Nothing we don’t already know … but again, good that the national non-poker media is at least aware. And if we learned anything from our efforts in Texas over the post several years, the media still loves poker-related legal stories. Something to keep in mind when we make a more serious push.

the biggest problem for poker enthusiasts appears to be an already crowded legislative agenda. Frank has pushed his bill off until September.

I almost forgot that when this National Poker Week was conceived, it was supposed to coincide with active hearings. Can’t help but wonder how that might’ve made things different.

So let’s kick it Harper’s Index-style, shall we?

Poker-related letters sent to members of Congress in July 2009: > 150,000
Poker-related letters sent to Congress in 2008: 77,000
Issues other than health care reform that have generated more letters to Congress in 2009 (including war in Iraq, recession, and gas prices): 0
Meetings scheduled between PPA representatives and Congressional offices in a two-day period: 110
Meetings missed by either PPA reps or Congressional staffers: 6
Number of lobbyists engaged in National Poker Week initiative: about 40
Number of consulting firms retained: 7, I think
Number of Players in the PPA tournament benefitting the USO: 180ish
Wounded vets competing: 31
Patients who qualified for seats via semi-regular tournaments at Walter Reed Hospital: 25
Money donated by the PPA to the USO up front: $25,000
Amount added to donation from $100 rebuys: $10,000
Rebuys from Annie Duke: 15
Rebuys from Howard Lederer: > 10
Rebuys for veterans put up by the Interactive Gaming Council: 10
Noted poker pros competing: Not totally sure, but probably about 10-15
Members of Congress competing: 7
Highest finish by a wounded Iraq war veteran: 1st

Still, seems most of the curiosity is about card play itself:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/07/21/DI2009072102508.html

While the opposition argument may be one of those frustrating argghs from someone who clearly just doesn’t get it — poker profits are based on rake, not degenerates who can’t afford their next buy-in — you can see we are moving to that next necessary phase of poker enlightenment, which is separating poker from other forms of gambling.

I’m in a park just outside the Senate office building, where I just had a meeting with a rising* Kay Bailey Hutchison staffer. Didn’t get to pitch the future governor of Texas senator herself — today is a crazy health care day around the Capitol — but we did get to educate her office on a Senate online poker bill that will supposedly be introduced in the next week or two. This bill — a re-introduction of Sen. Robert Menendez’s (D-NJ) S-3616 — will be “like the Barney Frank bill, only it’s a cleaner bill … without any political bullshit,” one lobbyist explained to me.

Anyhow, the meeting went well, or at least well-ish. It was clear that KBH’s office hadn’t yet given any consideration to poker nor online gambling … so we got to lead out, and counteract the opposition arguments before they were even made. One noted positive — her staff has already been hit by a mini flood of letters supporting all our anti-UIGEA initiatives, so they know it’s an issue that matters to a sizable enough constituency to make it matter to elected officials, who apparently are very aware of any issue that potentially leaves them losing voters in bulk.

With that said, it also became clear that Hutchison (R-TX) will not be leading the way on this bill. Her staff was most interested in where Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) currently stands. Now while we know him as a previous bad guy, he and other UIGEA strongmen are apparently “coming around”. That’s not to say they’re suddenly going to switch teams, but Howard Lederer specifically made some persuasive arguments that made him far less likely to vehemently oppose us. The estimated $3 billion a year (which doesn’t even count the corporate taxes American-based online poker companies would pay) is resonating loud and clear, particularly this week as those wanting to position themselves as fiscal conservatives are trying to come up with a way to support health care despite its $200 billion shortfall. And being pegged as people who turned down tax revenue generated on behalf of protecting citizens and internet freedoms alike, they know may not sit well with voters.

* You can tell how much seniority a female congressional staffer has by the height of her heels. Apparently the youngest interns like to look all sassy with power spikes, but in due time, they realize that walking long, hard marble-floored hallways makes flats the way to go. The staffer we met with in KBH’s office was wearing short, two-inch heels.

Says Neville: “Poker’s a friggin’ American pastime!”

Neville Brother on Poker+Politics

Says Hamilton, according to sources plausibly fabricated out of thin air: “Joining the PPA is the right thing to do. It shows you are a good person who really cares about protecting poker players from internet malfeasance. We need US regulation to ensure a fair playing field for all, and so we can appropriately punish anyone who might steal 10s of millions of dollars from unknowing American players. Ha ha ha ha! LOL.”

Hamilton says he also plans to sign the Poker Petition (350k electronic signatures and climbing) and may even submit a video to MyPokerStory.com.

“Mine is a really good one,” he says.

Congressional staffers hold the keys to Representative doorways, and one of the first steps this week was educating these gatekeepers on WTF we’re talking about. Not the issues at hand per se — yay personal freedom and taxation! — but the logistics of regulating the pokery brand of internet commerce (while protecting players and children, keeping addiction in check, generating tax revenue, etc.).

Joining Annie Duke and PPA Exec. Dir. John Pappas for the panel discussion — attended by some 50 or so congressional staffers — were:

· Dr. Parry Aftab, Executive Director, Wired Safety (www.wiredsafety.org)
· Stuart Dross, Vice President, Cigital (www.cigital.com)
· Paul Mathews, independent consultant, former executive with International Game Technology

From the Examiner:

D’Amato (who sounds a lot like Gilbert Gottfried to the untrained ear) told Howard Stern that he believes that America should get out of both Iraq and Afghanistan immediately, stating that both wars are unwinnable. D’Amato also spoke about current efforts to reform the U.S. healthcare system. D’Amato stated that he preferred “marginal” reform to overhauling the entire system, which he states would result in huge tax increases for most Americans.

