And you gotta think Obama probably got briefed as the DOJ officially changed its position on the Wire Act, September 23rd — the first day of Fall, and the same day the DOJ labeled Full Tilt Poker a Ponzi scheme and took all of Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, and Rafe Furst’s money. But why then did the ever-PR-conscious DOJ wait some 60 business days later until December 23rd — the quietest media day of the year — before telling the rest of America about the Executive Branch’s significant change of digital heart?

I suppose it might not even matter at this point; SOPA and PIPA have been tabled for now, Megaupload has been slapped hard with the same government quarantine the Feds beta-tested on online poker sites, and Kim Dotcom is in jail awaiting a fate that Full Tilt and PokerStars lawyers say he coulda avoided simply by changing his name to Kim Dotnet!

OK, maybe I get a little factually carried away sometimes jest … but John Pappas has a serious message for the President — essentially a 22-second synopsis of all those emails and tweets from the Poker Player Alliance’s 1.2 million members, and a plea for “common sense public policy” on the eve of what could be Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address.

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is holding a hearing to examine the impact of Internet gaming regulation on Indian tribes on Thursday, November 17th at 2:15 PM ET. PPA Chairman former Sen. D’Amato will testify for PPA, to be accompanied by Executive Director John Pappas.

The Senate committee hearing is excellent news for the poker community, as this is not the type of hearing where the poker community would necessarily expect to be invited to provide testimony. The invitation was due both to Sen. D’Amato’s esteemed background and to the activism of all of us in the poker community. Getting a hearing scheduled prior to the Thanksgiving recess was an accomplishment as well. For more, please click here to read PPA’s statement on the issue of tribal online poker, and please click here for details on this important hearing.

Additionally, the U.S. House Subcommittee for Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold another hearing on Internet gaming on Friday, November 18th at 9 AM ET. Please click here for more on this important hearing, and please click here to read PPA’s memo to the subcommittee regarding bot detection technology, how sites handle Internet service disruptions, and discussion of other issues important to the poker community.

These hearings are hard evidence of the great work the poker community has been doing to ensure lawmakers hear from us. I thank everyone for taking the steps necessary to ensure our elected representatives understand that we poker enthusiasts will not back down and will not simply go away!

Thank you again for your continued support!

Meeting with members before and after the hearing, I was immensely proud to hear every lawmaker tell us that they are being contacted by poker players. The question on the lawmakers’ minds was not “if” internet poker should be regulated, but rather “how” regulation should look.

Senator D’Amato did an exceptional job and delivered impassioned remarks defending your right to play.  He urged Congress to adopt rules and regulations to ensure American consumers have a safe marketplace in which to play poker on the Internet.  In fact, when it came to consumer protections the conclusion of every witness before the Committee was that regulation was far better than the status quo.  And, more importantly, that sentiment was also expressed almost unanimously by the lawmakers who attended the hearing.  The question on the lawmakers’ minds was not “if” internet poker should be regulated, but rather “how” should regulation look.

We have come a long, long way from just a few short years ago when Congress could only talk about how best to prohibit Internet gambling and poker.  This shift in attitude has much to do with the advocacy efforts of your PPA and the poker community in general who have done so much to educate lawmakers on this issue.  We have turned opponents into champions for our cause and completely changed the debate in Washington D.C.

As I stood with Senator D’Amato today meeting with members of the Committee — before and after the hearing — I was immensely proud to hear every lawmaker tell us that they are being contacted by poker players in their districts. While politicians often give us reason to be cynical about government, one thing is clear, they appreciate hearing from the voters on issues that matter most. Please keep up the pressure and please continue to make your voice heard. It is truly paying off!

We all have much to be proud of, but there is still much more to do.  I hope you will consider the next step in supporting the PPA by becoming a 2012 member today.  We are offering a special $15.00 deal (normally $20.00) that gives you a PPA membership for the remainder of 2011 and all of 2012!  This should be a “snap call” for any poker player who wants to continue the fight for our poker rights.

