Is there any discussion about legalizing online poker again through the big sites like pokerstars. Or is this very unlikely? thanks

It already is legal in certain states: definitely Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania. It is likely that the state by state model will be the way forward.

What sucks is that only certain state laws allow for combining player pools. I think NJ and MI have recently combined pools, but here in PA where I live the law only allows sites to legally offer games to people physically present within Pennsylvania. Pokerstars, for example has Pokerstars PA, which has only PA-based players as members. Makes it tougher to find good games at times and limits the size of tourney fields, but it certainly is better than nothing. Hopefully states with legal online poker will move toward allowing share player pools and more states will legalize.

Unless there has been a recent change, there aren't any laws that make online poker illegal, except for those in a couple of states that have specifically outlawed it. The issues that caused the crackdown with Pokerstars and FullTilt weren't because they had poker, it had to do with their financial operations needed to get around the UIGEA. Unfortunately, the financial barriers put up by the UIGEA make it more difficult to operate in states that haven't regulated it.

i see thanks

Praying it never comes back. The games are amazing in places like Texas. We don’t want to lose these players…