PPA Calls Players to Washington for Sunday-Millions March

Poker player and industry interests are preparing to hit Congress with selective aggression in DC later this month.

The surge actually goes down on a Monday and Tuesday, but do days even matter any more when Americans can\’t compete against the rest of the developed world on Sunday?

The Poker Players Alliance moved up plans for a Washington DC member fly-in scheduled for September to later this month, May 23-24 … where the official call to action is supposedly to hit Congress hard to legalize online poker and do it quickly … if not before the WSOP then at least some time in 2011, maybe, please? Click here for details on the fly-in, and here for what you can do from afar to support what should be poker’s biggest political assault on Washington DC ever.

Congress has seen the numbers — millions of voting-age American players, a $6 billion US industry, $10-40 billion in tax revenue (over 10 years), thousands of jobs — and most members know they won’t face much backlash at the polls for opposing internet prohibitions and allowing online poker the same protections as other forms of legal recreation. But what they may not realize is why it may not be so cool to wait a few years to fix things, nor how many non-criminals have been hurt by recent DOJ actions, which are rather unprecedented in that the case against online poker operators ultimately hinges on a thusfar unsettled matter of what legally defines gambling and/or games of skill.

I think for the PPA, beyond reinforcing sensible-government arguments, they plan to get their members on message — because as more and more sign on with positions the PPA first advocated after the UIGEA, the game of legitimizing online poker has evolved — while getting Congress to realize the need for more immediate action because:

• This is total bullshit!
• Never before has the government seized so much money belonging to so many American citizens not accused of any crimes.
• “They took our [frickin’] jobs, bro!”
• We\’re not talking about just online pros who contribute nothing to society, we\’re talking about people who made their livings in a fully legitimate industry that\’s been decimated by a government slowroll.
• No new taxes!
• Do you support holding American money hostage while the administration dedicates resources to prosecute a victimless crime that hasn’t even had a court officially declare it illegal?
• What if the another country did the same thing to Americans? \”Tough luck?\”
• Come on, what is money laundering?
• How could it be illegal when these companies are all over FCC-regulated TV?
• Have you read Steven Levitt’s research? Pretty sure this makes the whole “crime” thing moot.

OK, my talking points might be a little off target. But for all the hubbub in Congress about internet gambling over the years, few have considered much of the above … so what\’s the point of waiting with so many billions on the line?

The Poker Players Alliance reminds you to renew your membership today.