UMASS School Demands Poker Site be Taken Down

School officials of the University of Massachusetts have found a website that is using the Universities logos and name to promote their site. The officials want the site to shut down immediately. The site is about campus gambling and has links that take a person to online poker sites. The site, UMasspoker, has been using the trademarked Minuteman logo and the UMass-Amherst lettering. Certain images on the site have been of the universities logos with cash, cards or poker chips displayed. The school's officials are going to send a cease-and-desist demand to the UMasspoker operators.

"If they don't comply then we go to court," school spokesman Ed Blaguszewski told The Associated Press on today. "The UMass name and logo are university property, and they cannot be used without the university's permission. This Web site is not an appropriate use."

The site has called itself a site of information about poker strategy, cash games and tournaments on and off campus. It seems that recent graduates and students are the operators behind the site. Some of the information on the site, about past and upcoming games seem to be illegal, according to the new U.S. ban. One posting from September, talked about a two day tournament at a lounge of a residential tower with a prize pool of $421. It has been stated by the State's Attorney General in past reporting's that most poker tournaments are illegal unless operated by a licensed nonprofit organization. It's illegal to promote, operate or play in a poker tourney if players pay an entry fee, bet, and cash or other prizes are awarded to winning players.

The UMasspoker site is set to expire on November 8th unless it receives an update. The registered name on the domain is Daryn Firicano. The last time the site was updated was last year. According to BostonHerald, Mr. Firicano could not be reached for comment. We will see in the upcoming weeks whether the site will be shut down or continue to be a resource for UMass student poker players.