[TheEngineer]

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The high probability is that Franks/Weixler doesn't pass this year. In fact if you believe a story/interview on the G911 site, Franks believes that as well. So then we shift to the mid to long term.

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Passing either bill has always been a long shot. Getting it out there in front of the public and keeping it there for the term has been great for us. PPA did a lot to make that happen, as did each and every one of us. Us staying on the offense has kept folks like Goodlatte on the defensive; he promised a bill this year to finish where UIGEA left off. Not only did that not happen, but he's been very quiet about the whole subject.

I said when I started the weekly action thread that we'd be successful this year if we could still easily play poker online and if we laid the foundation for our future long term fight. I think we did all that. And, the legislation is still out there for this term....it could easily find its way onto a popular bill via paygo.

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It is that longer term where it is *critical* to work on mulitple initiatives, like B&M and intra-state online at the state levels, which will heighten the visibility of the poker issue and help legalize online poker. But with a board majority who not only doesn't benefit from B&M and intra-state online poker, but whose interests can be harmed by legalization of same, then they are in fact harming the longer term chances of online poker.

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The Kentucky ballot issue is all about B&M casinos, and the PPA was enthusiastic to to join in. In fact, John spent a good part of last weekend getting our initial alert prepared to go out on Tue. morning, which it did. And, while TuffFish's proposal has met its share of resistance from within the online poker community, the PPA has still given his proposal space on their home page.

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Wait you say. The Engineer will soon be joining! Which when his vote is added to those of the chairman and the reps of the sites still in the US market *could* overrule the CP/Party Poker/Affiliate Farm block. Right? Wrong! Look on the PPA website and you will see that they have added another person, one Mary Magazine, an attorney *without* relevant legal experience (unless you think being a traffic court judge is), whose vote will offset that of the Engineer.

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I doubt they asked me to join (and I didn't lobby or even ask...the last thing I care about is glory or credit...I just want us to have freedom and liberty) to outvote me on every issue. We'll see how things go once I officially join, but I've seen no evidence of the board shutting John down on anything.

The board has empowered John to run the show, just like every other non-profit board does. I don't imagine he would have taken the job otherwise. He's spending money and other resources on B&M issues as well as online ones.

Let's just chill and give it a chance. They've clearly started moving in the right direction. I hope we'll work with them for what we want while continuing to hold them accountable for results.