A Winning Hand for the American People
When I went head to head with Joan Rivers on the show "Celebrity Apprentice," I knew that I had to use a combination of toughness, charm, bluff, and know-how to make the final episode. But as a professional poker player, I am used to using all of those tools to get to the final table, and ultimately make a good living playing cards.
Professional and amateur poker players from around the country are using those same skills as they come to Washington this week to get Congress to regulate and tax online poker.
The Poker Players Alliance represents over a million poker players from around the country. The poker players play in all kinds of poker rooms, from the friendly, low-stakes game at the kitchen table, to the high-stakes, high-pressure games in the big casinos. We also represent online poker players, people who choose to match wits with opponents on their computers in the comfort of their own home.
Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, who became an instant celebrity when he won the World Series of Poker five years ago, honed his skills as a poker player by playing on the Internet, and he is not alone. Millions of Americans play online poker everyday, and they do so legally.
U.S. laws governing Internet gambling are unclear; while no one claims that playing poker on-line violates federal law, the Department of Justice takes the position that one federal law -- The Wire Act of 1961 -- prohibits all Internet gaming, including poker. However, courts have found that law to only govern sports betting. Rather than clarify what is and isn't legal, in 2006 Congress passed a law that told financial institutions to block payments for "unlawful Internet gambling" -- but then didn't clarify what that term means. This lack of clarity has created an unfortunate dynamic where millions of Americans play online poker but none of them play on American-owned websites.
Professional and amateur poker players are coming to Washington to deliver an online petition signed by over a 300,000 people in less than a month, asking Congress to regulate and then tax online poker playing in the United States. When is the last time an industry came to Washington and actually asked to be taxed? But poker players know that the current situation, where poker playing is legal but owning a poker-playing site is not, is completely unsustainable
There is a grassroots rebellion going on in America when it comes to poker. When the President asked the public to name their top issues through his government website, making Internet poker legal was among the top requests of the American people. The President knows about the popularity of poker -- he is an avid player himself. And he is not alone. Poker is a favorite Washington pastime among members of Congress, Senators, members of the Supreme Court, and even among the news media.
Proponents of a poker ban say it's all about kids, but protecting kids comes not through poorly prosecuted prohibition, but through common-sense regulation. The Poker Players Alliance will hold a forum on Capitol Hill during their fly-in, highlighting the efforts of several companies to make it more difficult - if not impossible - for kids to get access to poker playing sites. But these efforts are all for naught as long as Congress continues this unhelpful ban on American Internet poker companies.
When we come to Washington, we will meet with members of Congress, like Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Peter King of New York, who understand that the best way to protect kids, promote freedom and collect more taxes, is to create a licensed, regulated Internet poker industry in the United States. We will also meet with our opponents, lay our cards on the table and call their bluff.
I have played a lot of poker in my time, so I know a winning hand when I see one. Giving the American people more freedom, collecting more tax revenue for the government, enhancing regulations to protect children, and bringing more common sense to our legal system looks like a Royal Flush to me.
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I say regulate make sure that the internet sites are fair to participants. I would rather our country make money off people gambling than sending it overseas.
Is is OK if I inspect the deck before the deal?
Annie, what's your stake in this?
The Holy game of Poker. A game of skill that should be permitted online so long as any player at the table has no advantage other than his personal skills
The government's stand on online poker is as backward as its stand on marijuana (people enjoy it, so it must be bad.) I am tired of sanctimonious prudes telling me how I can spend my hard-earned money. I've lived responsibly on my own for over 4 decades, and I don't need government protecting me from myself. We've seen how they protect us from ourselves...just take a look at Wall Street.
Make it legal, regulate it, and tax it. People are going to play anyway, so let's keep some of that money to help fund roads, schools, healthcare.
I play nightly. It is a great stress reliever, exercises my mind, and gives immediate feedback on how my skills are developing. Growing up, every big family gathering had several tables of different card games going. As much as I like bridge, it's fallen to "second favorite." In fact, practicing online helped me go home a $500 winner on my last casino trip.
If our representatives only want to gamble with our future and not in online poker rooms, that's their choice. Just don't take away mine to play where some portion of my wagering stays in the US.
