Time to have our voices heard - Criticism of the PPA

[CountingMyOuts]

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Can anyone tell me why the companies weren't throwing money at this? Didn't they just loose 3 Billion market share ?

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This was and is THE problem. Money talks in D.C., not an organization like the PPA (nothing against them).

[cmac99]

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Stop talking as if the PPA isn't doing anything. Mr. Bolcerek is lobbying for us. It's unfortunately fact that lobbyists need money, 120,000 members ain't gonna cut it. Join now!!

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But how can they expect people to donate money to a group that doesn't ask their input or give them an opporunity to have a say in how that money is spent..? I GUARANTEE that if they set up local and state chapters to run membership drives they would have 1 million members in 6 - 12 months easily.. if not sooner.

[shelly11]

Do you really thing politicians are going to listen to any organization that is only 120,000 strong? I agree that state chapters are needed. I also agree that we needed these members 3 months ago. THIS BILL WOULD HAVE NEVER PASSED HAD THEY NOT TACKED IT ONTO THE PORT SECURITY ACT THE WAY THEY DID. Obviously it was a combonation of things that led to it's passing.

[hugheser]

Their platform is on their site. You can send them an e-mail and talk to them. I have done it successfully. Michael also sometimes posts on this very forum.

I do agree that State chapters are a must. And from what they told me, they agree. This is a VERY new organization. It will be organizing State chapters. It just needs time and money to get this done.

[SweetPea]

PPA is too late. They need to die off so that they aren't watering down the lobbyist pool. I don't want these ineffectual jackasses doing tv interviews and pulling support away from some other group that might actually do something.

[scarr]

They would be a lot stronger if they didn't require the $20 to be a member. That is what turned me off. Not so much the $20, as the requirement of the dues. They should have asked for donations instead. They would have had a list of at least 1 million people who stood behind what they were saying. I knew they wouldn't get that many people at $20 a pop.

As to why the Poker Sites weren't lobbying. First off they are not US companies. And second it is hard to lobby for a company which is doing something that is legally questionable.

[Busted_Flat]

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PPA is too late. They need to die off so that they aren't watering down the lobbyist pool. I don't want these ineffectual jackasses doing tv interviews and pulling support away from some other group that might actually do something.

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Who do you suggest takes their place. You perhaps?

[bkholdem]

Stop blaming and take responsiblity. Go do some productive lobbying and provide copies of letters, etc you send so we can follow suit. Sitting on your but and expecting others to solve your problems is not wise.

[va1halla]

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I don't know about anyone else in this forum, but I am extremely frustrated over this most recent legislation passed by OUR congress. The reasons for this are not just directed at the government however. We as players are as much to blame for this as anyone on Capitol Hill.

By taking a See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil attitude towards online gaming we have allowed the government to make the first move. What is more frustrating then our lack of aggression in doing some type of preemptive action,is our delay in putting together a strong, immediate response that sends a signal that these types of actions by the government will not be tolerated and we will fight against this until changes are made. Reaction has been limited to complaining on forums and everyone trying to figure out how to circumvent the law instead of changing it. People seem to be content with being pushed underground instead of using the power of numbers to try and initiate a meaningful resolution to this.

This lack of response is largely the fault of the PPA however. This organization claims to represent the poker community thru its membership base and government lobbying, but yet how many of the members actually know who the President is or can name a person on the Board of Directors?And who determined how those people were put in that position?

By taking up the interest of the poker players here in the US but not allowing those same people to have any voice in the decision-making process they continue to miss out on a golden opportunity to be the leading force that results in regulation of the online gaming industry. They would like to have a million members but how do they expect this to happen if the only influence members have is to give some money to people that they had no say in being put in that position and no way of knowing how that money is being used.

If you look at any other major lobbying force in this country you will find that they all have the same basic structure set up with local and state chapters designed to perform grassroots campaign to generate funds and increase membership base. Both of which result in strength and influence with members of Congress.

Until a grassroots effort is made to gain membership and allow everyone to participate in the organizations efforts the PPA will continue to fail in making itself a powerful lobbying force in Washington and will remain largely seen and not heard.

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Maybe if everyone on this forum would stop criticizing them, and stop being so damn cheap they would have a million members.

[Asianj]

To me, help with money and membership are two different issues.

Clearly if the PPA requires additional funding it should be actively requesting assistance from the owners of the largest sites. They are a lot poorer today than last week but logically should if anything be more be willing to invest in good regulation. To me the fault in what has happened lies much less with the PPA and more with the largest sites. Active players were paying them a very healthy amount and more than enough to look after their own interests - and they did not.

As for a membership drive, I think we should all help with that and the idea of state chapters with on the ground motivated teams leading the charge makes a lot of sense to me. It is hard to organize much less operate an organization with hundreds of thousands if not millions of people if it is overly centralized. It is also easier to address a broader spectrum of local issues with less centralized management.

The ironic thing is it appears a lot of great ideas and a sense of activism are being produced by the poker community in reponse to this crisis. I think there is at least a fair chance that poker will be much more of a political force in this country in 1- 2 years than any politican could have ever imagined last week.

The Democrats should take advantage of this opportunityif they have any sense (which historcially they have not).