It seems like the payment processor crackdown may be contained — with freezing activities limited to that $33 million seized a couple weeks ago. I’m not hearing any more stories of bounced checks, and I just got an email from Full Tilt (encouraging me to activate my latest bonus) that implies all is back to normal, at least on the player’s end, or at least is not spreading:

We’ve recently reduced the minimum re-deposit (reload) amount from $50 to $30. You can deposit using a variety of payment methods, including instant eChecks - check the Cashier for full details.

(Emphasis theirs, not mine.)

Does this jibe with what everyone else is finding, at Full Tilt, Stars, UB, and elsewhere?

photo: Brendan Sullivan / Deseret News

Not all over the place — but on its buses at least, and maybe at the airport.

The Utah Transit Authority, which polices Salt Lake City’s FrontRunner train system, has passed an ordinance prohibiting using its free wifi to surf porn, engage in online gambling, or view other “inappropriate” websites. Violators face a $300-$500 fine. The Salt Lake City airport will offer free wifi starting July 1 — and they are deciding whether or not to enact similar anti-poker online prohibitions.

Big Brother implications and presumptive poker outrage aside, I gotta say, this really ain’t so bad. There should be local option elections, as opposed to a federal (or even state) law prohibiting certain behaviors. And the UTA ordinance doesn’t prohibit playing online poker in other public places — just on their trains when using taxpayer-funded wi-fi systems. I’m not so sure I’d want my Mormon kids to see the results of a kid hopped up on Red Bull getting two-outered at the bubble of a WSOP main event qualifier.

In fact, I’d rather have this method — punishing violators — than pre-emptive filters — which I have found in some airports to block out legitimate news sites that happen to cover gambling, such as Pokerati CardPlayer.

The one technical question, however, is what happens if you happen to be using your own air card? Is the ordinance written in such a way that makes online wagers over the UTA’s service the misdemeanor, or is it the location? Will be an interesting case when some kid home for the summer from BYU finds himself going deep in a Sunday Millions and is running late to meet his parents at church.

Watch the local-news vid below for a decent exploration of the legal issues involved — mostly as they relate to porn but also for the online gambling that’s lumped in with it:

The Internet Gambling Regulation Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act of 2009 (aka Leave No Pot Behind) is gearing up for its Congressional push … I’ll be honest, few sources I’ve spoken to give this legislation much chance — at least not until Sen Harry Reid (D-NV) gets on board, and a little Obama-attended fundraiser hosted by Harrah’s at the Caesar’s Palace Poker Room is hardly enough to guarantee that.* However, thanks in part to publicity brought on by the crackdown on online payment processors, the bill seems to be gaining more momentum than anyone expected.

Four more congresspeople signed on as co-sponsors Friday, bringing the total number to 30:

Rep. Steve Dreihaus (D-OH)
Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO)

Now before my Libertarian and Conservative friends get on my case about this bill more Democratic socialism, just know that Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) is a big backer of HR 2267, so if Dr. No can say yes, then so can I — regardless of my poker bias.

The bill was also sent on Friday to the House Judiciary subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Good thing — since one of the first arguments against it is that online poker funds terrorism, when we know full well that even if that were true, it’s all the more reason to regulate it. To follow the progress of HR 2267 as it moves through Congress, click here.

* MGM/Mirage is reportedly neutral on the bill, and Steve Wynn supposedly strongly against.

The Associated Press is at least paying attention to the developments reported here on Pokerati in what is sure to be a complex legal situation — one that already is bringing up not just legally questionable issues of non-brick-and-mortar gambling, but also money laundering. They also clear up some of the details about who got tagged and how:

Documents obtained by the AP show that a judge in the district issued a seizure warrant last week for an account at a Wells Fargo bank in San Francisco, and that a federal prosecutor told a bank in Arizona to freeze an account.

In a letter dated Friday and faxed to Alliance Bank of Arizona, the prosecutor said that accounts held by payment processor Allied Systems Inc. are subject to seizure and forfeiture “because they constitute property involved in money laundering transactions and illegal gambling offenses.” The letter was signed by Arlo Devlin-Brown, the assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

In another letter faxed the same day, Devlin-Brown asks that the bank treat the funds “as legally seized” by the FBI, saying that the government has probable cause that the gambling payments of U.S. residents had been directed to offshore illegal Internet gambling businesses.

Meanwhile, the British press is reporting:

America might be about to loosen its gambling corsets

These two stories aren’t as mutually exclusive as they might seem. Often, when times are changing, old holdovers from a previous philosophical era will turn uber-aggressive with their means and methods trying to give their way one last shot, and at a minimum hoping to take a few folks down with them as their kind are pushed out.

That’s certainly plausible considering how emphatic bureaucrats in the DOJ have been about the illegality of online poker/gambling even when the people and courts have repeatedly disagreed.

Ah, once upon a time ret. Sen. Al D’Amato (R-NY) held real power … regardless, he’s still trying to wield his influence over federal actions in his home state, and the PPA statement around his statement says something about the seriousness of the payment processor account-freezing situation while confusing this quasi-legally savvy journo/not-a-lawyer on the difference between warrants and subpoenas:

PPA Statement on Southern District of NY Action Against Online Poker Players
Letter Sent to Assistant US Attorney Requesting Presence at Future Hearings

WASHINGTON, DC (June 9, 2009) – The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, today released the following statement by PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato on questionable actions taken by a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York to freeze payment processor accounts containing more than $30 million in poker players’ deposits and payouts.

The PPA also sent a letter to the Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York asking for an opportunity to be heard in any future warrant hearings. The letter is available at www.pokerplayersalliance.org.

