But what stands out most to me is a line from one of the opponents of any measures for California to finally get serious about regulating online games within their own borders:

“We don’t want to see any of it,” said pastor James Butler from the California Coalition Against Gambling Expansion. “Pretty soon they’ll have an app that will allow you to connect instantly to a casino or a gambling site. Want to lose your home? We have an app for that,” Butler said.

Emphasis added. Not sure if we should tell the fine pastor that they already do have such an app — all over the UK to be sure, and in Nevada you can bet sports for real money anywhere you want using your Droid or iPhone with Leroy’s App. (It just turns off when you get to the California border — amazing that crazy technology these days!)

OK, I shouldn’t mock … because we all remember the saying from the days leading up to the UIGEA: “click a mouse, lose your house.” That language stuck in the anti-gambling forces rhetoric for years, pretty much until Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) tried to take it to a new level by claiming 1/3 of all college students who tried online gambling attempted suicide. That, of course, didn’t stick … and since then pro-online gambling forces have made tremendous inroads, with a message that has been quite refined since online poker’s post UIGEA starting point, which pretty much was: WTF?

But don’t expect the opposition to remain stagnant. The closer we get, the more you can expect them to up their game, if not simply because mainstream media often call various sources to get more than one side of a story … and because election years generally tend to be good fundraising periods for people in the morality business.

You can tell Mr. Butler is currently workshopping the opposing message:

“Is there going to be a guarantee that anyone in California who receives social assistance will be banned from those sites? Or will basically the California citizens be subsidizing somebody else’s gambling behavior?” said Butler.

Fascinating point, actually. We are talking more than 2 million people in California, mind you, receiving some sort of government aid. So should we strengthen online gambling bans (against all) to make sure those on the public dole can only play games meeting standards of appropriate bankroll management?

PokerStars did not comment on plans for what could’ve been had the US government allowed them to make food stamps redeemable for T$ and/or VIP swag.

Below is our second DC Update for 2012 available exclusively to 2012 PPA members.  Because we’ve received so many questions from members about PokerPAC and how and why it’s important in our fight for the game we love, I’m providing this week’s DC Update with a bit of background on PACs generally, and specifically why PokerPAC is so important.

PPA DC Update | February 1, 2012 | Bryan Spadaro | Poker Players Alliance

While I am not technically a lobbyist for the PPA, I am excited to write this week’s insider piece to our membership.  This week’s piece is about Political Action Committees, or PAC’s, an area in which I have expertise.

As the Republican primary race continues into 2012 you’ve undoubtedly heard a lot about PAC’s and Super PAC’s, and the role they play in deciding the outcome of these primary races.  A bit of history first.  PACs were first created under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. A PAC enables likeminded individuals to voluntarily pool their financial resources in order to contribute to candidates running for federal and state offices.  This allows corporations and associations, who are barred under law from using their own business (corporate) funds, to create a connected entity that can raise and then disperse funds to candidates they want to support.  This is exactly what PokerPAC is, the connected PAC of the Poker Players Alliance.

One of the questions I hear most about PACs is “where does the money go?” Well, as PPA’s PAC director, I can say, contributing it is a lot easier than raising it.  First, it is important to know that every dollar PokerPAC raises is contributed to candidates and campaigns that support the rights of poker players.  No money PokerPAC raises is used for overhead, salaries, compliance, marketing, etc., 100 percent goes toward the fight for our game.  Another way to answer the question is to look back to the 2010 elections, and explain some of the ways we spent PokerPAC resources.  In the 2010 cycle, PokerPAC endorsed 58 candidates.  1) In many cases, we contributed money directly from the PokerPAC to the campaigns of our endorsed candidates.  This is most common and perhaps most effective way we can support a candidate. 2) Also, in every PPA-targeted race we sent an endorsement email to all PPA members living in the district (or state) letting them know why we support the candidate and encouraged the local poker players to support them too.  These “in-kind” emails cost money and a small percentage of PokerPAC resources went to pay for these endorsements.

