Nice to see some PR from a mainstream (well, at least not gambling) site.  Check out this piece from aol on the status of intrastate poker legislation.  Note the underlying current of disdain (perhaps I’m reading something into it that’s not there, but it’s fun to imagine) the article takes when discussing that the Federal government is dragging its heels on reform measure.

Even I must admit that sometimes other people write good pieces as well.  In that vein, check out this article.  I could have linked to a less informative article on the same main point and written my own analysis.  But this article pretty much sums it up.  No need to reinvent the wheel when you can use your saved time to play a quick 200 hands.

PokerStars has hired Randall Sayre, a former Nevada Gaming Control Board member, as a gaming consultant. This as a shrew move.  The man certainly has insight into the machinations of the gaming commission, connections that could help get legislation passed, and, perhaps most importantly, a good reputation that PokerStars can trade on should internet poker ever be legalized.  Basically, this is a move to position PokerStars as the lead site (ahem, ahead of Full Tilt Poker) in the presumed race to be a licensed internet provider.

Hot on the heels of the progress in New Jersey toward legalizing intrastate online poker, Nevada has hired a consulting firm to evaluate the considerations of Nevada passing its own legislation.  I wonder it Nevada is concerned more about NJ or talk that its neighbor, California, which also already has legal live poker, too is considering legalizing the virtual kind.  As I’ve said before here though kids, be careful what you wish for:  what seems good today may seem like a horrid idea 20 years from now.  Just imagine a world with 50 separate online poker bases but no cross-state competition.  Does not sound like good games or player base growth to me.  Don’t want to me a player hater, but just saying…

Who can keep this straight anymore?  Well, PLB’s going to try.  Senator Reid says that his comments were taken out of context and that his poker bill is NOT dead after all.  Stay tuned for the next 180 by someone.

Also, California’s poker push is picking up some momentum.  Check out the same link above.

So much for the short-lived optimism (of some) surrounding the possibility of Senator Reid proposing online poker legislation.  Sen. Reid announced today that he will not be offering legislation to legalize online poker during the lame duck session of Congress.  The worst part for poker enthusiasts is that many of poker’s Congressional opponents, such as Spencer Bachus of the Financial Services Committee, Dave Camp of the Ways and Means Committee, and Lamar Smith of the Judiciary Committee, are the ranking members of those respective committees.  That means they will be those committee’s chairs next year, and in prime position to blunt any attempt to repeal the UIGEA.  You may go back to bashing Congress now.

Just a quick hit, and nothing that if you’re reading this blog you probably don’t know already.  (But please keep reading…)  ABC News has picked up on the Wall Street Journal’s article on Sen. Reid’s attempt to legalize poker.  Some pretty amusing comments are made by Senators about what it is like to support the casinos.  Also, a claim that the monetary pie at stake is $25 BILLION.  That’s got to make even the most Republican Senator take notice, no?  Anyway, I love it when the “mainstream” media gets involved.  There’s no such thing as bade P.R.  So check the article out here.

Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is offering legislation would legalize online poker, but allow only certain current brick-and-mortar establishments to host the sites for the first two years.  Regulation would be done by current agencies, such as the Nevada Gaming Commission, and not by the federal government.  Two predictable things have occurred so far:  (1) the legislation is supported by major Nevada casinos (who, ahem, donated significantly to Senator Reid’s hotly contested recent re-election campaign), and (2) Republican legislators, led by Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), oppose the bill — they claim that important legislation that affects “the young, the weak, and the vulnerable in the name of new revenues to cover more government spending” should not be passed during the lame duck session of Congress. 

Normally I’m against cramming legislation in to beat a deadline and in a manner that prays on weakness.  But given how the UIGEA was passed, turnabout seems like fair play.  Still, I do have serious concerns that prevent me from automatically supporting the legislation.  They center around who supports this bill.  Internet poker should be legal.  But to do it as a means to expand brick-and-mortar casino profits, and not as part of an overarching national framework, seems short-sighted and ultimately counter-productive to the game’s acceptance.  The UIGEA should be repealed.  But it should not be supplanted by a special interest bill designed for corporate gain.   Two wrongs do not make a right.

Election day is right around the corner, and like in many states, the races in Nevada for Governor and Senator are being hotly contested.  This often means telling the people what they want to hear.  So take this with a grain of salt, but both gubernatorial candidates and Sen. Harry Reid have voiced their unequivocal support for making Nevada the leader in the movement to control online poker should the Congress legalize it. 

Now this is not all that revolutionary or even surprising.  Nevada is after all the leader in live poker, and many residents already are primed to support poker.  So how about one of these candidates taking a more aggressive stand?  How about voicing support for Nevada taking the lead in creating intrastate poker?  It will shake up the poker landscape, especially in states already contemplating intrastate sites, and possibly result in some sort of legalized online poker.  Plus, with real estate and golf green fee prices plummeting this may be the last straw many of us need to make the move out west.