Senator Feinstein .... how about a concerted effort from Californians
 

Senator Feinstein has come out against online poker players and for HR4411.

How about a concerted effort from California poker players to ask her to back off ? Remind her that poker is a game of skill in California, tell her how much you enjoy playing, et cetera.

How about the PPA getting in touch with her directly, if it has not done so ?

Re: Senator Feinstein .... how about a concerted effort from Californi
 

True,

Have you made this suggestion to PPA?

Who gets a response from the PPA ?
 

The PPA ? Who is that ?

Seriously, I have no idea what their strategy is, if they have any. Nor how they expect to lobby this. I am afraid they have no strategy, nor political savvy, nor real plans to help online poker.

The Chronicle article was downright discouraging. It may be that the head of the PPA luckboxed his way into the industry lobbyist role and is simply enjoying 15 minutes of press fame ... a conceit not alien to the poker world.

Re: Who gets a response from the PPA ?
 

[ QUOTE ]
The PPA ? Who is that ?

Seriously, I have no idea what their strategy is, if they have any. Nor how they expect to lobby this. I am afraid they have no strategy, nor political savvy, nor real plans to help online poker.

The Chronicle article was downright discouraging. It may be that the head of the PPA luckboxed his way into the industry lobbyist role and is simply enjoying 15 minutes of press fame ... a conceit not alien to the poker world.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is pretty unfair. Granted, I'd like for the PPA to be a bit more explicit in terms of what it's doing. But, we're now in a position where there are reportedly multiple holds on the bill, some of which are probably the result of lobbying pressure. I don't pretend to know whether they're the result of PPA's lobbying pressure in particular -- odds are that they aren't -- but given the late start that the PPA got and how much intertia there was behind the bill, I think that's a pretty good result. In the near term, this is how the bill gets defeated. And it probably will be defeated; I think the markets have been a bit too pessimistic ever since the news about the holds emerged.

In the longer term, yes, some bigger-picture strategy is needed. In particular, PPA needs to focus on (1) garnering support for the study bill, and particularly making sure that it hits the floor next year before another version of Goodlatte/Leach does; (2) establishing that poker is a game of skill and deserves to be treated differently from house games or sports betting. That ordering is intentional, by the way; I think (1) is the more pragmatic medium-term approach than (2). But either way, we've got to plug the levees before we can drain the city.

Re: Senator Feinstein .... how about a concerted effort from Californians
 

She's too busy serving her Zionist buddies to serve the American people.

Re: Who gets a response from the PPA ?
 

"I think this is pretty unfair"

You may be right. They did do a nice piece on Regulate and Tax, which would be useful next year, if we make it that far.

They have done little, if any, visible grass roots effort, other than collecting a fee. They did issue a press release during the WSOP, but it was about holding a cocktail party for themselves. The missed opportunities abound, their efforts must be so deeply running so as not to cause a ripple.

This "lobbying" group has a reported 75,000 + dues paying members .... Where is the grassroots campaign ? They talk about their numbers, but how effective is their organizing ?