[Skallagrim]

As I have stated before, in no way am I against legal sports betting, and I do think that serious sports bettors are engaged in an activity of skill.

Their problem isnt the skill argument, their problem is the general consensus in this country that sports betting is BAD FOR SPORTS. The leading proponent of this argument is the very powerful sports leagues themselves - thats why there is an opt out provision for them in the Frank bill.

Given the leagues' political clout, there is no way sports betting will be made legal in this country anytime soon (unless the WTO sanctions are huge - and even then I worry that the leagues are powerful enough to force Congress to adopt the other out: all online gambling, including Horse racing and even state lotteries, becomes illegal).

I see no reason for the PPA or us poker players to take on sports betting's powerful enemies. So concentrating on POKER legislation is the smart move for us.

That sports bettors get upset when I say this is now routine...but too bad. We have enough difficulty getting our legislation moving forward (even though thanks mostly to the PPA, and to small extent our skill games argument, we are truly seeing positive results there, like the growing support of the Wexler bill mentioned above). One task we have no need to take on is convincing the general public and the legislators that legal sports betting would ALSO be good for America. If sports bettors can do that themselves, good for them.

Skallagrim