Study The English Language

I tell my kids that everyday. Why, you ask? Words mean things. Different combinations of words mean different things. Understanding these facts comes in handy when attempting to read a book, or, a legal document, or in this case, a current piece of legislation.

As most of you know by now, the mistitled Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act or UIGEA was signed into law on of all days, Friday the 13th, 2006. And furthermore, it was attached to a piece of National Security Legislation, which was of course going to pass. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R - TN) rightly believed that President Bush wouldn't sign this bill into law if it stood alone. Even going so far as to wait 'til the end of the session before adding it to the security bill. One can only imagine the amount of back door politicking that went on.

We can look back on what mistakes were made by whom, we can also lay the blame at the feet of an entire political party if we so choose, however, I choose to deal in the present. My first step, was to call my Congresswoman, and find out how she voted. I did the same with both Senators in my state. If I choose to make this election all about one issue, I know for whom to vote, or in my case, whom not to. You don't have to call them. I did so simply to express my displeasure. There's a website: http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org where you can get the information yourself. Also, you may join the fight by joining The Poker Players' Alliance.

The Offline Eleven

In any case, you might hear this referred to as 'the online poker ban' but after having read the actual legislation, as I suggested above, I can tell you that in reality, it doesn't do this. Which is why I stated that the law itself is mistitled. All the law actually does is stop banks or credit card companies from processing payments to online gaming sites. The attempt to amend the 1961 Wire Act to include online wagering, thankfully didn't make it into the final legislation, although the phrase, "…predominantly games of chance," did make it in, and as we all know, poker is a game of skill.

Except apparently in these eleven states: Michigan, Illinois, Louisiana, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, Indiana, Nevada, South Dakota, New Jersey, and New York. I have received email from no less than two websites listing these states as places from which they can no longer accept players online. Of course, Washington already had a statewide ban on all forms of Internet Gaming, so, that may be related.

Now, I'm not a lawyer, and I don't even play one on TV, so, you might want to checkout I. Nelson Rose's excellent site, http://www.gamblingandthelaw.com for more specific info, or if you can't get there, he has a weekly opinion column of his own that appears in Poker Player.

Some sites have employed the strategy of cutting and running. This won't work in Iraq, and it's probably not a good idea for Party Poker to name the largest, and a few others to effectively close up shop entirely in the US. An interesting side effect caused their stock to drop in value over $8 Billion Dollars US in ONE DAY. More on this from George Will's column in Newsweek [ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15265338/site/newsweek/ ] where he rightly refers to this action as Prohibition. We all remember how well that worked the first time, don't we?

I always encourage my children to find the loophole, which they can't really do if they don't know English. Not every site has taken the draconian measures mentioned above, because they have already figured out ways around the US law, and if they haven't, they have 270 days from the above mentioned date to do so, which is the amount of time the lawmakers have to decide how to enforce the law they just passed.

So, there is still time to act. Go to the site I mentioned above, and make your voice heard. Let your Congressmen and Senators know where you stand on this issue, and how it will affect your vote on Election Day, November 7th. Find the sites that still allow you to play online in your state, and start playing there. Tell your non poker playing friends how you're voting and why, and suggest they vote the same way. I personally believe that in America, the greatest country in the world, and proud creators of the 1st Amendment, I should have the right as an adult to choose how I spend my free time, in this, the Land of the Free.

Disclaimer: I think you will need to write your own letter, as I don't have enough righteous indignation left to come up with something clever and witty. Thanks

72 and sunny in Redondo Beach.

Next time, I'll write about poker. Be there. Aloha.

Mike "Matches" Malone

Editor's note: Matches Malone has been writing for us for a couple years now, and you can read his blog notes at PokerAllStar.com

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