I'm not sure that Reid is even trying to move an I-Poker bill. Maybe, he is just milking the casino lobby for as much $ as possible.

who knows... probably why congress has it's 20% approval rating right now. They don't do dick but fight about how to spend money we don't have.

Fixed.

Dude you may be new to politics but Democrats usually get their asses handed to them. Lack of party unity, senate rules (filibuster), no backbone, reach a deal at any cost attitude, and lack of clear direction from the president which are typical of the Democratic party all add to this and its unlikely to ever change. If hillary was president and shumer (currently 3rd in senate leadership) was in charge this all would be very different.

its 9% now? lol i haven't looked in awhile

I thought it was 8% now. And President Obama is at 44%.

Dems suck to only get 60 days and give the Repubs the KeystoneXL. Dems always suck.

Maybe is being far too optimistic imo.

"I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."
- Will Rogers (from around 1930)

"The more things change, the more they stay the same."
- French proverb from the 1800s

Interesting. More details?

i feel like getting mad at the republicans for being great at gaming the political system is like getting mad at the guy at your table for playing hyperLAG. it SUCKS, because he's making moves you wouldn't and he's winning a lot, but.... yeah that's it, they're just way better at this game.

also, democrats are the cubs, or the mets, and we're a one-eyed pitcher playing AA ball. we lost sight in our right eye in a fight with a buncha religious cooks 5 years ago (and by fight i mean the kind tim robins got into in shawshank), and it's really made us unappealing ever since. the senate is the big leagues, and getting legislation signed by the president is winning the world series.

wait what were we talking about? EDIT: oh, right. i had to switch to baseball cause there aren't any famous perpetual hopeless losers in poker.

Everyone can see that Congress and the Executive branch is viral with hate and animosity. Its a pretty dysfunctional situation.

Personally Im beyond caring if someone is democrat or republican, or who they voted for the last election or the one before. Really I dont even fault any of the bashers anymore because there is such a level of anxiety to deal with now.

It would be totally awesone if this poker legislation could give everyone in congress something positive to debate and work out.

Its a stand alone subject, its no ear mark, it would be states rights positive, it would be revenue positive. This is really a good place for the legislators to come together and talk. And anyone who starts showing out or throwing mud can just leave. Because this is something good.

Ok, simply put: 2011 is over for iPoker, but live until the Payroll Tax Cut negotiations (2months at most at this point) cease. In other words Reid's bill (if it exist/s(ed)) still has a chance to shine? Slowroll or not, I still prefer to have whatever hope there's left and keep pouncing on the twitter etc.

If any of this is true, I think it's pretty important to convey this since so many of us seem to have lost the hope entirely.

andy beal imo!

The problem here is the major land based casinos do not want competition from offshore sites and will try to prevent them getting a U.S. licenses. If the legislation is the same as the Barton Bill, the U.S. will become like France, which only allows its players to play online at French licensed websites located in France. Some French players do play on international poker sites, but only as outlaws using proxies and virtual private networks (VPNs) to hide their IP addresses. If they get caught, however, Poker Stars and some other sites will confiscate their deposits and close their accounts. This is our future if the Barton Bill becomes law, and I don't think that any legislation supported by Senator Kyl will be any bettor.

Preston,

The alternative is what? Sit back and hope for the best? We tried that in up through 2006. It got us UIGEA and cost us a lot of sites.

I'd rather work to get states not to opt out than sit back and hope sitting back and hoping for luck yields a different result than it has every single time it's been tried to date, and I suspect many here would as well.

I would like a reliable source of income and I would like it sooner rather than later. 2011 (soon to be 2012) poker from the US sucks and it's getting worse, not better.

It's amazing how you keep spouting this nonsense in all the threads, and completely ignore my detailed response to your first post on this topic (and to others' responses to your other posts).

1. The US casinos are looking to existing offshore i-poker networks to be their software providers for the US-licensed sites. They will also look for international player pools. Case in point: Ceasars and 888.

2. The Barton Bill will require US players to play on US-licensed sites. However, the Barton Bill does not bar the US-licensed sites from including players outside the US in their player pool. See the cliffs of the Barton Bill and links to the bill itself here.

There was simply no way government was going to tolerate a system of reverse protectionism, where offshore sites could operate but U.S. based ones were banned from the market. It was inherently unstable. This concept came up for a vote in the House in 2006, where a bill ending it won 317-93 (HR 4411, which would have banned poker, became UIGEA after getting watered down in the Senate and became an enforcement mechanism for existing federal and state gaming laws).

For a stable system that will grow and will have provisions for consumer protections, we will need federal or state legislation authorizing the game. It is my hope that such legislation will pass in 2012.

Your hope that laws will remain frozen in place has not proven to be a good strategy for us. And, contrary to your belief, the current market is terrible.

So, I was just pondering this morning: I don't know how likely it is to get anything passed before the elections. Right now there is still so much gridlock in congress (as evidenced by the payroll tax extension fiasco after both sides said they wanted it) that I don't think much at all will be passed before the next congress and administration are determined (and then I think it will depend on the outcome: if say the GOP takes both houses and the presidency, they may be very reluctant to do anything this term knowing they will have free reign in 2013, but if they lose ground they will probably change their current strategy). Maybe I am having a bad morning, but I am not very optimistic today.

Here is an optimistic counter-view for you:

Since the citizenry is rather disillusioned by the apparent inability of our current Congress to overcome partisanship for the good of the country by getting beyond the gridlock, Congresscritters need to publicly make a forthright vote which will be perceived by the public as a bi-partisan accomplishment for the good of all. The i-poker legislation can be a perfect fit.

Lawmakers who want licensed and regulated i-poker can by voting for the legislation claim a victory for the cause of democracy while also claiming a bi-partisan concession to conservatives by compromising to allow strengthening of the UIGEA and the Wire Act.

Lawmakers who oppose i-gambling can by voting for the legislation claim victory for the conservative anti-gambling crowd while also claiming a bi-partisan concession to liberals by compromising to allow licensed and regulated i-poker.

This could be the legislation that Congresscritters perceive that they need to pass in advance of election day to boost support from their voting constituents.

Based on what I've seen Im not sure anyone in congress is smart enough to have this train of thought.

I keep hoping that sense will suddenly show up in congress, and maybe the payroll tax thing has demonstrated how fed up the voters are. But I still don't even understand how the house tried to hold out on a bill that both parties and the general public were in favor of.

I suppose this could loosen up the senate some more. It's pretty noteworthy that both parties there came to consensus and also united on agreeing the house was acting like a bunch of out of touch douche bags.

I think/hope you're in for a shock.

I hope the R's take the senate so Reid is forced to make a move in his lame duck as majority leader.

Lame ducks are always a gamble. You never know if intransigence or expediency will rule. You don't know which leadership teams will be in flux, or who holds what legislation up for what. Ipoker can pass during a normal session in conjunction with the right legislation to deflect attention and require a vote, if
the pro-ipoker parties get their **** straight. Apparently, it isn't on anyone's agenda to talk to anyone else about pooling resources and looking for common ground to show Congress an industry and constituencies want this. Until then, keep being prepared for disappointment.