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1. arizonapokerplayer
   Member

   Here is a letter that I sent a few months back to Senators McCain and Kyl, as well as representative Ed Pastor (4th district), in whose district I reside. I encourage each one of you to also send a letter to McCain, Kyl and whoever your House representative is. You can find all this information on PPA's homepage and you can ever send an electronic message from that page. It would be great if we could have a voter from each of Arizona's 8 Congressional Districts send a letter to his/her House Rep. so that we cover the entire state. Please respond to this post noting which rep you sent a letter to.

   Please feel free to use this as a sample and/or modify to your liking. Most of it was drawn from the talking points on PPA's homepage.

   Steve Yeager

   ****************************

   Representative Ed Pastor
   411 N. Central Ave., #150
   Phoenix, AZ 85004

   March 24, 2008

   Re: Support Online Poker and H.R. 2610

   Dear Representative Pastor,

   I write to you as the Arizona State Director for the Poker Players Alliance (www.pokerplayersalliance.com), a nonprofit organization comprised of poker players and enthusiasts from around the United States who seek to promote the game of poker, ensure its integrity, and protect the rights of poker players nationwide. I am writing to ask for your support of H.R. 2610, the Skill Game Protection Act.

   As an Arizona voter, I can tell you that Arizona poker players were dismayed that legislation targeting online gaming, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (“UIGEA”), was added as Title VIII to the SAFE Port Act (Public Law No. 109-347), at the eleventh hour, with absolutely no debate in either the House or Senate. Arizona voters deserve better.

   The true facts make undeniably clear that the online poker ban is bad legislation for America, as prohibitions do not work. Indeed, poker is one of the great American pastimes and has been enjoyed by Presidents (most famously, Richard Nixon), generals, Supreme Court Justices, Members of Congress, and other Americans for more than 150 years. The UIGEA merely drove poker players underground and did nothing to stem the growing popularity of the game nationwide, nor to track down terrorist financing, prevent underage gambling, or help problem gamblers.

   Poker is not gambling because it is a game dominated by skill. Unlike state lotteries, blackjack, or roulette, poker is a “thinking man’s” game that requires the skills of mathematics, psychology, and money management. In this way, poker is more akin to backgammon or chess than to traditional forms of gambling. In poker, players do not compete against the casino. Instead, they match their skills against other poker players. The fact that the UIGEA permits individuals to gamble online for horse races, fantasy sports, and state lotteries illustrates the hypocrisy of the law.

   Poker is also a tremendous source of charity. In 2006, for example, millions of dollars were raised for local and national charities through poker tournaments. One event in D.C. featured 15 Members of Congress and raised more than $288,000 to fight cancer. In the last few years, I have participated in charity poker tournaments in Phoenix that have benefited the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation, The Foundation For Senior Living, and Make a Difference.

   Banning online poker results in the loss of billions of dollars in tax revenue. According to a recent economic analysis, $3.3 billion in federal tax revenue and $1 billion in state tax revenue could be raised if the federal government were to regulate internet poker instead of pushing it underground. Think of all the good that could result from that extra tax revenue, especially in these troubled economic times! As it now stands, tax revenue from American poker players is going to other countries.

   Recent polls reveal that 75% of Americans oppose banning online poker. I, too, as well as many other Arizona poker players, oppose the government’s attempt to take away my right to play poker on the internet. It’s un-American, as I should be able to play online poker in the privacy of my own home, without undue intrusion by the government.

   H.R. 2610 remedies the problems with the UIGEA because it clarifies the existing law by rightfully providing the same treatment to poker and other games of skill that horse racing and lotteries receive under the UIGEA. Equally as important, H.R. 2610 clarifies the outdated Wire Act of 1961 by codifying the 5th Circuit’s ruling in November 2002, known as “MasterCard Re:,” which says the law is limited to “gambling on sporting events or contests,” not games of skill.

   In addition, H.R. 2610 requires websites to use the most technologically advanced age verification procedures and abide by monetary controls to detect and stop money laundering activities.

   Thank you for your consideration of these most important issues and I look forward to your support of H.R. 2610.

   Very truly yours,

   Steven J. Yeager
   PPA Arizona State Director

   Posted 4 months ago #

2. chukphx
   Member

   This is great Steve. I took this letter changed it slightly and emailed all of my representatives (for the third time lol) anyway while doing this I found this website and they list everyone in AZ we should be writing (not including the people who will take their place one day) but here is great place for anyone who has not written their AZ representatives and feel free to write reps. out of your district there are only 8 and two senators and while your at it write our dear governor as well! http://directory.usayfoundation.org/AZ.html

   Posted 4 months ago #

3. arizonapokerplayer
   Member

   The following letter is going in the mail tomorrow to McCain, Kyl, and our reps from the House (every district other than 1, which is Renzi's seat).

   Please send a similar letter to our senators and your representative. You can use this one if you want. The point is just to let them know this is an issue that matters to AZ voters. You could also send an e-mail, but I think formal letters probably have more of an impact.