More…

While online poker forces and their internet freedom allies continue to fight a war of attrition in Kentucky, principals in Minnesota have not just called a cease-fire — the State halting efforts to force telecom companies to block citizen access to a random assortment of gambling-ish sites — but also the potential adversaries, who met face-to-face in St. Paul last week, seem to be forming a truce, looking for ways they can work together to regulate/tax online poker, etc. within Minnesota borders:

Minn. regulators drop bid to block online gambling [Associated Press via @ppapoker]

“We have not folded our hand,” said Andy Skoogman, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, where gambling regulators are housed. He said he expects new strategies for regulating Internet gambling to emerge.

“The action raised awareness of the broader issue about who is policing the Internet and protecting the consumer,” he said. “At this point, we don’t feel there is anybody. This is an issue that every state is going to face sooner rather than later.”

A bunch of PPA state directors and politically involved pros are already booking their plans for after the WSOP — they’re headed to Washington DC for an aggressive play by the PPA supposedly dubbed National Poker Week.

Should be a most interesting gathering — different from previous pokery political collectives in that there are so many legal issues playing out in real ways right now (Kentucky, Minnesota, Pokerstarzistan, etc.) … and all this with a pretty important-looking nuts-and-bolts online banking regulation bill in play … with non-pokery representatives finally aware of the online poker murmurs, and public opinion clearly leaning in our favor.

More…

None of this is super-confirmed — government officials don’t work “on the record” over the weekend — but here’s what we are hearing from presumably reliable sources regarding payment troubles at PokerStars and elsewhere:

(Again, this is all subject to factual revision — the news-gathering process can be messy business — but it’s definitely not a joke like our “news” of the Russ Hamilton/Full Tilt banner endorsement. Question marks added on stuff we’re less clear about; grain of salt knowing some sources may have a “message” they want out there.)

• The DOJ is spearheading the effort to shake down up PokerStars payment processors, with authority from New York’s Southern District federal court.
• $14 million has been frozen (in a Sacramento bank?) in either one or two accounts — the account(s) of a third-party payment processor — affecting 5,500 PokerStars players.
• These people have supposedly been notified not to cash any checks they’ve been issued, and their online accounts have been credited.
• No need for a panic or a run on online banks — $14 million may or may not be being covered by a friendly non-PokerStars-ish entity, which should be made available in a matter of days.
• Online poker indy big-wigs planning aggressive counterattack in court tomorrow. New York DA (?) Somebody will be seeking injunctions on the federal action(?), suggesting rogue overzealous Dept. of Justice prosecutors are overstepping their bounds, similar to the way they did going after Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens.

If the WinStar poker room and Pokerati were Facebook friends, our relationship status would be “it’s complicated.” See, to some extent we have a lot of problems with WinStar — because their Chickasaw overlords have teamed up with both the Choctaw Nation and some old-school right-wing “anti-gambling” forces to put the kibosh on all our efforts to bring fully legal poker to Texas. But at the same time, they provide some of the best poker action and most comfortable environ currently available to North Texas players … in fact, I might say that if you exclude Las Vegas, WinStar is arguably one of the Top 10 poker rooms in the country.

I’m hearing that 4 of the top 100 players to cash in the 6,012-player $1k Stimulus Special were WinStar regulars. While those numbers don’t suggest any super-mad poker power — 4 percent of the top 1.7 percent — they do confirm that WinStar is indeed a WSOP force to contend with. Names forthcoming … and help me out if you happen to already know whom I should be looking for. (I’m admittedly a tad out of the WinStar loop since, you know, I kinda fight every two years to put them out of business.)

Ding ding! Let the first round of the official debate begin!

U.S. News & World Report provided a forum for representatives of both sides of the issue of legalizing and regulating (and taxing) online gaming. When Rep. Barney Frank introduced H.R. 2267 on May 6, Rep. Spencer Bachus was quick to respond with a blurb about criminals, youth, blah blah. But the U.S. News piece allowed both parties to cool down and present their opinions with some bias thought.

In this corner, we have the winning argument from Frank, with a heavy concentration on the personal freedom aspect of the issue. He also takes the time to counter some of the arguments like the alleged criminal element and the sports betting worries. A few excerpts:

With Gambling, Personal Freedom Is Always the Best Bet, Says Barney Frank
There are many vices in the U.S. Those that hurt others must be stopped. Online gaming need not be.
Posted June 1, 2009
By Barney Frank
Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee

There is one major reason that leads me to oppose the ban on Internet gambling: It is an activity that adult Americans enjoy and that does no conceivable harm to anybody else…

More…

Air Force One just landed at McCarren airport. The President is headed to Caesar’s Palace, for apparently what is a semi-controversial “junket” fundraiser for Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). We can not, however, confirm the rumor that he is in town to give the WSOP Stimulus tourney a $1 trillion overlay, nor that he plans to satellite into a Venetian Deep Stacks event.

Poker players arriving in town for the WSOP (via delayed flights) are twittering about it.

@Ali_Nejad has a pic of the motorcade.

LOL: Evelyn Ng and Erica Schoenberg just got done with their bikini photo shoot (with Tiffany Michelle) for Knockout magazine, and they’re all pissy about being stuck in traffic on the Strip — presumably unaware of why things are extra-congested on a Tuesday afternoon.

UPDATE: @JeffreyPollack is off to meet @BarackObama right now. Pre-emptive conclusion: good for poker!

UPDATE: President now headed to the Caesar’s Palace poker room. (Seriously.) via @Andy_Bloch.

Leftover but good-for-viewing vid … PPA Executive Director John Pappas on CNBC … not just speaking on behalf of the latest Barney Frank legislation, but establishing the baseline for where discussion on these matters begins … it’s good to see the mainstream Wall Street press at least understanding the basics so they won’t have to waste their time filtering through the first line of crap the opposition throws their way:

via Wicked Chops.

Also … more online poker issues being laid out for the non-poker public in ESPN: The Magazine. And the Washington Post is letting people know that the American masses have spoken — directly to Barack Obama — and they want two things to get this country back on track: legal pot and legal online poker money transfers.

