Update from Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations
June 17, 2011
http://theppa.org/newsletters/2011/0...ions-06172011/

Dear Fellow Poker Player,

I wish to again offer you my sincere thanks for allowing me the honor of representing you in the fight for our rights as poker players as the vice president of player relations.

I am happy to have had the opportunity to speak with many of you via phone and email and in person at the PPA booth at the World Series of Poker last weekend. WSOP was great, in fact. I really enjoyed meeting many of you face-to-face to share all that PPA is doing in this fight. I similarly enjoyed meeting with many poker bloggers and podcasters while there.

I thank everyone who contacted me with their comments and concerns about Black Friday and the future of online poker. Be assured PPA will keep up the fight. I am proud that we poker players are standing up to those who would take from us our right to play.

As I mentioned last week, I have always been very accessible to my fellow poker players. I regularly communicate directly with the players on several online forums under my online handle �TheEngineer� and via phone and email. Since last week, I received over one hundred emails and have responded to all of them. I received several phone calls and IMs as well. The top three issues were:

• What more can individual poker players do to stand up for the game of poker?
• What is the status of our balances at Full Tilt Poker, UB and AB?
• Please detail what PPA has done in the fight for poker rights.

What more can individual poker players do to stand up for the game of poker?

Being a PPA member is helpful in and of itself. I thank you for joining the organization and for allowing us to represent you in the fight. The next step is to become a dues paying member. As we are a membership organization, I believe it is very important for all of us to join as paid members. I know times are tough right now and I do not want to ask anyone to overextend, but if $20 per year is within your means, I guarantee PPA can put that money to good use for you and for the game of poker.

Every membership dollar PPA raises goes directly into the fight for poker rights. A $20 investment in the PPA is the best bet in poker.

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Following that, please visit www.theppa.org/takeaction and follow the action items. Please also participate in my daily Fight for Poker Rights action plan. If we all keep the pressure on our lawmakers, they will not be able to ignore our demands for the right to play poker on our own homes on our own computers.

What is the status of our balances at Full Tilt Poker, UB and AB?

Getting player money back from the sites is a very high priority for PPA. For what it�s worth, my roll is locked up on FTP as well. This is a shared fight and it is one I personally take very seriously.

PPA has issued statements demanding that FTP, AB, and UB repay players� balances. I guarantee you we are doing all we can in this effort.

One issue for the sites may be that they have not been given back all the money that was seized by the Department of Justice. In fact, the DoJ has thus far kept much of the seized money. I am sure that plays a large part of the problems we see today. That being said, PPA does not accept this as an excuse for inaction. Sites have an obligation to safeguard player money. I unfortunately have no estimate on when this will all be resolved.

PPA has put out a couple of updates on this situation. We will update the membership every time we have new information.

Please detail what PPA has done in the fight for poker rights

PPA has had success in:

• Creating an organization in DC where none formerly existed. We saw the result of that in Congress a few weeks ago, when Attorney General Eric Holder was grilled by a few congressmen about Black Friday at a hearing on an unrelated matter. We see it every day, in fact, as only anti-poker legislation was introduced to Congress from 1995-2006, while only pro-poker legislation has been introduced since.
• Raising the public image and perception of poker as an honorable game, not a degenerate vice.
• Defensively fighting federal legislative action that sought to harm further the interests of poker players.
• Defending against the implementation of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) regulations, successfully delaying for six months implementation of those regulations.
• Giving a voice to poker players in states where poker activity has attracted law enforcement or other negative notice.
• Jumpstarting state action. PPA�s actions at the federal level have woken up some states that are now concerned that Congress will authorize online poker before these states can.

Consider where we poker players started. UIGEA passed the House in 2006 by a vote of 317-93 and it was a free standing bill at that time (it was HR 4411). Politicians openly and proudly opposed us, and they only do that when they think there is ZERO downside to doing so.

For a reminder of the dark days before we poker players organized for the fight back, please take a look at the UIGEA House Testimony from July 11, 2006 and observe how lawmakers were tripping over one another to condemn online poker.

Anti-online poker folks built a loose coalition against us prior to UIGEA�s passage. The GOP even put a plank in its platform advocating a ban on online gaming. Additionally, when UIGEA passed, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) promised to introduce new legislation to finish what UIGEA started.

With this starting point, it was not reasonable to think poker players could turn this around overnight. PPA certainly never promised to. Rather, PPA started a process by which we could build support for our position. Initiating this fight, even as underdogs, was the maximum EV option of the choices available to us.

So, what has happened since? Well, Congress had certainly heard from America�s poker players. We are on offense in Congress, which is our best defense. Again, no bills have been proposed against us since 2006, after years of anti-poker bills.