Other Highlights

• The PPA would like to thank Congressman Joe Barton for his continued leadership on this issue.  He was excellent at today’s hearing and he is working to educate every member of Congress about the benefits of regulated Internet poker.  Check out his opening statement from today’s hearing.
• This week the National District Attorney’s Association, the oldest and largest professional organization representing criminal prosecutors in the world, issued a statement in support of regulated Internet poker.
• Check out a good opinion piece by former FBI Director Louis Freeh and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge highlighting the need for Internet poker regulation.
• The Hill, one of the leading publications for Congress, has a good recap of today’s hearing.

Again, I hope you will please stand with the PPA and share in our continued success by becoming a 2012 PPA member today for just $15.00!

Thank you.

Proud to Play,

John A. Pappas
Executive Director

From Executive Director John Pappas:

“We still have an open dialogue with [the DOJ] and look forward to more productive conversations down the road. We plan to follow up to make sure the DOJ gets a guarantee that players get restitution through any deal with new Full Tilt management.”

For more on this important story, please check out Poker Players Alliance Meets with DOJ Regarding Full Tilt Poker Player Funds -  Poker News (October 7, 2011).

In other news …

But it should make for vigorous discourse providing valuable information … kinda like a think-tank for couch-based researchers and analysts. Details on the academic equivalent to a call-in show:

Toll-free Dial-In Number: (866) 951-1151

International Dial-In Number: (201) 590-2255

United Kingdom +44 08003581576

Conference # : 4999006

Join us for this roundtable teleconference on Wednesday May 18, 2011 at 10:00am PT/1:00pm ET to learn more about the economics of the multi-billion online gambling market and recent US government gaming legislation.

Topics include:

1. The history of today’s online gaming market
2. How Las Vegas feels about online gaming
3. “Black Friday” and its meaning for the online gaming business
4. What the online gaming business will look like in 2012

Moderator:

Michael Damphousse, CEO/CMO, Green Leads

Panelists:

David G. Schwartz, Director of Center for Gambling Research-UNLV
Dan Michalski, Founder/Editor, Pokerati.com
John Pappas, Executive Director, PPA (Poker Players Alliance)
Greg Raymer, 2004 WSOP Champion and Lawyer

Strategic decisions notwithstanding, the PPA sees the federal indictment of close associates to some of their board members as an attack on poker, and are positioning themselves as a rebel poker alliance.

That’s my take, not theirs, on the video statement put out by their Executive Director John Pappas. And below is additional statement from the PPA that many players have been clamoring for.

PPA Defends Millions of Americans’ Right to Play Online Poker

WASHINGTON, DC. (April 16, 2011) – John Pappas, Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, issued the comment below on behalf of the millions of Americans affected by recent federal action taken against online poker companies.

“Millions of Americans across the country today are outraged over the U.S. Department of Justice’s clear attack on internet poker. While the government’s focus may be on the companies who operate these games, this is plain and simple a declaration of war on poker players and poker players’ freedoms. Not only are the over 10 million online poker players left without a place to play the game they enjoy, and from which many earn their livelihood, but they also have concerns over the availability of their funds. The PPA believes that no players’ money should be jeopardized by this prosecution.

“Let me be clear, online poker is not a crime and the honest poker players across the country will not stand to be restricted from one of America’s greatest pastimes.

On behalf of over one million members, the PPA is working hard to protect the interests of our players and is committed to U.S. citizens’ right to play online poker.”

###

About The Poker Players AllianceThe Poker Players Alliance (www.theppa.org) is a nonprofit membership organization comprised of over 1,000,000 online and offline poker players and enthusiasts from around the United States who have joined together to speak with one voice to promote the game and to protect poker players’ rights.

The bill, which passed out of committee yesterday, looks to make Hawaii a destination for big-time live (and televised) poker events … as well as a potential home base for online sites serving US players … by designating the foundations of Pokerati NLH/PLO as games of skill, not played against a casino “house” and therefore exempt from state gambling prohibitions.

PPA Exec Dir. John Pappas supplied written testimony for the hearing, suggesting that the way this current bill is crafted could be problematically prohibitive, as it seeks to charge $100 million for a server license and impose a 20 percent tax on all wagers while potentially challenging federal law. Pappas, however, did not provide any statement on the economic impact such a law would have on Waikiki vendors selling T-shirts like these:

Surf’s Up by Pokerati Generic T-Shirt Shoppe

The Hawaii poker bill — originally written supposedly to provide a tax holiday for buying school supplies — passed out of the Economic Revitalization & Business Committee on a 7-1 vote, and the House Judiciary Committee, 9-3. It now moves on to the House Finance Committee.

