If online poker becomes illiegal..............

[qk1234]

do you think all the online players will move to the casinos to grind, making the games alot tougher to beat?
Because the plyrs at my casino are terrible and id love that not to change.

[AKQJ10]

Unless they can find a way to multi-table, I don't think it'll be that big an issue.

[michiganlaw]

WILL PEOPLE PLEASE QUIT TALKING ABOUT THIS....the bill has about a 0% chance of passing the Senate. Come on peeps, just because it passed the House of Representatives does not mean this is even close to becoming a reality.......

Damn doomsdayers....get a clue about the process of government and quit talking hypotheticals, please....

[AKQJ10]

So in your view the topic is illegitimate because the slim prospects of the present bill's passage mean this scenario could never become reality? Or did this just look like such a golden opportunity to lecture us about civics that arrogance prevented you from passing it up?

History teaches us that tides of public opinion can change dramatically. Prohibition happened. (Not to mention all kinds of much greater historical outrages that make us look back and ask, "What the [censored] were people thinking?")

Just because the Senate may be holding the nanny state in check, barely*, doesn't mean it will always be so. I'd like to be prepared.

--
*In the present issue of online gambling; in general Congress is pretty much useless in standing up for personal liberties.

[deucedeuce00]

The way I understand the bill, it has changed significantly from it's original form. Now it is more focused on prohibiting american credit cards/banks from funding gambling sites (which is pretty much already the case as many won't do it anyway). There will still be no penalty for playing so just use Neteller or something.

Also, the Senate is ready to go on vacation...and this bill is low priority.

[michiganlaw]

[ QUOTE ]
So in your view the topic is illegitimate because the slim prospects of the present bill's passage mean this scenario could never become reality? Or did this just look like such a golden opportunity to lecture us about civics that arrogance prevented you from passing it up?

[/ QUOTE ]

The topic is not per se illegitimate, but us poker players should understand mathematical probabilities and also understand the general concept not to get your panties in a bunch if there is a minimal chance of something happening. While I am all for intellectual, and even some hypothetical, discourse and debate, the tone and rhetoric of many of the emails on this thread (and the 100 or so others preceding this thread on the same topic) cast doomdayers views of everything. "This is it for online poker" and the like. That is just absurd.

My intention was not to give a lecture on what we all learned our sophomore years of high school regarding government civics. Instead, it was to merely highlight the notion that this bill will never pass in the form passed by the House of Representatives...period.

[AKQJ10]

Fair enough. I'm not crazy about alarmism either.

[Rick Nebiolo]

[ QUOTE ]
this bill will never pass in the form passed by the House of Representatives...period.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. But some sort of legislation restricting or heavily regulating online gambling is almost certainly coming, perhaps within a year or two. If it is reasonable regulation then perhaps it will be good for online poker and the better players now beating the game. But my guess is that the final legislation won't be well crafted or good for the industry.

I hope I'm wrong.

~ Rick

[NoMoreLurking]

How do you get a HUD to work at the casino?

[AKQJ10]

Go to the bathroom and pull the notebook out of your pocket.