   ***

   Representative Ed Pastor
   411 N. Central Ave., #150
   Phoenix, AZ 85004

   July 21, 2008

   Re: Support Online Poker (H.R. 2160 and H.R. 2046)

   Dear Representative Pastor,

   I write to you as the Arizona State Director for the Poker Players Alliance (www.pokerplayersalliance.org), a rapidly growing nonprofit organization comprised of poker players and enthusiasts from around the United States who seek to promote the game of poker, ensure its integrity, and protect the rights of poker players nationwide. I seek your support for H.R. 2610, The Skill Game Protection Act, and H.R. 2046, The Internet Gambling and Regulation Enforcement Act.

   UIGEA

   As an Arizona voter, I can tell you that Arizona poker players were dismayed that legislation targeting online gaming, The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (“UIGEA”), was added as Title VII to the SAFE Port Act (Public Law No. 109-347), at the eleventh hour, with no debate in either the House or the Senate. Arizona voters deserve better. Indeed, recent polls reveal that 75% of Americans oppose banning online poker. Arizona citizens likewise oppose the government’s attempt to take away their rights to play poker on the internet. It is un-American to prevent individuals from playing online poker in the privacy of their own homes.

   There can be no doubt the UIGEA is bad legislation for America, as prohibitions do not work. Indeed, poker is one of the great American pastimes and has been enjoyed by Presidents, Members of Congress, Supreme Court Justices, generals, and millions of other Americans for more than 150 years. The UIGEA merely drove poker players underground rather than stemming the growing popularity of the game.

   The UIGEA does not achieve its stated purposes. First, law enforcement and financial institutions are now forced to spend valuable resources blocking financial transactions from poker players instead of focusing on tracking down terrorist financing and stopping other money laundering activities. Second, the UIGEA does not utilize the best means available for protecting children and preventing underage gambling. Rather than use sophisticated age-verification software, the UIGEA makes it more difficult for everybody to play online poker. Third, rather than attempt to help problem gamblers, the UIGEA has likely driven those problem gambler to patronize unscrupulous operators working outside the law.

   The UIGEA does, however, foreclose the United States from collecting billions of dollars in tax revenue. According to a recent economic analysis, $3.3 billion in federal tax revenue and $1 billion in state tax revenue could be raised if the federal government were to regulate internet poker instead of pushing it underground. Think of all the good that could result from that extra tax revenue, especially in these troubled economic times. As it stands now, billions of dollars in tax revenue from American poker players ends up in other countries for no good reason.

   In addition, the UIGEA allows gambling online for horse racing, fantasy sports, and state lotteries, but not for poker. There is no reason that Americans should not be allowed to play a skill game against other consenting adults. Poker is not gambling because it is a game dominated by skill. Unlike state lotteries, blackjack, or roulette, poker is a “thinking man’s” game that requires the skills of mathematics, psychology, and money management. In this way, poker is more akin to backgammon or chess than traditional forms of gambling. In poker, players do not compete against the casino, or house. Instead, they match their skills against other poker players and the more skilled players win the money in the long run, which would not happen if poker were merely gambling.

   Poker is also a tremendous source of charity. In 2006, for example, millions of dollars were raised for local and national charities through poker tournaments. One event in D.C. featured 15 Members of Congress and raised more than $280,000 to fight cancer. In the last few years, I have participated in charity poker tournaments in Phoenix that have benefited the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation, The Foundation for Senior Living, and Make a Difference.

   H.R. 2610

   H.R. 2610 remedies the problems with the UIGEA because it clarifies existing law by rightfully providing the same treatment to poker and other games of skill that horse racing and lotteries receive under the UIGEA. Equally as important, H.R. 2610 clarifies the outdated Wire Act of 1961 by codifying the 5th Circuit’s ruling in November 2002, known as MasterCard Re, which held that the Wire Act is limited to “gambling on sporting events or contests,” not games of skill.

   In addition, H.R. 2610 requires websites to use the most technologically advanced age-verification procedures and abide by monetary controls to detect and stop money laundering activities.

   H.R. 2046

   H.R. 2046 addresses all of the intended concerns of the UIGEA while providing a better alternative than an outright ban by creating a licensing and regulating mechanism to weed out the unscrupulous websites in favor of those that are legitimate and law-abiding. In addition, it also seeks to stem underage gambling by using appropriate age-verification procedures.

   The United Kingdom successfully regulates its poker industry. In fact, internet gambling is now regulated in over 80 countries and jurisdictions. There is no good reason why the United States should be lagging so far behind in these efforts. We should follow the lead of the UK and regulate this arena. We certainly have the brain power to sensibly regulate online poker and the tax benefits would be a huge boost to the U.S. economy.

   Thank you for your consideration of these most important issues and I look forward to your support of H.R. 2610 and H.R. 2046.

   Very truly yours,

   Steven J. Yeager
   PPA Arizona State Director

   Posted 4 months ago #

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