In a few cases the PokerPAC went “All-In” for candidates. 3) In Nevada and Colorado, two of the closest Senate races of 2010, the PPA supported candidates who were strong supporters of your poker rights and their challengers were opponents of your freedom to play online poker.  Leading up to Election Day we hosted events for the candidates so the poker community in that state could meet them and learn about why they deserved a poker player’s support.  4) PokerPAC also used resources to run online advertising and phone calls letting poker players know to support our candidate.  In both races we won!  And both Senators have acknowledged PokerPAC’s role in helping them win their races.  That is about as good as it gets for a PAC Director like me: to know that the actions we took had a direct, positive, and tangible effect on a very important outcome.

That is why we ask for your support of PokerPAC, and why it is so important to go beyond your $15 annual PPA membership.  I hope you found this piece to be interesting and informative, and as always, if you have any questions, please send them to email@theppa.org, and we will be happy to answer them for you.

Thanks again for your 2012 membership.  If you haven’t done so already, please consider becoming even more involved with the PPA by becoming a contributor to PokerPAC, the PPA’s political action arm.

Proud to Play,

Bryan Spadaro

Disclaimer: You can only contribute to our Political Action Committee if you (i) are a United States citizen or landed immigrant (e.g., hold a green card), (ii) are over the age of 18 years, (iii) are a member of the PPA, and (iv) are not a government contractor. You can only make contributions from your personal funds; you may not contribute corporate funds or funds from other prohibited sources. Contributions are not tax deductible. You must also provide where indicated your full name (i.e., first name, middle name or initial and last name), your mailing address, your occupation, and the name of your employer.

• 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.

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

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

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

The article quotes Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) as follows: “It [the Department of Justice’s clarification of its interpretation of the scope of the Wire Act as not including online poker] (will) give us an incentive to get something done. We cannot have a series of laws around the country related to [Internet] gaming, I know a lot about gaming. I’m a former chairman of the Nevada [Gaming] Commission, and I think it’s very important that we have a national law.” The article further states that Sen. Reid has confirmed that he is negotiating with Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) on a federal online poker bill bill!

When articles like this goes public, lawmakers always look at public reaction. So, let’s all do our part and tell both that we wish for them to push forward with appropriate online poker legislation! Fortunately, we can do this quickly and easily.

Take Action

1. Let’s send Senators Reid and Kyl prewritten, editable tweets requesting action on poker legislation. They are HERE and HERE.
2. Please be sure to visit the PPA Take Action page.

Interviews

PPA comes before poker media to take on the tough questions as often as possible. I hope you will find these interesting and informative. This past week’s interviews focused on the Justice Department’s Wire Act decision and its impact on Capitol Hill momentum.

Recent appearances:

• OnTilt Radio: Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny, with guest PPA Board Member Linda Johnson (1/16/2012) (listen here).
• Short Stacked Radio: I come on at time point 1:29:55 (1/10/12) (listen here).
• Short Stacked Radio: I come on at time point 1:31:05 (1/3/12) (listen here).
• Website: Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny, with webcast archive (here)

Thank you for your continued support!

Meanwhile, the New York Post is reporting that “the smart money is betting Washington will legalize online poker” … with the suggestion that Harry Reid has his own version of the Barton Bill forthcoming. That’s hardly a surprise around here … but what could be something of a WTF, if it turns out to be true, are reportable rumors that Jon Kyl (R-AZ) will likely be a co-sponsor.

Kyl, of course, is one of the original architects of the UIGEA who will be retiring at the end of the current Congressional session. Ahh, it’s all starting to make a little sense now … can you see the path through Congress starting to emerge?

Just last week (Ret.) Rep. Jon Porter (R-NV) made a peculiar reference to Kyl, suggesting his support of new online poker measures might be more than tacit. Porter, now a consultant for the PPA, was speaking at Aria in Las Vegas to a few dozen gambling industry scouts attending a Brit-organized conference on US Online Gaming Law. His session: Assessing How Political Developments Affect Legislative Timelines

Have a listen. Not only does Porter say, “We are closer today than we’ve ever been before” (1:45), but also he refers to Kyl “doing everything he can to help us” (19:05) … while laying out a plan that may include attachment to an omnibus bill in the next 30 days. But that was last week, so it’s plenty possible much has changed.