Thanks, Huff, for the latter link.

Watching this almost makes me wanna cry. Do you realize how close we were to turning Texas race tracks into full-fledged poker rooms? I don’t think you do! But alas, in the end we were killed by something akin to an inverse filibuster … and all in the same week that Annie Duke got slowrolled on Celebrity Apprentice …

In what is arguably nearly as compelling drama, in the above vid Rep. Jose Menendez delivers last rites to HB 222 — but not before being ridiculed and taunted with terrible poker metaphors (delivered in practically Corky-like fashion) from the representatives who were ready to lead the fight against this bill on the floor.

While Texas poker players pushing for fully legal Texas Hold’em did not get the House vote they were looking for, Menendez’s address does mark the first time the game was ever made a real issue in the Texas Legislature. Having achieved such footnote status in the historical almanac, the insinuation on where we go from here is that next time both sides should gear up for a full-on battle spirited debate over a bill looking to create California-style card rooms … in a year where the threat of a veto carries less weight, no less.

The irony of this comic does not escape me:

(This should be our new answer to anything the anti-poker morality lobby throws our way.)

Interesting article about the nationwide move (on a state, not federal level) to legalize sports betting, and other attempts at “gambling expansion” depending on where you live.

Barney Frank has finally debuted his bill to Repeal the UIGEA and set-up a regulatory frame work for the online gambling industry in the United States! Also, industry news from Minnesota, Illinois, and the biggest jackass in the industry!

Good article in Congressional Quarterly about Barney Frank’s online gambling regulatory framework bill and Rep. Jim McDermott’s (D-WA) HR 2268, which sets up associated tax collection measures.

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.)

From the PPA:

Hi all,

Texas Gov. Perry is blocking the vote on HB222 (the bill that legalized land-based poker in Texas).  Let’s all amp up the pressure!

Contact info:
Phone: (800) 252-9600
Twitter: @GovernorPerry

I believe we should hit with calls and Twitters.  This was effective at getting us heard in Minn., so let’s try it here.  I wrote up some Tweets to Twitter.  It takes just seconds to send these out, so let’s all pitch in!

Click here to send Tweet #1: RT @PPApoker: PLZ tell TX @GovernorPerry at (800) 252-9600 to stop blocking a vote on HB 222, a bill that allows poker in Texas. PLS RT!”

Click here to send Tweet #2: “RT @PPApoker: PLZ tell TX @GovernorPerry at (800) 252-9600 that poker is a game of skill that should be legal in Texas. PLS RT.”

Also, if Perry follows you on Twitter, you can send him a direct message:

Click here to send the direct message: “D GovernorPerry: Texas Hold’em is a game of skill that should be legal in Texas. Can you end your HB222 vote block? THX! http://is.gd/uNvv”

I posted this to P5s at http://www.pocketfives.com/poker-forums/7/new-letter-to-congress-please-send-4240404 and http://www.pocketfives.com/poker-forums/8/texas-poker-legalization-people-living-in-texas-plz-read-4204172 .  If you get a chance, please consider posting a message of encouragement there to get others to pitch in.  After all, 2+2 responded to this by giving me a warning; P5s responded by stickying my thread for the day (I didn’t ask them to).

Thanks!

Rich

Our non-friends at Texans Against Gambling told their influential members that they needed to combat big-time casino lobbying dollars supposedly pushing HB 222. However, they don’t tell you who received a lot of those gambling-interest dollars, nor that a some of them were being spent to defeat the bill.

By all means, our good poker friends in Oklahoma have contributed their fair share to keep Texans playing in their Indian nations … but frankly, it’s a very small percentage of the $7.6 million spent on gambling-related Texas politicking in 2007-08 — and they’re not exactly being hypocrites about any of it, save for maybe riding the coattails of those who are.

Click below for an even more interesting look at the Texas pols who taking the most gambling-industry dollars. I wonder how his morality-minded base feels about Gov. Rick Perry coming in at #2, with nearly $800k in gambling-interest love.

More…

I swear this won’t tilt anybody … but here’s the alert sent out Thursday by Texans Against Gambling to generate enough support for a change of course that, frankly, I still don’t fully understand.

Via the fair-minded, conservative Off the Kuff …

TAG lies have been boldfaced:

Statement from Texans Against Gambling:
Weston Ware, legislative director for Texans Against Gambling, issued this statement today regarding House Bill 222, which legalizes poker, including electronic poker, in Texas. The bill was voted out of Calendars Committee on Thursday and will be scheduled for a floor vote.

“This bill is not about legalizing poker games with friends around the kitchen table. It is a ploy by the pro-gambling industry to crack Texas’ constitutional ban against gambling by making the absurd argument that poker is not a game of chance, but of skill.

“The next time someone uses their skill as a player to get dealt three-of-a-kind, call me.

“HB 222, among other things, would allow electronic poker tables to operate 24/7 in bars and restaurants. These Class III gambling devices mimic the addictive qualities of slot machines based on the speed of play (a good player can go through as many as 12 hands a minute).They have the ability to keep players playing (many video-poker outlets are open 24 hours and it’s not unusual to hear of someone’s playing 36 hours straight). Also, the machines are designed to create the false perception that skill is involved in what is ultimately a game of chance.

