Washington House Republicans will host their second Twitter town hall, Friday February 28th, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. Participants can ask House Republican leadership members Rep. Dan Kristiansen and Rep. J.T. Wilcox a 140-character question using the hashtag #solutionsWA.

We had a great turnout at the last one in January, and our tweets got noticed. Let's make sure the issue stays on their minds. This is an election year for a lot of the legislature, and those elected leaders need to be reminded they work for the people, not special interests groups.

I've updated these 'click to tweet' links. You may use them or craft your own. Be sure and use the hastag #solutionsWA, and throw in #WAipokerNOW if it fits in your 140 character message!

Regulation of #ipoker lets @WAGambling carry out mission to Protect the Public by Ensuring that Gambling is Legal and Honest #solutionsWA

A regulated alternative creates a market solution to offshore gambling sites; protect players with safeguards, restore freedom #solutionsWA

Prohibition of #ipoker prevents @WAGambling from mission to Protect the Public by Ensuring that Gambling is Legal and Honest #solutionsWA

@WaHouseGOP Prohibition is ineffective in dealing with the issue of internet poker; regulation is a better solution #solutionsWA

A couple more easy tweets . . . .

@wahousegop players were disappointed Rep. Harris didn't drop his #ipoker bill, would you consider bill that players propose #solutionsWA

@wahousegop dont you see regulation is a market solution to unsafe offshore internet poker offerings undeterred by prohibition? #solutionsWA

@wahousegop should #ipoker players be threatened with a felony charge 'for their own good'? Drunk drivers aren't, why are we? #solutionsWA

I tweaked this one and included it in today's DAP.

Great work you're doing ITT. Subscribing so I can join the twitter campaign etc.

I have sent e-mails to the 260+ candidates holding and/or seeking legislative office in the fall and asked for their position on internet poker legislation. Some were quick to respond, others have not gotten to it yet, but if we want to see real progress, we need to hold their feet to the fire this election cycle.

Please take a moment and find your legislative district, and e-mail the candidates in your district to encourage them to support our proposal

http://ipokerwa.com/page/Elections2014

Appreciate your efforts. Hopefully we'll see an online poker bill passed soon.

Why is the 31st LD Senate race one of, if not THE most important race this election cycle? Our best chance of progress on a bill this year will be getting it introduced in the Senate. Getting a hearing so that the issue is out in the open is important, Advancing a bill beyond the 'house of origin' deadline also will keep the issue alive longer. Even if it dies in the State House, we will have made progress, and it will show that special interests are what is keeping internet poker players felons in our State.

In the 31st Senate race we have Cathy Dahlquist running against the incumbent Pam Roach. Roach is a bit of a headache to most in Olympia, and unseating here seems quite within reach. Cathy Dahlquist is leaving her House seat in that district to run for the Senate seat. She has 'worked on the legalization of online poker for the last 3 years in the legislature' and could very well be the one to sponsor a bill in January.

We as players can make a difference. If you are in the 31st LD, e-mail me (curtis@ipokerinitiative.com) so that we can get a sit down with Rep. Dahlquist and go over with her the finer points of internet poker, and what we as consumers want to see in a bill. This is your opportunity to be a part of the legislative process, rather than abdicating it to the monied interests standing in our way.

What also should be noted is that Chris Hurst is also a representative from the 31st. He is the Committee Chair that is currently stopping progress on our issue in the House. Unseating him would certainly not hurt our cause.

If you're in the 31st, let's talk!

http://ipokerwa.com/thread/64/31st-legislative-district

Want to see internet poker legislation in Olympia next year? Then make three phone calls.

As I have been reaching out to lawmakers and those who would like to be lawmakers, I keep hearing that the issue is not something they have had brought up by constituents. So I ask you, how do you expect them to change the law if you don't tell them it needs to be done?

Don't just assume it can't be done, and don't assume someone else is going to do it. Pick up the phone, take a few minutes out of your busy day, and ask those three representatives, or a member of their staff even, what they are doing to end the silly felony prohibition of internet poker in Washington State.

If you need help finding the phone numbers, I'd be glad to help with that too.

