As Lavigne in Austin informs us, the Texas Poker Act of 2007 will be filed as a bill by Rep. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio) today.
Click here to read the entire 71-page draft. In fact, feel free to mark it up (assuming you are of intelligent mind) and share your comments here. A little power-to-the-people, yo?
I haven\’t read it closely yet, but from what I understand, poker-wise, this bill would let charity tourneys like [tag]La Riata[/tag] go back to giving away real prizes to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars … bars could host small cash games … and racetracks could open poker rooms. All sounds good to Pokerati. Where do we vote yes?
Now from what I\’m starting to understand about this politics thing, the bill still has a long way to go. But the new reality is that gambling in Texas is officially on the table in 2007 — just as it was in previous sessions with horse racing and the lottery — and poker has been given special status in that discussion. Kudos to the Texas Card Players Association and Texas Poker PAC (and their supporters) for helping make that happen.
ALT HED: Poker in Da Hizzouse