Action, Not Apathy
By Jennifer Newell

Considering my last article was about dating and poker, this one is going to be completely different. However, I feel that it is necessary considering the state of poker in the United States and the importance of action in this case.

Say you've had a regular home game for several years. If something happens in that game that is clearly against the rules, you speak up so that it doesn't happen again. You surely want to protect the integrity of the game, right?

Let's take it a step further. Say you're playing in a poker game at your local casino, and you're raking in the pots left and right. The poker room manager suddenly decides that you're doing too well, and he asks you to leave the casino and never return again. You would likely protest, ask that other players join your fight, and take it to the highest levels of the casino to ask that the manager's ruling be overturned. His action was without premise, good reason, and fairness and you would fight against the injustice. Right?

When members of Congress attached the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act to the Port Security bill in October of 2006, then passed the bill, the majority of the poker community was outraged. People wrote blogs about it, discussed it on Internet forums, and talked about it in poker rooms across America.

When online poker rooms began to shut out U.S. players, and when players had their financial transactions delayed or frozen, it raised a new level of concern. Again, discussions ensued, articles were written, and complaints in chat rooms were aplenty.

But how many of us have actually written to the members of Congress - our own political representatives - who voted for that bill without question or protest? How many of us have joined the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) to lend our support to the only lobbying organization standing up for poker players' rights?

It is true that some people are taking a stand. The PPA has recently announced that its membership rose from 60,000 to 320,000 in the four weeks since Alfonse D'Amato took the position as Chairman of the Board. Some people are calling or writing their Congressmen and Congresswomen to voice their opinions about the law.

Yet, at the peak of online poker in America, there were millions of players. Where are they now?

I certainly understand the tendency to be complacent, hoping that things get better and that the efforts of others will get the job done. But on the other hand, I've learned through years of experience that the only way to make a difference is to make your voice heard - every single voice must be heard to affect change.

This was no better exampled than with the Don Imus situation and his racially-charged comments during his radio show in April. I will not debate the merits of the situation here, but the end result was that he lost his radio show on CBS and its televised simulcast on MSNBC. That decision by those networks was a difficult one, but it came as a result of a public outcry. It was a multi-faceted outcry, fed by the general public making their voices heard. People were outraged by Mr. Imus' remarks, and this led to the withdrawal of advertising by a number of major companies. More importantly, the employees at MSNBC and CBS let the management know, in no uncertain terms, that they felt strongly about the situation and called for Mr. Imus to be fired. And when the President of NBC spoke publicly following the announcement, he admitted that the decision was a direct result of the opinions of the employees of NBC.

The people made their voices heard and achieved the desired result. Whether you agree or disagree with the outcome of the situation, it remains a fact that the people made the difference.

History dictates that this is not always the case, but the voice of a majority of the people often does affect change. Our rights as poker players are still intact, but the U.S. government has made it clear that it aims to keep us from making the conscious choice to play on our computers for money. While D'Amato and Frank are attempting to change this, they will not be successful if the rest of Congress isn't made aware of the public feelings on the subject.

Poker players have one lobbying organization, and the membership of the PPA lets Congress know how many of us are willing to speak up. I feel that it is important to join the PPA - free memberships are available - to support their efforts.

(Note: I am not affiliated with the PPA in any way, and they have not asked me to write this.)

In addition, I feel that it is necessary to call our representatives in both houses of Congress to let them know why this issue is important to each of us, as we all have our own personal reasons. If one person calls, the politician can ignore the plea from a "fringe constituent," but thousands - or millions - of messages cannot be so easily disregarded. Together, we can make a difference and make poker accessible to everyone.

I ask you to visit www.PokerPlayersAlliance.org and take a look. If you agree with their mission statement, please join. If you can spare fifteen minutes of your time, there are instructions on the home page for writing or calling your Congressional representatives. And if you're so inclined to be even more involved, there is more guidance on the website about contacting the PPA to help their grassroots efforts.

Please know that I won't often use my valued space here at PokerPages to lobby for a cause, but this is about poker and our rights to play the game. This is vital at the most basic level, and we can change the law if we work together.

Until our next rendezvous...

Jen

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Jennifer Newell is a freelance writer, originally from St. Louis but now living in Los Angeles. She fell in love with poker while working at WPT and began writing about it in 2005. Please feel free to e-mail her with your comments, experiences, and feedback at jen3351@msn.com. She looks forward to your thoughts.