Poker Needs a Hero!

The first thing you need to know is that I don't care a rat's behind if anything I suggest in this column is adopted, as long as somebody does something. I don't care if the people who carry this idea forward discard everything I suggest. Also, while I'd love to be a part of all of this, I don't suggest any place for myself or people with whom I work.

Poker needs a real-life Superman, a Christopher Reeve, to carry our banner and champion our cause, to build the foundation for the future.

As noted in my last column, I propose the creation of a United States Poker Association, with the intent to eventually internationalize. For now, I'm going to call it the USPA, but naming it more creatively will be part of the job that remains to be done. This association needs to function in a way that serves the whole poker world – big outfits and small, cardrooms, Internet sites, other commercial ventures, and players.

Here are just a few things I would love to see the USPA do, some of which are being done in part by a variety of different people presently: audit and certify Internet site random number generators; negotiate television contracts; cooperate with filmmakers; facilitate funds transfers into and out of Internet sites; lobby state and federal government (particularly for an express exclusion of poker from the Kyl bill); create an international federation, and seek international sports and gaming recognition of poker as a competitive endeavor; negotiate with a bonding company and require members to bond some or all of players' deposits; standardize tournament rules (picking up on the fine work of the Tournament Directors Association); create a national poker tour incorporating the best of existing events with new events; develop co-op marketing; set up uniform player rankings; maintain a list of unsavory characters, much like casinos do, and engage in cooperative efforts to identify them; require and enforce transparency as to who owns a share of tournament competitors; establish a health plan for players (I know how hard this would be to do, but it would be a worthy thing); and a lot more.

Regardless of how the USPA is ultimately organized, I suggest that the association have the following committees: (1) Constitution, Elections, and Bylaws, (2) Standards of Ethics and Integrity, (3) Television, Radio, and Film, (4) Governmental Affairs, (5) Internet Poker/Commercial, (6) Land-based Poker/Commercial, (7) International Poker, (8) Players Rights and Benefits, (9) Affiliate Members, (10) Tournaments, (11) Association Administration and Management, (12) Finance and Budget.

I suggest that an initial board of advisors gather to commence work on the USPA. Each member would have to spring for adequate videoconferencing equipment at his or her own expense, for meetings. Besides facilitating the process, requiring people to put up a few bucks of their own is a way to ensure their commitment.

Transparency is essential in order to win the trust of all players, who are by nature something of a skeptical lot. All meetings should be recorded, with transcripts posted on the Internet. The board of advisors should report to the poker public at least monthly during the developmental stage.

The board of advisors should strive for unanimity, but all proposals adopted should require a significant majority: for example, nine votes if there is a 15-person board. Minority reports should be welcomed and posted, but without acrimony. At its first meeting, the board of advisors should lay out a 12-month schedule. It is possible to organize an association in that amount of time.

Let me lay on you some names I would nominate for the initial board of advisors, some people who can make this happen. I have my reasons for each name. There are certainly other fine people who can do this job. In the final analysis, whoever ponies up the cash to implement this concept will make the decision. Here is my list of candidates: co-chairmen – Chip Reese and Lyle Berman; members – Jack Binion, Mike Sexton, Linda Johnson, Bobby Baldwin, David Sklansky, Larry Flynt, Erick Lindgren, Jerry Buss, Tod Levi, Dan Goldman, Ruth Parasol, Steve Morrow, Chuck Weinstock, Barry Shulman, Howard Greenbaum, Phil Ivey, and Louis Asmo. This advisory board would be broken down into working committees.

Argue about any or all of the names if you'd like. Suggest somebody you like better. These are just people I think have the right stuff to do to this. They are doers, with a history in poker. There's no deadwood there. Many others could contribute ably, and it is my hope that others who aren't part of the board of advisors would work on the committees and subcommittees that are necessary to put this together. And, of course, some of these people won't be willing or able to serve. Although many of them would serve well, I don't recommend anybody I work with at Planetpoker, in an abundance of caution to avoid even the appearance of being self-serving. In any case, there's lots of room for more people to be a part of this.

The board of advisors will enlist others, and form committees and subcommittees, some of which will survive the organizational process and become part of the future USPA. They will devise an organizational structure. I suggest something like a city manager form of government, with an executive director who answers to a board of directors. Some may prefer a traditional president/VP/secretary/treasurer structure. Others might prefer a melding of both concepts, or something different altogether.

