• Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better” campaign to stop gay teenagers from killing themselves
• Russia’s Wintertime Spring to prevent Vladimir Putin from regaining power
• The Occupy (New York) movement spreading worldwide

Though personally I see Occupy ultimately going the route of Woodstock ’99, overall it’s a good crowd for poker to be runnin’ with. And that sorta social climbing didn’t come because of a Guinness World Record, crazy prop bet, or even a celebrity charity tournament; being on the national radar (in the right way at the right time) comes because of consistent and steady efforts to awaken the right people to what really is total government bullshit! political injustice.

The imminent talk-and-text ban on the Las Vegas Strip and across Nevada will not only have a notable impact on 10s of thousands of local lives … but also gives a good microcosm look at how a bill may or may not become a law. Stuff to think about as we watch the next push for federal online poker legislation this fall.

Online Poker Logic
When I first heard about a “distracted driving” bill in Nevada, I was immediately concerned about lives lost and unnecessarily put at risk my future as a photographer of mildly amusing and sometimes pokery license plates. Though I have obtained many of these images with a handheld calling device while driving on Nevada highways, fortunately, using online poker logic, I’m sure I can find a lawyer who will tell me I’m totally in the clear.

The criminalization of “distracted driving” relies on what really is a rather poorly written bill (in parts); nothing makes it specifically illegal to play mobile cameraman so long as I’m not trying to live stream video while driving … and the law as written really is about the transfer of voice and data over handheld devices — and manually connecting to the internet — not about capturing Twitpics on a handheld device for later distribution on the internet (in a car with automatic transmission).

You know, gray area.

But perhaps most important to my defense … I still have a 214 area code, so even if I were to transfer voice and/or data “illegally”, it wouldn’t be taking place in a Nevada jurisdiction. Right? Unenforceable, obv. All that and Twitter is a game of skill.

Technology & Government Control
The Las Vegas-to-Reno mobile phone ban goes into effect Oct 1, with fines of $50, $150, and $250 coming into play Jan 1, 2012. Just a little bit of prison time (6 years max) if you happen to kill someone.

Personally, I believe the law is too far-reaching in how it gives police authority to determine a driver’s mental acuity. And kinda lame that cops are allowed to talk and text on the cell phones while driving — suggesting that all the safety data quoted to pass this bill mighta been kinda bullshit, no? Either that or law enforcement safety is less important than mine.

But regardless, check out this provision:

7. For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed not to be operating a motor vehicle if the motor vehicle is driven autonomously through the use of artificial-intelligence software and the autonomous operation of the motor vehicle is authorized by law.

Holy crap, we have that!?! If fully legal bot cars coming aren’t reason enough to legalize online poker now, well, OMG, I don’t know what America I’m living in.

#ThatsPolitics
Read the lineage of how SB 140 came to be. (Final bill text here.) This is for just a little bill, on the state level … It took three sessions, two governors, and seven individual bills for Nevada to become the 34th state to enact such a texting ban — one that in the end would be strengthened to include a ban on handheld phone convo, too.

Funny thing is … in the time it took to get the bill to the Governor’s desk, a new study came out with data showing that these laws don’t actually work, and in fact have had the opposite effect — increasing crashes and fatalities in three out of four states.

Hmm, again, not claiming to really get these non-poker lawsuits, but sounds like it could all be as inconsequential as Crispin Leyser vs. Jamie Gold. Possibly truly scandalous, maybe not, but either way, don’t these guys understand real gamblers have a lot pending on gambling matters these days … and we don’t need douchebag pro athletes screwing things up for us by making gambling look “shady” or “bad”!

Jeesh … if you’re gonna bet against a friend, colleague, or client — especially with potential match fixing perceptions in play — you gotta at least tweet about it. Friggin’ non-poker amateurs.

At least they didn’t do whatever they did online.

Check out former Senator Al D’Amato (R-NY) on Fox News … sitting around a table that would actually make a pretty cool set for a poker show … with Republican strategist Jack Burkman the online qualifier, joining the live action via the internet and Full Tilt Poker. It doesn’t take long for Burkman to become BurkVillain when he gets tied up in a hand with our hero, D’Amato …

With host Eric Bolling is in the little blind, Burkman opens the betting with a 3x rant about federal waste at the post office, placed in the pot with curiously racist undertones in the chat box about Ethiopian and Nigerian immigrants being “bottom of the barrel” in unskilled labor and therefore better suited for driving cabs than holding government employ …

D’Amato is next to act and just calls … eschewing the anti-East African “name calling” before acknowledging what he believes to be otherwise valid points. But then attorney Tamara Holder, in late position, raises … calling Burkvillain “racist” … yee … moderator Eric Bolling gets out of the way … back around to D’Amato, he re-raises, echoing Holder’s allegations of racism, and then ripping an expletive-loaded tirade, on uncensored daytime TV no less, chastising his supposed colleague for views that hurt their shared Conservative cause.

Regardless of where you stand on post offices and cab selection, way to go, Al!

In the relatively small school of outspoken American political elders (Gingrich, Carter, Cheney, Clinton, Armey, et Al) D’Amato’s our voice, championing matters of long-reaching political direction, as seem with the fight for postal budget reform and the right of Americans to play a good clean game of WCOOP wherever they damn well please!

The best multitable tournaments, player loyalty rewards, stats, and seeing your own picture at the table were the vision unleashed on the world on September 11th. Click to look back at the site as it was then.

It was just for play money at first, but the timing would prove fortuitous. People seemed to enjoy the software and were telling their friends … as online poker seemed to provide a much-needed escape from the ever-more-difficult to swallow news of the day.

Less than a month later, America would launch made-for-TV strikes against Al Qaeda training camps and Taliban strongholds in Afghanistan. International travel had ground to a virtual halt, and even the mail came with threats of Anthrax. At a time when Americans weren’t sure who was their friend or enemy, there was a certain peace in being able to sit down at a table with people from countries all across the world and play a game. The “PokerStars Internet Poker Room” would throw a big $5,000 freeroll that drew 836 players — making it the biggest online poker tournament in history (won by a player with the screen name “Kyle”.)

PokerStars would begin offering real-money play in December … with players able to transfer funds via Paypal, Firepay, Mastercard, and Visa … and a few months after that, in 2002, would start something called WCOOP, the World Championship of Online Poker.

Around the time of the second WCOOP, the Pentagon began proudly championing its “Iraq’s Most Wanted” deck of cards, which had the TV news regularly discussing why kings and queens were better than 5s, for example, and perhaps subconsciously reminding people they could be playing online poker. Sure enough, with war in Iraq now raging, the players came in droves, shattering records from the previous year.

It seemed without a doubt now that PokerStars had a real moneymaker on its hands.

Damn. Kinda cool to see the lady lion try to help break up the fight. And Papa Lion clearly had it in for that one dude. That’s how it can go at MGM poker … a tame game can suddenly turn brutal. Still contend that the lion wouldn’t stand a chance against Ivey.

Also, with no information other than what you just saw in the video, I’ll bet for sure that the overall rake for MGM poker goes up over the next week, even though the number of lion attacks will almost certainly go down.

1k NL final table set

The $1,000 No-Limit Holdem final table gets underway this afternoon at 2:30pm with this lineup:

Seat 1: Blake Kelso – 1,166,000
Seat 2: JD McNamara – 2,393,000
Seat 3: Kiet Tran – 2,311,000
Seat 4: Greg Pohler – 1,660,000
Seat 5: David Cai – 844,000
Seat 6: Michael Gross – 535,000
Seat 7: Denis Murphy – 789,999
Seat 8: Jeffrey Tebben – 466,000
Seat 9: John Tolbert – 925,000

Cowley leads final 15 in 2500 NL 6-max

Steve Cowley (1,279,000) leads the remaining 15 players in the $2,500 No-Limit 6-max event when they play down to a winner starting at 3pm. Among the notables with chips: Justin “Boosted J” Smith (641,000) and Erik Cajelais (345,000). The full list of chip counts is online at PokerNews.

Troy leads 1500 Stud 8 on final day

Maxwell Troy (430,000) leads the final 23 players who return at 3pm in the $1,500 Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better event. Among the familiar names looking to get a WSOP bracelet in this event: David Levi (216,000), Karina Jett (187,000), Blair Rodman (117,000) and Brandon Cantu (50,000). The remaining field’s chip counts is online at PokerNews.

Klein leads 2500 PLO after day 1

A field of 596 players started the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event Tuesday afternoon, with 102 returning at 2:30 today. The final 54 players make the money, with the winner collecting $315,311. The leader is Loren Klein with 187,300 in chips. Other notables on the leaderboard: Richard Ashby (137,700), Tex Barch (72,600), T.J. Cloutier (70,400), Chau Giang (59,800), and Scott Clements (58,200). A full list of the survivors will appear soon at wsop.com.

Lisandro leads 10k limit holdem

The $10,000 Limit Holdem World Championship drew a field of 171, with 102 remaining after ten levels of play. The leader is Jeff Lisandro with 130,900 in chips. Other names you’ve heard of: Brett Richey (113,800), Hoyt Corkins (109,900), Shaun Deeb (89,000), Michael Mizrachi (69,800), Doyle Brunson (65,300) and Jennifer Harman (46,300). The full chip counts are online at wsop.com.

Wednesday’s tournaments

Another two bracelet events get underway this afternoon, starting with the fourth full-ring $1,500 No-Limit Holdem starting at 12pm. The defending champion in this event is Eric Baldwin, defeating a field of 2,095 for $521,991. At 5pm it’s the $1,500 HORSE event, with James Van Alstyne defeating a field of 770, earning $247,033.

