By
Dan |
Published
May 26 2008, 08:41 PM
The pulse of the online poker world has been centered in the Pacific Northwest in recent weeks. In the great state of Washington, former horse racing handicapper turned lawyer Lee Rousso has carried the banner for online poker, attempting to overturn a heinous state law that makes playing online poker a Class C felony, the equivalent of being convicted of child pornography. In a hearing on May 15th, a judge ultimately sided with the State; however, Rousso plans to appeal directly to the Washington State Supreme Court. Rousso joins the PocketFives.com Podcast this week to talk about the law in question and his vision of the future.
So what happens if you play online poker at a Starbucks in Seattle? Rousso explains: “Washington State has the strictest online gambling law in the U.S. in the sense that the penalties that it puts on a recreational poker player are pretty extreme. If you’re playing poker on the internet, even for a nickel ante game, you’re committing a Class C felony, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. You also run the risk of losing your home.” That’s a harsh fine for playing a $1 sit and go on PokerStars.
The foundation of Rousso’s lawsuit surrounds which rights are granted to individual states: “The Constitution of the United States gives Congress the right to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states. The theory is that internet poker is interstate commerce, which means Congress, not the states, has the power to regulate it. I filed the lawsuit on the opening day of the World Series of Poker last year. It took me 10 months to get my day in court.”
The lawsuit was filed in King County, making Kent, Washington the destination for many poker players who participated in a rally on the courthouse steps on May 15th. Among those in attendance were Barry Greenstein and Andy Bloch. Rousso comments on the rally: “It was a good turnout considering that it was early morning on a workday. There were 70 Poker Players Alliance members out there wearing red shirts that said, ‘Poker is not a crime’ and carrying banners and placards. It shows that there is a lot of support for legalizing internet poker in the U.S. Even though I lost in court, the rally turned out to be good for the court of public opinion.”
Rousso actually had been a gubernatorial candidate during the first quarter of 2008, with the goal of overturning the law in mind: “I threw my hat into ring on January 14th, which was the first day of the Congressional calendar. I thought I might be able to stir up the legislature enough to have a bill this year. The mainstream political establishment largely ignored me, but I got a tremendous response from the Average Joe. In the end, the primary rules were changed, which made my candidacy go from being a long shot to being impossible.”
Born and bred in Washington, Rousso was a professional handicapper for 17 years. He graduated from law school in 2002, starting playing online poker in 2003 as a result of Chris Moneymaker’s WSOP Main Event win, and even qualified online for the World Series in 2005. He talks about the future of online poker in the United States: “U.S. Citizens have no problem whatsoever with people playing internet poker in the privacy of own homes. The government is going to have to be dragged kicking and screaming in order to catch up with the general public. Licensed and regulated internet poker is inevitable in the U.S. It’s just a matter of when.”
Catch yourself up on one of the biggest stories of 2008 this week on the PocketFives.com Podcast. Visit www.pocketfives.com/podcast today!