Proposed internet poker ban in MA

[meelo]

Was that in the news? Barney Frank's support of the bill, I mean. Where would I find that?

[Uglyowl]

[ QUOTE ]
Was that in the news? Barney Frank's support of the bill, I mean. Where would I find that?

[/ QUOTE ]

See one of my earlier posts with link.

Also I was going to e-mail this, but they don't accept e-mail outside his district so I will call tomorrow to express this:

Dear Mr. Frank,

I am a recent convert to the Democratic Party and contributor to your campaign largely in part of your efforts to preserve American’s freedom to play internet poker. I have been so impressed by your efforts and efforts of many in the Democratic Party, and in turn I have donated to the DCCC, Democratic Congressmen in close races in 2006, and the Steve Beshear (pro-gaming Democrat) in the 2007 Kentucky Governor’s race.

Unfortunately my enthusiasm to support and donate to Democratic causes has taken a major hit with Deval Patrick’s casino legislation which makes it a crime to play online poker ( Section 15(h)(2)(i) ). As a favor, could you ask Deval to reconsider this portion of the bill and put in a good word for the online poker community. We are merely law-abiding, tax-paying citizens who like to play cards online and present no harm to anyone.

Thank you,

[NewGuy]

A Research Director of the committee where the bill currently sits returned my call earlier tonight and was good enough to discuss the proposed legislation at some length.

FWIW, my impression was that she was receptive to feedback from the poker community, including my request that the committee should study and/or treat online games of skill played for cash (e.g., poker, bridge/Scrabble tournaments) differently than other forms of online gambling based solely on chance.

A few tidbits:
- Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies first received a copy of proposed bill on Oct 18th, so their review is obviously ongoing
- She appeared to listen carefully & be taking notes regarding the UIGEA, my concerns as an online poker player, etc.
- She commented that they had heard negative feedback regarding making online gambling a felony (in other words, the volume we generate of this kind feedback does seem to have an effect)
- The committee will likely hold a public hearing this winter on the bill, date to be announced

She welcomed any input, studies, white papers, etc. that individuals or any group like the PPA cared to submit, and relayed her email address as one way to route that kind of info to the committee (monica.garlick@state.ma.us).

Overall, I came away with a positive impression of her professionalism and the committee's apparent intent to examining this bill in some detail, including the offending clause banning online wagering.

[Uglyowl]

Great information NewGuy; thanks for sharing. What method of correspondence are you using? I have had good luck calling, but no one seems to care about my e-mails, maybe it is time to go to exclusively phone calls.

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Pretty good night at poker (for a small time $.50/$1 NL guy like me) so I will toss $25 Barney Frank's way before I call:

"I just made my 3rd donation to your campaign and am calling because......"

[MassPoker]

Hey New Guy;

On behalf of all of us here at the Poker Players Alliance, I'd like to commend you for the superb effort you took in communicating with your local Representative. Thank you so very much!

Also, I'd like to thank all of you for the volume of letters that were forwarded to their respective legislators. In a 3 day period, I am proud to report that more than 1700 letters have been sent to MA legislators. I am so immensely proud of how quickly you all have responded and the efforts you all have made.

I am proposing a second phase to this effort. Tommorow I will draft a standard letter, much like the one that we sent to the legislators, but this time to all the media sources in Massachusetts. Our best defense to this struggle is to put a spotlight on it...Let's send the message, loud and clear, that we are mad as hell and we won't lay down for politicians with alterior motives with their hands out looking for "sweetheart deals". If we can send 1700 letters to media sources, we are sure to receive some much needed attention to this cause.

The reason why this is so important is because the language in the bill regarding criminalization of online gaming is so vague that most of your legislators don't even know it exists! We need to ensure that they are made aware and that their votes on the issue will be watched ever so carefully.

Please join me in this second wave of our attack! Thank you.

All In,

Randy C~
MA Pep PPA

[NewGuy]

[ QUOTE ]
What method of correspondence are you using?

...I will toss $25 Barney Frank's way before I call:

"I just made my 3rd donation to your campaign and am calling because......"

[/ QUOTE ]

Owl,
I've been double-barreling with an email followed up by a phone call. The people I've spoken to on the phone indicated emails are read, but I've only had someone actually call or write me back from making a phone call and leaving my contact info.

