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Today's PPA weekly update:

Update: Full Tilt Deal, Global Gaming Expo – 10/04/2011
http://theppa.org/newsletters/2011/10/03/update-full-tilt-deal-global-gaming-expo-10042011/

Weekly Update from Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations

The big news this week, of course, is the signing of the acquisition agreement between Groupe Bernard Tapie and Full Tilt Poker. Player repayment is being promised by the parties involved. Here is a quote from a Washington Post article on the matter:

“Full Tilt said the agreement includes a plan to repay balances of players worldwide who haven’t had access to their gambling funds since April.”

Needless to say, it is my hope that we all get repaid in full as soon as possible. More specifically, it is my hope that the Justice Department will, once obtaining iron-clad guarantees of repayment from any party wishing to purchase Full Tilt Poker, work to fast-track settlement of all outstanding issues. As the DoJ has identified players as the victims in all of this, I expect they will welcome a settlement that addresses player restitution.

For more on this issue:

- 9/30/2011: Associated Press — Full Tilt Poker: French tycoon Tapie agreed to buy
- 9/30/2011: Washington Post: Full Tilt Poker says French business tycoon Bernard Tapie agrees to buy online poker company
- Two Plus Two Discussion: Full Tilt Poker and Groupe Bernard Tapie Sign Acquisition Agreement
- Pocket Fives Discussion: FTP signs agreement with investor

Take Action

Simply go to http://go.theppa.org/federal-letter and in less than thirty seconds you can send our new, fully editable prewritten letter directly to the email inbox of your elected representatives. Better yet, create your own message and tell them in your own words to support your poker freedom via legislation like H.R. 2366.

To ensure that your elected representatives know you demand your rights, please bookmark the daily action plan and check it out every day. I update it every morning with new actions we can take to stand up for the game. These take just thirty seconds to complete! We have received excellent feedback on the effectiveness of these actions, so please join in:

Fight for Poker Rights Daily Action Plan on Two Plus Two
Fight for Poker Rights Daily Action Plan on PocketFives
Fight for Poker Rights Daily Action Plan on Deuces Cracked

Interviews

PPA comes before poker media to take on the tough questions as often as possible, as the questions we receive at these interviews are representative of the issues in which the poker community is most interested. I appeared on Short Stacked Radio last Tuesday (click here to listen…I come on at time point 1:29:00) and answered lots of questions. I will be back on their program this evening (9/4) at 9:30 pm ET. You can listen live at http://shortstackedradio.com/radio . If you have a question for me that you would like me to address on the show, please email it to me so I can answer it for you.

Thank you again for your support!

Proud to play,

Rich Muny
playerrelations@theppa.org
www.facebook.com/rich.muny

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PPA Report from Gaming Conferences

For the past few days the PPA has attended and participated in two of the largest annual conferences of the gaming industry. On Sunday, the PPA helped to arrange a keynote speech delivered by Congressman Joe Barton, author of the Online Poker Act of 2011, at the International Association of Gaming Advisors in Las Vegas. Influential gaming attorneys, industry executives and key state and tribal regulators crowded the room to hear Congressman Barton deliver a candid view on the prospects of federal legislation. In short, he expressed optimism that a deal could be struck over the next six months and that several opportunities will present themselves in which to include Internet poker legislation. First and foremost being the newly created Deficit Super Committee which will need to make recommendations to Congress before Thanksgiving. Further, Congressman Barton said he believes his bill (H.R. 2366) will be given a hearing in the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the coming weeks. This is welcomed news and provides us a great forum to explain the merits of appropriate regulation in a public setting. Please stay tuned for more information on the exact timing of a hearing on Joe Barton’s H.R. 2366.

On Monday, the PPA attended a full day of meetings and panel discussions at the Global Gaming Expo’s iGaming Congress. The fact that the Global Gaming Expo which is sponsored by the American Gaming Association (a coalition of U.S. brick and mortar gaming interests) has dedicated a full day of its conference to discuss Internet gaming, and primarily Internet poker, represents a huge evolution in support for this online game of skill. The PPA plays an important role at these meetings to ensure that the viewpoints of the players do not get lost in the discussion of how gaming companies can best monetize their interests in cyberspace. Gaming operators cannot credibly talk about potential revenues and business opportunities until they fully realize that the consumer will ultimately drive the Internet marketplace. The PPA will continue to provide the players a voice at these conferences and others. And, we will continue our advocacy efforts in Washington D.C. and elsewhere so that lawmakers understand the importance of the player in the larger debate about regulation of Internet poker.

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The PPA wishes to keep active members like you updated on the latest poker advocacy news by periodically sending out select events and headlines. We hope you find it informative and thank you for your continuing support.