(Mahalo Poker Gnome for the heads-up.)

No, it’s not part of the plot line to a poker-politico version of “Almost Famous”.

Unlike the lobbyist-types communing in various state capitals for the purposes of *passing* online gaming legislation, this party is roadtripping to *repeal* the online gambling ban in Washington State.

Read about it via the following presser from PPA (but lol at the word “draconian”):

Poker Players Alliance Members Meet with Washington Lawmakers
Hope to Gain Support for Overturning State Ban on Online Poker

Olympia, WA (March 17, 2011) – Members of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) from across the state of Washington are spending the day in Olympia today to ask their state lawmakers to overturn the draconian state law that makes Washingtonians felons for enjoying a hand of poker on their home computers. The PPA, the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide and more than 20,000 in Washington State, has been leading the efforts in the state to protect players from potential criminalization and provide them with a safe, regulated, national environment in which to play online poker.

“Washington is the only state that makes it not only a crime, but a felony on par with child pornography, for its own citizens to play poker at their home computer. Surely, lawmakers in the state can recognize that penalizing their constituents for opting to enjoy a hand of poker on the computer versus at the casino down the street is not only illogical but ineffective,” said John Pappas, executive director of the PPA. “Our goal with this lobby day is to raise awareness of the incongruity of this law and identify alternatives for legislators to support that will remove this criminalization while providing a safe and regulated online poker market.”

Joining more than 20 Washingtonians in Olympia are three renowned professional poker players – Andy Bloch, Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher. The group of players will meet with at least 45 state legislators to discuss the impact of the state ban and how overturning the ban and supporting federal and perhaps even state regulation of online poker would result in consumer protections for players and millions of dollars in much needed state revenue.

The state law, passed in 2006 and recently upheld by the State Supreme Court, makes it a class “C” felony for an individual to play poker online from their home computer punishable by a $10,000 fine and/or five years in prison. A 2010 poll of Washington State voters found that an overwhelming 80 percent of them disagree with this law, and over half believe online poker should be licensed, regulated and taxed.

“We have the support of the public for overturning this ban. We have the support of the players. We hope that after today, we will have the support of state lawmakers as well and can begin the process of removing the criminalization of the individual players and establishing a safe, regulated online poker market in Washington State,” continued Pappas.

In fact, makes me wanna give an assignment to Las Vegas 1st graders and/or 2+2 — crayon drawings of how they see the 2060 WSOP.

Anyhow, though I still think we (as in “poker”) technically may have one out left, all interested parties seem to be resigned to the notion that 2010 — for all the heartfelt ups and downs we experienced — is not the year for change poker players can believe in. Right now I think our best bet, with all the major-world issues being fought over in DC, would be for a staffer to trip while bringing a bill to Obama and letting a few sheets of paper slip in unnoticed for an accidental signing.

We’ll have to leave it to the mainstream pundits to determine why on earth this shoulda even been a problem when we ultimately brought $60 billion via decent policy to the table — and the people theoretically supporting it controlled all branches of government … one of them being one of the most powerful people in Washington DC. Something doesn’t seem to add up, and I suspect Harry Reid will have a lot of questions to answer but not really as a guy who secured his gig for 6 years. But in the meantime, the PPA, in just its fourth year of existence, has put out the statement below surrendering this round while assessing how to build off a year where they made more progress for poker than ever before seen on a federal level … bringing us closer to those kindergarten dreams of what 2060 could look like:

Poker Players Alliance Disappointed Congress Failed to Regulate Poker and Protect Consumers

Washington, DC (December 17, 2010) –The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, today expressed its disappointment that lawmakers will likely miss an opportunity to license and regulate online poker before the end of the 111th session of Congress.

