Latest PPA alert. Take action this week!

[Benjamin]

Below is the latest missive from the Poker Players Alliance. I'm going to call my Rep today. He's a hard core property rights, pro business Republican. I plan to frame this as a State's rights issue, as a right to privacy issue, a pursuit of happiness issue, a free market issue, and a revenue issue. Unfortunately he is in bed with the 'family values' element of the Republican party which caters to the Christian churches, who generally like to prohibit behaviors they don't approve of.

B.

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Dear PPA Member:

Thank you for standing with the Poker Players Alliance to protect poker. Our voices are being heard in Washington, D.C. Over the past few weeks more than 15 thousand letters have been sent to Capitol Hill telling Congress to keep poker legal. We believe this has helped to slow the bill down, but the U.S. House of Representatives is poised to vote on the online gambling prohibition as early as July 11th.

This week (July 2 – 9), the U.S. House is on Congressional recess and most Representatives are working from their offices back in your state. Now is a good time to call your Representative’s local office and tell them to oppose, H.R. 4777, the Internet Gaming Prohibition Act.

How do I call my Representative?

Simple. Click here.
Then using your zip code you can find your Representative.

What do I say?

Rep. XXX, should oppose H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.

Regulation of online poker is a more sensible solution than an outright ban.

Rep. XX should become a cosponsor of H.R. 5474. This bill requires Congress to objectively examine how Internet gambling can be regulated and taxed rather than driven underground.

Americans know that prohibitions don’t work. Congress should ensure that I can continue to enjoy poker on the Internet in a safe and regulated environment and not make the same mistake.

Telling American adults how to use their hard-earned money, whether on e-bay or on playing internet poker is not the federal government’s job, and I object to Rep XXX deputizing banks to monitor my debits and credits.

Again, it is essential that you make your voice heard. Please call!

Sincerely,

Michael Bolcerek, president
Poker Players Alliance




If you can not see the image above, click the link below or copy and paste into your browser.
http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/alerts/alert_070406.html

[Benjamin]

I spoke with a staffer of Representative Charles Taylor, R-NC, who informed me that Taylor supported the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. He politely listened to my arguments about privacy, states rights, the free market, and revenue raising opportunities. He said he would share my sentiments with the Congressman. I appealed to him again that, as a conservative, these issues would resonate with Taylor, he thanked me, said he'd pass it on, and we said goodbye.

B.

[ChrisAJ]

[ QUOTE ]
I spoke with a staffer of Representative Charles Taylor, R-NC, who informed me that Taylor supported the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. He politely listened to my arguments about privacy, states rights, the free market, and revenue raising opportunities. He said he would share my sentiments with the Congressman. I appealed to him again that, as a conservative, these issues would resonate with Taylor, he thanked me, said he'd pass it on, and we said goodbye.

B.

[/ QUOTE ]

How's the Cherokee casino's request for a Class III (I think) license coming along? That's in his district...

[Benjamin]

[ QUOTE ]
How's the Cherokee casino's request for a Class III (I think) license coming along? That's in his district...

[/ QUOTE ]
The Governor's office and the Cherokee negotiated early this year, couldn't come to agreement, and broke off negotiations for now. The Gov. was apparently asking for more money than the Cherokee wanted to pay.

B.

[Dale]

Why should the PPA be taken seriously as a lobbying organization? The first time I ever heard of them, they were offering a deposit bonus...a deposit bonus??

How can a lobbying organization that pays its members to be in it be taken seriously? I sure don't, because it's hard for me to imagine that legislators that know about this would, either.

[Berge20]

That's a fair question, but as a group, poker players have never organized in any manner such as this in the past and it certainly required some insentive to get the ball rolling. Once they are involved, I think they begin to understand the importance of being involved.

I was concerned at first, but after seeing their efforts first hand over the course of the past few months I have

[Benjamin]

[ QUOTE ]
Why should the PPA be taken seriously as a lobbying organization? The first time I ever heard of them, they were offering a deposit bonus...a deposit bonus??

How can a lobbying organization that pays its members to be in it be taken seriously? I sure don't, because it's hard for me to imagine that legislators that know about this would, either.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't care if the PPA is taken seriously as a lobbying organization at this time. They are neophytes, and they show it. I do care about rallying poker players to contact their government on this issue, and the PPA is helping me do it.

I see them as a grass-roots, call-to-action, type organization more than as a direct lobbying organization.

I have never once mentioned PPA when I have contacted Congress. We are being asked to contact Congress as individuals, not as PPA reps.

And when I get emails in my box telling me to call Congress because they may vote on the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act next week, I feel like the $20 I sent them was well spent. Because, I'm sure that calls are being made and letters being sent, from constituent to Congressperson, as a direct result of the PPA being in existence.

I urge everyone to take advantage of the PPA bonus on Party. So what if Party is partially underwriting the PPA as a result? People are getting signed up to get those emails, and PPA is getting the funds to continue being an activist organization trying to legalize poker.

I don't know if the PPA will stand the test of time and still be a viable activist organization in 10 years. But I know that nobody else is taking visible action to organize opposition to the threat of a federal prohibition of online gambling at this time.

As the only horse in the race, they have my backing.

B.

[Ribsauce]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How's the Cherokee casino's request for a Class III (I think) license coming along? That's in his district...

[/ QUOTE ]
The Governor's office and the Cherokee negotiated early this year, couldn't come to agreement, and broke off negotiations for now. The Gov. was apparently asking for more money than the Cherokee wanted to pay.

B.

[/ QUOTE ]

I like how North Carolina had 1 billion more than they thought, so they blew it all on stuff instead of decreasing taxes, refunding it, or whatever, and then do stuff like this and demand more money.

They blew a billion dollar surplus earlier this year like it was nothing, and now are crying about money troubles again.

[Dale]

Excellent idea not to mention the PPA when calling legislators.

Ciaffone has an organization devoted to state laws, but don't know about its visibility or effectiveness.