In January, the Poker Players Alliance, the online poker industry’s main lobbying arm in Washington, D.C., sent an e-mail to its membership calling on individuals to step up and become a State Director. The newsletter, authored by PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato, summed up why the State Directors program was so important: “I can tell you from my own political experience that there is no more important mission for the PPA than to have a strong, vocal and coordinated grassroots effort. With 2008 being a major election year, it is even more pressing that the PPA become a player in the key battleground states and districts.” Flash forward to February, when the State Directors program is officially taking shape. PocketFives.com sat down with PPA Executive Director John Pappas to learn more about this critical campaign.

Pappas was blown away by the response the PPA received from members willing and able to step up and take on a more active role: “The deadline for State Director applications closed at the end of January. We thought we’d receive around 400 applications and ended up getting over 1,000. We’ve been trying to sort through those and hope to place everyone soon. We’ll start contacting people with follow ups shortly. We would have liked to have already notified people by now, but due to the volume, it hasn’t happened yet.”

Receiving three times the number of expected applications is quite a feat, even for an organization that weighs in at 930,000 members. Pappas comments on the overwhelming response: “There’s a real interest by our members to be more active. We hear from people a lot who say they want to be more active in the cause. The State Directors are going to get special access to the PPA’s resources and special incentives in our organization, so these are people who are interested in doing more than the average citizen.”

So what will these new recruits be doing? They’ll be the PPA’s “men in the field” on the state level, exposing new people to the organization and expanding membership. They’ll serve as media liaisons to local outlets and organize events. The responsibilities they are charged with are not small in scope, so the PPA sought out members with political backgrounds. Pappas explains, “We have a good mix of college students, a lot of attorneys, and really what we were looking for were people with grassroots campaign experience. Many have worked on political campaigns. One applicant led a community group who stopped a prison from being built in his neighborhood. Those were the type of people we were really interested in. The pool was a vast spectrum of people, just like the poker community is. There were men, women, young, and old who responded. We’ll have a good mix in every state.”

If you’re reading about the State Directors program for the first time, you may find yourself wanting to get involved as well. Although the Directors themselves have been assigned, special committees will be formed at the state level for those who are interested. To sum up Pappas’ thoughts, “We’re not going to run anyone away from being involved whether we give them the title of State Director or not. The other applicants from that state would be ideal for committees.”

Each State Director’s arsenal will include a PPA-registered e-mail address, access to a special home page for their state (which essentially becomes ground zero for state information), support and training by the PPA’s star-studded staff and board members, and the ability to e-mail all PPA members in their states with a click of a button.

Last August, the PPA launched an initiative called the August Advocate program, which was designed to mobilize the PPA army while Congressmen were in their home districts for the August recess. Pappas compares the State Directors program to the August Advocates: “The organization has grown since then. The August Advocate program was a one month campaign that was specific to the Congressional August recess. We were engaging our membership to go to meetings and events and write and call the district offices. Our members attended a large number of meetings and our Advocates found success raising the issues at certain events. We’ll likely do something similar this year.”

The success of both the membership numbers of the PPA and the State Directors program bodes well for the online poker legislation currently awaiting its turn in Congress.

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If you’re like me, you set the Tivo to record Lost and the Celebrity Apprentice on Thursday night and buckled down to watch the final debate between Democratic Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton before Super Tuesday. Next week will feature nearly half of the United States voting for one of the five front-running candidates. With a critical issue like the future of online poker hanging in the balance, it’s important to catch yourself up to speed on the candidates’ standpoints. PocketFives.com went straight to the source for objective information: Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas. The PPA sent out 300,000 e-mails early Friday morning to members in states that vote on Tuesday.

Democratic Ticket
On the Democratic side, voters will choose between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Hillary Clinton
Clinton, according to the PPA e-mail, “has recently expressed that she supports the industry’s position: to study Internet gambling to see whether it can be fairly regulated so that individuals can safely participate in it and American businesses can compete in the international market.”

Pappas comments to PocketFives about Clinton’s willingness to study the issue: “An open mind to regulation is something we won’t frown upon. The PPA’s position has always been that a study is nice, but regulation is better. Other countries have gone down the path of regulation and so there really isn’t that much to study. The reality is that politicians like to point to something as a reason to support it. Clinton’s study could be what they need to support regulation.”

Barack Obama
Barack Obama was elected Senator from Illinois in 2004. The PPA e-mail and an article in the Las Vegas Sun newspaper state that Obama “has recently expressed that he worries that the Internet is ‘a Wild West of illegal activity,’ and supports a study of Internet gambling and supports regulation to address the worst abuses.”