Porter is speaking at the start and throughout the bulk of this recording. The other voices to pipe in toward the end — right after @CasinoCityVin asks for clarity on Kyl’s level of support (30:45) — are I. Nelson Rose (the gaming law expert who sees a far more protracted timeline) and Dale McDonnell, GC for the Minnesota state lottery. David Satz, VP of Government Affairs for Caesars Entertainment, was also on the panel … though he spoke before it occurred to me to press “record”.

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

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

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

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

Thank you again for your continued support!

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

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

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

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

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

Other Highlights

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

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

Thank you.

Proud to Play,

John A. Pappas
Executive Director

• Bloomberg Business Week @BW | Betfair May Boost Profit With Fixed-Odds Sportsbet
• Fox5 LasVegas | Mobile wagering expands to iPhone {Leroy’s Sports Books/American Wagering}
• The Hill | Let states legalize online gambling to stimulate the economy | h/t @taxdood
• Indian Country | Internet Gaming Tops NIGA Agenda | h/t @taxdood
• Irish Times @the_irish_times | FTP Dublin subsidiary makes 180 positions “redundant”
• Bloomberg Business Week @BW | Online Poker Should Be Dealt a Fresh Hand With Regulation
• Charleston Daily Mail | Lottery funding goes to (WV) casino slots upgrade | h/t @casinocityvin
• Inside Poker Business |  Poker Networks 2012 | h/t @InfiniteEdgeKim
• @hardboiledpoker | Reports from the (FTP) Department of Redundancy Department
• @InfiniteEdgeKim | Buyers Beware {handy shopping tips for iPoker purchasers in US}

Watchit

• Livefeed @ Congress | “iGaming: Is There A Safe Bet?” | http://energycommerce.house.gov/
  The House Energy and Commerce Committee will be holding a hearing Oct. 25 called “iGaming: Is There A Safe Bet?” at 10:30AM EST in the Rayburn House Building RM 2123. Details of this hearing (and witness list – ty to @WriterJen for pointing this out) may be found on the Committee website -> here.
• @AGAupdate posted this testimony from Frank Fahrenkopf for tomorrow’s congressional hearing.

Witness List:

• Parry Aftab | Member, Board of Advisors Chairman | FairPlayUSA
  —> Witness Testimony
• Ernest L. Stevens | Chairman | National Indian Gaming Association
  —> Witness Testimony
• Keith Whyte |Executive Director | National Council on Problem Gambling
  —> Witness Testimony
• The Honorable Alphonse D’Amato | Chairman | Poker Players Alliance
  —> Witness Testimony
• Kurt Eggert | Professor of Law| Chapman University School of Law
  —> Witness Testimony
• Dr. Dan Romer | Director, Adolescent Communication Institute
  —> Witness Testimony

At the time of this email the witnesses for the hearing are still unknown. The PPA and its lobbying team will continue to meet with members of the subcommittee and their staffs leading up to next week’s hearing. We will be asking PPA members whose U.S. Representative is a member of this committee to contact their member directly before the hearing. Please check the PPA website and your inbox for future announcements about this very important hearing.

We have a nice opportunity to make ourselves heard today, so I encourage everyone to participate. CNN is airing this evening’s GOP presidential debate live from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET from the Venetian in Las Vegas. CNN is seeking questions for candidates via the CNN Politics fan page on Facebook, Twitter (using the #CNNDebate hashtag), and their website. So, let’s all submit some pro-poker questions. As this debate is being held in Las Vegas, our issue will be seen as topical.

To participate:

1. Submit pre-filled pro-poker debate questions via Twitter HERE, HERE, and HERE. Either submit these as-is or, even better, edit them a bit to give them some individuality.
2. Like the pro-poker Facebook CNN debate questions HERE and HERE, then like and post pro-poker questions/comments there and on the CNN Facebook debate page main wall HERE. Just post something straightforward, like, “To all the candidates: What is your position on the licensing, regulation and taxation of online poker?” (To find all the poker questions, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “more posts” until a day’s worth of posts are visible. Then, hit CTRL-F and search for “poker”. Use “highlight all” to spot the poker posts quickly.)
3. Submit pro-poker questions directly to CNN HERE. Again, try something like, “To all the candidates: What is your position on the licensing, regulation and taxation of online poker?”

