BULLETIN: POKER ENTERS THE BIG LEAGUES

By Wendeen H. Eolis
Poker Player Newspaper

I will be close to the action, here in New York, presumably breathing out a sigh of relief. Poker Player discharged its responsibility to the public in reporting the PPA/D’Amato deal in an exclusive bulletin February 16th. Mr. D’Amato, professional that he is, has not run away from signing a contract out of fear of a tough job or for the jollies of proving a reporter wrong.

The former Senator is poised to head the PPA’s lobbying efforts as members of Congress return from a week long recess to resume voting activities in Washington.

Senator D’Amato will lead the charge for a poker exemption to the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act of 2006. The latest word in casino conference rooms, however, is that Mr. D’Amato may end up having to deal with a different bill that will delay a poker exemption in favor of a more global study of Internet gaming issues that reside in Pandora’s Box.

Over the next days, I’ll be spending time in Washington (on behalf of my day job), interviewing prospective counsel for clients. By mid week I’ll park myself at the Omni Shoreham Hotel which will be the center of the action for the Conservative Political Action Committee, as the CPAC Conference gets underway. In addition to hobnobbing with trespassing centrists in the crowd, and listening to political speeches (think top government officials and wannabees), I’ll be looking for reactions to the “Pothole” Senator’s new role high on the Hill.

Stay tuned for continuing bulletins and stories as poker unfolds on the stages of Washington.

In my spare time, I intend to be a drilling poker reporter all around, looking for chinks in the armor of a tough and rapidly expanding anti-gambling gang that plans to strut its stuff in the halls of Congress.