“On behalf of the millions of Americans who play online poker, I am disappointed Congress has not acted to implement important licensing and regulation of this growing industry. Not only will this include valuable consumer protections, but it also will pump much needed funding and jobs into the weakened U.S. economy,” said former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of the PPA. “It’s a missed opportunity, pure and simple.”

The PPA remains fully committed to its mission of establishing sensible laws that provide Americans with a safe, regulated environment in which to play poker, whether online or around the kitchen table. At the federal level the PPA will continue to work closely with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) who has taken a leadership role on this issue. The PPA will seek to correct some of the problems with draft legislation to ensure that players are treated fairly and that states are in a better position to immediately opt-in to the federal model. Additionally, PPA will be reaching out to the more than 100 new members of Congress who will be sworn in this January to educate them on the value of licensing and regulating online poker.

PPA’s efforts in 2011 will not be limited to Washington, D.C. The organization will continue to identify legislative options to overturn the ridiculous anti-Internet gambling law in Washington State. We will also remain involved in the various state efforts to regulate the online game. Our commitments to the legal defense of poker players will remain a priority. The PPA will continue to assist the online players from Illinois who have been targeted by greedy lawyers seeking to exploit the laws. And, we will carry on with our efforts to advance the skill vs. chance debate in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and other states and localities where this issue arises.

“While we are clearly disappointed that a law did not pass this year, 2010 was a year of tremendous progress for PPA and the online poker community. The progress we’ve made this year and the momentum of the past few weeks will only help as we continue to work with lawmakers at the state and federal levels to protect the rights of Americans to play the great game of poker in a safe, regulated, U.S. market,” said John Pappas, executive director of the PPA.

This is the first time that I have actually listened to this show, due to me not being a fan of Podcast that extend past the 2 hour mark. After just listening to this episode it easily moves into the must listen weekly list. This week Jimmy “Gobboboy” Fricke comes in and the discussion goes from poker to Magic the Gathering. Kristy Arnett comes on next to discuss her recent mini-FTOPs win and is put on the spot with this weeks Dirty Half Dozen where things go from R rated to XXX rated. Check out the latest episode at the DonkDown site or subscribe and download it via iTunes.

Final Table Poker Radio:

The guys from St. Louis come back this week to further discuss the Reid bill with John Pappas of the PPA. John sounded a lot less hopeful that the bill will be passed before years end and gives some thoughts on where things go from here. The discussion does move off the Reid bill this week and goes into antes in cash games and the Bellagio heist. If you want to listen to the entire show or catch up on previous show you can either visit The Final Table site or check it out on iTunes.

3 Gentlemen:

Brian Hastings joins the 3 Gentlemen crew this week to discuss the love between him and Isildur. The guys also discuss their sports betting losses over the past week. These guys really like to talk their sports so if that is something that you really would like to listen to then check them out on Cardrunners or subscribe on iTunes.

Will he give details on iPoker’s status on the Hill, or confirm/deny @ESPN_Poker‘s recent assertion that #reidbill is dead?

Watch it LIVE here @ 11:45am ET/8:45am LV -> http://www.bloomberg.com/tv/

• Part-time Poker’s “Regulation” page — seems to be a solid aggregator of relevant info
• The Twitter hashtag #ReidBill, which many close followers of gaming legislation are pushing, including Pokerati’s go-to @GamingCounsel Stu.
• And insight from “F Train” about the process of attaching one bill (say the Harry Reid poker bill) onto another (say the Bush Tax Cut extension bill)
• FTW? ftw!

ADDED:

• BJ’s Early Analysis — he puts up a post twice a quarter but gets linked up by writers for the New York Times.

Everyone seems to be on pins and needles waiting to hear something … when along comes word over the transom from our good-good friends at the PPA, giving the update on where things stand in the halls of a lame-duck Congress as per online poker.

In a nutshell: We’ve been working toward this for five years. Don’t let Harrah’s take all the credit. Hang tight. We’re Blackberrying our asses off trying to get this thing right. Stay tuned, quit yer bitchin’, things change. And, of course, don’t forget to spend whatever political capital you may have telling your Congresspeeps why online poker regulation is the most awesomest thing since America and freedom!

