After the events of April 15th, now known throughout the poker community as Black Friday, poker advocates have been rallying support for the repeal of the prohibitive UIGEA and the restoration of legal online poker in the United States. At the forefront of this movement is the Poker Players Alliance which most recently declared that May 24, 2011 will be National Poker Lobbying Day.
On that day, the PPA has asked every one of their over 1 million members to head to the nation’s Capitol in Washington, DC on an “emergency fly-in” to meet with their various respective congressmembers and legislators to request passage of legislation that will license, regulate, and therefore legalize, online poker in the U.S.
So far, the PPA has already been making a minor ruckus through phone calls and emails and the like. But this in-person event is their attempt to rachet the pressure up a notch. Organizers have even prepared learning materials and reference tools for participants to utilize in best presenting their case. The materials even guide would-be attendees in identifying their representatives and properly requesting and successfully setting up a meeting with them. The call to action came from the desk of PPA Chairman Alfonze D’Amato, himself a former U.S. Senator.
Add this to the pressure being exerted by major land-based casino operators like the respective CEOs of Wynn Resorts and Caesar’s Entertainment, and legal U.S. online poker may see the light of day before we know it.
Of course, the PPA spent over $30 million on lobbying for legal online poker in the U.S. last year. So every participants counts in this effort, which still may be an uphill climb. 