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Multiple new outlets, originally reported by Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, are reporting that Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has donated another $5 million to the Newt Gingrich Super-Pac. The donation, given in the name of Adelson’s wife, comes after Gingrich’s dominant win in the South Carolina Republican Primary, and matches his original $5 million donation to the Super-Pac after Gingrich’s fourth-place finish in Iowa.

Adelson, who has known Gingrich for many years, is one of online poker’s staunchest opponents, but the donations are far more likely to have to do with Israel, who both Adelson and Gingrich are adamant supporters of. Adelson runs his own Israeli newspaper in the country, and has been extremely critical of a Palestinian state in the past.

However, the fact that Adelson is against online poker shouldn’t be lost in the story, and with months to go before the election the $10 million already given may be just a drop in the bucket for the billionaire.

With the potential for an online poker bill at the federal level in coming years, control of the issue from the executive branch is of the utmost importance –consider that any online gaming legislation that passes will be by a slim margin; slim enough to not be able to override a presidential veto should it come. If Adelson can put a staunch opponent of online gaming in the Oval Office it would all but guarantee that online poker legislation would not be passed in the US for four, maybe eight years!

On Thursday Subject: Poker reported that Full Tilt Poker and Groupe Bernard Tapie had taken the next step in completing a deal that would see the Bernard Tapie-led group of investors take the helm of the struggling online poker site. According to Subject: Poker, a source stated that an agreement was in place that would see Full Tilt Poker transfer their assets to GBT (through the US DOJ), after a majority vote by shareholders.

Interestingly, the sources cited are not ruling out current owners (sans the Board of Directors) from having an equity stake in the new Full Tilt Poker under Groupe Bernard Tapie. According to the report:  “Any current owners that are interested in receiving equity in the new company will be required to purchase minimal shares at an agreed-upon price. Such equity will always remain passive, with no managerial control, or voting privileges. The board of directors will not be eligible to participate.”

According to Subject: Poker’s source, Full Tilt poker shareholders passed the plan by more than the 2/3 vote needed, which now moves the potential sale into Phase 2. Full Tilt Poker’s assets will now be forfeited to the Department of Justice who will then sell these assets to Groupe Bernard Tapie for the agreed upon price of $80 million.

According to previous reports, the DOJ will take over the responsibility of repaying US players (estimated to be in the neighborhood of $150 million) while Groupe Bernard Tapie would be responsible for the additional $150 million Full Tilt poker owes to players from the rest of the world.

There has still been no official statement by Full Tilt Poker, Groupe Bernard Tapie, or the US Department of Justice, but it should be noted that Subject: Poker has an extremely high success rate when it comes to Full Tilt Poker news, and their source on these matters seems to be very high up in the food chain.

According to eGaming Review, social networking site Facebook is poised to offer a United Kingdom-facing real money online casino, potentially early next year. The site has apparently been in discussions with various U.K. online gambling operators, and is currently in the process of hiring new staff to support the endeavor.

eGaming Review states that Facebook will facilitate the gambling platforms of up to eight different licensees, including Gamesys and 888 Holdings. The fact that Facebook is partnering with existing operators seems to indicate that it will serve as a hub for various providers as opposed to a host of its own online gambling brand.

Facebook is already deeply involved with games involving real money transactions, such as Farmville. The site currently takes a 30% cut of profits resulting from sales of virtual items in that game and others. It’s difficult to say whether a similar system would be utilized for its online gambling operations.

Zynga Poker, a free-to-play online poker room, already experiences traffic exceeding 30 million users a month on Facebook. Although representatives from Zynga Poker have stated that they have no interest in converting to real money play, that could easily change should online poker be legalized and regulated in the U.S.

In the past, Facebook enforced a zero-tolerance policy against the advertising of online gambling sites on its website. Now, however, that policy has changed to allow online gambling advertisements, including those related to poker, bingo, sports books and casinos, in certain countries and with approval from Facebook.

Many details remain to be announced, such as how players would confirm their identity and age, and how players would ultimately fund their accounts. Although Facebook hasn’t exactly maintained a squeaky-clean image, it will be interesting to see how the announcement sits with the site’s more conservative critics.

With the World Series of Poker now officially over, the attention of the poker world will likely switch back to the legislative fight in the United States, as pro-gaming advocates lobby Congress in the hopes that lawmakers will legalize and regulate the online poker industry.

After a fairly productive hearing by the House subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade in October, the Committee has now announced that it will hold its follow-up hearing on November 18^th, 2011; just a day after the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs holds their own online poker hearing. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has dubbed their hearing, “What’s at Stake for Tribes?” and will obviously have a different agenda than the subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.

Witnesses have not been listed at this time, but the late October hearing featured such notable online poker advocates as FairPlay USA’s Parry Aftab and the Poker Players Alliance’s (and former US Senator) Alphonse D’Amato. Unlike previous hearings that were used to demonize poker and gambling, October’s hearing played out as more of a legitimate fact-finding mission, with expert testimony on the safeguards available for online poker websites.

The main legislation being discussed is HR 2366, the Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection, and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2011. Barton recently told Politico that the debt-reduction super-committee made up of six democrats and six republicans is considering adding online poker legislation to their final package.

While many gaming law experts feel online poker legislation is a long-shot this year, the possibility of the Super-Committee adding Barton’s online poker bill to their deficit reduction package could potentially pave the way for legislation sooner rather than later.

An amendment proposed by Massachusetts legislator Daniel Winslow (R-Norfolk) that would begin the process of legalizing and regulating online poker in the state was able to make it into the final bill that passed the state legislature on Wednesday by a margin of 123 to 32.

While Winslow’s original proposal was to license up to five online poker rooms in the Commonwealth, the end product that made it into the bill will see the Gaming Commission, that will be set-up should the bill make it through the State Senate and then be signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick, “analyze and develop model legislation for Internet Poker” according to the bostonherald.com.

Over 150 amendments were voted on during the debate held in the state legislature and very few were able to make into the final bill that would license three mega-casinos in the state as well as a single slots parlor. This is a terrific sign for online poker proponents as the Winslow amendment was one of a scant few to gain enough traction to be included –even if it was heavily modified.

The bill’s next stop is in the State Senate where further amendments could be added (if they are the bill would then head back to the legislature to be voted on once again in its new form) and once both houses pass the same legislation the final stop is the desk of Deval Patrick. In 2010 the pro-gaming governor vetoed a bill that would have created two mega-casino licenses in Massachusetts. Patrick cited the exclusive slot licenses that would be granted to existing racetracks in Massachusetts as his reason for pulling out the veto pen.

This time around, with just a single slot parlor license, and no exclusivity clause, it’s likely Patrick will quickly sign the bill into law if it reaches his desk in its current form.