All this arguing
 

between the players and the rulemakers. Both sides aggravate me. The players are convinced they're right, and the rulemakers don't care. Both sides are wrong, not because they stand for, but by how they approach the situation. The players should find a way to make the rulemakers care. And no, I don't mean picketing or writing letters, or demanding rights. That type of effort will take years and years to come to fruition.

I think the players need to sell the idea of online casinos to politicians.



Online "gambling" is a goldmine that is producing nowhere near its full potential. And I am dumbfounded that politicians would inhibit this.

Don't any politicians have foresight? Can't they see the absurd amount of MONEY waiting to be tapped in these online casinos that are no different, morally speaking, the bricks&mortar casinos? And the charisma to spread this idea among other rulemakers, and start the ball rolling?

If only I were in a position of power...
I'd get together a team of programmers, lawyers, casino owners, other investors, etc. And I would rebuild online poker from the ground up, re-thinking every detail and improving on the current state. Of course it would all just be ideas on paper... but the idea would sell itself.

A symbiotic relationship needs to develop. Kinda like what iTunes did for music piracy. The taxes/rake should be minor enough that players are comfortable paying for the service of online casinos. And the service needs to be impeccable --

We players are, after all, a goldmine. We need to be nurtured, caressed, coaxed out of our money. This is already a reality in bricks&mortar casinos. And it will be a reality online ... sooner or later.


Someone better equipped than I needs to make this vision a reality by starting from here:
Step 1: Creating the perfect team.
Step 2: The team creates a model of online poker that satisfies the rulemakers and the players.
Step 3: The visionary brings people to his cause and makes it happen.

Re: All this arguing
 

Nice post - I think the B&M casinos or (Google, Yahoo, etc.) need to be convinced on the billions of dollars they are missing out on - they need a visionary like a non-mob affliated Bugsy Siegal. They have much more political sway than any player organizations. Vegas needs to sell the idea of online poker/casinos to politicans by lobbying behind them.

Who\'s arguing?
 

Interesting post. It's good to think about the bigger picture. Still, I do disagree with your ideas concerning not writing letters.

Unfortunately, many people aren't sold on the potential profits of the industry. They either think gambling is wrong, or they believe it causes society more harm than good. And, they lump poker in with that. Many politicians either believe this, or they believe their constituents believe this. For them, we need to call and write not to argue with them (we never have). Rather, we want them to know that we believe what we believe, and that we vote.

Others may be brought around by the opportunities. I did use this argument when meeting with Congress earlier this week. The idea won't sell itself. We, however, may sell ourselves if we fight back hard enough.

Re: All this arguing
 

[ QUOTE ]
Vegas needs to sell the idea of online poker/casinos to politicans by lobbying behind them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why isn't Vegas doing this? Vegas casino owners probably have more clout than anyone else (because of their $$ combined with their experience).

I would guess that the Vegas bigwigs are content where they are, reluctant to change... so, most likely, they fear online poker because they think it will steal their business. What dangerous, flawed thinking.

Major record labels thought the same way when they feared mp3s, and saw legal domination as their only option. Then some smart folks came along and capitalized through iTunes...

I'm just waiting for the next round of Vegas bigwigs to come along, people who grew up on the internet like I did and know its future (you think emailing/blogging/searchengines/etc are important now, wait 10-20 years and the internet will become the backbone of almost all societies).

Re: Who\'s arguing?
 

[ QUOTE ]

Unfortunately, many people aren't sold on the potential profits of the industry. They either think gambling is wrong, or they believe it causes society more harm than good. And, they lump poker in with that. Many politicians either believe this, or they believe their constituents believe this. For them, we need to call and write not to argue with them (we never have). Rather, we want them to know that we believe what we believe, and that we vote.

Others may be brought around by the opportunities. I did use this argument when meeting with Congress earlier this week. The idea won't sell itself. We, however, may sell ourselves if we fight back hard enough.

[/ QUOTE ]


It's good to read posts like this because they ground me. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Voting and letters are important...

As for gambling being wrong... I'm 25 now, but grew up as a PC gamer. I'm not sure if anyone else has recognized this, but there is a fundamental connection between online poker and pc games.

Lots of the great players of monumental computer games (like Starcraft, Warcraft 3, Counterstrike Source) have become poker players. I.e., Rainkhan, Tillerman. It's like the next step in their love of gaming... and they make a hell of a lot more $$ doing this than playing old pc game tournaments. --- And it's really obvious to us that "online gaming" will continue to expand over the years and become something that many people do.

There are a bunch of online gaming communities that will eventually merge into one really big one.

And online poker will, hopefully, evolve away from the "gambling" realm and into the "pc gaming" realm. I honestly think it will, but it might take awhile...



Btw, thank you both for replying. I wasn't sure anyone would...

Re: Who\'s arguing?
 

[ QUOTE ]
The players should find a way to make the rulemakers care. And no, I don't mean picketing or writing letters, or demanding rights. That type of effort will take years and years to come to fruition.
I think the players need to sell the idea of online casinos to politicians.
Online "gambling" is a goldmine that is producing nowhere near its full potential. And I am dumbfounded that politicians would inhibit this.
Don't any politicians have foresight? Can't they see the absurd amount of MONEY waiting to be tapped in these online casinos that are no different, morally speaking, the bricks&mortar casinos?

[/ QUOTE ]
Your ideas are a little naive since you need to realize there is a signifcant part of the population that opposes unfettered gambling on moral grounds. They feel it is bad for us, like drugs. There is an absurd amount of money to be made by pushing heroin, to make an extreme example. I don't expect politicians to start doing that anytime soon though.

Re: All this arguing
 

[ QUOTE ]
Don't any politicians have foresight?

[/ QUOTE ]

No. Nor do 99% of the people who vote for them.