Bush outlaws poker

President Bush has signed into law a ban on online wagering, impacting 23 million Americans who enjoy the game of poker on the Internet. By including this legislation in the SAFE Port Act, Congress and the President bluffed the American people who overwhelmingly oppose federal efforts to ban online poker.

"Today is a dark day for the great American game of poker," said Michael Bolcerek, president of the Poker Players Alliance, a grassroots advocacy organization of more than 110,000 poker enthusiasts. "Twenty-three million Americans who play the game online will effectively be denied the ability to enjoy this popular form of entertainment, even in the privacy of their own homes."

Bolcerek added, "Congress had a real opportunity to create good public policy by licensing, regulating and taxing Internet poker. Yet, they chose prohibition. This decision will prove to be detrimental in the long-run and leaves more than $4 billion in annual tax revenue on the table."

In late September, in a move of political gamesmanship, leaders of the U.S. House and Senate hi-jacked the vital port security bill and added the Internet gambling prohibition language.

Living poker legend Doyle Brunson said, "As a lifelong poker player, I can’t believe the underhanded way this new bill restricting online poker was passed through Congress. What does Internet poker have to do with the Safe Port Bill? We Texans don’t like this kind of trickery. Texas is a state where you can see an enemy coming, a friend is a friend, and you look someone straight in the eyes."

The legislation contains specific exemptions for Internet wagers on horse racing, state lotteries and fantasy sports. The PPA hopes that Congress will evaluate objectively the skill game of poker and afford it similar treatment.

"Internet poker is a great source of enjoyment and allows me to compete on an equal playing field with people from around the world," said Ethan Ruby, an amateur poker player who was paralyzed in a traffic accident five years ago. "I can’t understand how President Bush would take this game away from me and millions of other Americans."