*Official* PPA Fly-In Thread

[TheEngineer]

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I learned that our letters really are read, and are worth writing. Sen. McConnell’s office was very aware of my twice-weekly letters informing then that I’m still opposed to UIGEA. :-) In fact, I mentioned that I wrote the senator “a couple of letters”. The reply was “a COUPLE?!?!?!?,” followed by a chuckle. Also, a senior staffer for Barney Frank commented on the quality of letters from us as well.

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Engineer, thank you for the updates from the event. The line I quoted really got my interest. As I write to people, sometimes I get responses, sometimes I don't. I am very happy to know that my letters don't find the black hole.

I did receive a survey and donation request from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (boy was the survey filled with spin) which I filled out my opinions (including poker) and made a small donation. I will have to follow up with a phone call to get their thoughts.

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They are definitely read. As we have lobbyists working hard for us, our letters are that much more important. Your efforts to write have helped our cause.

[kidpokeher]

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We all met with between one and four congressmen/senators or staffs. Generally, we were each accompanied by a lobbyist and a pro poker player, which made for a good impact and effect.

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This part confuses me as I don't know how the process works. What does the lobbyist do or add in these cases? You and the pros are effectively lobbying when you meet with them, right?

Thumbs up for Ron Paul and LOL at Wexler's comments. Nice writeup in the Sun too. They're covering all the major complaints and hypocrisy of UIGEA.

[DeadMoneyDad]

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We all met with between one and four congressmen/senators or staffs. Generally, we were each accompanied by a lobbyist and a pro poker player, which made for a good impact and effect.

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This part confuses me as I don't know how the process works. What does the lobbyist do or add in these cases? You and the pros are effectively lobbying when you meet with them, right?

Thumbs up for Ron Paul and LOL at Wexler's comments. Nice writeup in the Sun too. They're covering all the major complaints and hypocrisy of UIGEA.

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The lobbiests preform a number of functions.

Lobbiests by definition are people fromerly from the system. Most have worked both for a Senator or a Representitive as well as done committee work. Given the nature of the ever revolving door of power cycles in DC many have also held appointed jobs in the Executive branch.

Lobbiests build relationships with everyone from the White House to the Hill. Through those relationships they know who to best speak to in an office or agency. Even within a Hill office they will know which of the legislative aides are worth speaking to and whom are not.

In addition when you get a top notch firm they know the Senate and House race numbers almost and in some cases better than the seat holder. This allows them to tailor the message for maximum effect. For example there is no reason to pitch some reps with the idea of co-sponsoring a piece of legislation when at best that rep will be a last munite decider, due to his or her district.

They also know how to get around the town well and usually because of their expense accounts can get a table at any resteraunt even with a 2 hour wait.

Good lobbiests are worth their weight in gold, average ones can work if you have plenty of time and a good cause, bad ones can kill the best of causes.

IMPO the PPA's choice is +EV.


D$D

[oldbookguy]

Pretty good article, I hope we all post comments.

Mine as follows:

Two things really strike me in the article.

1. “Republicans had long pushed for a curb on Internet gambling before they finally succeeded in enacting the legislation shortly before they lost control of Congress. Proponents cited moral concerns, saying the industry preyed on children and compulsive gamblers…”
OK, so why then exempt horse racing, are there no concerns here for children and addicted gamblers? Come on, get real congress.

2. “The alliance also is supporting a narrower proposal by Rep. Robert Wexler, a Democrat of Florida, that would classify poker, chess, bridge, and mah jong as "skill games" and exempt them from the gambling ban.”
So, is this really necessary since ‘skill’ games are not covered by this new law? AOL, MSN, YAHOO! and others offer these games and they are legal.

AH, yes, the DoJ believes courts and congress are wrong and all wagering is illegal, so yes it is needed.

As an American I never thought I would say this, but maybe we need a law to PROTECT us from our own government and Department of Justice. That is sad.

obg

[TheEngineer]

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We all met with between one and four congressmen/senators or staffs. Generally, we were each accompanied by a lobbyist and a pro poker player, which made for a good impact and effect.

[/ QUOTE ]

This part confuses me as I don't know how the process works. What does the lobbyist do or add in these cases? You and the pros are effectively lobbying when you meet with them, right?

Thumbs up for Ron Paul and LOL at Wexler's comments. Nice writeup in the Sun too. They're covering all the major complaints and hypocrisy of UIGEA.

[/ QUOTE ]

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We all met with between one and four congressmen/senators or staffs. Generally, we were each accompanied by a lobbyist and a pro poker player, which made for a good impact and effect.

[/ QUOTE ]

This part confuses me as I don't know how the process works. What does the lobbyist do or add in these cases? You and the pros are effectively lobbying when you meet with them, right?

Thumbs up for Ron Paul and LOL at Wexler's comments. Nice writeup in the Sun too. They're covering all the major complaints and hypocrisy of UIGEA.