PPA organized letter-writing and phone call campaigns while lobbying federal agencies and Congress. PPA also set up and organized testimony at Congressional hearings that went very well for us. Poker players wrote and called Congress by the hundreds of thousands. With these efforts, PPA stopped � and reversed � the momentum of the anti-poker forces. I believe we are fortunate to have someone as savvy on the Hill as Executive Director John Pappas at the helm, as navigating that arena is a skill all its own.

At the state level, the PPA twice stopped Massachusetts from criminalizing playing of online poker. PPA also fought the Kentucky governor�s efforts to seize online poker domain names. That effort included recruiting the ACLU and EFF to aid the fight, including a joint press conference to condemn the governor�s attack on the game. PPA worked with state and national media very effectively to communicate the players� position in the Kentucky fight.

PPA got very involved in elections as well. Players helped push UIGEA sponsor Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA) from office � a fact he readily admits. PPA also contributed greatly to anti-poker CO Senate candidate Ken Buck�s loss to Michael Bennet. PPA�s PAC, PokerPAC, is an active participant in national elections.

On the media front, coverage of poker issues was often negative prior to passage of UIGEA. Thanks to the efforts of PPA, we now get our opinion mentioned in almost every mainstream article on the topic. I write a column myself, at http://biggovernment.com/rmuny.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of inertia in DC. Some politicians still think the anti-gaming types enjoy the support they did twenty years ago. We are chipping away at this every single day.

PPA continues to keep pressure on Capitol Hill. A poker-only bill will be introduced in the next couple of weeks. It will be introduced by a conservative Republican, Rep. Joe Barton of Texas. This bipartisanship will help the bill�s prospects greatly. Here�s a good article.

With that, I again thank you all for this opportunity and I humbly ask everyone here for your support going forward. Please feel free to reach out with any questions. Thanks!

Proud to play,

Rich Muny
playerrelations@theppa.org

PPA News and Event Highlights (07/01/2011)

Presidential Candidate Takes a Stand in Support of Poker Rights



In the past week the poker community has had a prominent Congressman introduce legislation to regulate poker and a few days ago a former two-term Governor now presidential candidate has issued a statement in support of poker player�s rights. We have told you about Gary Johnson before, he is the former popular Governor of New Mexico and he is an ardent opponent of the UIGEA and a proponent of your freedom to play online poker. Here is what Governor Johnson said this week:

Gary Johnson is the former two-term Governor of New Mexico, a Republican candidate for President, and a long-time defender of personal freedom.

And that freedom includes your right to play online poker.

Governor Johnson has strongly condemned the federal crackdown on online poker, arguing that the right to assume risk and to gamble (in the privacy of one�s own home, no less) is a basic right that should not involve the government.

Governor Johnson has issued the following statement: �Government has absolutely no business telling Americans what they can do with their own time and their own money on their own computers, and that most certainly should apply to playing poker online. The fact that Americans are now prevented from playing online poker is an outrage. Unfortunately it is but another chilling example of how Congress and the Justice Department continue to trample on our personal liberty.

�As President, I will do everything in my power to restore your right to play online poker, and ensure that such a right can never be taken away again.�

You can voice your support for poker by going to www.GaryJohnson2012.com/poker.

Governor Johnson is also taking to the poker forums to communicate directly to the poker community. Click here to see what he is saying.

Finally, we are pleased to announce that Governor Johnson will be at the World Series of Poker on July 8th and available to meet poker players and the media at the PPA Booth. If you are in Las Vegas, we encourage you to stop by the PPA Booth (right outside the Brasilia Poker Room) between 1pm and 3pm to meet Gary Johnson in person.

Tweet President Obama!

The White House announced through its official Twitter account, @whitehouse, that it will host its first ever Twitter town hall on Wednesday, July 6 at 2PM ET in the East Room of the White House. Twitter co-founder and Executive Chairman Jack Dorsey will moderate a conversation between President Obama and Americans across the country about the economy and jobs.

Starting today, PPA twitter users can submit a prepopulated question asking the President if he supports licensing and regulating online poker by clicking here. Or you can submit your own poker question to President Obama by clicking here and please don�t forget to use the hash tags #poker #askobama.

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Weekly Update from Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations

With the introduction of Congressman Joe Barton�s (R-TX) Online Poker Act, the poker community has again upped the ante on Capitol Hill!

In fact, we have a stronger hand now than we have had in the past. This bill is truly bipartisan, and poker players and enthusiasts are united as never before. We all want something passed and we all want done sooner than later. Our odds have never been better.

However, as in poker, getting in the game is only half the battle � and it is not the winning half, either. So, let�s all do our part to play a winning game in 2011.

