That\’s hard to say — in the sense that Beltway political wonks still say passage of relevant poker legislation is unlikely. But as it pertains to raising awareness, educating legislators, and, in the long run, raising necessary monies … it seems like yes, indeed, great things pokery happened in Washington DC this week.
There are some curious strategic matters in play here. After all, considering the current state of the world, it\’s not like the non-poker populace is gonna be saying, \”Yeah, you know what, better regulation of online gambling is what this country really needs right now.\” Or … \”We didn\’t have these sorts of problems when PartyPoker was in power.\”
So to some extent, poker finds itself in a Catch-22. We need to be aggressive and heard to create change … but at the same time, our best bet for passing pro-poker legislation is probably to slip it in under the radar. Like Bill Frist did with the UIGEA — only less dirty-handed. And that\’s why this most recent PPA effort seems to have been a good one. No screaming, just talking … but presumably saying the right things to the influential non-masses with the ability to push through some \”simple\” and \”sensible\” changes before dealing with the bigger, more perilous issues of our day.
ALT HED: Make Poker Not War!