Meanwhile, I set up a specific Pokerati tag for “UIGEA Repeal” so you could follow the most timely best from all Pokerati’s well-informed contributors as they posted … but alas, have since discovered a rather key error in that, technically, this unofficial Harry Reid Poker Bill wouldn’t repeal the UIGEA, but rather would strengthen it … still hopefully to the poker world’s liking, obv.

UPDATE: Indeed, Al D’Amato and the PPA are calling on YOU to contact your US senators. Assuming you believe in the overall cause of guaranteeing American freedom and much needed tax revenue via proper regulation of online poker, as espoused by D’Amato in the email blast titled “Tell your Senators to Support iPoker Regulation TODAY!” … click here to give online-poker proponents some numbers to bargain with when negotiating with other special interests.

PPA Statement on Potential Internet Poker Bill

Washington, DC (December 6, 2010) –John Pappas, Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, today released the following statement regarding news reports of potential action during the current session of Congress that would license and regulate online poker.

“As news stories circulate about a potential bill that would license and regulate online poker, it is important to remember that the Poker Players Alliance has been actively pursuing such legislation for more than five years. If nothing else, this shows that lawmakers are acknowledging what PPA has been saying all along – that Americans want to play the great game of poker in any venue they choose and they deserve to be afforded the basic consumer protections that regulation can provide.

“It is also important to note that this is an evolving process. Draft bills that have been circulated are already outdated and the legislation continues to be refined. As always, the PPA is actively working with lawmakers to ensure any legislation that is introduced protects the freedom of Americans to play poker online and provides a safe, regulated U.S. market in which to play. While no bill will give players 100 percent of what we want and deserve, I do believe the legislation will be a victory for the poker playing community over the long-term.

“The status quo is not tenable and legislation is needed to clarify and correct current laws and provide a regulated U.S. marketplace for players. Failing a federal legislative solution, the future of Internet poker remains unpredictable. However, a regulated market that offers competition, consumer protections and clarity will undoubtedly provide the greatest benefit for the players and long-term stability to the Internet poker experience.

“With the support of millions of Americans, and a growing bipartisan contingent of lawmakers, we are optimistic that Congress can get this done before the end of the year. We urge lawmakers to take action now and not let this important opportunity be missed.”

About The Poker Players Alliance
The Poker Players Alliance (www.theppa.org) is a nonprofit membership organization comprised of over 1,000,000 online and offline poker players and enthusiasts from around the United States who have joined together to speak with one voice to promote the game and to protect poker players’ rights.

]]> http://pokerati.com/2010/12/06/poker-partyline-update-from-pappas-and-the-ppa/feed/ 2 http://pokerati.com/2010/10/19/south-carolina-supreme-court-hears-pokers-case-ppa-attorneys-argue-personal-freedom-private-residence-and-skill/ http://pokerati.com/2010/10/19/south-carolina-supreme-court-hears-pokers-case-ppa-attorneys-argue-personal-freedom-private-residence-and-skill/#comments Tue, 19 Oct 2010 21:49:59 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=20965 The PPA speaks out on the South Carolina Supreme Court’s game-of-skill hearing, where they helped provide legal counsel for the five players contesting their misdemeanor illegal gambling convictions.

This case has nothing to do with casinos or video poker.  This case is about the freedom of adults to play a game of skill, like poker, in their own home and that is it.

- John Pappas, Poker Players Alliance

Fair enough. But it does stand to set precedent and interpretation that other states will at least look at upon (finally) recognizing their own old gambling laws may not really work in today’s day and age.

Sure, we all know that poker is a game of skill and therefore Truth is on poker’s side here, but that may not be the deciding factor when all is said and done. Likewise, the private residence argument could ring a bit hollow because we all know the difference between a self-dealt home game and a for-profit poker room.

But regardless, clarity in and of itself could be a worthy end-result, no? Is it legal to host a weekly sit-n-go and take a “rake” for pizza and beer? What about to pay for nice tables and utilities? Professional dealer maybe? Would it make a difference if you operated as a non-profit? And If an undercover cop wins the bad-beat jackpot, do they have make-up in their backing deal with taxpayers?