That is all it takes! With this, not only will you let the candidates know you demand your right to play poker in your own home on your own computer…you will also let CNN know that many of its viewers are deeply interested in this issue.

From Executive Director John Pappas:

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

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

In other news …

I have spoken with many poker players who have been deeply affected by the failure of Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, and Ultimate Bet to repay its players since Black Friday. While I have roughly five figures of my own money locked up on Full Tilt Poker, this is nothing compared to the heartbreaking stories I have heard from many of my fellow players. We all need to take a stand — for the present AND for the future.

You all received PPA’s update yesterday detailing how to contact the Justice Department’s Victims and Witness Services program. I encourage everyone affected by this to take a good look at both this program and at PPA’s legal analysis of the options available to individual players who have not been able to access their online poker funds.

PPA has worked to ensure that all proposed online poker legislation includes provisions for consumer protections even well before Black Friday. Needless to say, PPA will continue to push for these important provisions. We all deserve safe, licensed, accountable sites on which to play. I am glad the poker community is standing together, united in this fight for our rights.

Here are some actions we can take right now to continue to advocate for our rights. These take less than 60 seconds each!

“We the People” Poker Petition to President Obama

We the People is a new addition to the White House website that allows Americans to petition the Obama Administration on a range of issues. Per the site, “if a petition gets enough support, White House staff will review it, ensure it is sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response.”

This is a great way for us to ensure the administration hears from the poker community, so let’s all take a moment to sign the petition electronically.

The site is getting a lot of traffic, so you may get either a “site is under maintenance” or a “404 not found” message. Just try it a few times and you’ll get through. Even with this slight delay, it should take less than one minute to complete:

1. Go HERE and click “CREATE AN ACCOUNT.”
2. The site will send a confirmation email. Click on the link in that email to continue.
3. Click “SIGN THIS PETITION” to vote (if you are not redirected automatically, go HERE to vote).
4. Send a prefilled, editable Twitter message to invite others to sign this petition HERE.

Deficit Super Committee Outreach

The United States Congress Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction is made up of 12 members of Congress — six representatives and six senators, with equal representation from Democrats and Republicans — who have been tasked with developing a bipartisan plan to reduce the federal deficit. The plan will be delivered to the full Congress and President Obama by Thanksgiving.

Let’s all take a few moments to visit the super committee’s website HERE to send the super committee members our recommendations. Below is a sample letter that you can edit or cut-and-paste as-is into the message field. Or, better yet, write your own. This is another great opportunity for us to demonstrate support for our position.

SAMPLE LETTER (this has been updated from last week’s sample letter, so feel free to send this one even if you sent the prior one last week)

Dear Honorable Joint Select Committee Members,

HR 2366, the Online Poker Act, is a bipartisan bill that, should it become law, will create thousands of jobs while providing up to $40 billion in new tax revenue for the federal deficit over the next ten years — without raising taxes. It also mandates strong consumer protections and effective age verification.

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh and former Secretary of Homeland Security, Governor, and Assistant District Attorney Tom Ridge support federal online poker licensing because it addresses control of cash flows and mandates consumer protections, while WiredSafety concluded that “combining a thoughtful regulatory scheme with education, technology tools, and support appears to be the most effective means of handling the realities and risks” of online poker.

Licensed U.S.-based horse race wagering sites have proven that online betting sites can successfully implement strong consumer protections while creating American jobs and generating revenues for our government. It is time to allow online poker sites the same opportunity.

I respectfully ask that you seriously consider recommending sensible licensing and regulation of online poker within the U.S. in your deficit reduction report to Congress and the President.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Add your name here

 

Department of Justice Outreach

Let’s ask the Justice Department to consider ALL seized Full Tilt Poker funds as rightfully belonging to affected players. We can do this in less than 30 seconds.

