exiles himself from the US with all this money sitting around to fight this? Fuck.no.

Most of the time in life people who you think have all this money, really don't have as much as you think. This is no different. Micons actions are of a guy who probably would have a hard time paying even a moderate bond, and would be sitting in jail for a long while until his case was heard. Not some multi millionaire who would be out the next day and have a team full of Jew lawyers fighting the case with all his "millions".

I dont get this mentality. Why would you wait to be charged and then decide to leave? If you get raided like he did, they think they have a strong case against you. If you wait, you may not even get that option to leave as they could simply do round 2 of swat team to your house, deny bail, etc. In my opinion, it was incompetence on the part of Nevada gaming that even gave him the chance to leave.

Right now he hasnt been charged or asked to stay in the state. He has done nothing wrong as of right now. All that living somewhere else does for him right now is give him options if he gets charged. If he doesnt get charged, then he can just return back to the states. If he does get charged, he can come back to the states to face the music or stay put and take his chances.

The only thing that staying in the states does is give him fewer options.

[4Dragons]

He had 2 options, fuck off outta here or wait for them to come back and arrest him.

[Tony]

Also, if this site was worth all these millions, why was Drexel offered a piece for $15,000?

Didn't Daniel N's site go under because he was bleeding money? It's my understanding these sites are very expensive to run, which is why so many of these have go out of business over the years.

That offer was made early on before the site was making any real money, I think bitcoin was worth about 5.00 then

That may be the case. But if running a site off of bitcoins is so profitable, why are the other sites 5 years into Bitcoins not doing it?

I think people under-estimate the cost of running these sites. Plenty of these sites have gone under over the years, and its not because the owners are making millions.

[4BET]

What case do you think the government can easily win? Money laundering, Illegal gambling, tax evasion or other?

I would say all of them easily. Violation of State gambling laws and the UIGEA are the most obvious. Tax evasion if he was not paying income taxes, which I find hard to believe he was.

This whole thing is laughable. WSOP.com exists for a reason. Do you really think they are going to let a rival's unregulated site exist with the owner living in Las Vegas?

I would agree if swc was taking cash deposits but this is bitcoin, Can you imagine a defense lawyer could argue that bitcoin has no value in the eyes of U.S law or the same value as a wooden nickle, I would imagine if he had a juror trial most of them if not all would be thinking what the fuck is a bitcoin

[devidee]

Micon knows that he was breaking the law and he knows exactly what is on the electronics taken by the authorities.

Fleeing was the only viable option.