Indicted Banker and Payment Processor Fight Federal Crackdown On Online Poker With Powerful Legal Papers – Forbes (10/02/2011)
Global Gaming Expo’s spotlight turns to Internet – Las Vegas Review-Journal (10/02/2011)
Alderney Gambling Control Commission Addresses Full Tilt Poker Players (10/03/2011)
Full Tilt Poker’s Acquirer Shows His Cards – New York Times (10/03/2011)Defense puts cards on table in NYC poker case – BusinessWeek (10/03/2011)
Full Tilt Rescue May Give Stake to Customers – Wall Street Journal (10/04/2011)

- Read more news click here
- Receive PPA featured headlines on a daily basis, click here

- Tell a friend to sign up by going to theppa.org/subscribe

Today I have posted a message to one of the most widely recognized libertarians of our time, Ron Paul. Please like, comment, and share a similar message of your own. Please feel free to copy any part of the response; if it helps you articulate your argument, use it!

Please note that Ron Paul has an extremely active page, so I highly encourage everyone to post a response to his wall several times throughout the day for maximum exposure.

https://www.facebook.com/ronpaul/posts/10150335429586686

As always, thanks to those who help out in any way, shape, or form.

I liked it Minimalist. Thanks for posting it.

October 5, 2011

Will you take a few moments to stand up for poker? These items take just 30 seconds each to complete. Let's focus on deficit super committee member and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) and House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX).

- Like the pro-poker Facebook posts on both of Rep. Upton's FB pages HERE and HERE. Let's like the pro-poker comments there as well.
- Post and like pro-poker comments on Rep. Smith's wall HERE and HERE. You don't have to like the main (non-poker) post to like the comments. As a time-saving measure, try using CTRL-F to search for the term poker, using highlight all.
- Send a prefilled, editable pro-poker Twitter message to Rep. Upton HERE and Rep. Smith HERE.
- Try to wait at least an hour, then send the Twitter messages HERE and HERE. (if you can't wait an hour, it's better to send all of these at once than not at all)
- Try to wait at least another hour, then send the Twitter messages HERE and HERE.

Please reply in this thread with posted, done, sent etc. to encourage others to participate. The past 38 actions have generated triple-digit participation, so let's keep it growing. Thanks!

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If you wish to do more today, please send the new (as of yesterday) PPA prewritten, fully editable letter to Congress. Simply click HERE to send it. If you sent it yesterday, please have your friends and family send letters. Feel free to offer to send it for them (once obtaining their permission, of course).

Hi,

Can you post the PPA Twitter account URL? I will be glad to follow and RT key tweets. I urge others to do the same if you are on Twitter.

Today I decided to ask Joe Rogan for help. Joe has always been incredibly outspoken on his beliefs, even when they are unpopular, so I think if we can convince him to dedicate even 5 minutes on his show to a rant on why folks should be able to play online poker, it will be well worth the few seconds it takes us to like the post and/or post a new comment.

https://www.facebook.com/JOEROGANDOTNET/posts/10150319507224902

As always, thank you to all who help out with the PPA campaign, please take a few minutes to answer one or more of the calls to action in the PPA post above as well.

I received a letter back from Mi. Representative Dan Benishek.




October 5, 2011







Dear Cody:



Thank you for making an effort to communicate with me regarding Internet gambling. As your representative in Congress, I appreciate the opportunity to learn your views.



As you may know, the U.S. Department of Justice recently issued indictments against four major online poker sites amidst charges of money laundering and illegal gambling. Additionally, the domain names of these sites have been seized by the FBI. The Justice Department brought these charges in accordance with legislation passed in 2006, which effectively outlawed Internet gambling.



Congress passed legislation banning this practice because unlike games played in a casino, it is harder to ensure people under age are prohibited from playing. Furthermore, Internet gambling makes it very easy for young people to quickly lose money. While there may be benefits to legalizing online poker and regulating it, these companies knowingly broke the law and deserve to be prosecuted accordingly.



I appreciate your deserved concern about Internet gambling. While we may disagree about this issue, I am honored to serve as your representative. It is my hope that you will continue to communicate with me in the future on any issue that may be of concern to you and your family.






Sincerely,
Dan Benishek M. D.
Member of Congress

P.S. I would also like to invite you to visit my website, www.benishek.house.gov, for further information. If you have not already done so, please submit your email address so that my office may keep you informed on issues in Congress.

Facebooked and twittered, twittered from DC as well.

Done.

