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Weekly Update from Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations
With the introduction of two federal online poker bills and with many states contemplating following New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware’s lead by passing legislation to authorize our game, our issue is gaining traction — and significant attention. We saw this last week, with the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance hearing on Internet poker and Internet casino-style gaming.
As I mentioned last week, the hearing, entitled “The Expansion of Internet Gambling: Assessing Consumer Protection Concerns,” included quite a bit of fear mongering and some substance. Fortunately, every concern raised at the hearing would be best addressed through licensing and regulation, so please take a moment to join with your fellow poker enthusiasts to let them know.
Take Action
Let’s be sure to reach out to the members of the subcommittee. They are paying attention now, as they are still gauging public reaction to the hearing. If you use Twitter, please take a moment to send a prefilled, editable poker tweet to each subcommittee member: HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, & HERE. Thanks!
The Threat is Real
The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and its parent, Las Vegas Sands Corp., are actively lobbying Congress to strip you of your right to play poker on the Internet. Not only are they fighting both federal online poker licensing bills…they are lobbying for a federal ban on all online poker anywhere in the US!
In a recent Forbes editorial, and again in an interview with BloombergTV, Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson made it clear that he and Las Vegas Sands believe Americans cannot be trusted to play games of skill like poker on the Internet – even online poker licensed and regulated by the same U.S. regulators who regulate Las Vegas Sands’ casinos!
Las Vegas Sands Corp. even created StopInternetGambling.com, an effort dedicated to stripping this freedom from you!
The fight for our poker rights is a challenging one, and Las Vegas Sands’ opposition makes it that much harder. We need your help to overcome this latest hurdle. While casino mogul Sheldon Adelson may have billions of dollars to spend attacking your rights, he does not have millions of Americans supporting his efforts and advocating for his position. We may never match his resources, but our voices together will always be louder than his alone.
With a strong, well-funded organization, we can continue to take the fight to our opponents. Please help us all stay on the offensive and keep the momentum growing for poker in all its forms (Internet, card room, social, charity, home, etc.) at the federal, state, and local levels.
To help win the fight, will you upgrade to a paid membership or, if you are a paid member already, consider making a donation to PPA? If you have not sent your dues to PPA this year, I ask that you please do so today. Thank you!
Webcast: ‘Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny’
The Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny webcast airs each Monday at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on OnTilt Radio. This week’s show featured a terrific interview with Poker Player Newspaper’s Wendeen Eolis! It is available as a directly downloadable MP3 file (right-click to save, left click to listen) or as a free iTunes download. I hope you find it interesting and informative.
Next Monday’s show will feature great guests and the best discussion on poker legislation anywhere. Please be sure to tune in each week for the live show!
Interview archives:
- Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny: show archive, free iTunes download
- Fifth Street Radio PPA Weekly Update: site archive, free iTunes download
Social Media
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Thank you for your continued support!
The PPA wishes to keep active members like yourself updated on the latest poker advocacy news by periodically sending out select events and headlines. We hope you find it informative and thank you for your continuing support.
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