More…

Rep. Jose Menendez stepped away briefly from the House floor to talk me off of tilt learn-me-some political sportsmanship and let concerned Pokeratizens know that no, HB 222 isn’t dead yet … but he may well have to put it to sleep if we can’t out-social-network Texas’ well-heeled right-wing-conservative power base. Why this isn’t proving to be a simple yay or nay, according to Menendez and my hastily scrawled (with an extra-large Sharpie) phone-call interview notes:

[first minute of convo not recorded nor written down]

• “We’ve got to have a green light from the governor, because if the guys on the floor know he’s going to veto it, I won’t be able to get enough Rs and even conservative Ds.”
• “If we get to it today — and it looks like it won’t be until Monday” … postpone for 12 hours.”
• Bringing up “dead bill” = bad process — use up valuable HouseRep time for bill destined for veto, thereby preventing colleagues from getting to their bills.
• “You have to consider other legislation … I’m not going to lose years of good will built up [with members of both parties] in the House …”
• need it to get something past [sic.]
• still have/need [illegible ... something shot at ... casino bill] … 100 votes [something with a C] … next year].
• “can’t be pissing people off.”
• light up the governor’s office with message that I’m a Texas poker player who votes and want to be able to play safely and legally in Texas.
• don’t lie.

Ahh, right, OK … I think I get it. May need to do a follow-up to clarify some of the above.

More…

Here’s what we’re up against … I don’t want to alert them that we’re out here trying to muster up the troops … but the “Shmristian Shmlife Association” put out this memo in an attempt to deliver us a bad beat. Also, you can go to [ texans against gambling dot org -- alloneword] to see how they are suddenly putting this issue front and center.

The place that needs to hear from YOU is:

http://governor.state.tx.us/contact/contact.aspx

From the PPA:

Subject: Governor Perry blocking vote on poker bill-Please call now!

Earlier today the Texas House of Representatives was scheduled to vote on HB 222 –- a bill that would license and regulate poker in the state of Texas. I have since learned that this historic moment is being blocked by the Governor Rick Perry.

Please call the Governor’s office today and tell him:

(800) 252-9600

· Allow a vote on HB 222
· Texans should be allowed to play Texas Hold’em.
· Don’t block action on this bill

Please take immediate action!

Proud to play,

www.theppa.org

I’m following the Texas House here.(Boring, not fun.) And all I can say is I think I’m heartbroken before we’re even rollin’.

Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio), do we even know you anymore? Supposedly Gov. Rick Perry has re-re-changed his position … and so now Menendez is going to not even let the House have their vote? I honestly just don’t understand. We weren’t getting out of that damn calendars committee without his tacit thumbs-up. We got that, no? But now it’s gone? And even if so … why not force him to veto it … put his political aspirations on the line with international press CardPlayer Italia watching?

I know I’m just the political sophomore rookie here, but would he really be willing to go against more than 2/3 of the general voting populace?

With all these last-minute changes and unusual moves … someone is clearly on tilt here. Our opponents (texansagainstgambling.org) launched an all-out assault last night and are fighting har right nowo, so if you want to send any emails — even Jose himself might need a reminder of what we’re here for and who he’s supposed to be representing — you know the drill:

http://legalizepokerintexas.com/

UPDATE: Don’t spam Jose … he’s very busy right now and reminds us that no, it’s not dead, but the people do need to turn the governor now. Rick Perry’s email:

GCPD@governor.state.tx.us

I’m going to add rick.perry@governor.state.tx.us to my CC … just by chance that gets to him more directly.

As Kevin noticed early this AM (before my post from yesterday doubting the notion went live), Texas’ HB 222 has moved out of the Calendars Committee and is scheduled for a vote on the House floor tomorrow … which means it really should happen by Tuesday at the latest. Woot! Started to get worried there for a bit, but thanks to readers like you and probably the PPA and many others helping the capitol hallway soldiers … The People of Texas, man! … Step 3 of 6 has been successfully completed.

Step 1: Introduce bill
Step 2: Pass through committee
Step 3: Calendars committee
Step 4: House vote
Step 5: Senate vote
Step 6: Governor’s sig

You can see we still have a long ways to go, but Steps 4 and 5 have to be done for sure by May 23, so this is it … we’re about to see if our hard work first steps in the process properly position us to make it through the next all-important three. And by all means, we have to go undefeated … one loss and we’re dead.

Go here or here to send the whole House of Representatives an email letting them know you hear they’ll be voting on HB 222, and that you will really admire them for seeing the sensibility of this legislation.

Meanwhile, as a reminder why this bill is important, RobD in Austin lets us know:

To put a final nail into the coffin of [any] argument against HB222, I was at a Austin poker game last night and we got robbed at gun point (5/7/09, early morning). It was in a nice neighborhood and is known to regulars as FPC. At least two people got beat up. We’re all lucky to be alive. The Travis county sherrif was called and filed a report.

This is the week … that’s what I’ve hearing from people in Austin and DC regarding legalized racetrack (and Indian Casino) poker in Texas. All seem to be staying on message, too, because that’s the same thing they were saying last week.

But HB 222 isn’t just suffocating at the bottom of the Calendars Committee inbox, supposedly … on the contrary, there’s all sorts of crazy buzzing about. “Chatter” has intensified but gone more private … not much Twittering, just lots of fights and diplomacy on secure Blackberry lines. What I’m picking up via short-wave radio:

It has something to do with the Big Casino bill (also sponsored by Rep. Menendez), which is sitting in the same inbox waiting to be kicked to either the House floor or curb; Gov. Perry (anti-gambling) vs. Spkr. Straus (pro-gambling) drawing either swords or lots, not sure which; talk of a special session, or Secession; month of November comes into play; PPA ready to deploy troops, ammo … time is or is not of essence; something about big games …

It’s true. And she’s been palling around with druggies and convicts just so she can “write about it” and (don’t tell anyone I said this) I’m even hearing unconfirmed, squalidly detailed rumors from an imaginary source that she’s got a thing for Somali pirates! I’ll pull short of calling her The Ann Coulter of Poker … but she certainly touched a nerve by questioning the “good fight” behind our beloved little Texas HB 222.

Player safety, protection from shady games, capitalist personal freedom not real enough issues to vote on?

