There have been a number of discussions about where US players can move to if the scene here degrades to the point where it becomes too difficult to continue to play online poker from the US. There have been suggestions about which country would accept immigrants or residents, whether or not to renounce US citizenship, etc. My proposal, which is probably the most impractical, is to start our own micronation.

There is quite a bit of information on the internet about starting a micronation. A couple of good sites to start are:

http://www.geocities.com/micronations/index.html
http://www.escapeartist.com/Travel/U..._A_New_Nation/

The biggest barrier to starting a micronation is finding habitable land somewhere that is not already under the sovereignty of an existing nation. There are a few ways I can think of to get around this:

1. Find some Indian tribe willing to parcel off a small plot of uninhabited tribal lands, either by outright sale or by lease with autonomy.
2. Find a country willing to lease a bit of land with autonomy, a la Hong Kong.
3. Find some unclaimed island somewhere.
4. Find a country where officials could be bribed to leave us alone if we occupied and claimed sovereignty for a small parcel of land.
5. Create an island.
6. Bloody coup.

I want to establish PokerXanadu as a Principality, with myself as Prince, of course. However, once the project is underway and such things as a constitution are in place, the title could become just Honorary, without necessarily a government role.

There are already a few volunteers to get things rolling:

novahunterpa: provide an arsenal for state defense.
sharky21222: recruit someone to open a bank.
Springsteen87: importation of goods and services.
BigAlk: logistcs and planning.
jasonfish11: transporation services.
YoureToast: writing the Constitution.

Who's in?

You could get a Letter of Marque and Reprisal from Congress to fight Somali pirates. As a privateer, you could then take a small parcel of Somali land as payment and set up the nation there. Of course, we'd have to defend it 24/7.

What the heck solve many problems at once; bribe the 82nd airborne division; take DC; evict all the useless politicians and bureaucrats and form nation so rest of US can start over again too without DC; it could use a new capitol.

If you manage to get rid of the politicians and bureaucrats, please don't set up a new capital for them. Just let us be free.

The main problem with this is finding a place where you could have true sovereignty. Even if you could lease or bribe your way into some land it would be recognized by the leasing country and by the international community as the country you are leasing it from. Also what happens when this country changes political parties or has some revolution and they no-longer recognize your lease.

They only way to gain a true sovereign land is by some revolution, this could be a velvet revolution but more likely it would be the violent kind. So we would have to find a country we could pull off a successful coup d'e tat in.

1. Find a country that the general population is unhappy with

2. Has a piss poor military

3. Make sure this country has no ties to any major military on major economic power, and that the members of the U.N Security Council will not interfere, and the international community will recognize our new gov.

4. Send in advance agents to initiate physiological warfare on the population, threw propaganda against the existing regime.

5. Train rebel revolutionaries

6. Develop a new gov. and economy to put in place after the fall of the old regime.

7. Start the revolution, win a fast and decisive victory

8. Establish new GOV. rule with an Iron fist to maintain power

9. Play online poker

This feels a whole lot like I imagine it used to feel to be drafted into the army.

LOL Just like in the Army don't volunteer for anything because you know it's bad if they are asking for volunteers in an organization that can order you to do anything they want.

wtheck kind of home game are you RUNNING, novah?

And PX- the flag needs work

That's IT! I can be the official seamstress!

LOL, this is interesting.

You might want to consider building a giant platform in the ocean, rather than trying to take over existing land. I know a few plans for such a thing are out on the internet somewhere.

I think there was a wired article about designs for such a thing and I know among libertarians ways to found micronations are very well researched.

btw this thread is halarious/awesome.

Thanks for volunteering to take on these new duties! How about Antigua?

Alright! Another volunteer. Go for it!

Lottery Larry's tag line should be changed to "The Betsy Ross of PokerXanadu"

With novahunterpa's weapons expertise, we might have a chance in Antigua:

PokerXanadu we should also try looking into the Somalia option. If you can find a old large yacht or cargo vessel we could convert it, build living quarters, kitchens, and online poker base and best of all it would fly the new flag. Install a helicopter platform for transport to and from a nearby land based airport in a friendly (bribed) country this way we could leave on regular trips and catch flights to Europe to spend our cash. All financial transactions would be done by Swiss banks in accounts set up under the "Principality of PokerXanadu".

We would most likely be left alone by other nations because they are focused on the pirates in the area but we would have to worry about the Somali pirates.
If we mount 2 or 3 20mm cannons on the ship along with 1 or 2 small torpedo boats patrolling around the ship. This should keep the pirates from attacking us.
Unless they have aircraft in which case I recommend adding this: The Phalanx



Then we shouldn't have to worry about them bad pirates, and we could play online poker far away from the reach of UIGEA.

FYP

It's good to see that we can spend Sunday working on the "Principality of PokerXanadu" as there seems to be no other pressing poker legislation type matters today, maybe even the DOJ took the day off. I bet by early next week they'll be back at it trying to find another processor or something to seize and we will have other news in this forum to talk about. So we better hurry up and get this new nation up and running before next week.

Absolutely! I'm depending on you guys to do your jobs. As titular head of state, I don't have to personally do anything except order you around.

My guy's and I are ready to invade and have been all day but we been waiting for your transportation secretary he was supposed to bring vehicles to get us to the battle. Plus We need Betsy to finish the flag so it's all ligit and all.

You have my permission to force jasonfish11 to do his job at gunpoint.

You should sell that flag when it's made to those who wish to stay in the U.S They can hang it in their yards to show support for the cause. Ill' hang one up and also put it on my shirt.

Cool idea. LL, do you have some serious suggestions for the flag?

Design is not my area, but we should really work on that symbol and put it on shirts ect. I'll have my hands full running from all the mercenaries when they realize the checks your "Finance Minister" issued them are going to bounce.

LL = Lottery Larry

I think I like this a little better: