The poker-player’s candidate, Gary Johnson, apparently didn’t make the cut … but poker did enter into the debate when Mitt Romney challenged Texas Governor Rick Perry’s record on job creation … essentially calling him a luckbox.

Not quite the “licensed and regulated online poker” stuff we mighta hoped for … but hey.

Unfortunately, not only do these two look-a-likes reveal an inherent conservative opposition to “regulation” that the Barton Bill will have to overcome, but also they seem to be talking 5-card draw or maybe 7-stud with the four Aces analogy — as if they’re totally unaware that much of the country is playing Pot-Limit Omaha.

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

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.

Politicians Receiving the Most Gambling Money

More details about the gambling politi-cash here.

[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.

So this isn’t an R vs. D battle, I’m hearing … and I’m deducing that it’s an internal Republican power play of some sorts — presumably Rick Perry trying to lock up a portion of his party before US Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison comes to town to possibly challenge Perry in the primary?

Republicans aren’t our enemies any more than Christians are, of course … they all count poker players among their ranks, after all, and some of them even run churches that ship senior citizens by the busload to Oklahoma casinos. And since there are plenty of conservatives who support the idea of protecting citizens from harm, their freedom rights, and the state’s right to collect its fair due, we need to encourage them to twist the governor’s arm, too, letting him know … hey, this anti-poker thing is not the best principle for him to take a stand on, yo!

The bad guys, meanwhile, have been running a (grammatically incorrect) bumper-sticker campaign:

Contact your representative — Rs and Conservative Ds alike – to reassure them of your support and request their help putting the governor’s mind at ease.

And contact the governor’s automated voice-pulse line to tell him whatever you sincerely would like him to hear:
(800) 252-9600

(If only legislation were as easy as American idol … )

The place that needs to hear from YOU is:

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

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

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.

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 …

I’m being serious. Our little poker bill has gotten as far along in the process as the casino gambling bill has, and yet it’s done so with virtually no professional lobbying money behind it. (Big ups to an almost all-grassroots effort by Texas poker lovers!) Having just a fraction of the millions being spent on full-fledged-casino politicking for a final push through the Legislature would almost certainly get us across the finish line … we know the law makes sense, and polls and comments in mainstream media reports show it has overwhelming public support.

I’m not saying we can’t do it without Big Casino money behind us, but really it would help, as at this point it’s more about properly playing the political game to shepherd this bill through the rest of the legislative process — and our opponents have spent a few hundred thousand dollars to stop that from happening … which is significantly less, actually, than the millions spent by gambling opposition to keep Texas totally casino-free.

Hey, I’m all for the full-on casino bill (also sponsored by Jose Menendez) that the likes of Adelson support. But that bill has so many more obstacles in front of it — specifically the governor’s veto pen. Our poker bill is different though … and would give Perry a chance to sign a law that represents the will of the people (to protect freedoms, protect from violence, generate tax revenues, etc. ) yet doesn’t force him to technically break his promise to veto gambling legislation.

Meanwhile, current Republican Gov. Rick Perry is talking recession secession. All I’ll say about that is Texas! Texas! Woooo TEXAS! interesting. But in some way this is actually kinda good for poker … because while Perry has vowed to veto any gambling legislation that comes across his desk, he’s kinda tying his hands now, delivering strong rhetoric about honoring the will of the people. Could be used against him, or at least to negotiate.

GAMBLING
Is luck in the cards for casino, slot machine bills?

Proponents of expanded gambling in Texas will be back in full force this session, fighting for Las Vegas-style casinos, slot machines at racetracks, tribal gaming rights and legalized poker.

Bills to open casino gambling statewide are unlikely to go far, though the struggling economy may give them slightly more traction. Even if a bill passed, Gov. Rick Perry would probably veto it.

But measures granting special permission for the Alabama-Coushatta and Tigua tribes to reopen their casinos – shuttered in 2002 after a court order by then-Attorney General John Cornyn – may well succeed. The tribal reservations have struggled to fund basic services since the casinos that ran their local economies closed, and very narrowly missed getting legislation approved last session.

Past efforts to legalize slot machines at racetracks have fallen prey to industry infighting, but the horse racers and breeders are presenting a unified front this year. Though they would appear to have an ally in likely House Speaker Joe Straus, who has financial ties to the Retama Park racetrack his father helped found, it’s still unclear what good it will do. Straus has said that in his new role, he will do nothing to further racetrack legislation.

FACT: Advocates of legalized poker have filed legislation to develop a regulated poker gaming system in Texas.