We all received a detailed alert from the PPA earlier this week with specific steps you can take to support this important bill. It is at www.theppa.org/takeaction. I ask that we all participate in these actions to stand up for the game. If we each do our part, the sum of our efforts will maximize our chances at ultimate victory.

Every letter we send to Congress tells our lawmakers that we care about this issue. Every phone call we make to Congress tells them we really care about our rights as poker players and enthusiasts. Please remember that PPA is not a �they��it is us. It is up to each of us to work together make this fight the success it can be.

It is also up to each of us to tell Congress what we demand. No one else will do it for us, so please visit the PPA Take Action Page and take action today!

Member Questions

I regularly communicate directly with players on several online forums under my online handle �TheEngineer� and via phone and email. Since taking this role on June 1st, I have received a few hundred emails and have responded to all of them. I received several phone calls and IMs as well. The top issues this week were:

• What is the latest on PPA�s efforts on behalf of those who have funds locked up on Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker?
• You say you are responsible for communication with poker-specific media. Please point me to a detailed interview where you substantively discuss the issues.
• Will you be back at the PPA WSOP booth this year?

What is the latest on PPA�s efforts on behalf of those who have funds locked up on Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker?

Getting player money back from the sites is a very high priority for PPA. As I mentioned several times here and to poker media, I have funds locked up on Full Tilt Poker too. This is a shared fight and it is one I personally take very seriously.

As you may have heard, the situation at Full Tilt Poker has changed dramatically over the past week, culminating with a reported sale of the site. You can read more at LA Times: Full Tilt Poker to be sold to European investors.

As I mentioned last week, PPA�s legal team has been actively reviewing options for the organization and for the players in this matter. PPA is working on an informative guide on the subject covering all options for players who are still owed money. We hope to have this available very soon.

You say you are responsible for communication with poker-specific media. Please point me to a detailed interview where you substantively discuss the issues.

I appeared on the QuadJacks podcast on Wednesday for an almost two hour long interview to discuss many issues pertinent to the poker community. I hope you all find it of interest: The QuadJacks Poker Podcast

Will you be back at the PPA WSOP booth this year?

I will be at the PPA World Series of Poker booth next weekend, July 7th � July 9th. I will be joined by Executive Director John Pappas on July 7th and by former governor and presidential candidate Gary Johnson on July 8th, so it will be a great time for everyone to stop by the booth to get acquainted with your PPA.

If you are in the area, please feel free to stop by the booth, introduce yourself, and discuss anything on your mind about the fight, the organization, and anything else about which you wish to talk. I look forward to meeting anyone who can stop by. If you would like to prearrange a time, feel free to email me.

I thank you all for your continued support in this fight for our rights as poker enthusiasts and as Americans!
Proud to play,

Rich Muny
playerrelations@theppa.org

Players’ Funds Legal Guide, Record WSOP and more – 07/12/2011

Players’ Funds Legal Guide

The PPA’s legal team has prepared a legal analysis of the options available to individual players who still have not been able to access their online poker funds held on account. The document, “Legal Rights of Players with Unpaid Balances – A PPA Information Guide” seeks to provide our members with facts and information about how individuals can seek to claim their online poker account money. We hope you find this document useful and informative. Should you have further inquiries about players’ funds you can contact our Litigation Support Network at: legal@theppa.org.

WSOP Sets Records

Despite the April 15th set back to online poker in the U.S. the 2011 World Series of Poker has been a huge success. Even in the face of a government crackdown, poker is very popular and people from all over the globe gathered in Las Vegas for the past 6 weeks to ply their poker skills with the best. More than 75,000 people played in 58 WSOP bracelet events (with $187,109,850 in total prize pool), which is a 3.7 percent increase from last year’s participation and sets a new record for the event. The Main Event ($10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Championship), not surprisingly, was down slightly from last year given that many players earn their seats for that event through online poker qualifiers.

The success of the WSOP sends a clear message that poker is still very popular and the globalization of poker through the Internet is attracting more and more players from across the world. Sadly, the U.S. still is not fully capitalizing on this burgeoning industry. By not affirmatively licensing companies in the U.S. to offer real money poker to Americans, our country is folding billions of tax dollars, strong consumer protections and the personal freedoms of our citizens. Now more than ever, we need Congress to pass bills like H.R. 2366 and H.R. 1174. If you haven’t done so already, contact your Representative and Senator and tell them to support regulation of online poker today!

The PPA wishes to keep active members like yourself 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.

