Hi all. PPA has been sending our twice-weekly updates to the membership on all that is going on. I figured I'd start a thread to share these with everyone here.

Dear Fellow Poker Player,

I wish to offer you my sincere thanks for allowing me the honor of representing you in the fight for our rights as poker players. I am pleased to be in this new role of vice president of player relations and am enthused to be taking on these challenges in an even bigger way than I was in my prior role.

As many know from personal experience, I have always been very accessible to my fellow poker players. I regularly communicate directly with the players on several online forums under my online handle "TheEngineer" and via phone calls and emails. I encourage anyone with any questions to contact me at playerrelations@theppa.org. Your emails go directly to my laptop inbox and iPhone. Please be assured that you are always connected directly to me and to the organization.

Additionally, I am in Las Vegas at the World Series of Poker from today until Sunday. If you are in the area, please feel free to stop by the PPA WSOP booth, introduce yourself, and discuss anything on your mind about the fight, the organization, and anything else about which you wish to talk.

As the player relations chief, I am responsible for ensuring that the concerns of the player base are always at the forefront of the PPA’s mission and strategic decisions. I am also responsible for PPA's communication of these issues with individual poker players, poker blogs, and all other poker-specific media.

My first order of business will be to focus on communication between the PPA and the player community, ensuring PPA responsiveness to the player base. After all, the organization belongs to us…the members. Please remember that PPA is not a "they"...it is us. It is up to all of us to work together make this fight the success it can be.

My second order of business will be to ensure PPA is conveying to the poker community the enormity of the challenges we face on Capitol Hill and how the organization is addressing it. Some seem to think our measure of success should be binary -- either we got a bill passed into law or we did not -- rather than if we are fighting the highest EV fight we can.

In my opinion, fighting the good fight means the organization has a plan and is executing it. It also means we are winning some of the battles. The true measure of success is in comparing PPA's results to what would have happened without a fight back. For a reminder of the dark days before we poker players organized for the fight back, please take a look at the UIGEA House Testimony from July 11, 2006 and observe how lawmakers were tripping over one another to condemn online poker. Executive Director John Pappas has done a terrific job of taking our message to the Hill. I believe PPA is fighting the good fight and I am proud to be a part of it.

The third order of business? Taking the fight to our opponents, of course! I am outraged that I can no longer play on the large sites I could in the past. I am also outraged that I still cannot withdraw my online poker money. I know many of you are equally outraged, and rightfully so. Many out there wish to deprive us of our liberties, so we all need to continue to stand up for ourselves. We all want the same thing -- the right to play poker in all its forms, be it online, charity, B&M, home games, and everywhere else. I am glad we are fighting back and I am pleased to be in a position to ensure we continue this.

So, let's continue the fight! Please visit www.theppa.org/takeaction and follow the action items. Please also participate in my daily Fight for Poker Rights action plan.

I again thank you all for this opportunity and I humbly ask everyone here for your support going forward. Thanks!

Proud to play,

Rich Muny


PPA Attends CEI Annual Dinner

John Pappas, executive director of the PPA was an invited guest this week to the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s (CEI) annual dinner and gala. The event honored a number of free market luminaries and several influential politicians and policy makers were in attendance. John had the pleasure of sitting at a table with Michele Minton a policy analyst with CEI. Ms. Minton has written extensively about Internet gaming regulation and is an outspoken critic of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Some of her work can be found here. John Pappas also had the privilege of speaking with former New Mexico Governor and current candidate for U.S. President, Gary Johnson, about the challenges facing the online poker community. Governor Johnson is a strong support of poker player rights and he opposes the UIGEA. He believes in personal freedom and the freedom to play online poker.

Learn more about Governor Johnson by going to this website: http://www.garyjohnson2012.com

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Rich, I am hijacking, delete after reading if you feel necessary.

I think this forum (PPA or Legislation area) needs a Subforum. One of the "things" about legal/illegal is that UIEGA relies on solid state laws to "enforce"...so maybe we need to approach from the that level.

