Monday, October 02, 2006

No Time For Laughter

Well, after reading what Nolan Dalla wrote about the Internet Gambling Ban over at Bill's site, maybe today isn't such a good day for a silly story after all.

It's funny, while I was at the party in Aruba on Sunday, I asked a few people if they'd heard that the ban had passed. No one had, and a few people were shocked and horrified. I was tempted to ask some of the pros if they heard, but I chickened out. To be honest, I didn't know all the particulars of the bill at the moment and didn't have the time to read up. And, besides, it was a party. If this was a swan song of sorts, why bring everybody down? I drank Balashi and ate shrimp.

But obviously, this is going to seriously affect the Annie Dukes and Phil Hellmuths of the world. Not just in the bankroll, either--one would think they've got lawyers reviewing the legislation and real estate brokers in Costa Rica looking for beachfront property.

As for we humble poker bloggers...I dunno. I've always liked the idea of someday being a renegade, an outlaw, living outside the boundries set by the squares and white-bread scumballs of the world. I just thought there would be a lot more fun and sex involved than I got playing $5 sit-n-goes and blogging about it. Well, at least if we all get sent to the same federal prison there will always be a game going. Good company, too.

Well, for me, I'm not cashing out yet, and I'm not going down without a fight. Obviously Bush isn't going to veto this bill, and I find it hard to believe that we'll see legislation re-legalizing online gambling even if the Democrats win back both houses of Congress. That is, unless the poker sites and online casinos lay out some really long bread, but that might be throwing bad money after good, now that it's too late. But when the going gets tough, the tough...hope there's some way to salvage a little something out of the situation. So, I'll keep my eyes and ears open, and if there's any little way to help or fight back, I'm down.

posted by Gene @ 4:18 PM   |