1. Send a prefilled, editable pro-poker Twitter message HERE. Verify that your Twitter account is not set to “private”.
2. Try to wait at least an hour, then send another Twitter message HERE.
3. Like the DoJ Facebook page HERE (you can unlike when done if you wish) and like the pro-poker comment HERE
4. Return to the main Facebook page HERE to post and like respectful pro-poker comments. Either cut-and-paste the following, or write your own respectful post: “Funds seized from Full Tilt Poker and its processors rightfully belong to the affected players, whom you have identified as victims of fraud. Will you please use all recovered funds, including those from prior payment processor seizures, to repay affected players? Thank you.”
5. Please follow the daily action plan on Twitter HERE and on Facebook HERE.

Interviews

PPA comes before poker media to take on the tough questions as often as possible, as the questions we receive at these interviews are representative of the issues in which the poker community is most interested. I hope you will find these interesting and informative:

• Video: PPA Board Member and 2004 WSOP Champion Greg Raymer on CNN
• Executive Director John Pappas on NPR’s “All Things Considered” (9/21)
• Podcast: Short Stacked Radio (9/20) — I come on at time point 1:32:10 in Part 1
• Podcast; QuadJacks Poker Radio (9/20): I discussed the Full Tilt Poker issue at length. The podcast should be available later this weekend.

Thank you again for your support!

Proud to play,

Rich Muny

playerrelations@theppa.org
www.facebook.com/rich.muny

And here’s the actual crime novel of the DOJ-SDNY’s proposed amendment to the complaint.

And read below for a statement from the PPA, calling on the DOJ not to forget about the players as they continue to shut it all down.

PPA Statement on DOJ Amendment to Online Poker Civil Suit

Washington, DC (September 20, 2011) – John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, issued the following statement upon today’s amended Department of Justice civil suit claiming that Full Tilt Poker was engaged in a “Ponzi scheme” and defrauded its players.

“This is a sad and disappointing day for American poker players.  If true, these allegations detail a massive betrayal of player trust which will cause financial hardship for thousands, if not millions, of individual poker players, none of whom are accused of doing anything wrong.  We call on the Department of Justice to certify that the proceeds of any settlement or seizure that may result from this action will first be dedicated to reimbursing players.  We further call on Full Tilt Poker, its management, directors and owners to take all available steps to ensure the prompt payment of players as their first priority.

“Since Black Friday on April 15^th, the PPA has vocally called for Full Tilt Poker to refund player balances.  We also issued a guide to our players which provided them legal guidance on what they could do to recover their funds.  These new government allegations underscore the sincere need for Congress to act immediately to pass legislation that appropriately regulates Internet poker in the U.S. so that players can be protected from the types of abuses alleged by the Department of Justice today.  Today’s news does not change the mission of the PPA – to make player reimbursements and effective federal or state licensing of Internet poker a priority.”

To view the PPA legal guide referenced above, please visit http://theppa.org/resources/legal/guide/.

About The Poker Players Alliance

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

Additionally, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has ASKED for questions via Twitter for an upcoming town hall. You can send him pro-poker questions in under thirty seconds:

1. Send a prefilled, editable pro-poker Twitter question: CLICK HERE
2. Send a second Twitter question for good measure: CLICK HERE
3. You can track the pro-poker messages here.

I also wish to discuss the ongoing issue with player funds locked up at Ultimate Bet, Absolute Poker, and Full Tilt Poker. As someone with around five figures locked up on Full Tilt Poker, I certainly empathize with the situation.

PPA has issued statements demanding that Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet, and Absolute Poker refund player balances. Additionally, PPA representatives – including me – have made statements in several interviews with various poker media sources with demands for repayment. PPA does not accept the Department of Justice fund seizures as an excuse. We have also publicly praised PokerStars for doing the right thing in refunding its U.S. players.

Additionally, PPA’s legal team prepared a legal analysis of the options available to individual players who still have not been able to access their online poker funds held on account. The document — “Legal Rights of Players with Unpaid Balances – A PPA Information Guide” — provides our membership with facts and information about steps individuals can seek to take to claim their online poker account balances.