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D$D summed up the need for PPA to have lobbyists when we're not in town. They fight the day-to-day fight, and our letter and phone calls augment that.

There were good reasons to have lobbyists with us at the meetings. Most recreational poker players don't post on the Legislation forum, unfortunately. Many don't necessarily understand the ins and outs of every detail of the legislation out there. They do know that they want to play poker online without government hassle and that they'll vote their beliefs. For these folks, the lobbyist helps with the introduction, keeps the conversation on track and focused, and ensures all of our points were addressed with the congressman. In this way, the recreational poker player only has to say "I want to play poker" and represent his district, then can simply nod in agreement while the lobbyist atriculates the specific argument for our position.

For folks who know their stuff (the ones who post here regularly), the lobbyists helped in getting us a friendly introduction, such that our opinions would be considered rather than just "heard". They also ensured that all the points were made. And, they helped ensure that the points matched the concerns of that congressman.

Also, as we here know more about politics than 98% of the U.S. population (not hard....merely knowing your congressman's name probably puts you in the upper half or better), it's easy to imagine we'd be right there in terms of lobbying. The truth is that all the folks on Capitol Hill (the politicians, staffers, lobbyists, and reporters) live this. These guys were great to have at the meetings, and I was very impressed with the quality of the PPA lobbyists.

[kidpokeher]

Thanks Eng and D$D

[whangarei]

Anybody get a read on whether the lobbyists feel any of our bills have a chance of passing this year?

[PPAdc]

Wow! What an amazing three days poker had in Washington D.C. And the momentum is continuing to build.

From Oct 22 – 24, nearly 100 PPA members including some of the top professional poker players converged on Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers and defended your right to play online poker. By all accounts the Washington Fly-In and policy conference was a huge success and we made a significant impression on Congress and the media.

In just two days of lobbying the “fly-in” participants met with nearly 50 members of the U.S. House and Senate. We were armed with the message that poker is a game of skill which should be regulated, not prohibited -- and we successfully delivered that message. Several of our meetings resulted in commitments of support and co-sponsorship of H.R. 2046 and H.R. 2610.

We also garnered tremendous media attention for our cause and through this effort we are showing Congress and the American people that there is a true and vocal and growing constituency that cares about poker. Click here for selected coverage.

One of highlights of the conference was the Tuesday night reception on Capitol Hill. More than 150 staffers and PPA members gathered together in one room to talk poker. It was awesome! Even better, Eight members of Congress attended the reception, including Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), to show their support for the PPA. I have worked in Washington for a longtime and I can tell you how difficult it is to get Members of Congress to show up to these types of events. It is a testament to the many hours the PPA has spent building our credibility with lawmakers.

Our Wednesday policy forum entitled, “Poker: Public Policy, Politics, Skill and the Future of an American Tradition,” was equally a success. With Howard Lederer, professor Charles Nesson, Radley Balko and Kenneth Adams leading the discussion, the PPA took a serious look at the political future of poker. The consensus? Poker players must become politically aware, register to vote and make their voices heard in debates and elections.

Overall, the three days in Washington were well spent and we really upped the ante in our fight for regulating online poker and getting federal support for our game of skill.

On behalf of our Chairman, Senator Alfonse D’Amato, I want to thank the dedicated PPA members and PPA state representatives who joined us in Washington. Without you, this could not have been accomplished. Senator D’Amato has always said that our membership is our strongest voice in Washington and this week you really proved it!

Let’s keep the momentum moving in the right direction. Please use our member tools to make your voice heard, write, call or set up your own meeting with your Member of Congress in your hometown.

Sincerely,
John A. Pappas
Executive Director
Poker Players Alliance

[DeadMoneyDad]

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Anybody get a read on whether the lobbyists feel any of our bills have a chance of passing this year?

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This is just my personal opinion and again will be unpopular but we are looking at mid '09 at the earliest.

Sure a number of things could happen that could force a vote on a poker bill sooner. I did not spend much time asking these type high level strategy questions from the lobbing group, nor would I seriously expect a straight answer from a group as accomplished as "our" team.

I was heartened to learn that the PPA's lobbiests do have poker taxes in mind in their efforts.

In my opinion it will take all of us working as hard as we do not even know we can to achieve our ultimate goals. Yes I am a bit of a cinic but I fully believe this goal can be accomplished.

We did some great things, these past three days, but we will need to keep doing them if we want to end up where I think we need to be in the future.


D$D

[Uglyowl]

Sounds like good stuff is going, I made a donation tonight.

As a suggestion I was going to donate and had $30-$35 in mind and only specific figures were available. I could see this as a problem for the $100- $1,000 range with no in betweens.

$5 : Ante
$10 : Small-Blind
$20 : Big-Blind
$50 : Raise
$100 : Re-Raise
$1,000 : All-in

Also any more donation/bonus tie-ins at Fulltilt (donate $100, get $100 bonus at Fulltilt to clear); I will gladly bust through 1,500 hands again.