I might be extra-sensitive because, frankly, the bill seems to be stalling in Calendars Committee. Why that is, I’m not sure … they’ve heard our message, they know it has passable support … throw an amendment on if you need to, but c’mon … put us on the agenda already! I’m a little removed from what’s going on in Austin during this hectic part of the Session, but I’m pretty sure if we don’t move the bill forward in like the next -2 days, we might be in trouble … Just sitting there for like two weeks seems odd, assuming it’s ready for a simple yay or nay. I suppose it’s possible we’re getting Fristed somewhere in the process. Or, perhaps they’re just having a sincere intellectual dilemma, inspired by Amy Calistri’s question:

Why Do I Want to Pay a Rake?

Why is the PPA wasting time feigning a “grass roots” issue over a Texas bill whose only beneficiary is commercial poker - in a state where poker is unquestionably legal? … It doesn’t exactly meet my definition of fighting the good fight. I mean, even the banking lobby doesn’t ask me to petition my legislators for higher ATM fees. And they can be shameless.

[OK, deep breath, find peace ... no tilt]

More…

Cool event went down this week in Washington DC — a fundraiser for Put a Bad Beat on Cancer, where a bunch of politicos got together with Team Full Tilt Howard Lederer, Phil Gordon, and Rafe Furst to experience the joys of getting beginner poker lessons and playing in a terrible an exciting, luck-friendly blind-structure tournament (with rebuys!) … all for a good cause.

Check out the video coverage from Politico.com:

My observations:

• Had Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) read Joe Navarro, he’d know that we know he’s probably not being truthful when he says he’s happy to be there … unless, of course, that’s just his baseline response.
• Multiple politicians admit to experimenting with poker “when I was in college.”
• Barney Frank (D-MA) says he doesn’t play poker because he doesn’t enjoy it … but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to “repeal the foolish law that makes it illegal for people who want to gamble to gamble over the internet.” (So we can say “illegal” now?)
• Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) gets credited with having the best poker face … and I hope state legislators back home take note that even some gray-haired, vote-conscious conservatives are totally cool with poker.
• Nice closing line by Lederer about politics being just another form of poker.

Our little Texas poker bill was chugging along well, and then I blinked … poof, and we were supposedly down to the proverbial chip-and-a-chair yesterday. For all our hard work to get it to the Calendars Committee and then let them know how much support it had from a diverse group of constituents … it was just sitting there? The blinds were eating us up, and, supposedly, we were about to take a bad beat from some arm-twisting higher-ups who had had just about enough.

(Note to self: politics is hard.)

But politics is about compromise — I truly believe that the more I learn about the game — not to mention perception of intent. Our opponents apparently didn’t have a problem with poker so much as they did with the amount of poker we were trying to make possible in this bill. So as we speak/type/read, Austin politicos are “ratcheting back” HB 222. If you were a bar owner hoping to get your hands on a license for some live or electronic tables … well sorry, you’re out of luck. The slimmed-down poker bill the Calendars Comittee will (hopefully, fingers crossed) be sending to the House floor in coming days will allow for poker only at parimutuel race tracks and on Indian Reservations.

OK, imho, we can definitely live with that. And great to hear that any opposition is working with us, not against us, in pursuit of a win-win for poker and the people of Texas. Because that’s really what it’s all about, right?

(C’mon river …)

The PPA has been keeping an eye on Texas for a while … seeing it as a potential “battleground state”. Now it seems they’re ready to put some resources behind it, as they’ve launched a new website to anchor their Texas efforts:

http://www.legalizetexaspoker.com/

I contacted retired Pokerati-er and the PPA’s Texas state director, Lavigne in Austin for an interview on this web development, a transcript of which is pasted below:

Michalski: This is good, right?
Lavigne: Yes

Fans of the National Football League probably didn’t start off on the right foot anyway, since football is done for awhile and they’re forced to see baseball games/references everywhere. But there is another source of annoyance for NFL’ers, and that is the knowledge that the biggest opponent of online gaming in the United States is their very own football organization.

The NFL has promised to fight any effort by Rep. Barney Frank to push legislation that legalizes online gaming. With a lobbyist, an office in D.C., and a PAC donation committee in place, the NFL is ready to fight online gaming with the help of the Christian Coalition and Rep. Harry Reid of Nevada. Wait…What? Reid on the same side of this fight as Bob Goodlatte? Yessirreee.

Well, one NFL fan in particular sees the ridiculousness of it all. Dan Boone, of Bleacher Report:

The NFL, always a bright beacon of morals in a blighted land, has decided to self-righteously step into the public morals debate. The NFL does not want a bill allowing online gambling, that is a current bill legalizing poker, to pass.

The NFL behemoth is so against people playing online poker that they have hired a high priced Washington Lobbyist, opened a DC office, and set up a PAC Donation committee to help its noble cause.

So that’s where ticket increase money goes. That’s why the stadium beers are nine bucks and the exhibition games are full priced flops. Perhaps that explains the PSL’s. The league needs just craves some spare change to pay some politicos for favors.

Read the rest of “NFL Declares War on Poker” here.

Jeff over at LegalizePokerinTexas has updated his site to make it even easier for you to reach out to the 13 key members of the Texas House of Representatives who currently hold the fate of poker in their hands.

If you haven’t done so already, be sure to let them know that you’d really like to see our issues — HB 222 — put to a vote on the House floor so poker players from the great state of Texas can finally have their say.

Here’s the new link:

http://legalizepokerintexas.com/?issues=HB222

Click that, and you’ll see a button for “calendars committee” … click that, too, and it will instacheck the right people … so then, all you have to do is press send. You are, of course, welcome to customize the message to your personal liking.

We’re almost there, gang … we’re driving down the field … we need this first down.