That being said, PPA is neither a regulatory body nor an enforcement agency. We are a player advocacy group, so our ability to force these sites to comply with our calls for action is limited. In fact, this is why PPA is pushing for legislation that gives us the rights we need as players.

The PPA-supported legislation now in Congress focuses strongly on consumer protection. It mandates protected and segregated player accounts, a U.S. presence (to allow for law enforcement action if needed), and many other provisions that protect our rights as players.

I am hopeful that reports of potential suitors lined up to purchase Full Tilt Poker, along with the recent enforcement actions by their regulators, will help generate positive steps toward player repayment. Full Tilt Poker recently released a statement on this. While it is noncommittal, it is moderately encouraging that they are again speaking publicly on the issue:

Full Tilt Poker, August 30th, 2011

As is obvious from the events that have transpired since April 15th, Full Tilt Poker was not prepared for the far-reaching, US government enforcement effort of Black Friday. 

The events of Black Friday came on the heels of prior government enforcement activities and significant theft. Over the two years preceding Black Friday, the US government seized approximately $115M of player funds located in U.S. banks. While we believed that offering peer-to-peer online poker did not violate any federal laws—a belief supported by many solid and well-reasoned legal opinions — the DOJ took a different view. In addition, as was widely reported, a key payment processor stole approximately $42M from Full Tilt Poker. Until April 15th, Full Tilt Poker had always covered these losses so that no player was ever affected. Finally, during late 2010 and early 2011, Full Tilt Poker experienced unprecedented issues with some of its third-party processors that greatly contributed to its financial problems. While the company was on its way to addressing the problems caused by these processors, Full Tilt Poker never anticipated that the DOJ would proceed as it did by seizing our global domain name and shutting down the site worldwide. 

Over the last four months, Full Tilt Poker has been actively exploring opportunities with outside investors in order to stabilize the company and pay back our players. At least six of those groups, including hedge funds, operators of other internet businesses and individual investors, have visited Dublin to inspect the operation. We have recently engaged an additional financial advisor through an investment banking group to assist us in our search for an infusion of cash as well as a new management team to restore the site and repay players. While any deal of this nature is necessarily complex given the current regulatory environment, our players should know that Full Tilt Poker is fully committed to paying them back in full and restoring confidence in our operations.

Noah Stephens-Davidowitz of Subject:Poker wrote a nice analysis of the statement and overall situation: click here to read.

Interviews

PPA comes before poker media to take on the tough questions as often as possible, as the questions we receive at these interviews are representative of the issues in which the poker community is most interested. I hope you will find these interesting and informative:

Wicked Chops Podcast with John Pappas (09/07/2011)

Short Stacked Radio (9/6): I come on at time point 0:41:00

PokerGob Poker Show (9/4) (scroll down to “September 4th Poker Show”)

Thank you again!

Proud to play,

Rich Muny
playerrelations@theppa.org
www.facebook.com/rich.muny

(Go Rich Muny! TID!)

It seems we are indeed making a strong showing for this month’s YouTube Town Hall question; there are actually two online poker questions — one about the Barton Bill (H.R. 2366: the Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection, and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2011) and the other about the Campbell Bill (H.R. 1174:  the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act). However, I’m wondering if either would be selected for YouTube debate, because as far as I can tell, the poker questions are the only ones attached, by number, to specific bills. My guess is few Members would use their YouTube airtime to pimp a single bill that hasn’t even been heard yet in committee . They’re looking to address concepts that may or may not mean something to voters — like freedom and fiscal sensibility, or something grand-sounding like “comprehensive tax reform” — not specific legislation with amendments still being written and a name that won’t even fit on Twitter.

But still, whether or not the online poker questions make it to the next round you can be sure Members are at least taking note of what voters are <s>thinking</s> thumbing.

Dear dan,

Poker and the Youtube Town Hall

PPA needs your help to place the issue of licensing and regulating online poker squarely in front of our members of Congress. Each month, citizens from around the country are asked to vote on a variety of questions submitted to the new YouTube Townhall meeting website.  Each month, the question that receives the most votes will be answered by members of Congress – one in support and one opposed to the issue – in short YouTube videos.

