If you mean the DoJ Oversight Hearing on 5/3 odds are online poker never even get mentioned, its a long shot, IMO, much like Obamas Townhall meeting on facebook was.

I thought Kyl killed the Reid bill after getting these concessions?

Did we ever get the behind the scenes story about the negotiations? I know Skall said he'd clue us in when everything calmed down, but not sure if something came up to change that.

With Kyl on board there are very powerful people in congress with substantial interest in online gaming from whom Bachus can gain considerable pork in return for compliance.

Bachus has everything to gain and nothing to lose by playing ball with Reid and Kyl.

pretty much this whole statement is wrong, so I'll just say that the banks you allege Bachus is serving were really the only other group lobbying against UIGEA.

I'm going to need to see a LOT more evidence of this before I consider Kyl "on board." The man has had it out for us for years.

Yea this is pretty much what it comes down to. Still no excuse for those in his district not to flood his office with calls and mail.

googles cache says it was changed sometime before apr 22... wayback machine says it was changed after dec 10, but theres no data for 2011 for some reason

No. There were provisions that made it clear that other Federal legislation (Wire Act, etc.) would not apply to duly regulated and licensed intrastate gaming IIRC; although I think any unbiased court would have come to that conclusion anyway based on existing legislation.

Tin foil could say there were no blackout provisions for games played against the house, because the new companies would have no trouble taking over those markets. But for poker, an intrastate operation, except possibly CA, would have had an uphill struggle competing with PS/FTP; hence, the final leaked version of #ReidBill would not have allowed any companies to set up even intrastate poker operations even with state regulation and licensing - for a blackout period. (Note that #ReidBill would also have enhanced enforcement of UIGEA, and would have made explicit that online poker businesses are illegal during the blackout period.)

US casino corps no longer have to worry about the offshore competition. It's now easier for them to grab the US market, so legislation can be pushed easier and faster.

It would also benefit domestic gaming interests to be able to get their online companies up and running before the remaining US ipoker market fully switches over to sites like Merge.

The most advantageous time for a US online gaming company to begin operating is right now.

If I'm a bigtime casino exec. I'm foaming at the mouth for these millions of abandoned US customers looking for a new online home for poker. Even if the seizures weren't the plan of Harry Reid and his casinos, I'm sure they are making new plans right now.

i agree it makes grabbing the US market easier. much much easier. what will these casino corps do specifically to push legislation forward? (edit: this isnt a rhetorical question meant to prove a point. im asking cause i dunno.)

i cant see how this would make any difference since legislation pre black friday would have included a blackout period

i thought the same thing. things were already wide open for them if they wanted to make a push. i feel like there must be quite a bit going on behind the scenes that we simply dont know about.

The Barney Frank and Menendez bills didn't. Now they no longer need it if they can get a bill passed quick enough.

wait so this entire statement is irrelevant now?

Everything seemed pretty amazing lately, no? Then we got black friday.

The difference is a black out period assumes the possible re-entry of the off shore sites. Now that they have Federal charges pending the chance of them re-entering is greatly reduced as well as the need for the casinos to partner with them.

We need some expert internet private investigators to determine when this change was made. Wayback Machine doesn't help because it only shows history from 2010. Note the link provided in this thread is to the "printout" link, not the main web page on crime so whoever volunteers to do this should know that. This has to be significant. Its clear that Kyl is clearly hedging his position, likely because he realizes that sentiment is in our favor and because he wants to gain something for his support (or at least for his intentional disinterest). Who is our house internet archivist? Make it happen...

No, not if this post is to be believed:

Since he's not running for another term, this might just be a pre-retirement cash grab. He's probably the single biggest roadblock to legalized online gambling, and he wants to see just how high a number Harrah's is willing to offer. I-gaming is his best opportunity to get himself a golden parachute.

Is it possible that Kyl was made aware of the indictments when they were first proposed way back in October? If so it could make sense why he was unwilling to budge in December knowing he could let these indictments play out first.

My take on Kyl:

One of the provisions in the Reid “Discussion” Bill was a statement about the ambiguity of UIGEA that would have given an “out’ for the sites in any court case. The bill provided cover for sites even mentioning the WTO case and the need for the U. S. to complete withdrawal, more site cover.

The discussion bill (with the above provisions) did not exact the pound of flesh so to speak they sought and would possibly gutted any sealed indictments, something they (Reid, Kyl, Bachus and others) were aware of, there were even threads here on the grand jury investigation.

Now, they have their full pound (and then some).

The black out period was a smoke screen designed to protect sites by showing they would, given the chance, comply with U. S. law.

Also, if the discussion bill HAD become a bill and was passed, the sites would have been gone from the U. S. well before Black Friday, monies secured and nothing for the DoJ to grab.

obg

this.

I think Kyl said something similar when Reid's bill was being considered, didn't he?

And let's not forget the House. The GOP's in control, and they are eager to make some headway in the culture war. No way is their base going to allow them to legalize any form of gambling.