Will make some calls to find out if he’ll be in charge of running Mexican Sweat Poker, launching a new age for what has always been a favorite event for children and fans of rodeo clowns in general. Until then … the link above will take you to the business brief in USA Today. And click below for the full press release from the PBR:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PBR Enhances Leadership Structure

PUEBLO, Colo. (June 1, 2010) – The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) on Tuesday announced three important changes to its senior leadership structure.

First, Jeffrey Pollack has been elected to the PBR Board of Directors as Executive Chairman and will immediately take an active role in leading the PBR board and senior management team into a new phase of global competition, brand and business growth.

Most recently, Pollack was President and Commissioner of the World Series of Poker. Under his leadership since 2005, the WSOP was fundamentally reinvented as a business, transformed into a worldwide sports and entertainment phenomenon, and crossed the $1 billion mark in total prize money awarded.

Pollack, a two-time Emmy® Award winner, has also worked in senior capacities for NASCAR and the National Basketball Association, and was founding President and Publisher of The Sports Business Daily.

“I’m honored to join the board of directors of this exciting sport,” said Pollack. “My goal is to help the PBR build on its proven track record of success, reach out to new fans globally, and further celebrate the world’s best bull riding competition.”

Second, Sean Gleason, a 10-year executive of the PBR and current COO, now adds the title of PBR President. Gleason’s new responsibilities will include Co-Chairing the PBR Competition and Conduct Committees. He will also represent the PBR on the board of directors of ABBI, the world’s leading registry and services organization for bucking bulls.

“The PBR is experiencing its 16th consecutive year of unprecedented growth and our future is very bright,” said Gleason. “I’m thrilled to be a part of that future and look forward to working with Jeffrey, Spire Capital and the board as we create new opportunities for the sport.”

Third, Ty Murray, one of the 20 original cowboys who founded the PBR in 1992 — and one of the sport’s most celebrated and legendary riders — has been named Co-Chair of the PBR Competition and Conduct Committees, along with Gleason. Murray, PBR co-founder and member of the board of directors, will continue to serve as a board advisor, global PBR brand ambassador, sport commentator and host of the annual Ty Murray Invitational. Cody Lambert, PBR founder, board advisor and executive, will also continue his active involvement with the Competition Committee.

“I’m extremely proud of what we’ve been able to do for this sport in the past 18 years, and I’m as passionate about it now as I’ve ever been,” said Murray. “There’s still enormous potential, and I believe with this team in place, we’ll continue to grow the sport, brick by brick, for both our fans and the riders.

“Cody and I are fully committed to the organization and its future, and are excited about the new leadership and the opportunities ahead of us,” said Murray

“These changes enhance and solidify the leadership structure of the PBR,” said Rick Patterson, Chairman of the PBR and Principal of Spire Capital Partners, the majority investor in the PBR.

“Jeffrey has a proven track record of innovation in the sports and entertainment industry and his insights and leadership will help guide the PBR’s continued growth in the U.S and abroad.” said Patterson. “Sean is a key leader of the PBR operations and his elevated position and board roles reflect our recognition of the growth of his broader executive responsibilities at the PBR. Ty continues to be the leading ambassador of the PBR around the world. His commitment to protecting the sport’s history and heritage have been invaluable to the PBR and he is a distinguished leader to each member of the board and
sport.”

About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR):
More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the PBR on Versus, NBC, CBS and on television networks around the world. With approximately 400 hours of prime time programming annually, the PBR ranks among the most prolific sports on air. The PBR attracts nearly two million live event attendees each year to its marquee Built Ford Tough Series and the PBR Touring Pro Division. More than 1,200 PBR bull
riders compete every year in approximately 300 PBR sanctioned competitions in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico. The PBR was nominated as 2010 Sports League of the Year at the Sports Business Journal Sports Business Awards alongside the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball.

For more on the PBR, please visit www.pbr.com, www.teampbr.com, www.pbr.tv,
www.myspace.com/teampbr, twitter.com/teampbr, or www.pbr.com/worldfinals/.

###

]]> http://pokerati.com/2010/05/31/jeffrey-pollack-takes-on-leadership-role-with-pbr/feed/ 0 http://pokerati.com/2010/03/03/poker-pros-businesses-destroyed-in-historic-dallas-fire/ http://pokerati.com/2010/03/03/poker-pros-businesses-destroyed-in-historic-dallas-fire/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:13:21 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=15320

photo: Jim Schutze / Dallas Observer

Longtime friend of Pokerati and poker pro Gregg Merkow took a rough beat early yesterday morning when fire engulfed two of his restaurants in Dallas. A four-alarm blaze destroyed The Hurricane Grill and the Greenville Bar & Grill, owned by Merkow, along with Mick’s bar and Terilli’s, the Italian restaurant where the fire reportedly started. It’s one of the most historic blocks of Dallas nightlife on Greenville Avenue — and thus citizens are concerned about saving what they can of the buildings even after they burnt virtually to the ground.

More on the fire and its aftermath here.

