TheEngineer (or anyone else), i am under the impression you are from Kentucky so you probly have a better idea than me...

If internet poker is eventually left up to the states to decide, what do you think the chances are of it being legal here in the Bluegrass state?

<SPAN>Here's the PPA press release from Sept:

For Immediate Release
Contact: Rich Muny, PPA KY State Director
<SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>

<SPAN>September 17, 2007
</SPAN><SPAN><SPAN>KY@pokerplayersalliance.org</SPAN></SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>PPA Launches Statewide Effort to Fight for Legal Poker in Kentucky</SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>In response to Governor Ernie Fletcher�s election-year change of heart with regard to allowing Kentuckians to vote on gaming in the commonwealth, the Kentucky members of the 760,000-member Poker Players Alliance have kicked off an advocacy campaign in support of poker in the commonwealth.</SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>Poker Players Alliance Kentucky State Director Rich Muny, of Union, KY, announced today that the organization has initiated a statewide effort to encourage all Kentucky poker players to contact the governor and other local and state politicians to express strong opposition to the governor�s anti-poker efforts and warns that Kentucky PPA members will take the same sentiment to the polls in November. Several hundred emails have already been sent to the governor, and many more are forthcoming.</SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>Mr. Muny stated, �Governor Fletcher is running not on his achievements of the past four years, but on a campaign of distraction. In the process, Fletcher has demonized the good folks who enjoy the game of poker. Indiana has casinos with card rooms, built right on Kentucky�s borders, as do other states. Kentucky deserves to keep this revenue in our own state for the benefit of our own citizens. Additionally, our citizens deserve the freedom to choose to play a hand of poker.�</SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>Muny urges Kentucky PPA members and poker enthusiasts to contact Governor Fletcher at (502) 607-8683, or via email at <SPAN>contact@erniefletcher.com</SPAN>. �Tell him you�ll vote for your freedom and for Kentucky.� </SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>###</SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>
<SPAN>The Poker Players Alliance (www.pokerplayersalliance.org) is a nonprofit membership organization comprised of poker players and enthusiasts from around the United States who have joined together to speak with one voice to promote the game, ensure its integrity, and, most importantly, to protect poker players� rights. The PPA seeks to guarantee players secure, safe, and regulated places to play. They promote poker with the intent to keep this recreational activity free from unreasonable government intervention.</SPAN>

My letter to Fletcher:

August 9, 2007

Governor Ernie Fletcher
700 Capital Avenue Suite 100
Frankfort, KY 40601

Dear Governor Fletcher:

I am writing in regards to your reelection campaign. I am a lifelong conservative Republican � pro-life and pro-Second Amendment. However, I am also pro-limited government. As such, I am very dismayed by your recent embrace of a nanny state for the good people of Kentucky. In fact, your entire reelection campaign is seemingly based only on advocacy of a position that people cannot be trusted to make their own decisions regarding playing poker or other casino games (or to even vote on the issue). Do you really believe casinos cause crime, as if it�s the casino�s fault and not the criminals�? Quite frankly, your claims that casinos cause crime reminds me of something Sarah Brady would say about guns! Given that you feel this way, I find it difficult to trust you with my other freedoms.

I realize you had to come up with something on which to campaign, and that could not have been an easy task for you this year. Still, couldn�t you find something Republican on which to campaign? It seems you and Sen. McConnell think the majority of Kentuckians want the state government to protect them from themselves (and McConnell apparently feels the federal government needs to police the Internet to keep people from playing poker, like in Iran and China). Sorry, but if you continue on this path, I think you�ll find on Election Day that this is an erroneous assumption. I urge you to at least gather some polling data, because it may just be a situation where you have too small a circle of friends who don�t realize that people like to play poker and games of chance for entertainment and relaxation, and that only a very small percentage of players develop issues.

As a result of the scandals of your administration, your embrace of a nanny state, your scapegoating of the many good people in Kentucky who enjoy an occasional game of poker, and the simply fact that the Republican party could use some housecleaning to restore us to being a party of small government (and you have an off-year election that will set the tone for the 2008 elections)� unless you radically change course I plan to vote for Steve Beshear.

