I grew up in Madison. While I now live on the West Coast, I love Madison, return regularly (every Christmas and summer) and will always consider Wisconsin home. It is also the state where I lived my formative years, attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, learned the art of poker at the Memorial Union, and launched my poker-playing career at locations throughout the state. In some respects, I'd like to think that I'm the true-life poker equivalent of the fictional pugilist Rocky Balboa. Next year, my story goes before the cameras in a feature film tentatively titled "The Madison Kid" (the film name may change to "Poker Brat"). This $6-8 million dollar movie is scripted by UW-Madison law school grad Bob Soderstrom and is being produced by Los Angeles-based Beacon Pictures, whose chairman, Armyan Bernstein, also happens to be a UW-Madison grad. But when the cameras roll next spring, in all likelihood, the 100-plus cast and crew jobs and the millions of dollars won't be spent in Madison, or anywhere in Wisconsin for that matter. The producers are planning to replicate "Mad City" in  of all places  Winnipeg, Canada. Financially, for me, there is no difference between Beacon shooting in Winnipeg or Madison. However, my heart screams that the "Madison Kid" should be shot where it was intended to be shot (Madison!), and the facts show that it will provide economic benefits years after the film is released. Unfortunately, the strong Madison ties to this project by several of the people connected to the project mean nothing. It's called show "business" for a reason, and Winnipeg is offering incentives and wage concessions that will save the producers significant dollars over filming in Madison, where Wisconsin  at this time  has no incentives in place. It's all about the bottom line, but what a missed opportunity it would be if Winnipeg served as the "city double" for Madison. I want to visit the "Madison Kid" movie set in April of 2007 in the city that I grew up in (The script has in it, amongst other Wisconsin places: the legendary Memorial Union, a bar in Milwaukee, and Bosacki's Boat House in Minocqua); where my wife grew up (Pewaukee) and my parents have lived (Madison) for almost 50 years.
If we play our cards right, there is still a chance of bringing "The Madison Kid" home to Madison.
The legislature needs to act quickly and fix the film incentive legislation they passed in May and make the incentives retroactive as of Jan. 1, 2007.
The producers at Beacon are laying all of their cards on the table and giving Wisconsin a shot to win this project back from Winnipeg. But trust me when I say that they're not bluffing. We need to act now! But this is more than merely an issue of my heart; it is also about showing the world  through the power of film  the beauty that is Wisconsin. From Lake Michigan, our inland lakes, our cities, our towns, our rural communities, our pristine forested lands, all the way to the Mississippi River. And, it is about building a film economy, creating jobs and pumping million of dollars of new money into the state.
Film is the gift that keeps on giving to a local destination. Film locations serve as enduring tourism destinations and have the potential of pumping millions of dollars into a local economy long after the film crews have packed up and moved on to other projects.
A few examples are: the Art Museum in Philly where Rocky culminated his historic sprint, the cornfield in "A Field of Dreams," and the "Bridges of Madison County." These three destinations continue to serve as lucrative tourist attractions. We hope to do the same for Wisconsin.
I applaud Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, state Sen. Ted Kanavas and the vast majority of lawmakers from both parties that enthusiastically supported the original legislation. It just requires a little tweaking now; a small fix that can launch a new and exciting creative economy for the state.
I still love Madison and the state of Wisconsin.
The film industry in the state of Wisconsin wants to use "The Madison Kid" as the catalyst to move the incentives up.
They believe that enacting this law earlier than scheduled holds tremendous potential to create jobs and provide opportunities for young, creative talent. I believe they're right, and I am honored to help. After all, isn't this exactly the kind of industry that we want to build in Wisconsin? Unlike in my poker world, making a bet on the film industry for Wisconsin is really no gamble: it's a royal flush!
--------