Obviously, the South Carolina Supreme Court won’t be making such scenario-specific determinations. However … assuming they don’t just kick it back like Kentucky and Washington did (saying essentially, “eh, not our call”) … this court is being asked to decide, ultimately, just how far the government’s reach extends when dealing with a game of skill played for money … and that’s a question powerful people are wrangling with in different jurisdictions all around the world.

If you haven’t already, help Pokerati determine where poker falls on the spectrum of luck vs. skill here, and read below for the PPA’s official take on today’s important poker activity in South Carolina:

South Carolina Supreme Court Hears Poker Case

Washington, DC (October 19, 2010) – In oral arguments presented today before the South Carolina Supreme Court, lawyers for the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) adeptly debunked the supposition that the private residence in which a game of Texas Hold ‘Em was played was a “house of gaming,” while continuing to reinforce, as South Carolina lower courts agreed, that Texas Hold ‘Em is a game based predominantly on skill and therefore does not constitute gambling under state statute.  The PPA, the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide and more than 10,000 in South Carolina, has been involved in this case since five South Carolina men were arrested for playing Texas Hold ‘Em in a private residence.

“This is an important case for the rights of individuals in the state of South Carolina.  It is ludicrous that in my state playing poker in the privacy of one’s home would be considered a crime.  The state’s antiquated laws have created significant ambiguity and we look forward to the Supreme Court providing much needed clarity that ensures South Carolina residents can enjoy a game of Texas Hold ‘Em without fear of violating the law,” said John Ridgeway, SC State Director of the PPA.

In 2008, five individuals were convicted of illegal gambling for playing Texas Hold ‘Em in a private residence. The trial court found that poker is a game of skill and therefore not illegal, but left it to a higher court to decide if state gambling laws were overly vague as they could be used to convict anyone playing poker in their home.  In addition to holding that the law was overly broad and vague, the higher court embraced the use of the predominance test, citing the “overwhelming” evidence that skill dominates chance. The South Carolina Attorney General, however, appealed this ruling on the law’s vagueness, taking it to the State Supreme Court today.

“As this case has moved through the state judicial process, it has been encouraging to see each court rule that poker is indeed a game of skill.  To be clear, the PPA is not advocating for gaming in South Carolina and this case has nothing to do with casinos or video poker.  This case is about the freedom of adults to play a game of skill, like poker, in their own home and that is it,” said John Pappas “South Carolina poker players are fortunate to have two excellent lawyers, former Federal Judge Billy Wilkins and Jeff Phillips, arguing to protect their right to play poker in the state, and we look forward to a ruling in the coming months.”

]]> http://pokerati.com/2010/10/19/south-carolina-supreme-court-hears-pokers-case-ppa-attorneys-argue-personal-freedom-private-residence-and-skill/feed/ 5 http://pokerati.com/2010/09/14/congress-back-in-seshwill-hr-2267-go-anywhere-ppa-says-hr-2268-and-a-big-election-are-next/ http://pokerati.com/2010/09/14/congress-back-in-seshwill-hr-2267-go-anywhere-ppa-says-hr-2268-and-a-big-election-are-next/#comments Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:00:44 +0000 Scarlet Robinson http://pokerati.com/?p=20022 (WASHINGTON DC) Both the House and Senate reconvened yesterday on a crisp bright fallish day in the Beltway.  After a summertime recess spent allowing members to return to their home districts, it’s time for Reps and Senators to get back to doing all the things they do in the *public eye* — and that doesn’t mean just appearing on Jay Leno.  

This will be the first opportunity for HR 2267 to take those *many* next steps on the legislative grind  to Obama’s ”final table” since it passed through House Financial Services committee over six (!) weeks ago. It is also the last window for anything to happen before the November election; however, this window will close on October 8. That’s about 20 days from now, folks.

So what’s going to be happening, if anything?

On a month’s respite from Vegas, I am living a stone’s throw from ”The Strip” of DC, aka Capitol Hill. I’ll have my new iphone4 charged up and at the ready to live-tweet/twitpic any action from the Congressional rail. So many questions … When will HR 2267 be scheduled to go to the House floor?  Will a hearing be set for a companion bill in Senate committee?  What’s going on behind the scenes to determine when and if these things might be scheduled? Certainly the machinations of special-interest politics have been busily churning in the background.  But the usual Google news alerts and poli-poker twitter feeds revealed nothing new.