Let's have a subforum called Individual States and a subforum for each inside.

I know I would watch the local battles much more closely. I cannot conceive of a trip to DC for a rally. But the capitol steps in Boise,,, or a group meeting with our Rep.....now that I would watch for. But I am not going to wade through National issues.... I am but a recreational player that has a life outside of poker. Seriously I could easily give up online poker (as I have since BF) and since casino play is too far to travel, all poker can be a thing of the past.

Rich; "Get involved, this is about personal freedoms, not just poker.... yada yada."

Dave: "OK, I offered to get semi-involved. I suggested that I, as a low level rec player, would prefer to see just Idaho info in an easy to find place thread/subsubforum, I would be more inclined to participate. If you don't want me going to rallys or meetings in Boise, then so be it. Good luck with your campaign.... I have moved on...."

signed,
56 year old business owner
rec player
family man
lives in a state where all poker is illegal, even a kitchen table game of skill.

The updates are quite helpful, Rich. Links to articles I hadn't seen before are great! With the change of heart of my senator (Bachus), I am optimistic (provided the Sun's quote is accurate).

Thanks for the updates and the hard work in general.

Thanks!

Dear Fellow Poker Player,

I wish to again offer you my sincere thanks for allowing me the honor of representing you in the fight for our rights as poker players as the vice president of player relations.

I am happy to have had the opportunity to speak with many of you via phone and email and in person at the PPA booth at the World Series of Poker last weekend. WSOP was great, in fact. I really enjoyed meeting many of you face-to-face to share all that PPA is doing in this fight. I similarly enjoyed meeting with many poker bloggers and podcasters while there.

I thank everyone who contacted me with their comments and concerns about Black Friday and the future of online poker. Be assured PPA will keep up the fight. I am proud that we poker players are standing up to those who would take from us our right to play.

As I mentioned last week, I have always been very accessible to my fellow poker players. I regularly communicate directly with the players on several online forums under my online handle “TheEngineer” and via phone and email. Since last week, I received over one hundred emails and have responded to all of them. I received several phone calls and IMs as well. The top three issues were:

• What more can individual poker players do to stand up for the game of poker?
• What is the status of our balances at Full Tilt Poker, UB and AB?
• Please detail what PPA has done in the fight for poker rights.

Being a PPA member is helpful in and of itself. I thank you for joining the organization and for allowing us to represent you in the fight. The next step is to become a dues paying member. As we are a membership organization, I believe it is very important for all of us to join as paid members. I know times are tough right now and I do not want to ask anyone to overextend, but if $20 per year is within your means, I guarantee PPA can put that money to good use for you and for the game of poker.

Every membership dollar PPA raises goes directly into the fight for poker rights. A $20 investment in the PPA is the best bet in poker.



Following that, please visit www.theppa.org/takeaction and follow the action items. Please also participate in my daily Fight for Poker Rights action plan. If we all keep the pressure on our lawmakers, they will not be able to ignore our demands for the right to play poker on our own homes on our own computers.


Getting player money back from the sites is a very high priority for PPA. For what it’s worth, my roll is locked up on FTP as well. This is a shared fight and it is one I personally take very seriously.

PPA has issued statements demanding that FTP, AB, and UB repay players’ balances. I guarantee you we are doing all we can in this effort.

One issue for the sites may be that they have not been given back all the money that was seized by the Department of Justice. In fact, the DoJ has thus far kept much of the seized money. I am sure that plays a large part of the problems we see today. That being said, PPA does not accept this as an excuse for inaction. Sites have an obligation to safeguard player money. I unfortunately have no estimate on when this will all be resolved.

PPA has put out a couple of updates on this situation. We will update the membership every time we have new information.