Because we care about poker players, and due diligence, we’d throw our friends under the bus in a second for a scandalous hedline + Google juice, we couldn’t help but ask whether or not perhaps he’d been running bad lately and this fire, started at a time when the structure was safely empty, might not have been a nefarious play for insurance dollars. Turns out that Merkow didn’t even have insurance on these legendary properties that may or may not have helped launch a poker career.

While non-poker people in Dallas debate how that could be (and who should ultimately be responsible), one of the players in his regular 10/25/50 NLH/PLO game explained, “It’s Merkow. He’s a gambler.”

Our sympathy for his loss … sucks, dude. Merkow speaks with the Associated Press shortly after the fire that had nothing to do with poker here:

]]> http://pokerati.com/2010/03/03/poker-pros-businesses-destroyed-in-historic-dallas-fire/feed/ 5 http://pokerati.com/2009/12/14/not-so-pokery-tallest-christmas-tree-in-america/ http://pokerati.com/2009/12/14/not-so-pokery-tallest-christmas-tree-in-america/#comments Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:24:19 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=14193 Speaking of the M Resort … Wow, not sure how all the #WPBT bloggers in town missed this (ha!) … the lighting this weekend of the biggest (cut) Christmas tree in the USA. Seriously, it was going on right down the street and yet the idea of going South for free hot chocolate and Christmas caroling never came up once!

The 109-feet-tall, 11-ton White Fir from Oregon may be the biggest bush in town, but I guess it’s still not large enough to be seen from inside the Imperial Palace Geisha bar.

See how this recent addition at the very bottom of the Las Vegas Strip stacks compares to other arboreal monster stacks here.

]]> http://pokerati.com/2009/12/14/not-so-pokery-tallest-christmas-tree-in-america/feed/ 0 http://pokerati.com/2009/10/14/lacey-jones-sure-id-get-naked-for-playboy/ http://pokerati.com/2009/10/14/lacey-jones-sure-id-get-naked-for-playboy/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:36:19 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=12555 That’s not really the point of this video, but hey, when Lacey Jones talks for 15 seconds about the business of getting naked, people listen.*

The Absolute Poker/Zizzazz girl’s latest spokesmodel gig is with Ksino.com (a gambling-themed clothing line by the people who helped set standards for douchebag- club-culture fashion with Caffeine).

The vid gives a little behind-the-scenes peek at her signing the deal, and then follows her as she hits the streets of Manhattan, where she runs across at least one New York City underground player who offers a glimpse of how the games work there. She also explains how above-ground casinos handle the shark-whale relationship, and eventually starts dressing dudes she meets on the streets … which is kinda like undressing them, but not quite. Special appearance by Spongebob Squarepants.

* listening props: @AlCantHang

]]> http://pokerati.com/2009/10/14/lacey-jones-sure-id-get-naked-for-playboy/feed/ 0 http://pokerati.com/2009/08/18/multimillion-dollar-leaks/ http://pokerati.com/2009/08/18/multimillion-dollar-leaks/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:04:03 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=11229 Wait, you mean poker pros aren’t the only ones who go broke? Apparently not … according to Brian Cuban (Mark’s brother) 60 percent of all pro athletes go belly-up after retirement. Likewise for Hollywood-types. So much for our theories on poker players being inherently more degenerate … they’ve hardly got the market cornered when it comes to pissing money away.

Though I question Cuban’s numbers, I don’t doubt so much his concept. He will be talking about it — pro athletes specifically — on his podcast (radio show?) tomorrow at 11:15 central.

]]> http://pokerati.com/2009/08/18/multimillion-dollar-leaks/feed/ 2 http://pokerati.com/2009/08/12/taking-a-brief-pause-from-poker/ http://pokerati.com/2009/08/12/taking-a-brief-pause-from-poker/#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:30:52 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=11123 … for USA vs. Mexico!

It’s 1-1 in the second half. Great game, from Estadia Azteca, where the Americans have never one. Supposedly Pauly put some big money against the Americans when we were bigger favorites. Click here for info on watching the game live online (en Espanol). And here for info on real television viewing. And, of course, @Soccerati @Pokerati has some micro-coverage, too. We will be back to regular programming shortly.

You should be taking this same brief pause from poker, too. It’s good for you.

]]> http://pokerati.com/2009/08/12/taking-a-brief-pause-from-poker/feed/ 0 http://pokerati.com/2009/04/14/poker-fueled-wordsmitheriness-woot/ http://pokerati.com/2009/04/14/poker-fueled-wordsmitheriness-woot/#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:56:11 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=6938 Hey, I coined a phrase!

http://wordlust.blogspot.com/2009/04/politi-dude.html

Glad to see that all these years of compensating for my limited vocabulary with hyphens has finally paid off. High on the glory and power of being recognized for my creative typing by non-poker strangers, expect many failed attempts to repeat myself to ensue.

In the meantime, enjoy all sorts of useful yet unScrabbleable words here.