Feds’ online-poker stance is senseless – Chicago Sun-Times (07/09/2011)
America’s online poker fans down to their last card – The Observer (07/10/2011)
Poker players find reason to unite – Las Vegas Review-Journal (07/10/2011)
Correa to Present Online Poker Bill to Senate Committee – Business Wire (07/11/2011
World Series of Poker pot still a big one – USA Today (07/11/2011
News in brief: Three new co-sponsors for Barton bill; DC casino launch delayed – eGaming Review (07/12/2011)

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

Update: Growing Support for HR2366, Townhall Meetings, and more � 7/29/2011

PPA on Capitol Hill

Even in the midst of intense debate on solving the U.S. debt crisis, the PPA and its lobbying team met with several lawmakers and their staffs to garner their support for Internet poker legislation. We received a few commitments of co-sponsorship and those names should officially be added as supporters of H.R. 2366 in the coming days.

On Wednesday the PPA participated in a Congressional staff briefing and demo hosted by Congressman Joe Barton (lead sponsor of H.R. 2366) put on by BetClic/everest Group a leading European online gaming and online poker provider. The briefing/demo was very well attended. It provided Congressional staff unique insight on how a U.S. regulated Internet poker company can employ technologies to support strong consumer protections. Representatives from BetClic/Everest showed how they manage age-verification, mitigate problem gambling and prevent cheating and collusion. Further, they explained how regulation allows for unfettered flow of funds between a player and their poker account and how the banking industry and law enforcement welcome the clarity of a regulated market. All in attendance were treated to an excellent briefing on how Internet poker can be effectively regulated.

We look forward to updating you next week on new cosponsors and new developments on Capitol Hill.

Click here to listen to a recent interview with John Pappas.

Meet your Member of Congress in August

Very soon Congress will be breaking for its annual August recess. This is typically the time when Members of Congress have the opportunity to spend time in their districts and meet with you, their constituents, and participate in a variety of public events, including townhall meetings. Townhalls are a great opportunity for poker players and advocates to participate in the most basic form of representative government by interacting with your Member of Congress on issues important to you. The PPA has put together a useful guide that gives you the ins and outs of learning about townhall meetings. Please click here to learn more about how you can be an August Advocate for poker.

Weekly Update from Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations

I wish to again convey my gratitude in allowing me the honor of serving as your player relations chief over the past two months and as one of your representatives on the PPA Board of Directors over the past four years. I am humbled by your support and I appreciate it greatly. Thank you.

I am pleased that PPA was able to reach out to the poker community via its booth at this year�s World Series of Poker. Having spent much of July in Las Vegas, I enjoyed meeting with many poker players, poker enthusiasts, poker community leaders, and poker media. It was a great trip. More importantly, hearing your concerns and needs first-hand will be of great help to me and to the organization going forward.

Most discussion � unsurprisingly � centered on passing online poker legislation. Congressman Joe Barton�s (R-TX) Online Poker Act continues to gain steam in the House. You can help the prospects of this legislation right now. Simply visit the PPA Take Action page and tell your elected representatives that you demand action on poker legislation. PPA has made it easy via prewritten letters and detailed action plans. I ask that you take a few minutes to participate in this important action. Will you take a stand for our rights as poker players?

I also had the honor of meeting with presidential candidate former Governor Gary Johnson (R-NM).

I am very pleased that a candidate for high office understands the importance of outreach to the poker community. It shows how far we have come since the dark days leading up to passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, when politicians mistakenly believed opposing our right to play was politically beneficial. For a reminder of the situation before we poker players organized for the fight back, please take a look at the UIGEA House Testimony from July 11, 2006 and observe how lawmakers were tripping over one another to condemn online poker.

While it was great meeting many of you face-to-face, I recognize that many of you were not able to make it to this year�s WSOP and I hope to hear from you as well. As many know from personal experience, I regularly communicate directly with players on several online forums under my online handle �TheEngineer� and via phone and email. If you have anything on your mind that you would like to discuss, I ask that you will reach out and let me know. Your emails go directly to my laptop inbox and iPhone, so please be assured that you are always connected directly to me and to the organization.

With that, I thank you all for your continued support in this fight for our rights as poker enthusiasts!

Proud to play,

Rich Muny
playerrelations@theppa.org

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The PPA wishes to keep active members like yourself 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.


Coalition formed to push for legalization of online poker � The Hill (07/27/2011)
TV Helped Drive Traffic to Online Poker Websites, Irking Justice Department � Washington Post (07/26/2011)
Full Tilt Poker�s AGCC Hearing Delayed Until September � Bluff Magazine (07/26/2011)
N.J. senator disputes Nevada claim that online betting is illegal � North Jersey (07/26/2011)

• 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

The Debt Committee and Internet Poker � 8/12/2011
http://theppa.org/newsletters/2011/0...poker-8122011/

Debt Committee and Internet Poker

As you may know, U.S. House and Senate leaders have appointed 12 members of Congress to serve on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

This �super� committee is charged with developing policies to reduce the U.S. deficit and then make specific recommendations to Congress which will be voted on. This is a perfect opportunity for supporters of regulated Internet poker to make their voices heard.

