I know I'm most likely preaching to the choir here, but I posted this on various poker forums, so I'll carry on here too.

I find it unacceptable that here in the United States of America, once a beacon of freedom and hope worldwide, online poker regulation is lumped in with some of the few countries who do not regulate it or outright ban it, the likes of Iran and North Korea. Further astounding me is there are politicians accepting "campaign contributions" from Sheldon Adelson, billionaire casino magnate, promoting a federal ban. Right here! In the Land of the Free!

This has progressed to the point that Mr. Adelson's Restoration of America's Wire Act (RAWA) legislation (bought and paid for) has been presented in the Senate by Rep. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on 03/24/14 with three co-sponsors (S. 2159) and an identicial bill presented in the House by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) on 03/26/14 with 18 co-sponsors (H.R. 4301). Both bills have a slim chance of outright passage at this time. However, with the amount of money Mr. Adelson is pouring to lobbyists and donating to politicians, it remains a very real possibility that the bill can be attached at the last minute to must-pass legislation similar to UIGEA in 2006. There is some indication that a Congressional Hearing may be held regarding these bills after the upcoming Congressional break, possibly in November.

Although online poker regulation in the USA may seem a trivial or non-critical issue to some, a federal ban has larger implications. Allowing a billionaire to purchase legislation imposing his outdated views on the general public is wrong, and if one area of internet commerce can be banned, it won't be long before others began seeking a ban on something they don't like or which benefits their personal business interests.

These are politicians we have voted into office and they need to know we do not support these restrictive and archaic bills. Commerce is now routinely conducted online, and online poker is a natural progression. This industry is available to citizens in almost every country globally and has been successfully regulated for over a decade. With the upcoming elections around the corner, now's the perfect time to let them know we want to embrace the existing technology available to provide safe, regulated, US-based sites. I know I don't want to live in the 1950's with the politicians supporting this ban or Mr. Adelson, and right along with the citizens of Iran and North Korea.

With all that said, please consider participating in Rich Muny's Poker Daily Action Plan. Rich works tirelessly day in and day out to get the word out to politicians and the plan only takes a couple of minutes each day to do with fully-editable twitter links and FB links. (Pro tip: hold down the CTRL key when you click each link and you can open them all at once and then bang them out -- seriously, it only takes a couple of minutes each day!) Today's Weekend plan link provided to you below for your viewing pleasure, and it's right here on this very forum.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/57...poker-1037109/

Very well said Gail! Thanks for all you do.

I wonder how those who did nothing to fight back for our game would react in the long term if Adelson were to win this. I know how they'd react in the short term; they'd blame PPA for not giving them what they felt so entitled to. People who never before visited Poker Leg. would bash me with all the anger they could muster.

In the long term, though, I wonder if they'd ask themselves if they should have volunteered and/or donated to help PPA strengthen, rather than complaining bitterly (as some do today) that they deserve a bigger and more powerful PPA. And, if they don't care for PPA for one reason or another, if they'd ask themselves why they didn't start a new effort, either via a new group or simply by organizing players to take pro-poker actions.

I think that the PPA is a national fight. It's doing the best it can.

But, citizens of respective States CAN actually put something together to get online poker in THEIR state.

For example, I only know about my State, but we didn't have land based casinos until very recently. Citizens got together, signatures, etc., to do a vote, and a Constitutional Amendment was offered. Voters rejected it twice (two years in a row). Then, the 3rd time (a few years later) it was passed.

That's a simplified version of the events obviously. There was financial help in the campaigning of it from the potential casinos themselves. And, in order to push online poker here, they would likely have to be involved with that too.

I met with State Rep. Chris Hurst yesterday. As Chair of the Government Accountability and Oversight Committee, he is essentially the 'gatekeeper' we must satisfy before the law can change in WA State. (Very nice guy, btw. Not at all the villain in this story. Meeting went well, there is agreement on some points, optimism is warranted, but there is much more to do between now and the end of the year.).

He asked me a question to which I didn't have a solid answer. The question was "do they want it?" Do the Tribes want to offer online poker? Are there operators who want to come to WA to offer services? Are the enough players to support such a policy change?

What he was getting at is that if it only matters to me, its not compelling, no matter how good my argument is. It needs to matter enough to enough people to show there is a need for public policy change. I was there by myself, just a single voice. Not a paid lobbyist, not an icon in the poker community, just a lone microdonk determined to make a difference.

If I can, anyone can. It just takes a bit of determination.

Well said, and well done, Curt!

+1

You do such a great job getting the word out Curtis, especially considering you live in one of the most restrictive states.

It's the Borg we created when we elected Jr. to avenge daddy.