Sincerely,

November 5, 2007

Dear Mr. Beshear:

First of all, I'd like to congratulate you a day in advance on your election as Kentucky's next governor. As the Poker Players Alliance Kentucky State Director, I took a particular interest in this race. Our organization sent out informational communications to our 9,000 Kentucky members alerting them to the issues of this race and how they pertain to poker players. Joseph Gerth wrote of our efforts in his Louisville Courier-Journal article today. Additionally, I personally (as a private citizen, independent of the PPA) contributed to your campaign, as I support your stand relative to poker in the commonwealth.

I do have a request. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick recently proposed a bill legalizing casino gaming in his state. Unfortunately, his bill includes language that prohibits all Internet gaming, including even poker. This language was apparently inserted to limit competition. Needless to say, the PPA and the poker players of Mass. strongly oppose this language. I hope this will not be attempted in Kentucky, but as there is some possibility that it will, I wish to bring this concern to your attention.

Internet gaming (with the exception of sports betting) is legal in Kentucky. Folks voting for you are clearly not voting for a ban on Internet poker (those folks are voting for Fletcher). Will you ensure that your referendum legalizing casino gaming in the commonwealth does not make Internet poker illegal?

Thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,

[me]

<HR>
<SPAN class=EC_Apple-style-span><SPAN>For Immediate Release </SPAN>

<SPAN>October 31, 2007</SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>Contacts: </SPAN><SPAN>Rich Muny, PPA KY State Director
<SPAN>KY@pokerplayersalliance.org</SPAN>
<SPAN>John Pappas, PPA National Executive Director � (202) 729-4335</SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>PPA Fighting for Legal Poker Rooms in Kentucky</SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>(October 31, 2007 � Union, KY)<SPAN> </SPAN>Governor Ernie Fletcher�s election-year decision to oppose a statewide referendum on the issue of casino gaming in the commonwealth has drawn the ire of the state�s poker players, as Fletcher�s position includes poker rooms.<SPAN> </SPAN></SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>In September, the Kentucky State Chapter of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) announced it was mounting a statewide grassroots advocacy campaign in support of poker in Kentucky.<SPAN> </SPAN>Since then, over one thousand pro-poker letters and phone calls from concerned poker players have flooded the offices of Fletcher and state representatives.</SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>When asked for a comment on the success of the PPA effort, PPA Kentucky State Director Rich Muny today stated that PPA�s efforts in the state exceeded all expectations, and he warned that Kentucky PPA members will take their pro-poker sentiments to the polls next Tuesday. Muny stated, �Governor Fletcher is running not on his achievements of the past four years, but on a campaign of distraction. In the process, Fletcher has demonized the good folks who enjoy the game of poker. Indiana has card rooms built right on Kentucky�s borders, as do other states. Kentucky deserves to keep this revenue in our own state for the benefit of our own citizens. Additionally, our citizens deserve the freedom to choose to play a hand of poker.�</SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>Muny urges all Kentucky poker enthusiasts to contact Governor Fletcher at (502) 607-8683, or via email at <SPAN>contact@erniefletcher.com</SPAN>.<SPAN> </SPAN>He says, �tell him you�ll vote for your freedom and for Kentucky.� </SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>###</SPAN>

<SPAN> </SPAN>

<SPAN>The Poker Players Alliance (http://<i><a href="http://www.pokerp...ce.org</a></i>) is a nonprofit membership organization comprised of over 800,000 poker players and enthusiasts from around the United States who have joined together to speak with one voice to promote the game, ensure its integrity, and, most importantly, to protect poker players� rights. The PPA seeks to guarantee players secure, safe, and regulated places to play. They promote poker with the intent to keep this recreational activity free from unreasonable government intervention. </SPAN>
</SPAN>

Thanks! I appreciate your letter writing as well, as it helps protect my right to play. I hope everyone here will do their part.

Any chance you can post a letter of yours here to encourage others?