PPA has had success in:

• Creating an organization in DC where none formerly existed. We saw the result of that in Congress a few weeks ago, when Attorney General Eric Holder was grilled by a few congressmen about Black Friday at a hearing on an unrelated matter. We see it every day, in fact, as only anti-poker legislation was introduced to Congress from 1995-2006, while only pro-poker legislation has been introduced since.
• Raising the public image and perception of poker as an honorable game, not a degenerate vice.
• Defensively fighting federal legislative action that sought to harm further the interests of poker players.
• Defending against the implementation of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) regulations, successfully delaying for six months implementation of those regulations.
• Giving a voice to poker players in states where poker activity has attracted law enforcement or other negative notice.
• Jumpstarting state action. PPA’s actions at the federal level have woken up some states that are now concerned that Congress will authorize online poker before these states can.

Consider where we poker players started. UIGEA passed the House in 2006 by a vote of 317-93 and it was a free standing bill at that time (it was HR 4411). Politicians openly and proudly opposed us, and they only do that when they think there is ZERO downside to doing so.

For a reminder of the dark days before we poker players organized for the fight back, please take a look at the UIGEA House Testimony from July 11, 2006 and observe how lawmakers were tripping over one another to condemn online poker.

Anti-online poker folks built a loose coalition against us prior to UIGEA’s passage. The GOP even put a plank in its platform advocating a ban on online gaming. Additionally, when UIGEA passed, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) promised to introduce new legislation to finish what UIGEA started.

With this starting point, it was not reasonable to think poker players could turn this around overnight. PPA certainly never promised to. Rather, PPA started a process by which we could build support for our position. Initiating this fight, even as underdogs, was the maximum EV option of the choices available to us.

So, what has happened since? Well, Congress had certainly heard from America’s poker players. We are on offense in Congress, which is our best defense. Again, no bills have been proposed against us since 2006, after years of anti-poker bills.

PPA organized letter-writing and phone call campaigns while lobbying federal agencies and Congress. PPA also set up and organized testimony at Congressional hearings that went very well for us. Poker players wrote and called Congress by the hundreds of thousands. With these efforts, PPA stopped — and reversed — the momentum of the anti-poker forces. I believe we are fortunate to have someone as savvy on the Hill as Executive Director John Pappas at the helm, as navigating that arena is a skill all its own.

At the state level, the PPA twice stopped Massachusetts from criminalizing playing of online poker. PPA also fought the Kentucky governor’s efforts to seize online poker domain names. That effort included recruiting the ACLU and EFF to aid the fight, including a joint press conference to condemn the governor’s attack on the game. PPA worked with state and national media very effectively to communicate the players’ position in the Kentucky fight.

PPA got very involved in elections as well. Players helped push UIGEA sponsor Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA) from office – a fact he readily admits. PPA also contributed greatly to anti-poker CO Senate candidate Ken Buck’s loss to Michael Bennet. PPA’s PAC, PokerPAC, is an active participant in national elections.

On the media front, coverage of poker issues was often negative prior to passage of UIGEA. Thanks to the efforts of PPA, we now get our opinion mentioned in almost every mainstream article on the topic. I write a column myself, at http://biggovernment.com/rmuny.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of inertia in DC. Some politicians still think the anti-gaming types enjoy the support they did twenty years ago. We are chipping away at this every single day.

PPA continues to keep pressure on Capitol Hill. A poker-only bill will be introduced in the next couple of weeks. It will be introduced by a conservative Republican, Rep. Joe Barton of Texas. This bipartisanship will help the bill’s prospects greatly. Here’s a good article.

With that, I again thank you all for this opportunity and I humbly ask everyone here for your support going forward. Please feel free to reach out with any questions. Thanks!

Proud to play,

Rich Muny
playerrelations@theppa.org

• Bills for in-room wagers, Net poker called logical steps – Las Vegas Review-Journal (06/14/2011)
• Players Praise, Criticize Leading Player’s Suit Against Online Poker Site – ABC News (06/14/2011)
• Latest episode in online poker saga makes case for legalization – Las Vegas Review-Journal (06/14/2011)
• Frank, Campbell Back Barton Bill – Poker News Daily (06/14/2011)
• Federated Sports + Gaming Acquires Heartland Poker Tour – Ante Magazine (06/14/2011)Barton to Offer Online Poker Bill – National Journal (06/16/2011)

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ban poster immediately

Just started a discussion thread on the Washinton Post Facebook website.

http://www.facebook.com/washingtonpost

Go to the link and click on the "Like" button and then click on Discussion on the left side of the page.

