October 3rd, 2014
By Poker Players Alliance
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Weekly Update from Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations
G2E Highlights and Lowlights
This past week, Las Vegas played host to the largest gaming conference in North America. The Global Gaming Expo (G2E), organized by the American Gaming Association, brings together vendors, suppliers and casino operators from all over the gaming landscape. PPA Executive Director John Pappas was among the nearly 30,000 attendees. He spent a majority of time networking and sharing the player perspective with gaming executives and the media. He also attended several panels to discuss trends in iGaming and the future of the industry.
Over the past few months, the industry has been marked by some major acquisitions. For poker players, the Amaya Gaming purchase of PokerStars was intriguing news, and it vaulted Amaya into the position of the world’s largest Internet gaming company. Other significant acquisitions include Scientific Games acquiring Bally Technologies and GTech’s purchase of IGT. Consolidation in the industry signals that companies are positioning themselves for the interactive and mobile wave of online gaming. While it has been slow coming in the United States, most gaming companies are preparing for the future US market and are already taking advantage of the overseas online gaming markets. Several high-profile gaming executives made it very clear they welcome Internet poker and plan to embrace its future.
There were of course some notable exceptions. Two executives gave keynote addresses at G2E where they touted their opposition to Internet poker and other online gaming. On Tuesday, Steve Wynn told a standing room only audience that he would “take a pass” on online gaming. He cited his concern that governments would tax it too much, therefore taking away any business incentive to offer online gaming. This view was not new for Wynn, but he took his G2E remarks further than before and he repeatedly stated his support for anti-poker Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson. I encourage you to read Howard Stutz’s piece in the Las Vegas Review Journal recapping Wynn’s keynote address.
The following day, Sheldon Adelson took center stage and, not surprisingly, placed online poker in his crosshairs. Again, in front of a packed room, Mr. Adelson returned to some of his tired talking points about turning every phone in America into a casino. He left many in the audience agape when he brazenly said that there is “no way to know your customer on the Internet.” It’s a certainty that the entire eCommerce industry would take exception to such a comment. He also made several comments about the dangers of online gambling to the “working and lower class” which left most in the audience scratching their heads, wondering if Mr. Adelson had forgotten his ownership of casinos worldwide. Steve Ruddock wrote an excellent examination of Adelson’s remarks for Bluff and you can read them by clicking here.
It may be easy for the poker community to dismiss Adelson’s comments as hypocritical drivel. But sitting in that room on Wednesday evening, one could clearly see his determination to ban our game. He truly intends to spend, or do, whatever it takes to ban Internet poker. While some have said his speech simply reaffirmed his opposition, it should also reaffirm our resolve to fight back. We cannot sit idly by and let the misinformed and misguided force a public policy that takes away our freedoms and makes consumers less safe.
Want to help fight back? Join the PPA today!
Take Action
Let’s all take a moment to tell our lawmakers to support online poker licensing via the all-new prewritten, fully editable letter to Congress and President Obama. Simply click the button below (or here). In just thirty seconds, you can send this email directly to the inboxes of all your elected federal representatives.
Webcast: Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny
On this week’s Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny webcast, Gabriela Hill stepped in as guest host. Gabriela hosted Poker After Dark on Discovery Channel in Spanish-speaking Latin America. Prior to that, she hosted the World Series of Poker on ESPN Latin America and ESPN Deportes for several years.
Gabriela was joined by PPA MN State Director Mike Qualley. You won’t want to miss this!
- Directly downloadable MP3 file (right click to save, left click to listen)
- Free iTunes download
Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny airs live Monday at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on OnTilt Radio. Each show features great guests and the best discussion on poker legislation. Please be sure to tune in at www.ontiltradio.com each week for the live show.
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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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The Poker Players AllianceDedicated to Protecting America’s Favorite Card Game The Poker Players Alliance is a nonprofit membership organization comprised of poker players and enthusiasts from around the United States who have joined together to speak with one voice to promote the game and to protect poker players’ rights. Visit us at theppa.org
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