We need poker to be the top question for this month.

Please take a moment and click here to go to the YouTube Townhall website and vote thumbs up for the submitted question:

With the downgrade of the US credit rating and bleak economic outlook, shouldn’t the federal government consider supporting new revenue sources “without raising taxes” as authorized by H.R. 2366, a bill to license and regulate online poker in the US? 

You only have a short time to vote for this question, so please do so now and don’t forget to send this to all your poker buddies asking them to do the same.

But a few recent stories of particular significance that might otherwise get buried amid PokerStars/WSOP/WPT press releases, 2+2 NVG threads, and the mashup of Jungleman cheating buzz:

Ring-fenced funds: Full Tilt debaucle explained
ALDERNEY
Check out this story in Poker Player Newspaper about a regulatory matter of new relevance called “ring-fenced funds”. It helps one understand a little better why Full Tilt found themselves in tighter straits than PokerStars post-Black Friday (even though PokerStars is the big boy the DOJ most wants) … and leaves one to wonder why senior executives and on-duty attorneys representing both Party Gaming and PokerStars flew in from Gibraltar, Israel, and the United States to observe the proceedings firsthand. Perhaps they thought they were coming in to witness an execution?

Online gambling goes national
WASHINGTON DC
Big talk all over the internet about a piece in the New York Post that points out how stars seem to be aligning for online gambling legalzation in the US — from the Kyl/Reid letter requesting DOJ assistance in squelching offshore operatives and state initiatives alike, to a Boehner aide taking on a VP role with the American Gaming Association, to a warming friendship between House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Venetian pooh-bah Shelly Adelson.

It all supports my belief that online gambling will indeed be a national issue in coming months (assuming people behind a rumored Senate bill want it to be). There’s no mention, however, of the player-friendly Barton Bill, nor much anything about poker specifically — the writer talks of “gambling” — which suggests this story could be a plant by media operatives for the AGA, who we know, of course, represent Big Casinos and likely have Harry Reid’s office on speed dial. It also supports contentions that the effort to bring back online poker (thanks PPA and Joe Barton!) will likely become a push for full-on legal online casinos as bills move forward.

Nevada regulators prepping for Poker+ …
LAS VEGAS/CARSON CITY
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to many, Nevada Gaming authorities are in the midst of sweeping changes to state regulations — with very specific language updates on matters of foreign partners, “suitability”, server location, mobile gaming platforms, slot machine networks, money transfers, tax collection, you name it … The new rules currently taking shape in Nevada touch on just about every issue brought up in the online gaming political sphere over the past five years. Whether revolutionary or standard as far as procedure goes, if you really wanna know what the future of online gambling (and therefore poker) will look like — and/or place your bets on who the corporate winners will be* — follow the public work of the Nevada Gaming Commission and State Gaming Control Board here in coming weeks.

* for entertainment purposes only: smart bet is Caesars, William Hill, and Cantor-Fitzgerald.

Play Late!

ACTION ALERT: Pokerati Game — 1/2 NLH/PLO — gets underway tonight at 7pm! Goes until whenever …

Presidential hopeful Gary Johnson (R-NM) came to the WSOP this year to show his support for online poker efforts, as well as drum up support for his White House run.

He took note of online poker matters shortly after April 15, he said, and couldn’t help but see the similarities between online poker and other issues he’s fought for over his political career — from ski-helmet laws or marijuana reform. He was at the PPA booth shortly before the start of the main event, and I got to chat with the two-term former governor of New Mexico about the Republican shift in support of online poker, where online poker fits in the scheme of national issues (right up at the very top, he says, as an example of American freedoms under attack), and how those who believe in smaller government can support the concept of more regulation. Apparently you can regulate online gambling without regulating the whole internet. And regulations work best, he explains, when a guy like him gets to be “dictator”. (If Obama thought he had “socialist” problems … yeow.)

