Poker Players Alliance Wants to Fight for YouPeople Want to Take the Game Away, and the PPA Vows Not to Let That Happen |
|
It's no secret that all around the country people are heading to fire halls, senior citizen centers, bars, and anywhere else a table and a few chairs can fit to play the skill game of poker. Poker has attracted people from all walks of life spanning every economic class. Also, although it's impossible to know the exact figure, poker has raised bucketfuls of dollars for charity.
But the game's popularity has turned into a double-edged sword. Just do a quick Web search for "poker shut down" to see how many times police have stormed games, seized cash, and put players in handcuffs. But it doesn't stop at the local level.
Recently, Senator John Kyl (R-Ariz.) wrote a doomed bill called the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2005, which would have made it illegal for banking institutions to work with gaming sites. This wasn't the first time Kyl tried to stop Internet poker from taking place and, on his website, he vowed he'd continue trying.
Like all grassroots efforts, one of which the PPA calls itself, most of its strength comes from the number of people who climb onto the proverbial bus. Gorewitz and Newburg know this is a crucial time for the PPA.
The organization is at the beginning of a membership drive. The PPA has made recruitment stops at World Series of Poker Circuit and World Poker Tour events and has advertised in several poker magazines, including this one. Soon, players will see commercials for the PPA during their favorite poker shows.
"Our biggest challenge thus far is getting the average poker player to realize that there is a real and growing threat to the game," Newburg said. "We aren't trying to scare people into becoming members; we are sharing the harsh realities and offering them an opportunity to be part of a grassroots organization that is dedicated to protecting the game they love."
The "harsh realties" include the raid and arrest of players and organizers playing in a Knights of Columbus charity tournament at a church social hall in Ohio, the shut-down in Texas of a penny-ante game that took place in a senior citizens center and populated by seniors, and the shuttering of a large poker room in New York City that resulted in 39 arrests., All of these took place this year.
Linda Johnson, Card Player columnist and WPT official, got involved with the PPA after she heard about the shutdown by authorities in Houston of a charity event organized by Phil Hellmuth that would have raised $250,000 for breast cancer research.
"I was outraged. There are real crimes that need the attention of our lawmakers and playing poker isn't one of them," Johnson said. Her anger brought her to the PPA, where she now sits on its board of directors.
She hopes that poker players everywhere will take the threat to their game seriously and join the PPA.
"It is a nonprofit organization that needs large membership numbers in order to sway Congress to vote for rights of players, not against our rights. Large numbers carry big weight in Congress," she said. "It is important to support this organization as they are truly a voice for poker players in regards to protecting our legal right to play poker."
For more information, or to become a member of the PPA, visit www.pokerplayersalliance.org.
- Bob Pajich
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.