“What about legalizing pot?” asked Howard Stern, pointing to new reports about the flourishing legal marijuana industry in California.

After thinking on it carefully, D’Amato responded: “I think there’s some merit in it.”

It wasn’t all shop talk for Alfonse D’Amato. Howard Stern asked D’Amato some of his classic questions. Alfonse D’Amato admitted that he still regularly has sex with his 6-month pregnant wife, spoke about it openly, and then sheepishly followed up his response by saying: “This isn’t going to be on TV is it?”

To celebrate this momentous kick-start to a week of DC-centric poker politicking, the PPA unveiled a press release font upgrade and added the color blue to its official statement on Stern’s membership:

Statement by PPA Chair D’Amato Thanking Howard Stern for Joining the PPA

WASHINGTON, DC (July 20, 2009) – Former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, today released the following statement commending radio host Howard Stern on joining the PPA.

“I can’t think of a more fitting way to kick off National Poker Week than having my friend, Howard Stern, become a member of the PPA. I thank him for having me on his show this morning and for supporting the PPA’s efforts to protect the freedom of American citizens to play the great game of poker at the time and place of their choosing – a freedom Congress voted to take away.

“National Poker Week is a way to shine the spotlight on this injustice and educate my former colleagues on why licensing and regulation of Internet poker is a much more effective – and revenue generating – alternative than an outright ban of this great American pastime.

“With Howard Stern as a member of the PPA, it shows Congress and the public that protecting Internet poker is about more than just poker – it’s about protecting Internet freedom and personal responsibility.”

Curious timing. It could just be a throwaway piece of filler, or it could be given an introductory time-hook connecting it to the kickoff of the WSOP. (The non-poker world that hasn’t been following us for the past month thinks the World Series starts next week.) Or … might the replay have been pushed in connection with National Poker Week and the supposedly soon-to-be-heard Barney Frank bill?

ADDENDUM: Yep, pushed back to September.

If that’s the case, you gotta wonder which side pushed for that — the side that contends prohibition is necessary because online poker is a crooked, degenerate pursuit, or the side trumpeting regulation in part because of the assistance needed to keep the game clean.

It is significant to note that only about 25% of those reporters were anywhere near the Poker Players Alliance press conference yesterday. PPA Chairman and former NY Senator Alfonse D’Amato spoke, along with NV Rep. Shelley Berkley and PPA board members Greg Raymer and Linda Johnson, to announce National Poker Week.

Who says the poker media doesn’t have integrity/priorities?

Seriously, the fully legal online poker forces are gearing up for a long, arduous fight — and man, they got lots of us feelin’ good! — and yet Beltway sources are telling Pokerati that Congressional hearings on the Frank bill are about to be pushed back to September.

Phluck.

May just be standard procedure … but also could be a sign of the types of procedural obstacles we can expect to be thrown in our way. More TK, of course …

Iacavone In Control

Michael Iacavone is the reported chip leader (1,605,200) when play resumes in the $1,500 NL Holdem as the remaining 26 players come back at 2pm to play down to a winner. Joe Bartholdi (1,040,000), Nam Le (500,100), Mohsin Charania (471,000), Alex Jacob (433,000), and Raymond Davis (401,000) are the notable names also returning to capture a bracelet.

Schwartz Still Swinging a Big Stack

Another field with a long day on Monday will be the remaining 25 players left in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship who return at 1pm today as they’ll eventually be streamed over the Internet on ESPN360 and wsop.pkr.com. Noah Schwartz (1,220,000) remains the chip leader, with Markus Golser (621,000) and Robin Keston (606,000) leading their respective tables. Recognizable names returning include: Matt Graham (586,000), Barry Greenstein (467,000), Josh Arieh (356,000), Richard Austin (331,000), Howard Lederer (326,000), Padraig Parkinson (259,000), and Vitaly Lunkin (220,000).

More Shooting at the Rio

Some more names that won their first table in the $5,000 NL Holdem Shootout: Danny Wong, Davidi Kitai, Amit Makhija, Roland Isra and David Pham. The remaining 30 players return at 2pm for the second round with the final five winners returning Tuesday for a five player final table.

Filippi 8-Game Leader

153 players return at 2pm Monday for day 2 of the $2,500 Mixed Game event with Amnon Filippi the chip leader with 90,000 in chips. Other notables with chips: Andy Black (58,000), Thayer Rasmussen (48,425), Jon Turner (41,725), Sorel Mizzi (39,525), and JC Tran (34,700).

Monday’s Tournaments

Today’s a pair of events for the 50+ crowd, with the $1,000 Senior’s NL Holdem World Championship, won last year by Dan Lacourse for $368,832 in a field of 2,218. The 5pm tournament is the debut of the $2,500 Razz event. The WSOP Staff Guide projects a field of 2,440 for the Seniors’ event, and a field of 300 projected for the Razz event.

More updates during the day at www.wsop.com and Pokerati should have some new stuff during the day, check back often.