Details and structure of this new committee are still not finalized; however the PPA is already positioning itself to educate the committee members about how regulated Internet poker could mean billions in new revenue, WITHOUT raising taxes. Very soon you will hear from us about ways you, as an American and poker player, can help influence this Committee to consider poker as one of its policy solutions to our nation�s debt crisis.

Note: If you wish to get a head start on this, today�s Fight for Poker Rights action plan is to ask this committee to include online poker legislation in their plan to address to debt.

Weekly Update from Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations

In an environment where our national debt is embroiling Capitol Hill and unnerving Wall Street, should our government continue to refuse the tax revenues that licensed online poker would generate? Should our government instead waste our tax dollars � money we cannot spare right now � on efforts to stop adults from playing poker in our own homes on our own computers?

If you want Congress to stop wasting our time and our tax dollars on efforts to prohibit online poker, please tell them! They are our elected representatives, after all.

Congress� August recess has started and your elected representatives are back home for the month. While they are home, let�s all call their district offices (click here for phone numbers) and urge them to support HR 2366, the Online Poker Act of 2011. Here are some tips on what to say to the staffer who answers the phone:

• I am a constituent, a voter, and a poker enthusiast.
• (For Representatives) Please support H.R. 2366, a bipartisan bill to license and regulate Internet poker.
• (For Senators) H.R. 2366 has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. I would like the Senator to support Senate legislation to license and regulate Internet poker.
• Licensing will provide strong consumer protections and age verification as well as billions of dollars in federal and state revenue.
• Addiction is a real issue for a very small percentage of people in many areas � food, shopping, gaming etc. � that can be addressed without infringing on the rights of those who responsibly enjoy these activities. Online poker can easily include self-banning and deposit limit provisions. Sites can also utilize software tools to identify patterns that indicate compulsive behaviors. In fact, a groundbreaking Harvard study shows licensing and regulating of online poker to be better at addressing problem gaming than prohibition.
• Every federal dollar wasted on efforts to stop me from playing online poker is another dollar added to the federal deficit.
• Please support my freedoms by supporting this bill.
• Thank you.
• I would like a response from the Representative/Senator.

You can also urge Members of Congress to support the bill by clicking here to see if your elected representatives have Facebook pages. If they do, please take a moment to sign into your Facebook account, click the �Like� button on the page and then post your message asking them to protect your right to play online poker by supporting HR 2366! You can also check to see if your elected representatives have Twitter accounts by clicking here. If they do, please use the hashtag #poker when sending your tweet.

Additionally, I participated in an in-depth interview on the Short Stacked Radio Show on Monday, where I discussed advocacy efforts for online poker. As I mentioned last week, 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 hope you will find it interesting and informative.

Short Stacked Radio Show Interview: Rich Muny

Thanks for your support!

Proud to play,

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

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The PPA wishes to keep active members like yourself 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.


PokerStars VIP Manager Discusses Player Relocation � PokerNews (08/05/2011)
A global perspective on �iGaming� � Washington Post (08/05/2011)
Poker And The Law: D.C. Lottery Plans Internet Poker � Poker Player Newspaper (08/08/2011)
California�s Internet gambling bills generate conversation, cash � Sacramento Bee (08/11/2011)
Online poker ban sends pros elsewhere � Las Vegas Review-Journal (08/11/2011)
Debate over legalizing online gambling goes on � Bellingham Herald (08/11/2011)
Poker can help state, municipalities make up for lost tax dollars � Sun Sentinel (08/11/2011)

• 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

Actions: Daily Action Plans, Q&A, and Headlines – 9/2/2011
http://theppa.org/newsletters/2011/0...dlines-922011/

Weekly Update from Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations

I wish to thank the entire poker community for the outstanding work in telling our elected officials that we demand action on the online poker issue. We as individuals have sent over 100,000 letters to lawmakers and made countless phone calls to lawmakers this year alone. We have also posted thousands of pro-poker statements to their Facebook walls, while also sending them thousands of pro-poker Twitter messages.

This tremendous community effort has provided lawmakers with objective evidence that we poker players and enthusiasts care deeply about our liberty. It has also exposed the anti-online poker “forces” as being much weaker than they would have Congress believe. All of this gives PPA’s lobbyists the fuel they need to wage their part of the fight on Capitol Hill.

To help continue this momentum, please bookmark the daily Fight for Poker Rights action plan and participate in these actions. If we all take just a few minutes a day to participate in these actions, we will make a huge difference in this fight.