The Primary Election is in four weeks. Remember, Washington has a 'top two' primary, where the top two vote getters advance to the general election. In races where there are only two candidates, or where there is an unopposed candidate, the primary serves as a straw poll to see where support lies, so it is still important to send in your ballot.

Select races with more than two candidates:

5th LD, P2 - David Spring (D) supports our cause.
10th LD P2 - Brien Lillquist (R) supports our cause.
17th LD P2 - Chris Rockhold (L) supports our cause *

27th LD P2 - Micah Anderson (F) supports our cause; minor party candidate standing for freedom, a vote here sends a strong message

28th LD P2 - Both John Connelly (D) (spoke with him on the phone) and Kevin Heiderich (I) are supporters; again, voting for the Independent in the primary sends the right message.

31st Senate - Cathy Dahlquist (R) is a supporter. She is running against incumbent Pam Roach (R) who is not well liked in the legislature even by her own party, and a Democrat 'ringer' allegedly sponsored by Roach herself. This is a very important race, we need to send Cathy to the State Senate!

33rd LD P2 - Jeanette Burrage (R) is a supporter
35th Senate - Travis Couture (R) is a supporter
37th Senate - Rowland Martin (R) is a player and supporter
42nd LD P1 - Nicholas Kunkel (L) is a supporter

49th LD P1 - Dr. Anson Service (R) supports freedom, not a big fan of gambling per se. I talked to him at some length. The incumbent, Sharon Wylie, is definitely going to support the Tribes first though, and she sits on the GAO Committee. Unseating her is a net positive.

49th LD P2 - Lisa Ross (R) is a supporter.


*this is Rep. Harris' seat. Although he did introduce HB1824 in 2013, he never did introduce his regulatory bill this year (it wouldn't have gotten a hearing anyway, but) and it is hard to imagine he will spend any more effort on the issue at this point.

Be sure to vote in the primary if you are in one of these key districts, and/or if there are more than two candidates for office in your district . . .

there are twenty-six legislative races with more than two candidates, and some of these are important to us for advancing the issue of internet poker. We'll take a look at some of those here.

5th District, Position 2: There are four candidates in this race, only David Spring (D) responded to our request for a position on internet poker. He straight up told me he would sponsor a bill if elected. It's unfortunate we did not hear from the other candidates. It indicates they are unconcerned or simply not interested in our issue. We recommend a vote for David Spring to advance him to the general election.

10th District, Position 2: Four candidates in this race as well, and only one candidate responded to our inquiry. Brien Lillquist (R) is informed on the issue, aware of the other states that have moved forward, and told us "Count me in, if we can do it like NV. only within the state." We recommend a vote for Brien Lillquist to advance him to the general election.

17th District, Position 2: This is Rep. Harris' seat, and he faces two challengers, a Democrat and a Libertarian. Rep. Harris has championed the cause, introducing a bill to decriminalize the players in 2013, and drafting a regulatory measure in this past session. He did not introduce that measure, as the Committee Chair would not give it consideration. It still would have been good to see it introduced, even if it stalled. That said, Rep. Harris has not responded to our inquiries. Only Libertarian candidate Chris Rockhold responded to our requests, and indicated he would be proud to champion our proposal. All of the Libertarian candidates support our freedom to play, and we recommend a vote for Chris Rockhold to advance him to the general election.

28th District, Position 2: Five candidates in this race, with two of those responding to our inquiries for a position on internet poker. Democrat John Connelly and I spoke on the phone and he was supportive of our cause. Independent Kevin Heiderich responded by e-mail indicating he supported repeal of the criminal provisions for playing and would support a regulatory bill. We are recommending a vote for John Connelly to advance him to the general election.

31st District, Senator: This is a very important three-way race between two Republican women and a faux Democrat. Cathy Dahlquist has given up a safe House seat to challenge Pam Roach for this Senate seat. Cathy Dahlquist is a supporter of our issue, and will be a key ally in the State Senate. Through the Senate is likely to be the best path forward in the next session, and having Cathy there will be a big plus for us. We recommend a vote for Cathy Dahlquist to advance her to the general election.

