Many a young poker player (and some not so old at this point), cut their teeth on PartyPoker.  The golden days if you will.  These same players were devastated when PartyPoker decided to pull out of the U.S. market in the wake of the passage of the UIGEA.  In came FullTilt and PokerStars, primarily.  The games were not he same, but still a nice alternative.  FTP and PS made a reputed windfall at PartyPoker’s expense.  They won the short-term.  But the recent legislative push in the U.S. appears to be moving toward prohibiting licensing sites that violated the UIGEA.  Read: FTP and PS will be prohibited from operating while PokerStars (and other sites not currently operating in the U.S.) could be licensed.  Assuming this path is the one that ultimately is approved by Congress, PartyPoker (primed with its recent merger with Bwin) is on the precipice of another fortune.  Basically, a monopoly in the U.S. until other sites catch up (or FTP and PS reorganize under other names).  As any good poker player knows, you should view poker as one long session.  All that matters is good decisions and winning in the end.  PartyPoker is teaching this to poker players on a mega scale.  PartyPoker made what could be the best decision of them all (a strategic withdrawal from the U.S. for many years) to secure the long-term win (getting licensed and profiting indefinitely, and legally).  Poker players take note.  “Instant” gratification is fleeting.