This week's edition of Flashback Friday takes us back to November 7, 2009, a day that will never happen again thanks to recent changes at Full Tilt Poker. Patrik Antonius and Viktor "Isildur1" Blom were entangled in a massive heads-up match playing $500-$1,000 PL Omaha. A mini-raising war pre-flop resulted in Antonius five-betting to $81,000 before Isildur1 finally decided to see a flop. On a flop of 5c-4s-2h, Antonius bet out $91,000, followed by a pot-size raise by Isildur1 to $435,000, Antonius potted to $779,000, effectively putting Isildur1 all-in for his last $162,473.

Rewind to late 2013 when Sheldon Adelson announced that he was going to form a Coalition to Stop Intenet Gambling. Many in the poker community scoffed at the audacity of the man and many felt that he had little to no chance of winning. Then RAWA appeared and again people scoffed at Adelson. RAWA didn't go away and by the time the Lame Duck rolled around, and all of a sudden, he was a credible threat.

Some analysts tried to hype last year as one of tremendous growth for the online poker industry. That growth never came and instead we lost one of the games first legal sites. While some are trying to be optimistic about online poker's chances in 2015, I personally think this will be another year of general indecision and slow movement. Below are my thoughts on some of the major online poker bills being considered.

Directly after the mid-term elections, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that he would be willing to work with Republicans moving forward. Knowing that he will become the Minority Leader come 2015, this was to be expected from Reid. When Reid made this statement, I commented that this would not be good for online poker's chances of being legalized at the federal level anytime soon. I hate to say it.

Daniel Negreanu wrote a great blog about making his choice to play poker and to gamble. Head over to FullContactPoker. com and read it sometime. His words got me to thinking about the recent decision by Victoria Coren-Mitchell to leave PokerStars because they are now offering casino games.

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States and millions of Americans will gather to eat turkey, watch football and spend time with friends and family. Most sites at this point would give quotes or clips from poker pros and what they are thankful for this season but instead I will give you a thought to take throughout the year. Thanksgiving should not something confined to a single holiday. It is something that should be practiced throughout the year.

For those following American politics, the hot topic of the moment is President Obama's Executive Order revolving around immigration reform. While this is not a popular topic with some Americans, it did serve to block RAWA, at least for now. Saturday Night Live poked fun at the President's Executive Action and revived an old childhood favorite in their parody of School House Rock's "Just a Bill. " Excellent work for once.

(Cue "My Boyfriends Back" music. ) Phil Ivey's back. Online bankrolls are in trouble. In case you missed it, Phil Ivey, playing as Polarizing, is currently the top high stakes earner online for November.

The midterm elections are now in the books and I have been reading the various opinions how this will affect online poker legalization in the United States. A lot of focus has been placed on whether RAWA will find its way to a vote in Congress and if so, whether it will pass. Steve Ruddock is headlining those that are speculating whether Harry Reid will find a way to push an online poker bill through before the end of the lame duck session. Here are my thoughts on both matters: 1.

PokerStars, PokerStars, oh how the industry loves to talk about PokerStars. You would think that PokerStars can be US online poker's savior after reading Steve Ruddock's recent piece. Meanwhile, California Tribes (minus the Morongo) view them as the devil. Love them or hate them, PokerStars is the world's top site and where the majority of the ROW spends a large portion of their online poker dollars.