While looking through the list … I realized there are a few people on that committee whom we might need to be extra ass-kissy persuasive with. Most specifically:

McCall

Rep. Brian McCall (R-Plano) — He’s the chair, so he has the power to make our lives difficult. He’s also a very moderate Republican … so he’s open to our ideas, but you may recall we (poker people) unpleasantly bumped heads with him back in 2007. He doesn’t respond well to threats of not voting for him because he won’t go a certain way on a single issue. So the key with McCall is to let him know that yes, this may be a single issue that matters to you personally, but really it might well matter to Texans who don’t even play poker — because of the revenue it stands to generate, the police and DA resources it stands to free up, the state-pride freedom it represents, and the protection it offers citizens who are attending unsafe underground games or even being robbed in their own homes.

More…

Selective aggression … that’s the key here. And it’s again time to make a move. This time, we need to hit up the Calendars Committee. What we’re asking for with them is to get a vote on HB 222 and get it soon. I haven’t crafted my letter yet, but will do so today … in a nutshell I’ll be running down the basics in a single sentence — this bill protects citizens, honors personal freedoms, brings back some pride to Texas, and along with it a bunch of money being dumped in Oklahoma. Will also remind them that this bill has the overwhelming support of the people as well as police and prosecutors, who would greatly appreciate a law that is up-to-date with the 21st century.

Will probably end with something reminding them that this is a perfect example of the kind of sensible government legislation that will show our representatives are capable of looking beyond any controversial rhetoric and doing the right thing … and hey, if we get a vote and we’re wrong, we’ll stop with the email barrages. After all, this IS a grass-roots effort by the people, which makes it very different from the big-money casino bills pending … and they should recognize that.

But really — because this is grass roots and we don’t have the money to pay for a lobbyist to be glad-handing in the back hallways on behalf of HB 222 — we need you Texas-loving folks to get to work over the next 24 hours. (We’ll probably call on you two more times over the course of the next month). We need to hit them up and hit them hard … this is where we got to in 2007, and we did convince them to put us on the calendar, but not high up enough to ever get to a vote on the House floor.

Honestly, for the whole process, it hasn’t been more “on us” than it is right now. Here’s the link to the easy-email generator for Texas poker legislation.

Specifically, the people you should be sending this go-round to (with district # in parentheses) are:

Brian McCall (66) - Chair
Eddie Lucio III (38) - Vice-chair

Norma Chavez (76)
Garnet Coleman (147)
Byron Cook (8)
Brandon Creighton (16)
Charlie Geren (99)
Jim Keffer (60)
Lois Kolkhorst (13)
Edmund Kuempel (44)
Jim McReynolds (12)
Allan Ritter (21)
Burt Solomons (65)

Sheldon Adelson

Good-ish article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram earlier this month about Sheldon Adelson’s vocal interest in Texas. Adelson, of course, is the Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp, aka The Venetian. Of all the casino billionaires out there, he’s probably shown more than any other a (financial) commitment to poker — not only did he help build the best poker room in Vegas, but he even took a chance on The Real Deal! (Oops.)

Adelson was in Austin the other week testifying before the same Licensing and Administration Procedures Committee that voted 6-3 in favor of poker. You all know about HB 222, but there are actually four gambling-related bills pending in Texas right now:

1. Full-on Vegas-style casino-resorts — 12 of ‘em!
2. Poker
3. Slot machines (VLT’s they call them) in the race tracks
4. Online Lottery

Of these four, poker is a little different, because various authorities in the state have already ruled it enough of a game of skill that it doesn’t require a constitutional amendment. Hopefully, Gov. Rick Perry will see it the same not-quite-gambling way, should we get that far, as he has promised suggested he might-well veto any gambling bills sent to his desk.

Clearly, and for obvious reason, Adelson isn’t letting any political posturing deter his efforts to make Texas more Venetian-friendly. But knowing that … man, yo, Shelly, how ’bout throwing a little scratch HB 222’s way! Think of it as a hedge …

More…

A gaming columnist for the LVRJ agrees with BJ … don’t expect changes to online gambling laws anytime soon, simply because Congress is busy with more pressing matters:

After checking with Washington, D.C., lobbyist contacts and casino company operators dialed into Capitol Hill, Simkins put steep odds on the issue seeing any light.

“We see little reason for investors to try to play this near-term,” Simkins said.

Meanwhile, I had almost forgotten there was an internet gambling bill pending in Texas … an effort to make the Texas Lotto playable online. (Ha! Just wait til Texas banks try to transfer that money around.) From the Beaumont Enterprise:

PRO:

Internet gambling might seem like a big step to some Texans, but it’s not. More and more of our modern society is moving to the Internet, from shopping to news to entertainment. Gambling is part of this matrix. There’s no logical reason to wall off the ‘net from something that’s clearly popular with millions of consumers.

CON:

OUR VIEW: NO INTERNET GAMBLING FOR TEXAS
Internet gambling, especially when targeted at young adults, would cross a moral line that Texas needs to stay away from. That makes gambling a little too easy. It increases the chances that compulsive gamblers would waste money and establish bad gambling patterns for young adults.

OK, fair enough … you’re entitled to your moralist point of view, despite what statistics suggest. In fact, I’ll even assure you that it absolutely WILL be harmful to compulsive gamblers … which represent .6 percent of people online . How ’bout we compromise? We’ll say no to playing the Texas lottery on the internet if you say yes to brick-and-mortar poker rooms? Cool? Awesome … cool.

Politics is so easy.

The April 9th edition of The Poker Beat included a discussion about the possibility of poker legislation that would repeal the UIGEA, allowing companies like PartyPoker back into the U.S. Dan (the Wolfman?) made some solid arguments, but when he mentioned that Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has the know-how to slyly attach pro-gaming legislation to another sure-thing bill to get it passed, he may not have been aware that Frank has declared his intent to complete the mission of repealing the UIGEA not with political trickery but rather a stand-alone bill.

In a conversation with The Hill, Frank said that attaching his bill to other legislation — as was done with the UIGEA — would be “inappropriate.”

