wow smokers are screwed now too. govt is cracking down on everything.

Seriously if I told some of you American guys that the Chinese government were doing this **** to chinese poker players you'd all be like "omg communists, thank god I live in the land of the free though.. USA! USA! USA!"

Since lobbyists discovered their inner power, the USA has turned into one big police state.

And they should get it.

Legalize and regulate this great game, instead of seizing money without any legal reason.

Guys, please follow John's advice, tell all you Poker playing friends to mail to the politicians.

Meanwhile in other news: EU backing US poker players - sort of:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/EU-cal...2629.html?.v=6

May the flop be with you,
PokerWorker

This drives me crazy. The US gov pays no mind to the WTO whatsoever. I wish this was our best angle, I mean isn't the US gov breaking laws?

this **** is getting waaayy too much media attention. i've already gotten 4 phone calls about it from people that know i play poker. it is absolutely scaring off potential new customers permanently.

You're missing the point I was making... I know they tax everything; that was the point of my message. There is no way for them to know how much we're actually making playing poker, therefore shut it down!

This news has really made it to the general public. One of my co-workers asked me yesterday "hey, did you hear about the online poker people not being able to cash out?" I was like... Um, yea I heard. This guy knows nothing about poker or gambling in general. Just thought I'd share this with you guys.

Pick up the phone?

Here is some favorable media attention from the WSJ:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124476513837208405.html

Very balanced, and the example of an online player was not a woman who said her husband became addicted to online poker and they lost their house!

We really, really, really need a PR blitz to show that playing is not illegal under Federal law and that no player lost their money. The PR for the game has been TERRIBLE.

I know the point you are making I'm just saying that government doesn't just shut something down because they can't figure out a way to tax it. Government isn't a one mind entity. There are two completely separate groups that want to shut it down versus taxing it. The ones who want to shut it down are part of an ongoing fight to stop gambling and since casino gambling is too institutionalized and prevalent they are picking the easier fight with internet gambling. And believe me, the ones that want to tax online poker are never going to throw up their hands because they can't figure out a way to do it. I was just making the point that the government especially in the US, will never stop being efficient when it comes to taxing us.

I think this incident has actually been pretty good PR. Most of the news segments seem to lean toward the player's side. I'm guessing that's because it's the PPA who is bringing the story to light in a big way. Notice the NY attorney's office hasn't even made one comment to the media. That makes them look pretty squirelly in the public's eyes imo, like it's just a money grab. And that one dude who's going around saying online poker makes you beat your kids could almost be a plant for our side, he's so dumb. I wonder if he is a plant?

Can you copy and paste the article here? I can't seem to get it.

If we can manage get a clear ruling stating on-line poker is legal out of this, the fish population will explode on the major sites.




That's a mighty big if though.

I don't see the PPA doing anything less than getting a clear ruling out of this. I don't see any reason why the Supreme Court would rule anything less than legal.

Those two statements are surely both sarcasm.

No. How 'bout yours?

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Independent of those rules, Two Plus Two does not offer this service to residents of the United States, it's territories, or possessions. If you fall into this category please do not sign up for an account.

How does't 2+2 feel about the possible loss of US Players?

Vote to get the PPA on "Freedom Watch with Judge Andrew Napolitano". Help the PPA to discuss the government's outrageous attacks against online poker.

Vote this up high enough that the producers will OK the idea. No email required or registering. Just click the vote icon in the upper left page and choose number 3. SIMPLE, FAST AND ANONYMOUS.

You can vote at this link:

http://freedomwatch.uservoice.com/pa...t-online-poker

I agree in terms of being right or wrong, but the news articles are all making it sounds like players are out money. Lots of people will agree that we are right. None of them will be putting money onto poker sites even if they like poker.

By TAMARA AUDI and AMY SCHATZ

Prosecutors' seizure of $34 million belonging to online poker players ups the ante in a long-running struggle between the Justice Department, which wants to shut down the online-gambling industry, and members of Congress who want to make it legal.

The government has used several laws to prosecute online gambling. Critics claim those laws are unclear and are sometimes contradicted by a patchwork of state laws.

Last month, Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, proposed legislation to legalize and regulate Internet gambling so revenues could be taxed and consumers would have some protections.

The Poker Players Alliance, a lobbying group, said there are 10 million Americans who play online poker for money, spending about $6 billion a year. The group attacked the recent seizure, carried out by the U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, saying funds belonging to 27,000 online poker players were frozen. The U.S. attorney's office declined to comment.

...

The U.S.'s resistance to legalizing online gambling is part of a nascent trade dispute with the Europe. On Wednesday, the European Union released a report that says U.S. Internet gambling laws violate international trade rules. European companies can't offer gambling services to Americans under the rules, but U.S. companies can offer some online gambling services, such as horse betting, to Europeans.

The EU said Wednesday it would hold off on filing a formal complaint in hopes of negotiating some sort of solution with the Obama administration.
"Internet gambling is a complex and delicate area, and we do not want to dictate how the U.S. should regulate its market," said EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton. "I hope that we will be able to reach an amicable solution to this issue."

Write to Tamara Audi at tammy.audi@wsj.com and Amy Schatz at Amy.Schatz@wsj.com

They sure don't. Without getting political, Canadians know this first-hand.

I'm not sure what you're getting at here, but if you're implying that 2+2's tiny affiliate program means they don't care about the fortune of US online players, that's just laughable IMO.

The funny thing is that it wasn't legally seized, it was illegally stolen.

Yea, I agree about supporting PPA.

Also, if I was a Nevadan I would vote against Harry Reid (rep. from Nevada), who is now the majority leader of the House of Representatives. One would have to imagine his loyalty is with the casinos who are hurting in Vegas.