McDermott makes a cautious prediction starting at about 4:57, saying, “It is very very likely that this bill will pass” before the end of the year. He then explains how and why he believes online gambling supporters on the Hill can win over the necessary Congressfolk, “one Member at a time”:

This interview came before the HR 2267 mark-up hearing, where the bill moved forward with a bigger margin of bipartisan victory than expected … presumably made easier by the various amendments added by representatives from across the country and across the political spectrum.

Because you can’t have McDermott’s bill, 2268, without 2267 — and 2267 means little in terms of practical application without 2268 — they totally go together. But until the two are merged, this dual-bill process also creates additional spots for cutthroat backstabbing shenanigans parliamentary maneuvers across the aisle should some influential sort not like the way the bill is taking shape for their client/big-donor’s competitive interest. I’m pretty sure that’s how it works … but to borrow a phrase from McDermott, not gonna say 100 percent.

So … watch and see?

Even as online gambling legislation that would effectively make online poker fully legal moves forward, so many different interests will be fighting to have things worded their way …

ABCNews.com gave today’s hearing in the House Ways and Means Committee some significant real estate … and in general the mainstream media has been chirping. Expect the chatter to increase as June 1 approaches. We’ll see if and when online gambling — and specifically poker — become something more than a side-snippet across the multiple channels of CableTalk TV.

Still, with this most recent movement on the McDermott bill — a little 2-hour committee hearing — we got one big step closer to the day when all those 10s of millions of Zynga poker players suddenly begin to play for real money.

The hearing is on “TAX PROPOSALS RELATED TO LEGISLATION TO LEGALIZE INTERNET GAMBLING”.

Watch the hearing here.

The witness list and other details can be found here.

They seem to be playing fierce and maybe even a touch dirty. The bipartisan nature of the letter is sure to catch some undecided Congressional eyes — and in it they drop a story about a college student committing suicide after going uber-deep into online gambling debt.

Click here to read the letter circulating in Washington DC.

IGRTEA 2010 specifies money for states and tribes — 6 percent — and attaches a dollar amount for a specific beneficiary, roughly $1 billion a year for foster-care programs. It’s being pitched as a sin tax, really — a simple addition to the tax code to allow one more group of disadvantaged youth to still get its government cheese. But if that’s the road they’re going down, perhaps they should earmark the $1 billion/year these kids will get from PokerTaxes.net as being for foster kids with cancer and cleft palettes? How can you be against helping foster children make that abused foster children with cancer and cleft palettes.

Here’s the actual bill itself. Just three co-sponsors out the gate, one of them being Barney Frank.

Supposedly, the McDermott bill is still companion legislation for Barney Frank’s 2267. But that bill seems to be going nowhere — instead of heading to mark-up, Frank is telling us to prepare for our next best course of action … let the UIGEA to go into full effect on June 1 and then they’ll see how really bad it is.

OK, interesting strategy. But don’t see where the McDermott bill fits in.

The last time we heard that type of talk was in November, when Spencer Bachus was preparing supporters of the UIGEA to prepare for its seemingly inevitable undoing.

So stuff has changed. How exactly remains to be seen. The .org apparently pushing the McDermott component is the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative.

Meanwhile … you tell me, get a sense of where anything gambling really stands in DC when Speaker Nancy Pelosi lets something slip about wagers on health care reform votes:

(I call.)

Some of poker’s most influential — Annie Duke, Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, et al. — are headed to DC in the next month for the Ante Up for Africa and PreventCancer.org tourney/events … and presumably, while mingling with elected officials and writing checks, will see what kind of political magic they can work (or is being worked) between now and June 1, UIGEA D-Day.

And here’s the CNBC press release:

CNBC Original Reported by CNBC’s Melissa Francis to Premiere on Wednesday, December 16th at 9PM ET/PT on CNBC

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., December 10, 2009-Beyond the Las Vegas strip there’s a thriving underworld of illegal gambling. It’s a multi-billion dollar business and millions of Americans are in on the action…

On Wednesday, December 16th at 9PM ET/PT, CNBC presents “CNBC Investigates: The Big Business of Illegal Gambling,” a CNBC Original reported by CNBC’s Melissa Francis that takes viewers inside this high-stakes business that brings some people immense wealth, while others pay the ultimate price.

The one-hour program delivers an in-depth look at just how mainstream illegal gambling has become. From sports betting to online casinos to high-stakes poker, a high percentage of the betting is placed illegally. Interviews with “Paul,” an illegal sports bookmaker who knows each bet he takes can land him in jail; professional gambler “Vegas Runner” who takes his job as a gambler as serious as any Wall Street trader takes his job; and the dangerous case of Nick Sarillo, a restaurant owner who freelances as a bookie, crosses the Mob and pays a heavy price; shed light on this lucrative, but risky activity.

CNBC also looks at how illegal gambling is moving out of the basement and onto the Internet where it’s more difficult for law enforcement to stop. Technology has made illegal gambling much more accessible and the same computer used for work or to connect with family and friends can also be used to wager outside the law. CNBC speaks with Jay Cohen, an Internet entrepreneur who starts a 200 million dollar offshore gambling website and becomes the first American prosecuted for running an online bookmaking operation.

The program concludes with the debate over legalizing gambling. It’s an argument that is gaining traction in Washington and CNBC speaks with congressmen from both sides of the argument-Congressman Jim McDermott, a Democrat from Washington State and the sponsor of a bill that would regulate and tax online card games and Congressman Bob Goodlatte, a Republican from Virginia and author of “The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.”

For more information including video clips and slideshows log onto illegalgambling.cnbc.com.

Melissa Francis is co-anchor of CNBC’s “The Call” (M-F; 11AM-12PM ET).

“CNBC Investigates: The Big Business of Illegal Gambling” is produced by Kurtis Productions. Sharon Barrett is the Executive Producer and Mike West is the Senior Producer for Kurtis Productions. Charles Schaeffer is the Executive Producer for CNBC. Ray Borelli is the Vice President of Strategic Research, Scheduling and Long Form Programming.

“CNBC Investigates: The Big Business of Illegal Gambling” will re-air on Wednesday, December 16th at 10PM & 1AM ET; Friday, December 18th at 9PM & 12AM ET; Saturday, December 19th at 7PM ET; and Sunday, December 20th at 10PM ET.

TRIVIA: Does anyone know the bill number for the UIGEA? Free satanic spade swag-shirt for the first correct commentor.

The article points out what a significant move it is by Harrah’s to be so publicly behind these legislative measures, and the relevance of Rep. Shelley Berkeley’s (D-NV) full-on support. (She previously supported only studying the issue.) Overall, the non-partisan piece is far more optimistic than most of us poker-biz “professionals” … but even CQ knows they’re just guessing. What it does, however, is establish the baseline, from where Congressional dialogue on online gambling will be starting. (So we’ll have to deal a lot with addiction and protection-of-minor issues, but not so much with 1/3 of them attempting suicide the first time they suffer a bad beat.)