The name of the thread is "Black Friday", A dark day for online poker. Please go there and post your thoughts.

Rep. Barton Introduces Internet Poker Bill




We have great news to report! The much anticipated legislation sponsored by Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) was introduced earlier today. His bill, HR 2366, the Online Poker Act of 2011 will restore your online poker rights by allowing licensed companies to offer Internet poker with real-money play to U.S. residents. The bill is a huge leap forward for the poker community in the aftermath of April 15th. While much still needs to be done to ensure that players’ funds on Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, and Ultimate Poker are returned, the Barton bill provides the legislative pathway for safe, reliable and regulated Internet poker in the U.S. Click here to view the PPA press release praising Congressman Barton.

Rep. Barton at WSOP on Saturday!



We are also pleased to announce that Congressman Barton will be at the World Series of Poker TOMORROW, Saturday June 25th. The PPA has arranged for him to tour the WSOP and he will also announce the ceremonial “Shuffle Up and Deal” for event #43, No Limit Hold’em starting at noon (Pacific Time). If you are at the WSOP, be sure to seek Mr. Barton out and thank him for protecting your right to play. Also, stop by the PPA booth and send a customized email to your member of Congress urging him/her to support the Barton bill. Next week, all PPA members will be issued a detailed action alert to support H.R. 2366.


As was reported in the “Top News” section of today’s PPA member alert, online poker legislation has been introduced into Congress!

This is due completely to the hard work of the poker community and the PPA, so some congratulations are in order. I thank everyone who took to the time to contact Congress, to write to a newspaper, to join the PPA, or to do any of the other actions that brought attention to our cause. Had we done nothing in the aftermath of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, we would still be in that same sad place – losing Congressional votes by margins of 3 to 1 or worse. Fortunately we did not stand for that, which is why we remain on offense in this fight.

That being said, this is just the start of the fight. To make progress, it will be up to each and every one of us to let our elected representatives and the media understand that we demand that Congress pass legislation in 2011 to license online poker.

You will receive a detailed alert from the PPA next week with specific steps you can take to support this important bill. I ask that we all participate in these actions to stand up for the game. Can I count on you to stand with your fellow poker enthusiasts?

For additional actions you can take to stand up for the great game of poker, please check out my daily Fight for Poker Rights action plan. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), sponsor of the new online poker bill, cited Facebook posts that were generated by this action plan, so we know it works:


I regularly communicate directly with players on several online forums under my online handle “TheEngineer” and via phone and email. Since taking this new role on June 1st, I have received almost two hundred emails and have responded to all of them. I received several phone calls and IMs as well. The top issues this week were:

• What is being done to help players who have funds locked up on Full Tilt Poker, UB and AB?
• Does PPA reach out to poker blogs and other poker media?

• Subject: Poker, Interview with John Pappas, by Noah Stephens-Davidowitz (Part 1, Part 2)
• Ante Up, On the Button: John Pappas of the PPA (here)
• Rounders Radio, Keep Flopping Aces with Lou Krieger (here)
• Affiliate Life Radio podcast (here)
• Two Plus Two PokerCast (here)
• PokerNews, Rich Muny Takes on New Role with Poker Players Alliance, by Matt Kredell (here)
• Bluff Magazine, The Fight: PPA’s Rich Muny on Black Friday and Beyond, by Kevin Mathers (here)
• QuadJacks Poker Video, Rich Muny of the PPA at the 2011 WSOP (here)

I again thank you all for your continued support in this fight for our rights as poker enthusiasts and as Americans!