Will you participate? Many of your fellow poker players already are. Please join the effort and help expand this important grassroots effort:

I hope to see you there!

Questions from the Poker Community

When UIGEA passed in 2006, Congress believed they would get praise and political gain for ending the “scourge of online gambling.” Politicians were proud to oppose us. The GOP even put a plank in its platform calling for a ban on online gaming. HR 4411, the bill that became UIGEA, passed the House as a freestanding bill 317-93. I spoke to lawmakers a few months after it passed. They all believed the U.S. people were strongly supportive of UIGEA. They definitely did not think they were doing an end-run around the will of the people.

I am happy to have had the opportunity to speak with many of you via phone and email. I thank everyone who contacted me with their comments and concerns about the future of online poker in the U.S. I am proud that the poker community and PPA are standing up to those who seek to take from us our right to play.

I have always been very accessible to my fellow poker players. I regularly communicate directly with the players on several online forums under my online handle “TheEngineer” and via phone and email. Two new questions from this week:

• Are you a poker player? How much do you play and what is your background?
• Why won’t Congress listen to the people and stop bothering poker players?

You say you didn’t come from the PPA to reach out to the player community, but that you came from the player community to the PPA. What do you mean? How much do you play and what is your background?

Prior to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006, I was a mechanical engineer at GE Aviation in Cincinnati, OH. I worked on jet engine design by day while enjoying poker on the side. This worked very well for me. I enjoyed a second income playing poker in my own home on my own schedule with my wife at my side. To me, that was far better than rather having to drive to a smoky casino and wait around for a seat to open up. After all, while I enjoy B&M poker, I certainly did not wish to hit the casino every night after work.

My play was not bothering anyone. After all, I was playing in my own home on my own computer. It hardly occurred to me that anyone else thought this was their business. I know I never thought it was their business. Unfortunately, we all now know that many did feel this to be their concern. In fact, they wanted the federal government to stop me – and you – from playing.

When UIGEA passed into law in 2006, I was as outraged as all of you, as you may imagine. Feeling a need to do something, I started posting on poker forums like Two Plus Two to encourage the poker community to take action to stand up for our rights. Posting as “TheEngineer”, I started the Fight for Poker Rights action plan. It was a modest effort at first. We sought to act in unison to magnify our voice in an effort simply to be heard. This snowballed quickly. Simultaneously, the Poker Players Alliance came into its own. A nascent organization in 2006, PPA expanded greatly after the passage of UIGEA. Within the first year of its existence, the PPA had over 600,000 members.

Seeing the opportunity to combine the energy of the grassroots with the strength of a strong organization and lobbying effort, in late 2007 John Pappas was elevated to executive director along with membership on the PPA Board of Directors. On the same day, I joined the PPA Board of Directors as an unpaid volunteer. The organization was on its way. By April 2008, the PPA signed up its one millionth member.

Believing in our liberty as poker players and enthusiasts, I volunteered at least 2,000 hours per year to the cause. This effort included writing a pro-poker column, organizing poker players, and lots of grassroots organizing. At the same time, my poker earnings exceeded my engineering income. Seeing an opportunity to spend more time on poker advocacy, I decided to leave engineering and play poker full-time. This way, my poker earnings could subsidize the volunteer effort.

I played for a living for eighteen months, until April 15, 2011. We all know what happened that day. Once again, our federal nanny decided to involve itself in what we choose to do in our own homes on our own computers.

With the changes to the poker environment wrought by Black Friday, I was offered a formal position within PPA as vice president of player relations. I was very happy to accept the offer. While it may not be intuitively obvious that engineering skills would be transferable to this position, I have found that the project management, problem solving, and other skills I learned as an engineer prepared me well for this position.

I am honored to represent the poker community in this fashion and I sincerely appreciate you all allowing me to serve you in this role.

Why won’t Congress listen to the American people and stop bothering poker players?

When UIGEA passed in 2006, Congress believed they would get praise and political gain for ending the "scourge of online gambling." Politicians were proud to oppose us. The GOP even put a plank in its platform calling for a ban on online gaming. HR 4411, the bill that became UIGEA, passed the House as a freestanding bill 317-93.

I spoke to lawmakers a few months after it passed. They all believed the U.S. people were strongly supportive of UIGEA. They definitely did not think they were doing an end-run around the will of the people.

This is why it is so important for all of us to speak up for our right to play. Congress needs to hear from you, your family, your friends, and your colleagues. They need to understand that Americans want this liberty. We are being heard loudly and clearly on the Hill now, so let’s all keep this up!