Pokerati Raw: Courting the Poker Vote
Gary Johnson at the WSOP

download

Johnson calls on poker players to realize that their passions go beyond just poker and are more of an American issue — like pot — and the immediate solution is to donate to his campaign.

He’s pitching himself as “the people’s president” … and thus is letting poker players know that he can be their guy in DC. For what it’s worth, I didn’t leave with the feeling that this will be a special day having met the future president … but I did leave with the sense that Johnson would help make the issues of online poker players — the basic ones, the simple right to play for money online — part of the national debate.

Check out his campaign website at GaryJohnson2012.com … and here’s a special donation page set up just for you.

a) He had a change of heart and realized he was wrong. Apologies accepted, hugs exchanged.
b) His attorney advised him that he was putting himself at risk by potentially taking the stand.
c) Sitting through a even just a deposition could prove less profitable than sitting in a cash game.
d) He settled, obv, meaning Ivey and Full Tilt somehow got square, even if you did not.

Meanwhile, French regulators ARJEL yanked Full Tilt’s gaming license in France, Ray Bitar says his feelings are hurt by Wicked Chops insinuations that he’s no longer CEO of Tilt (as if! scroll down to bottom) and everyone seems to have forgotten that the leaders of AP/UB are apparently on the run with however much player cash and T-shirt swag they can stuff on a southbound plane.

With all that, whether in a nick of time or too little too late, a group of New Yorkers is suing Tilt class-action style, with a complaint that looks like it was cut-and-paste together from DOJ press releases and 2+2 threads.

Can we expect a rash of lawsuits to come? Should they?

The PPA has put out a legal guide for anyone considering court-action as a way to get an everated online poker site pay up:

The PPA’s legal team has prepared a legal analysis of the options available to individual players who still have not been able to access their online poker funds held on account.  The document, “Legal Rights of Players with Unpaid Account Balances – A PPA Information Guide” seeks to provide our members with facts and information about how individuals can seek to claim their online poker account money.    We hope you find this document useful and informative.  Should you have further inquiries about players’ funds you can contact our Litigation Support Network at: legal@theppa.org.

The document attempts to explain the complexities of forfeiture law, as well as what the remedies are for someone who believes the government unjustly seized their property. I feel like I’ve seen this seizure list a dozen times … but what’s new to me is realizing the government asserts they flat out own the companies — Full Tilt, PokerStars, AP/UB, et al … regardless of whether or not players got their money back.

The PPA rallied the troops to make sure that of the millions tens of thousands of people jumping up and raising their hands with a question, at least one that got heard was about online poker:

Don’t forget today at 2PM EDT, President Obama will be hosting a Twitter town hall and answering questions tweeted to him. Please take a moment to use Twitter to submit a question asking the President if he supports licensing and regulating online poker by clicking here. To follow the Town Hall as it happens, please click here.

Let’s make our voices heard. Tweet your question to President Obama now!

Proud to play,
Drew Lesofski
Director, Grassroots and External Affairs

I sent mine in. No answer … but we’ll see if @BarackObama maybe includes @Pokerati in his next #FollowFriday.

UPDATE: Follow this guy, New York Times politics blogger, to see what questions got asked and how they got answered.

Though it would be great if Obama could answer a poker player with, “Yes, I support it obv. If I don’t win re-election I will be playing a LOT on WSOP.com” … I wouldn’t really expect the President to express support (or opposition) for a specific bill that isn’t further along in the process of getting to his desk — too many intangibles for him still — nor support or any issue involving Big Casino influence without knowing what the bill is.

But still, this probably won’t be the last White House Tweet-up … we can expect more from Obama and other candidates as the Barton Bill and possibly other poker-relevant legislation moves through Congress. Kinda like calling in to a morning radio show to make a joke about whatever their skit of the day was … you gotta hope eventually poker will get through. And showing a certain type of buzz — even if it doesn’t lead to any specifically answered questions — also plays a role, as you can suspect his staff will be parsing the complete #AskObama Twitter log to give a report that allows the President to theoretically claim to be in touch with the pulse of America.

Check out this video interview with Obama’s former chief blogger on the relevance of a President’s — or any politician’s for that matter — stepping into such a new forum.