On a purely arbitrary basis, to commence discussions, I suggest a nine-member volunteer (if and when the association grows, they could be paid) board of directors, elected by the membership (whoever that may eventually be), and constituted as follows:

• one member with an ownership or management interest in a land-based cardroom that's not part of a casino operation, having fewer than 15 tables

• one member with an ownership or management interest in a land-based cardroom that's not part of a casino operation, having more than 15 tables

• one member with an ownership or management interest in a land-based cardroom that is part of a casino operation.

• one member with an ownership or management interest in an Internet poker site that's affiliated with an online gaming venture offering other games

• one member with an ownership or management interest in an Internet poker site that's not affiliated with any other online gaming endeavors

• two members with an ownership or management interest in a business that's related to poker, other than casinos, cardrooms, or online gaming (publishers, software developers, television producers, bookstore owners, chip and table manufacturers, cruise operators, and so on; any entity with a history of more than three years of affiliation with the poker industry)

• two player members who are not affiliated in any way with ownership, management, or representation of any poker-related business, one residing in the Eastern or Central time zone and one residing in the Mountain or Pacific time zone.

Directors should serve rolling three-year terms, with the first election at the end of the second year of initial service, after the USPA is up and running. The board of advisors would appoint the first board of directors – once again, by a significant majority.

I think there should be two classes of membership in the USPA: player members and business members. Player members would be eligible for the two player seats on the board of directors, with business members eligible for the other seven. The definition of player member ought to be strictly written, so that the legitimate interests of players who are unaffiliated with any poker-related entity are genuinely protected. A nice touch might be to make the top points finisher in the previous year's USPA rankings a nonvoting advisory member of the board of directors.

What this will take to get started is somebody with some cash, some presence, and the nerve to shoot the moon. This person must be committed to the long-term goal of an association that will bring in big bucks and protect and grow the game for the benefit of all. This must be someone who recognizes that such a goal serves his long-term interests by serving the interests of the game, and who is willing to forego short-term self-interests. This person has to have enough stature to command the respect of others in the poker community. This person needs to get on the horn and put together a committee (of perhaps some of the people I've suggested), then write an initial agenda for a meeting, prepare a rough schedule and budget, pass them around, and schedule a meeting. A videoconference will work.

Ideally, this person will have a lawyer and/or accountant on staff to assist at no charge or minimal charge. He should form a nonprofit organization – maybe in Delaware, maybe in Nevada, maybe elsewhere, and even overseas. If appropriate, he should file a 501©(3) or other tax-status application. He should hire a secretary, and maybe an administrative manager with strong Internet/business research skills (there will be lots of data collection required to make quality decisions) who can be a jack-of-all-trades, and can schedule board, committee, and subcommittee meetings. He should slap up a website, even if it's just a page on an existing site for now. I suggest a nonbinding letter of agreement in which each member of the initial board of advisors agrees to devote time and energy to this project, and which provides for replacement of those who, having so committed, fail to perform.

I guesstimate the first year's expenses during the organizational phase to be $200,000-$500,000, depending on how things are organized, and how much in the way of professional services (computer, legal, accounting, and so on), office space, goods, printing, and so on is donated. Somebody will also have to put up cash for initial operations until the USPA is profitable, which is a separate matter. Whoever puts this money up should get a non-recourse note from the association, to be repaid with simple interest when the organization is running at an operating profit.

One major issue I haven't addressed is exactly how the association would generate its income. Eventually, one would hope that a percentage of television profits and sponsorship deals would do the trick. Some possibilities are dues or a small tack-on to tournament entry fees. Between here and there, multitudes of possibilities present themselves, but this is a matter that for now I leave to the organizational board of advisors to address. I suggest looking at the PGA Tour's income structure, which I believe is of public record because of its tax-exempt status.

Please remember that every single idea I suggest here is just for the purpose of discussion, to provide a baseline from which to work, except for the main idea. It is time for someone who's respected, someone with clout, someone with cash, someone with perseverance, and someone with vision to take up this challenge. The man or woman who does this will be a hero to all poker players. Now is a moment in time when we need such a hero, poker's Superman, to step up.

(This is the ninth in a series of columns I've written over the past six months that are related to the poker industry. Most have been published in Card Player, but a few have been posted elsewhere. Please consider this column's contents in the context of prior columns.)

Roy Cooke played winning professional poker for more than 16 years. He is a successful real estate broker/salesperson in Las Vegas. If you would like to ask Roy poker-related questions, you may do so online at www.UnitedPokerForum.com. His longtime collaborator, John Bond, is a free-lance writer in South Florida.