]]> http://pokerati.com/2009/04/14/poker-fueled-wordsmitheriness-woot/feed/ 1 http://pokerati.com/2009/03/24/tilt-therapy/ http://pokerati.com/2009/03/24/tilt-therapy/#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:29:30 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=6343 Every once in a while we come across something in Las Vegas that has nothing to do with poker, but still, every poker player should know about it … (and when we happen to learn about it from a writer for PokerNews — thanks, Garry! — all the better).

Check out the Big Dig Adventure — which might even be better than shooting off machine guns (a popular offering here in LV) when it comes to shaking off a bad beat or plotting vigilante justice for Russ Hamilton and slowrollers. It’s basically a one-of-its-kind Brobdingnagian sandbox where, for less than $100, you get two hours of moving dirt with heavy Caterpillar-brand construction equipment — bulldozers, skid-loaders, and hydraulic claw-arm excavators. They also have “dozer races” and a high-roller option where you can run over, flip, and crush cars. I gotta think that’s a little more fun than taking out your frustrations by raising with 4-7 in middle position … and it’s good to see something pop up in these tough economic times to fill the entertainment void left by the after-poker shutdown of The Real Deal.

More details from our old pals at Thrillist here.

]]> http://pokerati.com/2009/03/24/tilt-therapy/feed/ 14 http://pokerati.com/2009/02/03/lol-go-barney-frank/ http://pokerati.com/2009/02/03/lol-go-barney-frank/#comments Wed, 04 Feb 2009 05:08:21 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=5340 I’ve been thinking more and more about the current economic conditions … I hear more stories of old friends getting laid off — especially those who worked for newspapers — and it occurred to me that the frequency is resembling the Vegas foreclosure scene a year ago. And with that in mind, yikes, like they’ve been telling us, things are gonna get worse. My newly un self-employed friends are all enjoying the days off now, but we all know the status of most Americans’ savings … it ain’t gonna last long, and when these folks suddenly have no more money to spend … ouch.

Anyhow, it’s all about more than poker, and yet at the same time, this has me feeling so good about various poker bills’ prospects, specifically in 2009. I mean really, how will any non-zeaot be able to say no to the money? And to that extent, as much of a semi-crazy coot as he is … you gotta love having Barney Frank (D-MA) on our side. From a Huffington Post on bailed-out bankers (the folks currently charged with enforcing the UIGEA, btw) being called to the Congressional woodshed (emph. added):

For Frank and other backers of the bailout, known as TARP, or the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the problem is that its purpose is to prevent a total collapse of the global financial system. Because of the way politics works, it’s difficult to get credit for preventing harm rather than doing good.

“It’s like wearing dark pants and pissing down your leg,” Frank said before the bailout vote in October. “It gives you a warm feeling, but no one knows you did it.”

Are we sure this Massachusetts flaming liberal isn’t a good-ole-boy from Texas?

]]> http://pokerati.com/2009/02/03/lol-go-barney-frank/feed/ 1 http://pokerati.com/2009/01/20/pokerati-is-taking-a-break/ http://pokerati.com/2009/01/20/pokerati-is-taking-a-break/#comments Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:14:28 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=5082 … from all the poker and politics to watch a poker player talk about politics America’s future:

]]> http://pokerati.com/2009/01/20/pokerati-is-taking-a-break/feed/ 3 http://pokerati.com/2008/11/05/re-tao-of-benjorati-34competitive-eating-is-probably-not-the-next-poker/ http://pokerati.com/2008/11/05/re-tao-of-benjorati-34competitive-eating-is-probably-not-the-next-poker/#comments Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:46:13 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=4676 … even though the dudes from PokerListings think so when they drink. If competitive eating were to become the next poker, though, it would probably be fun to see the field whittled down to a “final table”.

For those interested in seeing a real competitive eater at work, I interviewed Rich LeFevre, aka “The Locust”, as he successfully gulped down The Ultimate Steak at Brand (nice, fancy-ish steakhouse at the Monte Carlo) — a 120oz porterhouse (with sides) that usually feeds six, but is free if it feeds one and you clean your plate.

It took LeFevre 40 minutes, and that was with me peppering him with questions all the while:

As far as life on the competitive eating circuit goes, LeFevre looks back to the golden days of 2005, when he competed in 26 events and won $35,000. Clearly this dude could make way more money via prop bets as a competitive-eating hustler … but considering that he asked for ice cream after he finished devouring 8 pounds of steak, a pound of potatoes, and an similar volume of creamed spinach, you can tell he does it just for the love of the “sport”.

]]> http://pokerati.com/2008/11/05/re-tao-of-benjorati-34competitive-eating-is-probably-not-the-next-poker/feed/ 1 http://pokerati.com/2008/11/01/pokery-presidential-politicsprop-betting-for-a-better-future/ http://pokerati.com/2008/11/01/pokery-presidential-politicsprop-betting-for-a-better-future/#comments Sun, 02 Nov 2008 05:34:53 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=4457 Sorry I’ve been a little out of pocket in recent days weeks months. But I got kinda hooked on election coverage. Dammit, promised myself four years ago that I wouldn’t get caught up in the BS-laden pre-election horse race coverage, but instead ended up making the biggest prop bet of my life about a month ago — $1,000 on Barack Obama.