Proud to play,

Rich Muny
playerrelations@theppa.org

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PPA News and Event Highlights (07/01/2011)

Presidential Candidate Takes a Stand in Support of Poker Rights



In the past week the poker community has had a prominent Congressman introduce legislation to regulate poker and a few days ago a former two-term Governor now presidential candidate has issued a statement in support of poker player’s rights. We have told you about Gary Johnson before, he is the former popular Governor of New Mexico and he is an ardent opponent of the UIGEA and a proponent of your freedom to play online poker. Here is what Governor Johnson said this week:

Gary Johnson is the former two-term Governor of New Mexico, a Republican candidate for President, and a long-time defender of personal freedom.

And that freedom includes your right to play online poker.

Governor Johnson has strongly condemned the federal crackdown on online poker, arguing that the right to assume risk and to gamble (in the privacy of one’s own home, no less) is a basic right that should not involve the government.

Governor Johnson has issued the following statement: “Government has absolutely no business telling Americans what they can do with their own time and their own money on their own computers, and that most certainly should apply to playing poker online. The fact that Americans are now prevented from playing online poker is an outrage. Unfortunately it is but another chilling example of how Congress and the Justice Department continue to trample on our personal liberty.

“As President, I will do everything in my power to restore your right to play online poker, and ensure that such a right can never be taken away again.”

You can voice your support for poker by going to www.GaryJohnson2012.com/poker.

Governor Johnson is also taking to the poker forums to communicate directly to the poker community. Click here to see what he is saying.

Finally, we are pleased to announce that Governor Johnson will be at the World Series of Poker on July 8th and available to meet poker players and the media at the PPA Booth. If you are in Las Vegas, we encourage you to stop by the PPA Booth (right outside the Brasilia Poker Room) between 1pm and 3pm to meet Gary Johnson in person.


The White House announced through its official Twitter account, @whitehouse, that it will host its first ever Twitter town hall on Wednesday, July 6 at 2PM ET in the East Room of the White House. Twitter co-founder and Executive Chairman Jack Dorsey will moderate a conversation between President Obama and Americans across the country about the economy and jobs.

Starting today, PPA twitter users can submit a prepopulated question asking the President if he supports licensing and regulating online poker by clicking here. Or you can submit your own poker question to President Obama by clicking here and please don’t forget to use the hash tags #poker #askobama.



With the introduction of Congressman Joe Barton’s (R-TX) Online Poker Act, the poker community has again upped the ante on Capitol Hill!

In fact, we have a stronger hand now than we have had in the past. This bill is truly bipartisan, and poker players and enthusiasts are united as never before. We all want something passed and we all want done sooner than later. Our odds have never been better.

However, as in poker, getting in the game is only half the battle — and it is not the winning half, either. So, let’s all do our part to play a winning game in 2011.

We all received a detailed alert from the PPA earlier this week with specific steps you can take to support this important bill. It is at www.theppa.org/takeaction. I ask that we all participate in these actions to stand up for the game. If we each do our part, the sum of our efforts will maximize our chances at ultimate victory.

Every letter we send to Congress tells our lawmakers that we care about this issue. Every phone call we make to Congress tells them we really care about our rights as poker players and enthusiasts. Please remember that PPA is not a “they”…it is us. It is up to each of us to work together make this fight the success it can be.

It is also up to each of us to tell Congress what we demand. No one else will do it for us, so please visit the PPA Take Action Page and take action today!



I regularly communicate directly with players on several online forums under my online handle “TheEngineer” and via phone and email. Since taking this role on June 1st, I have received a few hundred emails and have responded to all of them. I received several phone calls and IMs as well. The top issues this week were:

• What is the latest on PPA’s efforts on behalf of those who have funds locked up on Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker?
• You say you are responsible for communication with poker-specific media. Please point me to a detailed interview where you substantively discuss the issues.
• Will you be back at the PPA WSOP booth this year?

Getting player money back from the sites is a very high priority for PPA. As I mentioned several times here and to poker media, I have funds locked up on Full Tilt Poker too. This is a shared fight and it is one I personally take very seriously.

As you may have heard, the situation at Full Tilt Poker has changed dramatically over the past week, culminating with a reported sale of the site. You can read more at LA Times: Full Tilt Poker to be sold to European investors.

