Check this out.  Two one-time, and current, rivals have joined forces against a common enemy and sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General critiquing the federal government for not regulating poker.  With this uniting of forces, perhaps the Congress will be unified as well and push through joint legislation.  For once in my life, I actually am saying “Tax Me, PLEASE!”

Friday’s a BIG day for many poker players.  It’s the last day poker players can make a claim in federal court for funds seized/frozen by the federal government on Black Friday.  So if you have money out there, stake your claim.  If nothing else, it will show solidarity and interest in poker to the feds monitoring the situation.  Good luck!  It may be the last online hand you win for quite some time.

All indications are that the AGA will not back the legislation introducted by Congressman Joe Barton in response to Black Friday.  The strange thing is that the bills are fairly similar.  I get wanting to protect your interests above those of others, but there is something called biting off your nose to spite your face.  (Anyone remember Seven?)  It has to be in poker’s best interest (and gaming generally) to legalize poker (and gaming), and then later tweak it if necessary.  These internal divisions are killing us.

With a new round of poker legislation inching upon us, what do you want in a poker law?  Are you willing to hold out for only complete legalization with minimal taxation?  Or should poker advocates take a more moderate stance, with limited licenses, higher taxes, ability for states to opt out, government oversight, etc.?  Let me know your thoughts.

Not too long PLB wrote about how the District of Columbia was set to become the first U.S. jurisdiction to have legal online poker.  Well, don’t bet on it.  The launch of the DC site has been delayed.  The alleged reason is to give D.C residents sufficient time to weigh in on where the “gambling hot spots” (it’s not like they are opium dens) can be located.  Please.  Let’s call a spade a spade.  This is a con to delay the launch because it would look bad to the federal government for the FEDERAL District of Columbia to make legal exactly what the feds recently took down, and are in the process of prosecuting.  We can do without the subterfuge.  Let’s cut out the BS and have an honest conversation.  We’re all adults.  Even if the government does not treat pokers players as them.

You just can’t win with poker these days.  Even when you win in an illegal home game you may wind up losing.  Numerous high profile actors, including Spiderman himself (Tobey Mac), are being sued by people who lost money in a Ponzi scheme to a man who, in turn, lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to the actors in California card games.  Illegal card games that is.  I don’t know Cali law that well, but I’m guessing you can’t sue to recover money you lost to someone who lost it later in a card game s/he couldn;t play in legally to begin with.  The kicker though, is that the lawsuit likely will trigger an IRS investigation.  And you thought the $10K reporting requirement in casinos was strict.

I played live the other day.  In a regular casino and all.  Was one of my first times since “that day.”  I didn;t have the same urge that I had to play previously.  Now maybe it was just an off day, or maybe the weather was so nice I subconsciously felt guilty not being outside, but maybe, just maybe the government’s campaign to change our behaviors is bearing fruit.  Make it so difficult to play that you stop playing and start doing other things.  Anyone else worried that Big Brother has infiltrated their minds?

Well, it’s not in New York City, but it’s still in New York, so I’m happy.  Even if I no longer live in the Empire State.  In a reversal of a policy that originally was implemented precisely to prevent a casino from being built in the Catskills mountains, the proximity rule for Indian tribes to own/operate casinos has been rescinded.  No longer must a casino be located close to the reservation.  This opens the door for certain New York tribes whose reservations are not near the Catskills to open a casino there.  Even Congressmen are saying this is so, not just this blogger.  Check it out.

At the PPA rally on Tuesday, it was revealed that Representative Joseph Barton (R-TX) will introduce a bill that would repeal the UIGEA and declare poker a game of skill, not chance.  I don’t want to stop getting my hopes up every time one of these poker savior bills are talked up.  But there have been many (Rep. Frank’s bill, for example…), and none have panned out.  Frankly, none have come close.  It’s almost like a parent stringing a child along knowing full well that she is not going to buy the kid the G.I. Joe aircraft carrier.  (Sorry, wrong blog.)  Still, I can’t prevent myself from getting excited every time I hear of one of these bills.  It’s just so darn promising, in theory.  It’s that hope that comes from the promise of the unknown.  And while intellectually I know all of these bills are long shots, I can’t help but hope this is the one that pans out.  So here’s to hoping, and to never giving up on the collector’s edition Millennium Falcon.

Might as well move to Spain.  At least it has legal online poker.