Since then, I’ve spent my days and nights flipping news channels and scouring YouTube for funny/insightful political vids to send to that great online Deuce-to-Seven player, luvgamble, aka Donkey Bomber, aka Tom the Plumber. My original offer was $500 +3 points, and when given the opportunity for better odds without the points, I had to double my wager. (That’s just smart gambling, right?) So when the pundits are saying there’s a lot at stake this election … they ain’t kidding!

Tom’s an Arizona homer for McCain who’s been mass-forwarding easily disprovable, often hypocritical right-wing propaganda for about a year-and-a-half now — the sort that screams, imho, “Holy shit, is America really gonna put Hillary Clinton a black guy in there!?!” To be clear: I’m not saying luvgamble nor any of his email distro cronies are racists or sexists. I’m just saying they’re white … and probably don’t own any Dr. Dre.

And that’s why I felt (and still feel) that I had a better read on the election than he did.

$1k’s a pretty big bet for me. If I lose, totally not paying I will definitely feel it. It won’t make me cry or head to the pawn shop or anything, but no more upsizing combo meals and extra fries for the dog for a while. Basically, making this bet was like shoving all-in early, so I couldn’t get outplayed after the flop. And though I’ve had a few moments of discomfort about the wager(s) along the way, as Election Day draws near, if I, er, I mean Obama, does indeed win … that’s right, baby, we’re goin’ to Sizzler! America’s going to Sizzler!

Since the bet, Tommy-boy and I have been having quite the political discourse — educating and challenging ourselves like all good Americans should via Socratic dialogue and Lincoln-Douglas debate. But far from reaching any common ground or finding solutions to world problems (we both believe the other just doesn’t get it, and probably never will) we instead decided it was in both our interests to just gamble more. And admittedly, I’m a little less confident about our recently sealed sidebet of an extra $400 on a 5-point spread.

While Obama will be my first ever presidential vote for a Democrat, Tom insists his unbending support of McCain is all a matter of practical business — “Taxes! Socialism! Hillary! Terror!” — to which I really had no response other than to put my money where my vote was.

Shortly after the VP debate, Tom made me a buyout offer — $100 to call off the bet. Please. Am I really that much of a prop-bet rookie? I countered with $1,100, he declined.

After Prez-debate#2, he offered $400. Still wasn’t interested … ($650 or so probably woulda been enough to make me think about it …) but it did have me wondering if it was uncool of me to not even consider some sort of chop. So plagued by capitalist greed gambling addiction liberal guilt, here’s where I may or may not have made a bad add-on wager:

I said we’ll bet another $500 on a 4 point spread. Because really, all along I’ve felt in my gut — the poker-savvy innards Tom has been teaching me to get in touch with — that Obama will win in a landslide. So if Obama won the popular vote 52-48 or better, I’d win $1,500. If he just edged out McCain, I’d win only $500. And if he were to lose, Tom would get the pleasure of having me personally (and painfully) hand him a minor WSOP event buy-in.

Alas, due to a technical prop-betting error (my fault: I made the offer, Tom responded “cool”, but I didn’t confirm until three weeks later, when the polls were at their biggest disparity) the 500+4 was considered a non-bet (I declined arbitration), and we renegotiated, adding a $400 sidebet on a 5-point spread, adjusting the numbers above accordingly.

Oy, the gap between 4 and 5 percent seems huge — and I’m not just talking about the $800 swing it represents to me. The more I’ve thought about it … if Obama just barely wins, the country is still split as ever – and we can expect four years of Rush Limbaughs, Sean Hannitys, and even intelligent conservatives trying to tear him down by any means necessary. But were he to win by a sizable margin … well then the country is arguably unified once again.

The most reliable tracking poll in 2004 (the conservative Investor’s Business Daily) has the split currently at 4.5.

When I first started writing this post (more than a month ago), I had a couple links to some pop-culturey current-event commentary that I thought made convincing arguments. But the funny and telling kept changing by the day, so if you’re still with me here … below are some link and video highlights of what’s been keeping me warm at night while making a convincing case that, indeed, it was my patriotic duty to bet a fat wad on Barack Obama.

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It’s the economy, stupid:

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The endorsement that gave me actual confidence to pull the trigger and bet came from Wick Allison. The D Magazine publisher and former editor of the National Review is the most intelligently argumentative conservative guy I know (a McCain contributor no less):

A Conservative for Obama
My party has slipped its moorings. It’s time for a true pragmatist to lead the country.

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Ask yourself, do you really blame George Bush for all our problems right now, or do you think he had help?

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I’ve never seen in an election anywhere, ever, so many high-profile defections. Former Bush press secretary Scott McClellan:

Tom the Plumber dismissed the relevance of this. But hey, can’t be a total idiot, right? At a minimum, McClellan knows how to sell books!
What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception

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Colin Powell endorsed Obama as well, and explains away pretty much all the anti-Obama arguments with a little more credibility than I can:

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Disturbing Sidenote
I voted early the other day. Waited in line for a half hour. The election official who scanned my registration card never asked for me to show any ID. So I could’ve had a registration card with anyone’s name on it.