“I want to do this with hearings, discussions, and votes,” he said.

While Frank’s desire to handle it on the House floor as opposed to in the back hallways is being praised by some, others see it as dangerous to the bill, as an intense focus/debate on it could make it more difficult to pass.

Let’s think about this for a moment. Frank has been on UIGEA-tilt since 2006, as was evident by his introduction of H.R. 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (IGREA), in April of 2007. He has likely been calculating the best way to repeal the UIGEA after fighting against it since its passage, and his decision to reintroduce H.R. 2046 as a standalone was not made lightly. Could he have some Republican aces up his sleeve? Does the recently-quiet PPA have a master plan to garner support for the bill? All of this remains to be seen, but methinks Frank would not have been so vocal - to mainstream media nonetheless - since January of his intention to repeal the UIGEA if he did not have a solid plan with which to proceed … which at this point, he is saying begins after Congress returns from their Easter break on April 20th.

I got forwarded a response to a constituent from Rep. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio) regarding what comes next for poker legislation in Texas, and I thought I’d share it with the rest of you, as we all continue to learn a thing or two about how the political process works:

Steve,
Last session the Poker I filed got as far as any had before in Texas this one is ahead of where we were last session so the odds are a little better at this time. That having been said the Leg. Is made up of 150 Reps. and 31 Senators and if I can convince a majority of them to pass the bill I still have to have the bill written so that the Gov. won’t veto it. What I’m trying to say is that we are a long way from home and we may have to make changes to the bill just to get us to have a safe and legal place to play.

Thanks for writing me but importantly write your Rep., Senator and the Gov. Letting them know that you support this and maybe even the full Resort Casino bill that I filed as well.
Jose Menendez
Thank You,
Jose Menendez
______________________
Please excuse typos sent from Blackberry

So there we have it. I’ll be honest with you … when it comes to financing the efforts to get these bills through, poker isn’t very well funded. So that means we’re left fighting the fight about as grass-roots as it gets. (The good side is that we will be less encumbered by outside interests when it comes to whipping the language into shape.) To help out the grass-roots effort, Jeff (in Austin?) has updated his website to make it easier for you to reach out and speak to your representatives about why fully legal poker in Texas matters to you, and why it should matter to them.

Here’s the new helper website for your responsible citizen efforts. Be sure to bookmark it, as we will need to tap into this resource over the coming month-and-a-halfish.

Lesson #1 in politics: It’s not about what makes sense or creating any legal consistency.

Proof: In Dallas, it’s legal to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, but illegal to ride a bicycle without one.

With that in mind, another law moved forward today that indirectly relates to poker … the Texas House approved a 10 percent tax on admission fees to strip clubs, replacing a $5-per-head “sin tax” that was previously in play. I know this law well … not only because it was a major deal at my old stomping grounds, The Lodge, but also because a good buddy of mine actually wrote it. And when he did, it was a sign to me of everything that is wrong with American politics …

More…

Passed 6-3. Nice job, Texas poker people. Calendars committee is next.

UPDATE: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/04/poker-bill-passes-out-of-house.html

A little more info on this 103-million-hand study done by Cigital, from the PPA:

The study, released by Cigital, Inc. in conjunction with PokerStars, used data acquired from 103 million hands of Texas Hold ‘Em played online in December of 2008. According to Cigital’s report, more than 75 percent of the cases saw an outcome determined with no player even seeing more than his/her own cards and the community cards. Nearly 25 percent of the games witnessed a showdown where the cards were revealed to determine the winner, but only half of the showdowns were won by the player who had the best five card hand. The other half of the showdowns were won by someone with an inferior hand because the player with the best hand decided to fold prior to showdown.

Ahh, I was wondering what Cigital was all about, and why and how they were involved — Go PokerStars! But what also jumps out here … those 103 million hands … they all come from DECEMBER 2008 … as in one month! (And from one site!) Surely that has to raise a few political eyebrows, as soon as we can get them to understand the concept of rake.

Our opposition to HB 222 in Texas said pretty clearly that their whole argument relies on the skill vs. luck debate. That, I think, is “good for poker”. Because while Christian Life Coalitions and Texas Eagle Forums continue to bring out the same old “but you could get dealt a 2-3″ argument — actually, I guess they changed it a little bit, because in 2007 they were saying 2-2 — they have yet to show one piece of hard evidence backing up this claim that it as chance-based as the lottery or bingo (which, incidentally, are both legal in Texas).

Meanwhile, anyone who looks at the game (courts included) and talks to people who have played it for a mere 20 minutes understand the luck factor in poker is no different than in stocks, real estate, Scrabble, or life. But because there are some people who insist on pressing their moral agenda on the basis of a provably unintelligent argument, a software security company called Cigital just released a study of 103 million poker hands to counter the luck claims of the people who insist on using just two:

http://www.cigital.com/resources/poker/100M-Hand-AnalysisReport.pdf

A synopsis of their findings:

Cigital will release a report outlining a study of 103 million hands of Texas Hold ‘Em, which includes compelling statistics showing the outcomes of the games are largely determined by the players’ decisions rather than chance. The results of this study are of great importance to the legal community, where many cases involving poker come down to the question of whether the game is one of predominant skill or chance. As a game of skill, poker should not be categorized as “gambling” under the law.

Oops … sorry for the vote-tease … but hey, I’m just a political rookie sophomore. I thought the Committee vote on Texas HB 222 was today … but they have put it off for a week, so the full committee can vote on it and Menendez and friends can fix some alcohol tax language.

But I think we (Texas poker people) did a good job representing. Now we just wait. (I think.)

Just trying to move the convo here to keep it fresh.

Click here to watch the hearing live.

* Ooh, he read an email to former special counsel Royce Poinsett right off the bat — letting him know that Texas already sees poker as a game of skill, and therefore doesn’t need a Constitutional Amendment — hey, we went to high school together! Fun!

