Poker Articles

I’ve always wondered when I’d be writing the headline, Poker Players Alliance Reaches One Million Members. On Tuesday, April 22, the membership of the PPA, the online poker industry’s main lobbying force, finally cracked the seven digit mark. Its membership grew by 50,000 in the last month alone, sparked in part by a massive momentum swing in Congress towards legislation that is favorable to online poker players. Don’t expect the PPA’s membership to plateau anytime soon. The organization is growing day by day and just launched two brand new initiatives designed to leverage its goliath status and, at the same time, mobilize its own forces. PocketFives.com sat down with PPA Executive Director John Pappas, one of the busiest men on Capitol Hill, to discuss the latest news.

Ever since I’ve been involved with the PPA, the stated goal of the organization has been to get to one million members. I thought it might happen at the beginning of 2008 and, as expected, the PPA broke the one million member mark on Tuesday. Pappas comments on the milestone: “This is a goal we set forth long ago and we’re pleased that the poker community has come out to join the Alliance.” In regards to what caused the final surge in membership, he commented, “It was a few things. There was more national focus and awareness of the issue at hand with the hearing and the new bill introduced. It also was a product of the PPA’s media efforts. Some of the leading poker sites have helped send players our way via freerolls and other promotions. As the issue gets more national exposure, people are becoming more aware that there’s an organization fighting for the rights of poker players.”

The PPA just launched its own Political Action Committee called PokerPAC. Former three-time Senator from New York Alfonse D’Amato, the PPA’s current Chairman, will serve in the same capacity in the PAC. Former Congressman Toby Moffett will be the PAC’s Vice Chairman and Annie Duke will serve on the PAC’s board. Previously, the PPA could not aggressively lobby due to the group’s 501(c)(4) status, but the PAC allows the organization to influence Congressmen monetarily. Pappas comments, “What a PAC allows the PPA to do is to solicit and raise funds from our paid membership and be able to deliver campaign contributions to candidates who support us. Also, we can do direct advocacy, meaning we can now tell our members to vote against a certain member of Congress because they voted against us.” All in all, the PPA can evolve into a fierce political machine by virtue of the PAC. Pappas notes that the PPA can only solicit money from its paid membership and has already begun reaching out to its professional clientele.

The second initiative is a voter drive designed to register 100,000 new voters by November. Pappas comments, “It’s a critical component. Politicians respond to two things, money and votes. Money is what the PAC is all about, but votes are equally important. Our voter drive has a slogan of, ‘If you play, have a say.’ It’s a campaign that is aimed at registering 100,000 new poker players as new voters between now and Election Day. We’re going to provide an online application form where you can click on your state, pint out the necessary forms, and then mail them in. We’re also going to be at the WSOP registering people to vote. It’s important to note that this is a non-partisan effort.” The website to register is www.poker2008.org.

The PPA is also in the process of composing and sending a letter to every Congressman informing them that the organization is now a million members strong. Its membership is also broken down by districts, so the PPA can easily tell a Congressman the exact number PPA members in their district. With a bill looming on the horizon as important as Barney Frank and Ron Paul’s HR 5767, you can rest assured that the PPA is doing everything in its power to push legislation that is friendly to online poker through Congress.

Congratulations once again to the PPA and its members for being one million strong. Check out the PPA’s website at www.pokerplayersalliance.org today.