AUTHOR: Jerry "Jet" Whittaker TITLE: Alfonse D'Amato a Powerful Ally in Washington DATE: 4:41 AM ----- BODY: "Once New Yorkers collectively informed Mr. D'Amato that it was time to find
a new line of work, he graduated to a higher-stakes game, playing with
Howard Stern, among others. He is now a stalwart of a weekly game on Long
Island where a bad night might mean that a player drops $5,000 or more. "As
Mr. D'Amato tells it, and as his card-playing cronies confirm, he rarely
leaves a game a loser. Yet it is a safe bet that his love of poker never
proved so lucrative as it did last week, when he signed a lobbying deal with
the Poker Players Alliance, a nascent group that hopes that Mr. D'Amato will
help them become players in Washington politics, too. "Most immediately, the
group is hoping that Mr. D'Amato, long known for his connections to
Washington insiders and his ability to deliver perks to his constituents and
interest groups, can help them overturn a new federal ban on Internet
gambling - or at least exempt poker from its provisions." D'Amato's name
first surfaced in association with the PPA two weeks ago. The Times article
cautions, however, that even though Mr. D'Amato's involvement in the
lobbying effort is bound to generate plenty of talk, it is not expected to
lead to overturning the new law anytime soon. "Moreover, Mr. D'Amato, for
all his ability to attract attention and parlay his reputation into big
money, may not have much sway in a Democratic-controlled Congress
preoccupied with war, budget deficits and presidential politics. There is
little interest there at the moment in turning back to a subject decided a
year ago, when Republicans ruled." But what we get from the former Senator
is an aggressive style that is bound to draw attention. The money being
spent to outlaw poker and enforce the ban, Mr. D'Amato said, could be better
spent "in the battle against money laundering, trafficking in drugs, or
trafficking in terrorism." He takes issue with Congress's decision to lump
in poker, a game of skill as well as luck, with games of pure chance like
roulette and craps. "It's really a great sport," Mr. D'Amato said, perhaps
the country's favorite sport. "You don't have 70 million people
participating in baseball." D'Amato is one of a handful of politicians who
would like to see the law regarding online poker overturned (we should
emphasize that the law in question holds banking institutions responsible,
not actual players). Chris Strow, the Republican Representative from
Washington State, told our Kira Wissman last week that he is looking to have
what many deem to be a ludicrous and self-serving law overturned in his own
state. Last summer, Washington State made placing an online bet a Class C
felony.

Representative Strow and a few other representatives felt that this type of
legislation was a breach of their citizens' privacy for numerous reasons and
sought to remedy the mistake through a piece of legislation in January,
2007. This House Bill (HB) #1243 was introduced on January 15, 2007 and
referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor. It was then shot down.

A revised bill was submitted to the House on February 9, 2007. It has since
been referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor and is still awaiting a
final decision at this date.

When asked about his views on online gambling, he was hesitant to openly
admit his support for legalizing and regulating the industry. He would like
to see more studies done on the effects of local economies, etc.; however,
he steadfastly believes that every U.S. citizen has the right to govern
their own private lives. He compared the crackdown on online gambling to
prohibition and truly believes that there is no way to eliminate the
activity.

Rep. Strow had some interesting thoughts on why more has not been done to
gather public support against the recent federal legislation. He said that
he has had numerous colleagues and lobbyists approach him to commend him for
his efforts, saying they wished they also had the guts to stand up and speak
out. According to Rep. Strow, several lobbyists have asserted that due to
the sensitive nature of the subject, they risked losing funding for some of
the programs they support of the lobbied in favor of online gambling. Indian
casino interests were mentioned specifically.

Over the next couple of years, Rep. Strow hopes to introduce legislation to
legalize online poker rooms in his state. He realizes he faces a large
uphill battle, much like Rep. Jim Kasper in North Dakota does.

Then there is Barney Frank, Chairman of the Financial Services Committee in
Congress, who made headlines two weeks ago following reports that he was
looking to have a "two year amnesty in regard to Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act."

Though Frank's spokesperson denied such an "amnesty" appeared on any
upcoming agendas, he stopped short of saying Frank would not pursue this in
the near future.

Frank is quoted as saying: "Adults are entitled to do with their money what
they want to do." --------