Harry Reid Online Poker Bill Still Alive

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. On Wednesday, just hours after publishing a story claiming that legislation to legalize online poker introduced by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) had been dropped, the Las Vegas Sun newspaper issued a correction. Instead, the legislation remains very much alive and may be added to the tax relief bill.

How did the Sun get it wrong, you ask? A correction published on Wednesday night read in part, “In that earlier article, Reid was quoted telling the Sun after a press conference that he would not be adding legalization of online poker to his list of objectives during the lame duck session… A spokesman for Reid said later that the Senator’s comment got muddled in the cacophony of the Senate hallways, and that online gambling is still something he’d like to see move forward.”

Poker News Daily was one of the many mainstream and poker-related media outlets that picked up on the Sun’s story. Reid’s measure to license and regulate internet poker may be added to the forthcoming tax relief bill, which may have hit a stumbling block itself on Thursday. The L.A. Times reported that Democrats had rebuffed an agreement forged between U.S. President Barack Obama and Congressional Republicans on the tax bill’s contents. What the tax bill will ultimately look like now remains to be seen.

News of the Democratic rejection of the tax cut bill sent Wall Street on a downward spiral. At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Index is down 24 points on the day, or 0.2%, after spending the majority of the morning in the black. An Associated Press story quoted internet gambling champion Barney Frank (D-MA) as predicting that “the tax cut compromise ‘will be passed by virtually all the Republicans and a minority of Democrats.’ He said he would vote against it.”

Riding the wave of news stories this week has been Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas, who told Poker News Daily on Wednesday night, “The process has been a roller coaster. We have been fighting off all sorts of bad additions to the bill, while at the same time swallowing the bitter pill of the 15-month freeze. We are still fighting and I won’t concede that the bill is dead until the Congress adjourns.”

The 15-month freeze refers to a period following the bill’s passage during which no online poker site can service the U.S. market legally. Following the waiting period, companies with existing casino licenses can solicit U.S. customers in online poker games for two years. Then, the market will open up to everyone. The timeline means that sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt, which are the major players in the market today, may be shut out for over three years if the bill were to be passed.

Poker News Daily sought comment from Reid’s staff on whether the final tax relief package would be revealed on Thursday. However, Reid’s staff had no statement on the matter.

Coming out in strong support of Reid’s efforts on Thursday was Forbes Magazine, which published an article that read in part, “Reid’s turnaround is welcome – and long overdue. The proposed policy change makes fiscal sense. Moreover, it is not government’s proper role to dictate what activities private individuals may or may not engage in. And from a practical perspective, Reid’s proposal provides a good opportunity for Congress members from both parties to turn their stated commitment to bipartisanship into substantive change.”

According to The Hill, the lame duck session of Congress is likely to end next Friday. Keep it tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from Capitol Hill.

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Poker dictionary:

ALL-IN - To have all of one's chips in the pot. A player who is all-in cannot be forced out of the pot by more betting, but is only eligible to win that portion of the pot he has contributed to. Generally, a SIDE POT is created each time a player is all-in.
TOP PAIR - In flop games, having a hole card that matches the highest card on the board.
SIDE POT - When an active player runs out of money during the course of a hand, the remaining players participate in a second or SIDE POT for the rest of the hand. Additional side pots are possible if several players run out of money at different points in a hand.
CARDS SPEAK - Winner(s) of the hand are determined by turning their cards face up, the best hand(s) wins (no declaration).
ON THE COME - A situation where the player does not have a complete hand but hopes to make one if the right cards come up.
FAMILY POT - A pot where all of the players at the table are participating, even after each has had an opportunity to act.

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