Quote:
Originally Posted by johnny_on_the_spot
Congress ain't banning gambling. Gambling is a state issue and while some states are run by the religious fanatics, others are more on the left. In the area I live in, I've seen like 6-8 new casinos within a few hours of me pop up in the past 10-15 years
States have congresses too. If Florida banned poker I could move but it's a serious inconvenience.
The state/national divide is problematic and the main reason online poker is such a joke in the US. Only thing that's really going to revitalize poker like before would be national legalization of live and/or online gambling, and online would have to have a shared player pool. Preferably both. In the religious states with no casinos people still play poker for fun but they are just terrible at it. Can't imagine how juicy the games would be in Texas for instance if they legalized gambling. Plus low cost of living. Right now there aren't many good choices for where to grind 2/5 to 5/T. I put a lot of research into it. And for 10/20+ it's basically Vegas (expensive), DC (super expensive), or LA (super duper expensive).
We get some largish population states like Texas, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, etc. to legalize gambling there may be some hope. And I mean if it's full legalization like in Vegas and not just allowing high rake Indian casinos. Also would be great if Florida fully legalized it. Be nice if Seminole had some real competition like Caesars and MGM.
But...it's not much of a priority for either party to legalize gambling. Republicans tend to be against it for religious reasons. Democrats are often also against it because they think casinos unfairly target poor people.
In the long run I figure progress wins out and poker is legalized nationally but who knows how long that will take? I could be dead by then.
I remember before Black Friday feeling paranoid about the UIGEA and thinking the government wasn't going to tolerate online poker for long, but like most people with such concerns I wasn't taken seriously. Then one day I log on to Stars and it says players from my area can't play. I instantly know it's over.
I think a lot of the current online sites like ACR and Ignition are in pretty dubious legal territory and can get shut down whenever the government feels like it. Which is part of why I haven't even tried playing online in years. Lot of strip mall poker rooms in many states also in dubious legal territory. I'd say I'm lucky to live somewhere with legal casinos but most of my life I've lived in states without any, and I decided to move to Florida specifically to play poker, so, not lucky, but still grateful the entire nation isn't as backwards as some parts.
Thanks for triggering my paranoia with your off topic question whoever asked....
I'm just going to focus on the present. Fear is the mindkiller.