November 12th, 2007
The last legislative news that appeared on PocketFives.com concerned the Poker Players Alliance
Fly In event, a three day affair that brought around 100 PPA members
from across the United States to Washington to meet with their members
of Congress and staffs about the major bills concerning online poker.
The event was a rousing success and received major national media
attention. Within only a few weeks, the fruits of the PPA’s labor can
be seen.
This is a huge step for online poker’s future. PocketFives.com sat down
with PPA Executive Director John Pappas to get all the details.
Pappas comments on why
the Justice Department is holding a hearing about internet gaming in
the first place: “The PPA can take credit for this hearing as a result
of the fly in event we just held. The Judiciary Committee has always
been interested in the issue, but we weren’t able to get them motivated
to talk about it. We talked with Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) along
with some of our poker pros during the fly in. He pledged to hold a
hearing and we’re pleased that’s it’s happening.” If you haven’t read
PocketFives’ wrap-up of the PPA Fly In event, you should bring yourself
up to speed. Click here to read the article.
Specific names appearing
at the hearing have not yet been officially released, but you can
expect a witness who is an expert on WTO policy, a representative from
the Department of the Treasury, a representative from the Department of
Justice, as well as one Congressman on each side of the issue. Poker
pro and PocketFiver Annie Duke will also be in attendance as a witness.
Pappas expects hard-hitting questions: “Our goal is to have members of
Congress to ask tough questions of the Department of Justice
representative about their inconsistent enforcement of internet gaming.
We also want them to point to the statute that they used to claim that
playing internet poker is illegal. The WTO Expert is there to incite
both free trade Republicans and Democrats to action in order to
preserve our trading status and fulfill our WTO obligations. In
addition, we want to demonstrate there is appropriate and viable age
verification software out there. Finally, for Annie Duke, our goal is
to distinguish poker as something different than other forms of gaming,
show that it’s a skill game, and address the civil liberties issue.”
Chairman Conyers has
been a supporter of internet gambling regulation. He signed on this
week as a Co-Sponsor of Congressman Robert Wexler’s (D-FL) Skill Game
Protection Act. Pappas comments, “Chairman Conyers believes UIGEA is a
terrible bill and that regulation is a good approach. I wouldn’t be
surprised if, somewhere down the road, he introduces his own
legislation.”
This is a giant leap for
the PPA: “It’s one of many successes for the PPA. We’ve had bills
introduced as well as hearings, but our ultimate goal is to have a
vote.” Pappas described the timing of the Judiciary Committee’s
hearing as “expedited” and the PPA has been working feverishly over the
past week to make sure the appropriate message is relayed within the
chambers of the Rayburn Office Building. The PPA has been prepping
members of Congress to ask the questions that will help clarify poker’s
future. What’s next is uncertain: “A hearing is just one step in the
process,” says Pappas. A vote may still be quite some time away, but
this is an important initial step to take.
The hearing on
Wednesday, November 14th, at 10:00am is open to the public, so if
you’re a concerned poker player, make your way to 2141 Rayburn House
Office Building. Pappas believes the hearing will be packed, so you’re
encouraged to get there early.
Click here to go to the article.
Author Contact Info: Dan Cypra , Pocketfives.com