Audio 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 hope you will find these interesting and informative:

Radio Gametime (8/17): Rich Muny (starts at time point 2:10:50) and more

Two Plus Two PokerCast (8/22): Greg FBT Mueller, Shaun Deeb, Rich Muny (starts at time point 1:06:00), and more

Short Stacked Radio (8/22): Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson (Part 1, starts at time point 0:23:30), Rich Muny (Part 1, starts at time point 1:06:00), and more

Short Stacked Radio (8/29): Poker News’s Chad Holloway, Rich Muny (Part 1, starts at time point 2:10:45), and more

Thanks for your support!

Proud to play,

Rich Muny

Update: Tell GOP presidential candidates to support online poker, and more – 09/16/2011
http://theppa.org/newsletters/2011/0...-more-09162011

You Ask.
The Republican Candidates Answer.

On September 22nd, the Presidential Republican primary candidates will meet in Orlando, Florida, for the Fox News/Google Debate – and they’ll be answering questions that have been submitted by viewers. Those with the highest votes will be answered live on TV by one or all of the candidates!

1. Please click here to visit the debate website.
2. Look for the vote tab in the left hand corner of the page under the heading FoxNews/Google Debate logo.
3. Then, under the topic menu, select Jobs and Economy.
4. Go to the search box under Ask a Question and search for the term “poker”.
5. Find the video by “John from Washington DC”. You may need to scroll down to find the video.
6. After watching, cast your approving vote by clicking the “Thumbs Up” icon. You will need to be logged into your YouTube account to vote. The site has been known to be slow in registering votes, so your vote may not show up immediately when you cast it.

The more people who vote positively, the more likely it is that our question will be answered by one or all of the Republican candidates during the debate. For those poker players who don’t have the ability to watch the short video, Mr. Pappas has also submitted his question in writing. The same principle applies for voting there; the more votes a question receives, the more likely it will be that it will be asked during the debate.

Click here for a video demonstration.

Weekly Update from Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations

I wish to thank the entire poker community for the outstanding work this week in asking Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to support online poker.

Senator Reid asked for questions via Twitter for his September 17th town hall. The poker community took the request to heart, submitting well over half of the total questions received by the senator.

Senator Reid answered our question positively: “We have millions and millions of people that are playing online right now…what we need to do is make it legal. Online poker would create jobs, and lots of jobs.” (click here to view).

This was duly noted by the AP, Politico, and other mainstream media, as well as by poker sites like PokerFuse. With this simple action, we got the attention of the senator AND the media.

Let’s keep up the momentum. Please take a moment to thank key supportive lawmakers and to encourage them to move forward. It will take less than 30 seconds to send prefilled, editable Twitter messages to Sen. Harry Reid (CLICK HERE), Rep. Joe Barton (CLICK HERE), and Rep. John Campbell (CLICK HERE) [Rep. Barney Frank is not on Twitter]. Thank you.

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 hope you will find these interesting and informative:

• PokerGob Poker Show (9/4)
• Short Stacked Radio (9/13): I come on at time point 1:18:00. Poker coach and PPA FL State Director Donna Blevins is also a guest on this episode. She is on right at the beginning of the webcast, where she gives a viewer a live poker coaching session.
• QuadJacks Poker Radio (9/13)
• PokerNews: Members of the Poker Players Alliance Took Action During Congressional Recess
• Zach Tracy, aka “Slugger5x”: Can We Use Social Media to Bring Licensed Online Poker to the US? (9/16)

Thank you again!

Proud to play,

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

------------------------

The PPA wishes to keep active members like yourself 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.


German State Legalizes Online Poker – CardPlayer (09/14/2011)

City OKs social gaming – The Umpqua Post (09/14/2011)
Reid Pledges Support for Online Poker – Houston Chronicle (09/14/2011)

Freeh, Ridge tapped to bolster case for legalized online poker – Las Vegas Review-Journal (09/15/2011)
Full Tilt Poker Issues New Statement Prior To AGCC Hearing – Poker News Daily (09/15/2011)

• 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

Update: Full Tilt, New WH Petition: Tell President Obama to Support Online Poker, and more � 09/23/2011
http://theppa.org/newsletters/2011/0...more-09232011/

Weekly Update from Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations

The big news this week was, of course, the amending of the Department of Justice�s online poker civil suit claiming that Full Tilt Poker was engaged in a �Ponzi scheme� that defrauded its players. Needless to say, this was a sad day for American poker players that underscored our need as players and enthusiasts for consumer protections.

I have spoken with many poker players who have been deeply affected by the failure of Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, and Ultimate Bet to repay its players since Black Friday. While I have roughly five figures of my own money locked up on Full Tilt Poker, this is nothing compared to the heartbreaking stories I have heard from many of my fellow players. We all need to take a stand � for the present AND for the future.