He certainly does not provide as ringing of an endorsement for a study as Clinton, but as Pappas points out, “One of the interesting things is that he’s a renowned poker player. He was known to play in regular games when he served in State Legislature in Illinois. From my understanding, he still plays and still enjoys the challenge of the game. There’s an opportunity to have him understand the difference between poker and gaming against the house. The latter seems to be where his concerns with gambling have been.”

Republican Ticket
On the Republican side, the debate centers around three candidates: Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and Mitt Romney.

Mike Huckabee
Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, has the most negative views towards online gambling of any Presidential candidate. The PPA’s e-mail highlights Huckabee’s response to a questionnaire from the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling: “Last year, Congress voted overwhelming to criminalize most forms of Internet gambling. This year some members of Congress are promoting legislation to legalize Internet gambling. If such legislation passed, would you veto it? Huckabee answered ‘yes.’”

Pappas, however, doesn’t believe that Huckabee’s stance against online gaming is permanent: “He has an evangelical background. Their stance typically isn’t in favor of gambling whether it’s regulated or not. We believe that whether or not you like gambling, the way to deal with it is to regulate it, not to tell people they can’t do it and drive it underground. Politicians change their minds as the political winds blow. As the PPA grows in power and people begin going to the polls caring about this issue, viewpoints can change.”

John McCain
Arizona Senator John McCain recently picked up an endorsement from PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato (who supports McCain on his own, not as a representative of the PPA). The former Senator from New York knows McCain well. According to the PPA press release, McCain is on the fence on online gambling: “The New Hampshire Republican primary winner does not have a specific position on Internet poker, but does appear to have been influenced by his fellow Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, who is a vigorous opponent of our rights. McCain, however, has always been willing to consider both sides of an issue and may simply need to know how strongly PPA members feel.”

Pappas is not concerned about D’Amato’s support of McCain. In fact, he views it as an important opportunity: “He knew McCain; they served together in the Senate. He believes McCain has qualities to be a strong leader for America. I can only hope that, should McCain be elected, we’d have some insight into his thought process. If you have someone that’s on the fence on your issue, then what better way to educate him than to surround him with people that understand the benefits of regulation, like D’Amato? We have a great open door to be able to engage him on the issue.”

Mitt Romney
Finally, Mitt Romney is in contention for the Republican nomination. The former governor of Massachusetts lacks a “formal position” on online poker. However, according to the PPA release, Romney “has contorted his issue positions wildly in a bid to gain support from social conservatives. As part of that effort, Romney tapped Tom Coates, Vice President, Truth About Gambling, Iowa, to his ‘Faith and Values Steering Committee.’ Coates, in turn, is vigorously opposed to gaming of any sort.”

Altering a candidate’s stance on certain issues is common in this stage of a primary, notes Pappas, since candidates are desperately seeking their party’s nomination: “The idea that a candidate has a values committee isn’t unusual, either. There’s a certain segment of the populous that is evangelical. Many Republicans are going to cater to that populous to gain the party’s vote. It’s difficult to nail down a candidate’s position until we figure out who our final two candidates are. Right now, the nominating process is about pandering to special interests.”

If you’re in a state that holds a primary on Super Tuesday, February 5th, then get out to the polls and vote. We’ve given several resources below for you to check out and educate yourself further on each candidate.

Election Resources
Clinton Website: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/
Obama Website: http://www.barackobama.com/
Huckabee Website: http://www.mikehuckabee.com/
John McCain: http://www.johnmccain.com/
Mitt Romney: http://www.mittromney.com/

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You might have noticed a new addition to PocketFives.com. You can find it on the left hand menu of the site, right next to the words you’re reading. It’s the Poker Legislation Forum and it’s the place to find all of the news and analysis of the online poker bills that will affect your life in the near future. Headed into 2008, it’s the main goal of the Poker Players Alliance to pass one of the pending pieces of legislation currently awaiting their turn in Congress. PocketFives.com is working hand in hand with the PPA to bring the latest from the legislative front to your fingertips.

PPA Executive Director John Pappas talks about what the forum means to his lobbying force: “It’s a good outlet for us. We believe that all poker players should become engaged politically. What better way to become involved than through forums. We appreciate that PocketFives.com has added the Poker Legislation forum.” The PPA has ballooned to 850,000 members, many of whom are PocketFivers who have stepped up to the plate to become involved politically.