Oh, well, I’m not gonna say anything. Florida karma.

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Opie for Obama:

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Republican Tax Fears Legit?

One issue raised repeatedly by my prop-bet opponent and otherwise reasonable Republican stalwarts is something super-duper critical about taxes with promises of trickle-down catastrophe. I dunno, sounds similar to what they were saying before those dark days of relative peace and economic surplus under Bill Clinton and the Tax & Spend Liberals, when the nation’s biggest problems were getting one too many blowjobs.

Challenged to “find one successful businessman” who backed Barack Obama’s economic plan (“not counting Hollywood!”) I did a search on Wikipedia for “obama endorsements” and got this page — a list of what must be close to 1,000 notable names attaching themselves to Obama.

A search for “mccain endorsements” … no page with that title exists. Hmm, I wonder if the internet’s gonna factor into global finance in the 21st Century.

Anyhow, for those of us incapable of comprehending the socio-fiscal implications of Obama adjustments to the always-adjusting tax code, we can at least know that despite threats of imminent (and immediate!) disaster under Barack Obama, the following businessy-econ types still give him the thumbs-up:

* Martha Stewart (can she vote?)
* 6 Winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics
* Paul O’Neill, former Secretary of the Treasury under George W. Bush
* Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton
* Robert Rubin, former Secretary of the Treasury
* Lawrence Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury
* Marc Andreessen, software engineer, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and co-founder of Netscape
* Warren Buffett, investor and richest man in the world
* Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s [Note: They don't count to conservatives]
* David Geffen, media executive, producer and philanthropist
* Nicholas A. B. Gray, owner of Gray’s Papaya hot dog restaurant in New York City
* Gary Hirshberg, Chairman, President, and CEO of Stonyfield Farm
* Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook
* Sheila Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television
* Jeffrey Katzenberg, film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation
* Billy King, former general manager and team president of NBA team Philadelphia 76ers
* Alex Rigopulos, CEO of Harmonix Music Systems, company notable for creating Rock Band and Guitar Hero
* Brink Lindsey, Vice President of Research for the Cato Institute and editor of Cato Unbound
* William Louis-Dreyfus, billionaire New York financier
* Hugh McColl, former CEO, Bank of America
* Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of Rupert Murdoch and Chairman and CEO of Shine Limited
* Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo
* Dan Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL
* Eric Schmidt, Google Chairman and CEO
* Leigh Steinberg, sports agent
* John W. Thompson, CEO of Symantec
* Billy Vassiliadis, CEO of R&R Partners
* David Voelker, owner and manager of Voelker Investments
* Craig Newmark, founder of website Craigslist
* Steve Westly, founding executive of eBay, managing partner of the Westly Group, and former California State Controller
* The Economist

And here, for good measure, Tom-look-a-like Jim Cramer explains (about 2:00 in) why Obama’s tax plan is no threat to the markets, at least no more of a threat than any other tax plans out there:

Meanwhile, McCain reached out to 17,000 members of the American Economics Association looking for signatories to his warning of dire consequences of Obama’s economic plan, and he got 70 to agree.

And for those who like it a little simpler, BusinessPundit gives his 5 Reasons Obama is Good for Business.

So warn me all you want about the danger our economy faces under an Obama Tax Plan … I have confidence that successful businessfolk will always figure out how to succeed, no matter what the set-up. After all, I can only imagine that getting rid of slavery threatened to be pretty “disastrous” for the economy, too.

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Obama Girl explaining the tax issues:

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This election is not just an American issue, — it’s of global importance. In the Bahamas recently, I saw T-shirts that said “Bahama Obama“, and in Mexico signs that said “¡Viva Obama!” Nothing of the sort for McCain, though he did get an endorsement from Al Qaeda.

Since then, The Economist has put out a really cool map of how the election would break down were Manifest Destiny ever fully achieved and all the nations of the world admitted to the Electoral College.

Apparently the rest of the world has taken sides (wow, what a concept, a whole planet agreeing on something!) and, eager to love America again, has all its hopes for us on a mulatto from Chicago with a funny name.

An Italian “commercial” for Obama:
(thanks, Jen!)

Kenyan Afro-fusion musician Makadem’s new hit song, “Obama Be Thy Name”:

The Kenyans also have Obama the Musical:

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Hillary Clinton is Fucking Obama:

But not this drunken Hillary Clinton supporter … she likes black guys – just not A-rabs!

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So while the meth crowd might not be down with Barack, Obama does seem to have a handle on the booty-shaking demo:

via Barely Political via Justified Right

BTW, if you liked that vid … Obama Girl back in the day when she thought she might be duking it out with Giuliani Girl:

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Deadheads for Obama:

via Huffington Post

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Negative campaign ads:

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It’s not about race, though I gotta say I am pretty excited about the chance to vote for a black guy. Seriously, I was raised to embrace diversity and pshaw racism, yet never in my 36 years have I had the chance to take part in something that would serve as such vivid testament to those non-racist ideas — and dare I say ideals? — actually being put into practice.