So I asked John Pappas, executive director of the PPA, where to start and where we stand. He explained that companion bills have to catch up to HR 2267, but that may not happen until after the October recess and November election.

“With the positive momentum coming out of the successful mark up of HR 2267, we are anticipating a markup of the companion tax legislation, HR 2268, in the House Ways and Means Committee before the end of the session,” he explained, “though given the timing the the mid-term elections, that will most likely be in a lame duck session.”

Congress’s session ends in January, where the newly elected get sworn in and take over, bringing a new dynamic to the Hill. But that doesn’t mean no work is going on.

“The PPA is actively working members of the Ways and Means Committee to educate them on the benefits of licensing and regulation of online poker especially as it related to the revenue benefits for states and the Federal government,” Pappas said.

]]> http://pokerati.com/2010/09/14/congress-back-in-seshwill-hr-2267-go-anywhere-ppa-says-hr-2268-and-a-big-election-are-next/feed/ 0 http://pokerati.com/2010/08/04/high-brow-poker-wonk-fest-re-this-week-in-poker-this-week/ http://pokerati.com/2010/08/04/high-brow-poker-wonk-fest-re-this-week-in-poker-this-week/#comments Thu, 05 Aug 2010 01:32:05 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=18928 Amazing. Didn’t think it could be done. Yet the entities at Wicked Chops keep getting better and better at this whole video talk format, and if you look/listen closely you might start to believe that they’re actually not unintelligent, uninformed, uncouth sexist, racist wankers. Clearly WCP’s marketing department must be going ape-shit over this travesty and calling for someone’s firing if “the entities” are gonna go on-air every week and disgrace the Wicked Chops brand.

For those of you who didn’t see it — or get to watch in full — here’s an hour and 40minutes of the masters of poker low-brow taking on the headier issues of the poker day … with their special guests this week Annie Duke, John Pappas, and me … joining the crew for my first ever video Skype at 53:00 if you’re short on time and have to get right to the good stuff.

Also fans of @JessWelman will wanna be sure to check out the early part of the show, where she makes her debut appearance delivering news briefs and tackling matters of poker pop culture such as Beth Shak’s forthcoming season on Miliionaire Matchmaker.

* Seriously, not sure what I kept looking at way up in the sky. Video-chat clearly adds 10 pounds.

]]> http://pokerati.com/2010/08/04/high-brow-poker-wonk-fest-re-this-week-in-poker-this-week/feed/ 1 http://pokerati.com/2010/08/03/tune-in-to-this-week-in-poker-this-week/ http://pokerati.com/2010/08/03/tune-in-to-this-week-in-poker-this-week/#comments Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:58:37 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=18908 Really you should probably tune in every week … but especially this week, as yours truly takes his talking head to a new level — joining the dudes from Wicked Chops, the PPA’s John Pappas, and Annie Duke. (I’m pretty sure I’m the Skype video-chat guy with Annie in studio.)

HR 2267 will be the topic du jour … looking forward to it for sure! Say what you will about Annie Duke (I generally do, both good or bad), but she’s one of the few big-wig pros with whom I can engage in an intelligent conversation about hefty and heady matters. The others tend to either be so caught up in their own world it’s at best a 1.25-way convo, or they say little more than what their keepers (or kept) are putting out in press releases. You don’t have time for that!

More info about today’s show here … which is also where you can pass on the questions you’d like Annie or the WCPs to theoretically address. (I’m telling you now, it’s hit or miss with me today, as I likely won’t be listening so much as I’ll be tending to my hair in the little Skype video chat square.)

Also making her debut on the show will be Jess Welman, my very favorite Poker Beat cohort who happens to be a 20something red-headed female.

Uh, hairy times … not just because Wicked Chops is making a big leap in confronting their their long-held follicular prejudices — I guess we all were a little inspired by Chesea Clinton’s wedding — but also because there’s a lot to discuss about poker, politics, online gambling, and a shifting mutibillion-dollar industry … all the stuff that matters occasionally at the very bottom of a mainstream news budget.