What can you expect when you check out the Legislative Forum? Pappas hopes to enrich your mind: “I think it’s an opportunity to share news that people might not necessarily read in the mainstream press. It’s also a place for us to share insights as to how our lobbying efforts are going and to provide updates. We want to make sure that there’s enough information provided in the forums so that people who want to act on their own can go to Poker Legislation forum, get briefed up on the issues and talking points, and then go ahead and write or call a member themselves.” Right now, you can find a list of 16 Congressmen who submitted comments on the UIGEA regulations against the online poker cause, a discussion of why anyone would be against online poker in the first place, and a chance to win a full-sized PPA poker table.

At the forefront of the Poker Legislation forum is Rich Muny, known as TheEngineer. He’s been involved on the poker front independently for quite a while. Pappas explains how he became involved with the PPA: “He came to me after posting in various forums and writing letters to Congressmen and carbon-copying us on them. He’s bright, articulate, and passionate. This is the type of person we like to harness. I reached out to Rich and asked him to be on our Board of Directors. He represents the ‘Average Joe’ poker player. I thought it’d be a good way to broaden our Board and bring a passionate person into our inner circle. This is all voluntary for him. It’s all on his own time and volition. He and I discuss strategy and ideas regularly every week.”

PocketFives.com Co-Founder Adam Small talks about how the forum came to be: “We wanted to step up and create a forum where people could not only discuss legislation, but also hear regularly from those who are the best informed on these issues such as the Poker Players Alliance. A lot of this information is difficult for people to find on their own and we now have a central location where people can get their questions answered and also hear about current events that they might otherwise not have known about.” PocketFives has worked hand in hand with the PPA on several initiatives in the past, including the Phone March on Washington and Write Your Congressman Day when the UIGEA originally took shape.

One of the efforts you’ll see touted in the Poker Legislation forum in the near future is a 2008 voter registration campaign. With an election year looming, the PPA is out to mobilize its membership base to get out to the polls. Pappas comments, “The PPA will be rolling out a voter registration campaign in 10 to 20 key Presidential swing states. Part of our offering for 2008 is a congressional scorecard, so when people go into elections in 2008, they’ll know where the candidates stand on the online gaming issue.”

Small claims there are big things ahead that will make the newly-developed forum even better: “I expect there to be a lot of information there all the time and, in time, it will be the place where people know to look if they want up-to-date information on poker legislation. I expect people to be able to find more information in this forum than anywhere else on the net about the ongoing efforts to better the legal landscape for poker players everywhere.”

There’s a ton of information and debate in the Poker Legislation forum. You’d be amiss if you didn’t check it out. After all, it’s your future at stake. Visit the Poker Legislation forum today by clicking here.

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Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) made waves at the 2007 World Series of Poker. He stepped into the Amazon Room on Day 1-D and was met with a mountain of applause. He came in support of the Skill Game Protection Act, known in the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 2610. The bill does something that should excite each and every person in the United States that enjoys playing online poker – It carves out an exemption for games of skill. In Wexler’s bill, that means games like poker and chess, where competition is between players and not against the house. Introduced last month, the bill awaits its time in committee and eventually debate on the House floor. Wexler took time to discuss the Skill Game Protection Act on the PocketFives.com Podcast.
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Every good business survives by reaching out to its target audience. You have to market your products to your customers and show them you’re the best around. The Poker Players Alliance went straight to its audience this past week, the 6,300 participants in the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event, to show the poker world what a class act it has become. Bringing a group of staff that included former three-time Senator from New York and current PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato, the organization hit the ground running at the Rio. It’s paid off recently as well. The Poker Players Alliance has grown to well over 600,000 members, a number that has ballooned rapidly in recent days. Not too bad for an industry group that stood at 100,000 members last fall.
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About one year ago, PocketFives.com had Michael Bolcerek, President of the Poker Players Alliance, on its weekly Podcast. One of the very first political guests the show ever had, Bolcerek spoke about his plans to build something at the time most people probably didn’t think was possible – a formidable lobbying force composed of online poker players. Fast forward one year to May, 2007, and you’ll see that the PPA is nearing the half million member mark. Driven largely by no-cost memberships and the arrival of former Republican Senator Alfonse D’Amato as its Chairman, the PPA’s membership has quadrupled in recent months. PocketFives.com sat down with PPA President Michael Bolcerek during a busy day on Capitol Hill to discuss this explosive growth.
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Washington D.C.(June 12, 2006) – The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), a grassroots organization of 27,000 American poker players, today announced that it is working with a leading online poker forum,PocketFives.com, to send thousands of messages to Congress prior to a vote the would ban online poker.
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