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Chalk this one up as an “only in America” kind of story.  Just the other day, Idaho police raided a poker game being held by a bunch of pensioners with a $20 buy-in and asked them to stop holding their game as it was “illegal” for them to do so.

The seniors, who were living at The Twin Falls Home, regularily held a poker game with about 20 people in it and a $20 buy-in for fun once a week.  The pots could reach as high as $500 which was split amongst the top 2 players.  The winners regularily donated this money to the senior center instead of blowing it on booze and drugs diapers and medication and didn’t think there was anything illegal about the game.  Unfortunately Idaho police disagreed.

According to police the seniors were violating the Idaho law that states: “risking any money, credit, deposit or other thing of value for gain contingent in whole or in part upon lot, chance, the operation of a gambling device or the happening or outcome of an event, including a sporting event, the operation of casino gambling including, but not limited to, blackjack, craps, roulette, poker, baccarat or keno.”

For many of the seniors this game was the highlight of their week, but now it must all be stopped as police warned them to put an end to the game.

“I don’t have many things that I can do,” noted the wheelchair-bound Norman Pohl. “I met so many people… I would look forward to it every week.”

It’s too bad that the US is now turned to threatening to lock up those who have made the country what it is today over a game that they are willing participants in.  The government really needs to take it easy and let people do what they want with their hard earned money!

Earlier this week, Alfonse D’Amato, former senator of New York and now chairman of the Poker Player’s Alliance (PPA) guest stared on the morning radio Howard Stern Show to discuss the issues surrounding online poker in the United States.

After the show, Howard signed the PPA petition titled “POKER IS NOT A CRIME”, which currently enlists 371,000 signatures and will be delivered to President Barack Obama during National Poker Week this week. 

Howard is a long time supporter and hero of free speech in America, and even across the globe, and his show is often criticized when he passionately exclaims his beliefs over a wide range of subjects.  He has been ridiculed often, but more often than not, he is considered a super hero for the average Joe on the street, taking up issues personally and getting action on them.  If you like Howard Stern, you can’t help but love the guy, but if you are on the receiving end of his wrath, he can be a force to reckon with.  With his support on the PPA’s stance, you can be sure the issue will gain national public coverage, and he will fight for the cause with no fear of any kind of repercussions. 

Howard  also plays poker sometimes, often with other celebrities such as Norm MacDonald, so you can be sure he will lend his much needed support to the PPA’s fight. 

The PPA continues to advocate for a clear U.S. policy through licensing and regulating skill games like peer to peer internet poker, and remains committed to legislation that creates a clear regulatory framework for online poker.  With numerous professional poker players and Hollywood celebrities boosting the ranks, as well as the hundreds of thousands of online players, you can be sure that the PPA will have the strength and fortitude to get the U.S. government to clearly legistrate online poker in the near future.

If you are an American citizen and haven’t signed the petition yet, you can find it here

http://www.pokerpetition.com/

The membership is swelling every hour, and the more names to sign the better.

If you’ve tried to deposit with eChecks lately to any of the eCheck accepted poker sites you would have noticed the payment method had been removed from all poker sites and online casinos. According to CBS, an advocacy group for online poker has made allegations that the US federal government has seized over $30 million from payment processors who process player withdrawals

According to the news source, the PPA told the Associate Press that the US attorney instructed the Southern District of New York to freeze three bank accounts providing a seizure warrant last week to a San Francisco Wells Fargo branch. The same report states that an account held in Arizona owned by Allied Systems Inc. are subject to seizure and forfeiture “because they constitute property involved in money laundering transactions and illegal gambling offenses.” The letter was signed by Arlo Devlin-Brown, the assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

John Pappas, executive director of the PPA, called the DOJ’s move an “unprecedented action” against online poker players. The PPA will pursue every legal course available to ensure that poker players’ funds are not seized and their right to play poker online is protected,”

… says Greg Raymer to FOX News for most of the States in the USA.  According to Raymer, the UIGEA says nothing specifically to make playing online poker in the United States illegal.  The laws in the UIGEA are more targetted towards whether or not the banks can process the transactions.

Many Americans have been brainwashed to think that it is illegal when the reality is there has never been a single case where a person was arrested for playing online poker.  That would just be ludicrous!  There are tons of poker sites accepting Americans right now!

The interview isn’t really set up to discuss the legalities of the game, but rather to talk about Barney Frank and the legislature that he is trying to push through congress.  Frank believes that the revenues that are being missed from online gambling could potentially help get the Country out of its tough economical times.  By regulating these companies the US Government could reap benefits from TAX DOLLARS, which is A LOT in this multi-billion dollar industry.  FINALLY, SOMEONE WITH A BRAIN IN CONGRESS!!!!

Here is the interview with Greg Raymer on Fox News:

“It is apparent that skill predominates over chance in Texas Hold’em poker,” echoed Pennsylvania Judge Thomas A. James Jr.  The ruling came today in a case where Walter Watkins was arrested for running a rake-free $1/$2 No Limit Holdem cash game in his garage.

This is great news for American Poker players as it is now a case that can be cited in the fight to make poker legal once again in the United States.  For years politicians have been arguing that poker is gambling, but as any good poker player knows, it takes a lot of skill to win consistently.

The judges closing remarks included references to Mike Caro’s “Secrets of Winning Poker” by quoting, “the money flows from the bad players to the strong players,” along with references to several other well-known poker books.

Watkins was happy that the charges were dropped and told the Associated Press, “It’s unfortunate we had to go through all this. We were arrested, taken out of our home. Shackled and spent a night in prison. All for playing poker.”

Now, if some of the other states like Kentucky would wake up and follow suit American poker players might finally be treated fairly, and not like the criminals they are saying they are right now.

Most online poker sites have stopped accepting US players, but there are still a handfull of American friendly poker sites.

Source: http://www.pokernewsdaily.com/pennsylvania-judge-rules-poker-is-a-game-of-skill-941/#comment-16268