You all received PPA�s update yesterday detailing how to contact the Justice Department�s Victims and Witness Services program. I encourage everyone affected by this to take a good look at both this program and at PPA�s legal analysis of the options available to individual players who have not been able to access their online poker funds.

PPA has worked to ensure that all proposed online poker legislation includes provisions for consumer protections even well before Black Friday. Needless to say, PPA will continue to push for these important provisions. We all deserve safe, licensed, accountable sites on which to play. I am glad the poker community is standing together, united in this fight for our rights.

Here are some actions we can take right now to continue to advocate for our rights. These take less than 60 seconds each!

�We the People� Poker Petition to President Obama

We the People is a new addition to the White House website that allows Americans to petition the Obama Administration on a range of issues. Per the site, �if a petition gets enough support, White House staff will review it, ensure it is sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response.�

This is a great way for us to ensure the administration hears from the poker community, so let�s all take a moment to sign the petition electronically.

The site is getting a lot of traffic, so you may get either a �site is under maintenance� or a �404 not found� message. Just try it a few times and you�ll get through. Even with this slight delay, it should take less than one minute to complete:

1. Go HERE and click �CREATE AN ACCOUNT.�
2. The site will send a confirmation email. Click on the link in that email to continue.
3. Click �SIGN THIS PETITION� to vote (if you are not redirected automatically, go HERE to vote).
4. Send a prefilled, editable Twitter message to invite others to sign this petition HERE.

Deficit Super Committee Outreach

The United States Congress Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction is made up of 12 members of Congress � six representatives and six senators, with equal representation from Democrats and Republicans � who have been tasked with developing a bipartisan plan to reduce the federal deficit. The plan will be delivered to the full Congress and President Obama by Thanksgiving.

Let�s all take a few moments to visit the super committee�s website HERE to send the super committee members our recommendations. Below is a sample letter that you can edit or cut-and-paste as-is into the message field. Or, better yet, write your own. This is another great opportunity for us to demonstrate support for our position.

SAMPLE LETTER (this has been updated from last week�s sample letter, so feel free to send this one even if you sent the prior one last week)

Dear Honorable Joint Select Committee Members,

HR 2366, the Online Poker Act, is a bipartisan bill that, should it become law, will create thousands of jobs while providing up to $40 billion in new tax revenue for the federal deficit over the next ten years � without raising taxes. It also mandates strong consumer protections and effective age verification.

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh and former Secretary of Homeland Security, Governor, and Assistant District Attorney Tom Ridge support federal online poker licensing because it addresses control of cash flows and mandates consumer protections, while WiredSafety concluded that �combining a thoughtful regulatory scheme with education, technology tools, and support appears to be the most effective means of handling the realities and risks� of online poker.

Licensed U.S.-based horse race wagering sites have proven that online betting sites can successfully implement strong consumer protections while creating American jobs and generating revenues for our government. It is time to allow online poker sites the same opportunity.

I respectfully ask that you seriously consider recommending sensible licensing and regulation of online poker within the U.S. in your deficit reduction report to Congress and the President.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Add your name here

Department of Justice Outreach

Let�s ask the Justice Department to consider ALL seized Full Tilt Poker funds as rightfully belonging to affected players. We can do this in less than 30 seconds.

1. Send a prefilled, editable pro-poker Twitter message HERE. Verify that your Twitter account is not set to �private�.
2. Try to wait at least an hour, then send another Twitter message HERE.
3. Like the DoJ Facebook page HERE (you can unlike when done if you wish) and like the pro-poker comment HERE
4. Return to the main Facebook page HERE to post and like respectful pro-poker comments. Either cut-and-paste the following, or write your own respectful post: �Funds seized from Full Tilt Poker and its processors rightfully belong to the affected players, whom you have identified as victims of fraud. Will you please use all recovered funds, including those from prior payment processor seizures, to repay affected players? Thank you.�
5. Please follow the daily action plan on Twitter HERE and on Facebook HERE.

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 hope you will find these interesting and informative:

• Video: PPA Board Member and 2004 WSOP Champion Greg Raymer on CNN
• Executive Director John Pappas on America�s Radio News Network (9/23)
• Executive Director John Pappas on NPR�s �All Things Considered� (9/21)
• Podcast: Short Stacked Radio (9/20) � I come on at time point 1:32:10 in Part 1
• Podcast; QuadJacks Poker Radio (9/20): I discussed the Full Tilt Poker issue at length. The podcast should be available later this weekend.

Thank you again for your support!

Proud to play,

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

Update: Full Tilt Deal, Global Gaming Expo – 10/04/2011
http://theppa.org/newsletters/2011/1...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 click on the button below 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 athttp://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

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.


The PPA wishes to keep active members like yourself 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