* Wow — Michigan charity revenue up from 7 million to 72 million … and their population is way less than ours!

* Hey, they mentioned the emails! Woot!

* Ooh, now they’re talking about actual card rooms! OK, they want Menendez to clarify the licensing issues. Fair enough.

“The definition in the bill is too broad.” … hmm, actually I agree.

* Lavigne in Austin is up! Representing the PPA!

* Lavigne is making some points we’ve brought up right here! About pizza and beer.

* Rob Kohler from Christian Life Commission is speaking against. Boo! Boo!

He’s got three issues:

1. not a game of skill
2. electronic tables need a class 3 gaming license
3. ???

More…

Click here to watch the meeting live

OK, here you go … click the link below to ping the House Licensing and Procedures Committee with your support for HB 222. And for those of you griping that the bill itself isn’t perfect … STFU! don’t worry, we can work on that … one step at a time … but first we have to get over today’s hump.

I’ll be letting them know that I am happy they are giving HB 222 it’s due consideration and that I’d like to weigh in with my enthusiastic support. I seriously hope you’ll do the same before opponents to our bill see this post and hijack this link for their own purposes.

Click here to insta-contact important representatives

Here’s the text I’ve included for you … but feel free to customize it however you feel necessary:

To: Edmund Kuempel, Jose Menendez
CC: Senfronia Thompson, Warren Chisum, Charlie Geren, Roland Gutierrez, Delwin Jones, Mike Hamilton, Chente Quintanilla
BCC: Pokerati
SUBJ: 222: please vote YES

Hi there your honors,

I know you have many important votes today. I recognize that HB 222 is a bill about personal freedom that protects Texas citizens while bringing economic benefits to our state. I hope you too will support this sensible government measure and let the voice of hundreds of thousands of Texas poker players be heard and given due consideration in the House of Representatives.

Thank you for your service,

UPDATE: Had Kuempel’s name spelled wrong in the first go at this … it’s been corrected … but just an fyi, in case you were a super-early sender whose email to the chairman bounced.

REMINDER: Don’t forget to add your name (and Texas city if relevant). One-click … type your name … click again … done — you have done your duty as an engaged citizen and contributed toward expanding gambling in Texas the betterment of the recognized skill game that is Texas Hold’em/making the world a better place.

We all know the value of selective aggression … and here’s what’s up in the next couple hours:

The committee voting on us consists of 9 members … so we need the support of five of them. Looking back at past voting records (and combined with some lobbyist intel), we can feel “really good” about four of them, and probably good about one. But two will definitely vote against us; one probably will … and then the big wildcard — we have no idea how he’ll vote — is the committee chair, Edmund Keumpel (R-Seguin). And if I understand committee dynamics right, even with support of the others, he has the power to derail us.

Ed Kuempel, Chairman
House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee

OK, so you got that? He wants to hear from us. So this is where you guys come into play … NOW would be a good time to hit their Blackberries with your support for HB 222. You don’t need to explain the reasons or anything … they know the basic arguments — personal freedom + citizen protection + economic benefit = sensible government — but would love to get a last minute reminder that people out there actively care to see them vote yes and send this bill to the House of Representatives so a meaningful percentage of the Texas citizenry can have their voice, issues, and concerns heard by the people in a position to make a difference for them.

I’m working on a special email link so one click will let you hit them all. But in the meantime, here’s Kuempel’s page with his email and phone info.

You’ll be able to watch the Licensing and Administrative Committee hearing via internet live-stream. Here’s the direct link to the stream.

And in case for some reason that doesn’t work, here’s the back-up page where the Texas House of Representative indexes all their publicly visible action.

A lot’s been going on behind the scenes in Austin regarding HB 222 (as well as a racino slots bill and a general casino bill in Texas) … so hopefully we’ll have much more to say throughout the day and next month. We can’t win legal poker today, but we can lose in the Licensing and Administration committee. Michele Lewis is at the capitol right now getting ready to testify on poker’s behalf. I sent her a little strategic encouragement yesterday:

The fate of Texas’ future is all in your hands, Michele.

You’ll do great. A good freedom-loving, charity fundraising mom like you deserves a place to play at home. Though I am sure Pitts & Co. will prep you appropriately, you might consider playing the woman card, too … just because you have kids to take care of doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have the same opportunities to either make money or engage in a recreational activities that your sisters in Louisiana and Oklahoma have.

P.S. You forgot Erick Lindgren!

I wish she could Twitter in her updates … but Pokerati isn’t quite that sophisticated yet … but we’ll try to keep you updated, and maybe explain a little bit about where things stand before and after today. But regardless … Go Michele! Go Poker! And go Texas!

UPDATE: Michele is not actually in Austin yet … she’s en route. Hearing is at 2 pm central.

One of the groups opposing all things legal-pokery in Texas is the Texas Eagle Forum, which recently spoke out against a bill for full-on casinos in Texas:

From Texas Weekly:

Texas Eagle Forum President Cathie Adams, telling the Houston Chronicle what she thinks about the job growth projected if casinos are legalized: “Why in the world would we want our children to grow up to be card dealers and waitresses?”

So there you have it. OK, now we know where we stand. As much as I like to soapbox about the issues not being moral contentions so much as money and tax-chip-shifting and legally acceptable pocket-lining, Cathie lets us know it really is a cultural issue — one where our opponents see professional casino employees and service industry workers as lesser people who have chosen a life-path their parents couldn’t be proud of. The good side is that she makes our competition seem weak. The bad side is she represents the types of landmines that poker interests will have to maneuver through no matter how well we’re playing.

Why nueter the UIGEA regulations when you can just repeal the whole damn thing? That’s what Barney Frank says he’s going to do next month! Plus we are following industry news from California to South Carolina, stopping along the way to talk about a few affiliate programs.