As I mentioned last week, PPA’s legal team has been actively reviewing options for the organization and for the players in this matter. PPA is working on an informative guide on the subject covering all options for players who are still owed money. We hope to have this available very soon.


I appeared on the QuadJacks podcast on Wednesday for an almost two hour long interview to discuss many issues pertinent to the poker community. I hope you all find it of interest: The QuadJacks Poker Podcast


I will be at the PPA World Series of Poker booth next weekend, July 7th – July 9th. I will be joined by Executive Director John Pappas on July 7th and by former governor and presidential candidate Gary Johnson on July 8th, so it will be a great time for everyone to stop by the booth to get acquainted with your PPA.

If you are in the area, please feel free to stop by the booth, introduce yourself, and discuss anything on your mind about the fight, the organization, and anything else about which you wish to talk. I look forward to meeting anyone who can stop by. If you would like to prearrange a time, feel free to email me.

I thank you all for your continued support in this fight for our rights as poker enthusiasts and as Americans!
Proud to play,

Rich Muny
playerrelations@theppa.org



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PPA News and Event Highlights (07/08/2011)



Wednesday, July 6, 2011 marked the first ever White House-Twitter town hall in which the President answered questions in real time from Twitter users across the country. The Issues discussed ranged from the state of the economy and reducing unemployment levels to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the President ignored the thousands of Tweets from PPA members asking him if he supports the licensing and regulation of online poker. We believe Mr. Obama could have clarified his stance on our issue in 140 characters or less and, by not doing so, he missed a great opportunity to solidify his poker constituents.



On Sunday, July 10, 2011 our Utah State Director Donna Lawton will be interviewed by Top Pair, Home Game Pokercasts about the current state of online poker legislation and other poker related topics. To listen to her podcast, tune in on July 10th at this link.

I arrived in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, looking forward to meeting many of my fellow poker players at the PPA WSOP booth. It has been an exciting trip!

I have enjoyed meeting many of you here and having the chance to discuss face-to-face the opportunities we now have on the Hill with the introduction of Congressman Joe Barton’s (R-TX) Online Poker Act, the ongoing saga with getting paid back by the sites that have yet to refund U.S. players’ balances, the impact of former Gov. Gary Johnson’s support for our right to play on the presidential race, and the many other questions and concerns of the poker community.

If you are in Las Vegas, please stop by the PPA booth this weekend and introduce yourself. I hope to meet lots of poker players and enthusiasts in person while here!

In the mean time, you all received a detailed alert from the PPA last week with specific steps you can take to support this important bill. It is at www.theppa.org/takeaction. I ask that we all participate in these actions to stand up for the game. If we each do our part, the sum of our efforts will maximize our chances at ultimate victory.

Every letter we send to Congress tells our lawmakers that we care about this issue. Every phone call we make to Congress tells them we really care about our rights as poker players and enthusiasts. It is up to each of us to tell Congress what we demand. No one else will do it for us, so please visit the PPA Take Action Page and take action today!



I regularly communicate directly with players on several online forums under my online handle “TheEngineer” and via phone and email. Since taking this role on June 1st, I have received a few hundred emails and have responded to all of them. I received several phone calls and IMs as well. The top issue this week was:


PPA has not formally endorsed former Gov. Gary Johnson’s candidacy. Rather, he has expressed public support for our position, so we are gladly sharing this much-welcomed and much-appreciated support with the poker community. We will do the same for every national presidential candidate who publicly supports our poker rights. The poker community benefits every time a political candidate publicly supports the right to play.


Governor Johnson’s support is paying dividends to the poker community, as we are already getting the coverage we seek:

Politico
New Mexico Independent
CNN
Talking Points Memo
NY Mag
The Atlantic
Gather

I thank you all for your continued support in this fight for our rights as poker enthusiasts and as Americans!

Proud to play,

Rich Muny
playerrelations@theppa.org

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Thanks Rich.

Did the guide for players to make claims against seized assets go by the boards? We have to assert claims by Friday, dont we?

It will be released once Skall gives the final okay.

haha i'm sure that will give players PLENTY of time