I'd like to use your idea of a donation letter with a message attached. Could you (or anyone who has it) post the appropriate address to use to send one to for Barney Frank?

[NewGuy]

Randy,

Good thought on letter-writing to media - I'm in.

Is any there other channel that makes sense to hit beyond local newspapers (& maybe TV stations)? (For instance, the Absolute cheating scandal managed to work it's way through the mainstream web-based media outlets like Digg, cnbc, etc., but I don't know if that was engineered or it just took off due to the magnitude of the story.)

Thanks for the continued effort, I'm sure the creation of the PPA auto-correspond web site dramatically boosted the volume of letters last round.

[sobefuddled]

If you wish to make an on-line contribution to Barney you can go here: https://services.myngp.com/ngponline...ntribute.html?
I believe campaign law requires that funds for a candidate are received through a segregated, earmarked account.
To send him an e-mail or to call him you are best advised to go here: http://www.house.gov/frank/contact.html
You can also do this: If you are interested in meeting with Congressman Frank in Massachusetts... please make your request in writing to Mr. Mark Ranslem at 617-332-2822 (fax).
Last night I sent a request in to one of my favorite talk-show hosts and asked if he would consider opening up this topic for live discussion. The show is "Nightside with Dan Rea". Dan was a succesful general assignment reporter for WBZ TV News for many years. This blurb is taken from his bio: "For his work on the Salvati story, the Massachusetts Bar Association honored Rea with the First Annual Excellence in Journalism Award. The Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyers Association also honored Rea for his efforts in the Salvati case and The New England Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honored Rea in 2001 with the Silver Circle Award for lifetime achievement." I think it might help if others made similar requests. I don't think a "one size fits all" e-mail would be helpful here. It might also help if you listened to his show for a bit before you write. It will help you to tasrget your e-mail. Because of his reputation and background it may be possible for Dan to get Barney on his show. You never know.
Hope this helps.
OH! Dan's show is often delayed to 10pm or later if there is a Bruin's game. Normally it is on from 7 to midnight Monday through Friday. Go here for contact info: www.wbz1030.com

[MassPoker]

Greetings All,

OK, just got off the phone with Representative Ann Gobi (D), and she shares our concerns about the harsh penalty for online gaming under the proposed bill. She also indicated that; "No action will be taken on this bill until next July." While this gives all of us a little breathing room, I must warn you that this should NOT be a reason to discontinue our campaigns for the reformation of the section of the bill affecting us.

Also, here's some news (a survey)I dug up from Boston.com:

Do you agree with the casino plan the governor is expected to unveil this week?

No. Raising revenues by allowing gambling is shortsighted.
63.7%
Yes. The state needs the money.
24.6%
No. Three casinos are too many. His plan goes too far.
7.9%
No. His plan does not go far enough. He should also allow slot machines at the state’s struggling horse and dog tracks.
3.8%
Total votes: 8554

Now, I'm not neccessarily opposed to casino's in Massachusetts, but before I will hop on board their plan, I will have to see that very specific language stricken from the bill that seeks to criminalize online poker...Period!

One last thing, I'd like to have any and all readers of these posts who are members of other forums to please post threads about this proposed bill on as many forums as you possibly can. Let's get the word out to more MA players so that we will inundate the legislators with our position.

Let's keep up our fight!

All In,

Randy C~
MA PPA Rep

[Skallagrim]

Between now and next July there must be committee meetings on this bill. Legislatively, that is when things will really heat up. Between now and then all of us concerned need to prepare to give a truly effective presentation to the committee. The committee can strike or amend the provision banning online poker. If there is anything I can do to help there, dont hesitate to ask Randy. I am sure the newly invigorated PPA can provide some assistance here too.

Between now and then, a barrage of letters to representatives, while it cant hurt, probably wont make much difference - they will be more effective once the committee hearing is set and directed to the members of the committee.

But this is the perfect time to continue to try and make noise in the media ... a groundswell of media interest in a provision that would make felons out of thousands of otherwise law-abiding MA residents will do more to focus legislative opposition to this proposal than anything else right now, as would some polling numbers showing MA citizens oppose jailing their fellow residents for playing poker on their computer in the privacy of their own home...

Keep up the good work.

Skallagrim