This week, the online poker industry’s main lobbying group, the Poker Players Alliance, changed its look and swagger with a brand new website. Bringing poker news, forum posts, and key content front and center, the new and improved PPA website has received rave reviews so far. In addition, the organization has partnered with OneBigPlanet to bring its members exclusive savings from a variety of online merchants including Target and Buy.com. You can even win a WSOP Main Event seat just for becoming a PPA dues-paying member. All this comes with the PPA now sitting at over one million members by a healthy margin. PocketFives.com sat down with PPA Executive Director John Pappas to learn about the big changes and what you can expect from the new and improved PPA.

First and foremost, if you visit www.pokerplayersalliance.org, you’ll notice a whole different website look. The PPA is still working out some of the kinks, but overall Pappas is pleased: “I think it’s an improvement. The interactive nature of our new forums and new State Director pages will be a useful tool for us to grow on a grassroots level. We’re offering some neat incentives for folks to join the PPA. Members can take advantage of our promotion with OneBigPlanet and have an opportunity to win a World Series of Poker seat.”

One of the motivating factors for the new look was the PPA’s desire to have more control over its own content: “We wanted to bring the forums onto our own site, as we had been using a third-party tool. We wanted more control over everything. We wanted a cleaner look and wanted to be able to categorize information in a much cleaner way. We also wanted to build out our PPA State Directors pages so that our State Directors could post information right onto the site. We hope this will foster more interaction.”

The PPA is slowly trying to convert its free members into dues-paying members and, at the same time, continue to expand in size. The organization just launched a partnership with OneBigPlanet, a loyalty-oriented company, to offer its members discounts when they purchase products online. Pappas explains, “OneBigPlanet has over 600 online merchants; you can find companies ranging from automotive to dining. All you need to do is be a dues-paying member of the PPA. What we had been offering in the past is a t-shirt or hat. It’s just not economical anymore to send those in the mail. We’ll be sending a customized PPA card protector and a letter instead.” In addition to those trinkets, PPA members can now sign up for an account on OneBigPlanet and start saving.

After becoming a dues-paying member of the PPA and making one purchase on OneBigPlanet before June 10th, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event seat. If you’re wondering, the seat is being paid for by OneBigPlanet and a random number generator will determine what lucky PPA member will be headed to Las Vegas. It’s a unique opportunity to try and win a seat if you haven’t already done so. The PPA will even provide you with some gear to wear on the felts of the Amazon Room.

A number of questions in the PocketFives.com Poker Legislation forum recently have dealt with the issue of online poker’s legality in different jurisdictions. Questions such as, “Is online poker legal in Indiana?” have come up quite often. If you want to be completely sure what the answer to your question is, Pappas suggests that you visit the Poker Players Alliance Litigation Support network, which can be found by clicking here: “You can send questions to [Litigation Support Director] Patrick Fleming through the forums or right on the Litigation Support Network home page. What we’re able to provide is top line legal advice as to the laws in your jurisdiction and then recommend lawyers who are members of the Network.” Every lawyer is pre-screened by the PPA.

The PPA offers free memberships on its website, www.pokerplayersalliance.org. If you feel like splurging, you can buy a premium membership for $20 per year, which will get you access to the Litigation Network, OneBigPlanet, and the WSOP Seat Giveaway. Regardless, the PPA will help you stay up to date on the latest news on the legislative front.