33rd District, Position 2: Jeanette Burrage (R) showed great interest and support for our issue. She is in a three way race with Les Thomas (I), who also showed support for our cause, and Mia Su-Ling Gregerson (D) who did not respond to our inquiries. We recommend a vote for Jeanette Burrage to advance her to the general election.

35th District, Senator: In this three way race, we received a reply from only one of the candidates. Republican Travis Couture is a strong supporter of our freedom to play the game. Another valued supporter in the Senate is what we need, and we recommend a vote for him to advance him to the general election.

37th District, Senator: This is a wide race, with five Democrats and a single Republican. Not surprising, the lone Republican is the only candidate to express support for our cause. Rowland Martin is a poker player and a supporter of our issue, and we recommend a vote for him to advance him to the general election.

42nd District, Position 1: Nicholas Kunkel, a Libertarian, is a strong supporter of our freedom to play the game. He also was the only candidate in this four way race to respond to our request for a position on the issue. We recommend a vote for Nicholas Kunkel to advance him to the general election.

49th District, Position 1: Sharon Wyle is the incumbent in this race, and sits on the Government Oversight Committee. She is not going to support our efforts, adding another 'nay' on that committee. One of her opponents, Republican Dr. Anson Service, while expressing concerns on the subject of problem gambling, supports individual freedoms. I shared a great deal of information with him regarding gambling addiction and they advantages online poker has in recognizing and addressing same, to which he responded positively. We recommend a vote for Anson Service to advance him to the general election.

These picks are based on replies from the candidates to our questions on their position on a single issue. A vote for our recommendation does not assure them the seat. Rather, it advances them to the general election, and gives us a better opportunity to get pro-ipoker candidates into the legislature.

Let your conscience be your guide when filling out your ballot. Be sure to vote in this primary election, the above races are crucial to our success.

Great job Curt!

Ditto.

Agreed. WA players are lucky to have you on their side!

Great job!

Thanks for all the hard work Curt. I moved out of WA 7 years ago, but may move back if online poker comes back.

Promising developments: State Rep. Christopher Hurst (D-31st) has graciously offered to meet with me to discuss internet poker regulation in Washington State! Rep. Hurst is the Chairman of the Government Accountability and Oversight Committee, through which any internet poker legislation must go. That makes him the gatekeeper, and I intend to convince him that regulation is a far better means to address shared concerns associated with internet poker. Stay tuned for more info!

Good job!

Please make sure he understands that fencing off player pool to in state only will kill it, and that opening up to the rest of the world (ideally through PS) is the smart way to go.

Please understand that such a scenario is outside the authority of state government. It has to start with intrastate, and then evolve across state lines as those states adopt legislation.

Very awesome! Great work Curt.

I think what he is getting at is any state law needs to allow for state compacts in the future.

The meeting went quite well. It is safe to say that Rep. Hurst is not opposed to online poker, and I took away a pretty good idea what it will take to make it happen.

Its not enough that the players want it, there has to be someone who wants to offer online poker to Washington State players. So that is the next hurdle. It's no longer a question of how bad WA players want to play on Pokerstars and other sites, it is a question of how bad those operators want to serve us.

So big money has to get in to buy some politicians?

If it were only that easy.

But if the industry shows no interest in Washington State, why should the politicians? And so far, the industry is ignoring Washington State. We're not even on the radar.

We also need the local stakeholders to show an interests.

Here is what players could do to further the cause.

1) Send e-mails to your state reps. It may seem pointless to the cynics, but most of the state reps/senators have not heard a single word from any constituent that would suggest this is even an issue. You can't just assume they know about the issue and are against it. Most are completely oblivious, and that isn't their fault, it is ours. Next week I'll be trying to organize a push in this area, put out some talking points, some twitter links, e-mail addresses, etc.

2) Talk online poker when you're at the card room. We need the Tulalip and the Muckleshoots to recognize the value in online poker, both in cultivating new players and as a tool to bring bodies into the casino.

Another thing is to talk to the reps of PartyPoker, 888, and even Pokerstars. Do they want to serve WA players or not? AS one of 'Grove's Eleven' WA is surely a state that can support intrastate play, and the network approach we are advocating makes interstate cooperation pretty easy to accommodate. Maybe make some posts in support forums and what not, encouraging them to look at what we are up to and see what they can do to help.