Due to the increased pressure by the US Government and closure of the biggest eWallet (Neteller, see just about any blog for links to the story, including below), some sites are showing more and more overlay in their guarantee'd tourneys.

Bodog's Sunday $100K and Full Tilt's $350K failed to meet the necessary amount of runners this week and had to dish out the funds thru the site versus the normal overflow of players to these tourneys. Unfortunately, this may prove to be a continuing tread among online poker sites as the weaker players may just take their ball and go home.

The causal weekend player who threw $100-$200 dollars into Neteller for a day of fun on PokerStars or Full Tilt is going to have to navigate a web of shady new eWallets or try to hook up with one of the remaining companies such as ePassporte or Click2Pay to get their online poker fix. Anything you make some thing harder you will lose those who are not bent on becoming the next Ivey, Brunson, or Unger.

And the people left playing... soon the sharks will eat up the break-even players, and the only hope left will be enough new Asian and/or European players to sustain the sites poker equilibrium.

Lack of table selection online may be a boom to the brick and mortar casino's poker rooms in the years to come as some of the players who got their taste of poker online may shift their game to where live tourneys are still seeing a record number of runners.

For those without the means to a cardroom nearby, or prefer the accessability of online poker (read parent of two and full time job...) will have that option in the future.