Should lead to some top-quality discourse and debate. Or if we’re lucky, one of us will start throwing chairs.

T.W.I.P. streams live at 4pm PT here.

]]> http://pokerati.com/2010/08/03/tune-in-to-this-week-in-poker-this-week/feed/ 0 http://pokerati.com/2010/05/12/ppa-lays-out-last-ditch-effort-to-spare-online-poker-from-uigea-deadline-day/ http://pokerati.com/2010/05/12/ppa-lays-out-last-ditch-effort-to-spare-online-poker-from-uigea-deadline-day/#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 11:34:44 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=16489 Witht the June 1 enforcement deadline fast approaching, PPA Executive Director John Pappas lays out a new strategy for dodging the UIGEA:

They’re sending a petition around Congress requesting an exemption from the UIGEA for online poker and “peer-to-peer” games. Procedurally, this is similar to what got us that first six-month delay. And while it seems like a bit of a hail mary — starting off with just 22 signatures – if the PPA pulls this off it could be huge. Just guessing a bit here, but an exemption for poker, an ex post facto carveout essentially, seems like it would be a serious reversal of power akin to a middle pocket pair turning a set against an Ace-King that connected on the flop.

Haven’t spoken to anyone about this yet, but I think the big telltale sign here will be whether or not Harry Reid gets on board. He’s the guy other Dems (like my rep, Dina Titus, who recently signed on as a co-sponsor to the stalled Barney Frank bill) often look to for direction. Supposedly the rumors we’ve been spreading about his support for online gambling (and a possible poker-only bill) have been “greatly exaggerated”. And if you recall, his longtime big supporters at the American Gaming Association want more online gambling for sure, but only after this June 1 D-day passes.

]]> http://pokerati.com/2010/05/12/ppa-lays-out-last-ditch-effort-to-spare-online-poker-from-uigea-deadline-day/feed/ 1 http://pokerati.com/2010/01/30/14900/ http://pokerati.com/2010/01/30/14900/#comments Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:38:22 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=14900 Some pokery political types are in London right now for the International Gaming Expo. Figure out for yourself why there might be foreign interest in the likes of the Poker Players Alliance, right as this bill gets ready to go into “mark-up”. Our pal J. Todd is there and he tracks down PPA Exec. Dir. John Pappas to talk about the 2010 Barney Frank bill, what’s the strategy behind it, and what makes it different from previous online poker legislation.

It’s apparently all gonna be twitter-based this go-round — www.tweetforpoker.com.

Good interview helping mak sense of it all:

]]> http://pokerati.com/2010/01/30/14900/feed/ 0 http://pokerati.com/2010/01/26/espncom-inside-deal-season-2-premiere-w-joe-cada-and-john-pappas/ http://pokerati.com/2010/01/26/espncom-inside-deal-season-2-premiere-w-joe-cada-and-john-pappas/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:13:02 +0000 Kevin Mathers http://pokerati.com/?p=14837 The Inside Deal makes its to its second season on ESPN.com with Joe Cada and John Pappas appearing on the show.

]]> http://pokerati.com/2010/01/26/espncom-inside-deal-season-2-premiere-w-joe-cada-and-john-pappas/feed/ 0 http://pokerati.com/2010/01/17/semi-historic-vote-coming-uphow-a-bill-may-or-may-not-become-a-law-part-249/ http://pokerati.com/2010/01/17/semi-historic-vote-coming-uphow-a-bill-may-or-may-not-become-a-law-part-249/#comments Sun, 17 Jan 2010 09:26:38 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=14600 The PPA is giving a heads-up that they’ll be needing your help in coming weeks. Apparently, Barney Frank’s HR 2267 will be coming for a committee mark-up vote.

If I remember correctly, mark-up is where the committee votes yay or nay on moving the bill forward, but everyone, regardless of how they’re voting, gets to pipe in with what elements they’ll need to see in it to vote for it on the floor. So you know, maybe some sorta protection for the kids has to be included, or money for the Indians … that kinda thing.

Here’s PPA honcho John Pappas letting you know that anti-anti-poker legislation — a licensing and regulating bill — is indeed moving forward in 2010:

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