October 6, 2011

Will you take a few moments to stand up for poker? These items take mere seconds to complete. Let's focus on Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Chair Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) today:

- Post and like pro-poker comments on her Facebook wall HERE. You don't have to like the main post (non-poker...on protecting children from the dark side of the Internet) to like and make poker comments. As a time-saving measure, try using CTRL-F to search for the term poker, using highlight all.
- Send prefilled, editable pro-poker Twitter messages HERE, HERE, and HERE. Try to space them out by at least an hour. If you can't, it's better to send them at once than not at all.
- Let's continue to like and make pro-poker Facebook posts on both of of Rep. Upton's FB walls HERE and HERE.

Please reply in this thread with posted, done, sent etc. to encourage others to participate. The past 39 actions have generated triple-digit participation, so let's keep it growing. Thanks!

================

If you wish to do more today, please send the new (as of Monday) PPA prewritten, fully editable letter to Congress. Simply click HERE to send it. If you have sent it, please have your friends and family send letters. Feel free to offer to send it for them (once obtaining their permission, of course).

Well done all!

I received a letter back from Mi. Representative Dan Benishek.....

Thanks for posting that. While it's too bad that he's against it, it's great that he's hearing from constituents with differing opinions. While we may not change his mind, hopefully we can help him to see enough of our position simply to vote against us, rather than being a zealot in opposition to us.

Today I decided to ask Joe Rogan for help. Joe has always been incredibly outspoken on his beliefs, even when they are unpopular, so I think if we can convince him to dedicate even 5 minutes on his show to a rant on why folks should be able to play online poker, it will be well worth the few seconds it takes us to like the post and/or post a new comment.

https://www.facebook.com/JOEROGANDOTNET/posts/10150319507224902

As always, thank you to all who help out with the PPA campaign, please take a few minutes to answer one or more of the calls to action in the PPA post above as well.

I liked it. Well done!

The first link to Rep. Upton's FB wall should go to http://www.facebook.com/RepFredUpton?sk=wall&filter=1

Done for today.

Twittered and facebooked!

What a great idea! Stuff like this will help get so much more support from the poker community.

October 7, 2011

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), a longtime opponent of all gaming, attacked online poker in a House speech yesterday. While he did it in the context of attacking poker supporter Grover Norquist, today's poker rights action is not a defend Grover Norquist action. Rather, it's a defend poker action.

Some here will post in support of Norquist and poker, while others will be critical toward Norquist but supportive of poker. Many of us won't mention any of the broader subject matter at all, instead focusing solely on poker. All of these approaches are fine, of course...we simply need to tell Rep. Wolf our opinion of his attacks on our game.

? Post and like pro-poker comments on Rep. Wolf's Facebook wall post on his statement HERE Please do not accidentally like the main anti-poker post. As a time-saving measure, try using CTRL-F to search for terms like poker and 2366, using highlight all.
? Let's continue to post and like pro-poker comments on Rep. Mary Bono Mack's (R-CA) Facebook wall HERE and on both of of Rep. Upton's Facebookwalls HERE and HERE. There are new comments posted since yesterday, so let's support them!

Please reply in this thread with posted, done, sent etc. to encourage others to participate. The past 40 actions have generated triple-digit participation, so let's keep it growing. Thanks!

======================

Here's the statement:

INTERNET GAMBLING AND CASINOS

Mr. Norquist also has a long history of lobbying to spread Internet gambling. According to public lobbying disclosure reports, Norquist’s clients at Janus-Meritt included a variety of gambling organizations, including the Interactive Gaming Council, organized to oppose the Republican-led effort to pass the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. It is also worth noting that the Interactive Gaming Council was made up of online poker companies, including Full Tilt Poker, which was shut down by the FBI in April and is described by the Justice Department as a massive Ponzi scheme.

As recently as January 2011, Senate lobby disclosure forms show that Mr. Norquist continues to lobby on expanding Internet poker issues in his capacity as president of Americans for Tax Reform. Why would Mr. Norquist and ATR have an interest in lobbying to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act?

The Washington Times reported on September 21, 2011, that critics of expanded gambling worry that legalizing online poker will increase gambling addiction and its fallout, such as divorces, bankruptcies and suicides. ‘People may not understand how highly addictive it is, when you’re alone in your home,’ said Jerry Prosapio, co-founder of Gambling Exposed and a self-confessed gambling addict who quit 28 years ago. ‘Online gambling is just another way you’re going to create more addiction and then you’re going to see more crime. It’s just no good for America.’

Mr. Norquist also took money from other gambling interests, like the Venetian Casino Resort, according to a March 31, 2006, article by Michael Kranish in the Boston Globe.

I think it is fair to ask: whose bidding is Grover Norquist doing? Why would Americans for Tax Reform take such a longstanding interest in proliferating gambling in the United States?

I'm not personally a supporter of Grover Norquist at all. However, I've sent a message to Rep. Wolf encouraging him to look at the issue of online poker separate from Norquist's involvement.

Done for today. :-)