See you at the final table one day, Annie!
WHAT WE NEED IN AMERICA IS MANUFACTURING .. JOBS THAT PRODUCE PRODUCTS..PRODUCTS AMERICAN CAN BUY.. PRODUCTS MADE BY AMERICANS.. WHAT DO WE ACHIEVE THATS POSITIVE IN GAMBLIING..MONEY THROWING MOMEY AT MONEY..ONE BIG BAD CIRCLE...A CIRCLE TO NOWHERE
Seconded! Why we don't legalize, tax and control on-line poker, along with maryjane, horse racing in all states, as well as prostitution, is beyond me! There's money to be made, people! I'm so tired of that ages old excuse re poor people becoming addicted to one of these endeavors. That song was sung before Prohibition and all that Act did was increase every illegal activity attached to drinking along with the drinking itself. (Prohibition also firmly entrenched and made wealthy the Mafia in the US!) When something is illegal, people of all ages find it that more attractive. It's human nature! Legalize it and people aren't nearly as interested!
It's been several years since the UIGEA ban. Neither the Internet nor online poker appear to be going away. To the contrary; circuit events and online tournaments are experiencing record breaking participation levels. The government and banks have done jistt about all they can to quash this popular pastime, virtual or otherwise. It's time to face reality and let go of ideology. It's time to regulate the industry.
Based on what I have seen of Annie, which I confess is not a lot, I would take anything she says with a very large grain of salt. She does not appear to be a very nice person.
Annie, you miss the point. All gambling should be illegal, especially Internet gambling.
If Internet gambling is available to me, I'll probably become addicted, lose all my life savings, and end up licking leaves out of the gutter. I'd probably engage in criminal activities. I don't want that!
No, a primary role of government is to protect people from themselves. After all, if the government doesn't do it, who will?
Right, just like government protected us from Wall St.
We could also legalize prostitution and illegal drugs.
One of the many Republican blunders going into the 2008 election was Bill Frist's attaching the UIGA to a port security bill a few years earlier. In truth he was toadying to some casino interests, but he angered the Libertarian internet poker community (without changing anything) along with us lefties that like to play cards on line. It's just this sort of faux moralistic authoritarianism that has shrunk the party down to the Appalachians. Anyone under age 40 has no use for their meddling in people's personal choices. Good riddance to the GOP.
I play online poker every day. When they were going to ban the banks from transferring money I emailed my Senator and told them to regulate and certify sites for fairness.
I don't think most people in congress understand the internet at all. It stopped me from playing about 2 weeks. If the US would certify the sites I would only use those sites. They don't need to tax. Tax to me says the government wants something for nothing.
If the US certifys the sites and try and find holes in the sites security then they can charge for that and keep me and the world safe. Something like what NIST does for FIPS certification (Federal Information Processing Standards Publications).
Certify and protect me don't just tax me.
We're supposed to pay to investigate and monitor some offshore outfit so you can gamble online for free? What am I missing?
Why not also open up gambling in all fifty states? Why is gambling so tightly regulated now?
If casinos paid a 35% 'sin tax' to the government, but were otherwise very lightly regulated and encouraged, the tax revenues flowing into state governments from tourism could be astronomical. I'm sure it would offend Baptist preachers and a few mafiosi in Las Vegas, but it would be a great stimulant to the economy.
I must have played almost every type of gambling game there was from dogs, horses jailai, black jack, craps, baccarret, and variouus types of poker. I lived in Vegas for several years, and played non stop when I had money. Most people believe that the pari muteal games are dishonest, but they swear that the casino games are totally honest because they are regulated. Are they really? For many years we were all told that the mafia had no part of Vegas until it came out that they controlled all of Vegas.
The main reasons people give that casinos are honest is that they make so much money they don't have to cheat. I'll bet everyone thought the same about Wall Street bankers. In Vegas they used to pay 3-2 on black jacks. The casinos changed the rules and now pay 6-5 on black jacks. This one small rule change increases the house advantage enormously. So much so, that it is virtually impossible for card counters to win let alone the regular player.
They still pay 3-2 when there is a shoe. The 6-5 is only for single deck, and even then there are modified rules that allow doubling down on any two cards, when the odds are like that.
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