At a minimum, it would essentially be a national resolution telling people like these motivated McCain/Palin supporters to STFU!

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Chris Rock on why successful black people can’t be content with just barely winning:

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An inspiring, non-partisan performance by 7th graders that, let’s face it, wouldn’t have happened were it not for Barack Obama:

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Meanwhile, a McCain spokesman is trying to scare the Jews:

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Did a search for “official mccain ads” on YouTube, and this was the first vid to come up:

The internet must be frustrating the shit out of the R’s, as Obama fans are using it to show the textbook similarities between McCain and Bush:

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A search for “mccain supporters” brought up all sorts of stuff like this now infamous back of a lady’s head, who expressed her grave fear of Othello:

She’s probably what … 65-70ish years old? Think about it … When she was a little girl, the old people in her time were born in the 1800s!

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True Bar-bettable Factoid:

When was the last time the Republicans won the presidency without a Bush or a Nixon on the Ticket?
1928

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Separated at Birth: John McCain and Cotton Hill

via My New Plaid Pants

Sarah Palin’s kinda a ringer for Peggy Hill, too.

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More on who the real Obama is, according to McCain supporters:

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Poker Factoid:

Barack Obama has read Positively Fifth Street. Jim McManus’ wife works on his campaign’s finance committee.

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Surprisingly poignant video from Paris Hilton (for Fake President):

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Funny/sad/inspiring vid from the Budweiser “Wasssup!” dudes (offering personal opinions, not necessarily those of Anheuser-Busch):

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It’s all about getting out the vote, and getting it out big, so there is no question about what the nation really wants. Nish Gaveer, a West Philly rapper rhymin’ for Obama … seriously, you didn’t see this kinda shit with John Kerry or Al Gore, and it’s what gives me a little confidence about my landslide sidebet:

(via The Audacity of Dope)

Also via TAD, via IllDoctrine.com, with a passionate get-out-the-vote vid from HipHopster Jay Smooth that I’m pretty sure is resonating even with the laziest among us:

Kinda interesting (to me) that I can’t really tell if he’s black or white … and frankly, two months ago, I probably woulda researched it to find out. But now, really, it doesn’t seem to matter. The message (and the beat, yo) is good enough for me.

And maybe that’s why I’m feeling a little inspired … my Obama support started as a simple matter of anti-Republicanism … but as I have followed the guy and gotten to know more, it’s the first time in my life that I can actually see the possibility of an America that I long ago figured didn’t really exist. I suppose that’s the dream Martin Luther King was speaking about … say what you will about taxes and job creation under McCain’s plan, but I gotta think the inspiration, the proof, that anything really is possible for anyone in this country, no matter what your prior circumstance or current obstacles, is worth more than a trillion dollars.

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Joe Biden, pumping up the crowd:

More Kool-Aid, please!

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In his most positive ad yet — seriously, this is an official spot — even John McCain seems to suggest if you can’t beat’em, join’em:

Ahh, now that’s the honorable John McCain we woulda given serious thought to voting for, had we had the chance 4 or 8 years ago. Very noble of you to lay on a grenade for the sake of American history.

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In a way, we owe a debt of gratitude to the leader of the people who took so much advantage of their power, practicing politics without principle, that it brought us to this point – and you can express your thanks by shopping at the official George W. Bush CafePress store.

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Seriously, the same way I could never have imagined the fall of the Soviet Union growing up, I never thought I’d see a speech like this in Richmond, Va., the former capitol of the Confederacy:

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So there you have it. Exciting times. Should be a good Thanksgiving. Sorry for preaching to the choir/pummeling deaf ears here, but I kinda had to think through it all … and having now given my $.02 (and voted early), I think it would only be fair of me to offer Tom the Plumber a buyout for $1,399.98.

(I’ll consider it a gracious redistribution of wealth hedge-gift from one friend to another just in case you’re right about any of that economy stuff.)

]]> http://pokerati.com/2008/11/01/pokery-presidential-politicsprop-betting-for-a-better-future/feed/ 8 http://pokerati.com/2008/10/24/michael-moore-endorses-good-poker/ http://pokerati.com/2008/10/24/michael-moore-endorses-good-poker/#comments Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:48:25 +0000 Dan Michalski http://pokerati.com/?p=4617 The anti-old-rich-white-guy filmmaker appeared on Larry King today … and as we’re now just some two weeks away from the presidential election WSOP main event final table, he was busy educating the non-poker public on why the little guy doesn’t stand a chance against the big guy relative stack sizes and the importance of game selection.

Check it out … the poker talk begins at about 1:45, and is used to explain something about the evil ways of Wall Street and their control of the rake.

He made his appearance in part to promote his new net-distro film, Slacker Uprising, about rallying the next generation of voters online poker players.

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