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Copyright © USA Today
HEADLINE: Poker lobby plays its hand as 'game
of skill'
Body:
Poker might not be a sport, but it is a game of skill. That's
according to the Poker Players Alliance, which is mobilizing support
this week to end federal restrictions against playing for money
online.
Nearly 100 of the PPA's 809,000 members, from professionals Annie
Duke and Chris Moneymaker to former U.S. Sen. Al D'Amato (R-N.Y.),
will lobby legislators Tuesday and Wednesday for changes to Internet
gaming bills.
A federal law adopted last year, the Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act of 2006, prohibits banks and credit card companies
from processing online gambling transactions, including poker.
The statute makes no distinction for games of skill.
"We want to demonstrate to the public, to the members of
Congress, that this is a game of skill," said D'Amato, who
gave up his regular Monday night poker game to attend.
That's what three Internet gambling bills, pending in House committees,
propose:
•The Skill Game Protection Act (H.R. 2610), sponsored by
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), would distinguish "games where
success is predominantly determined by the skill of the players
involved" — including poker, backgammon, bridge, chess
and mahjong — from games of chance. Games of skill would
not violate federal restrictions against "bets or wagers"
online. The bill also would prohibit anyone under the age of 18
from playing any games for money online.
•The Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of
2007 (H.R. 2046), proposed by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), would
allow federal licensed online companies to accept wagers. The
bill also would prohibit Internet gambling on professional sports.
•The Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act
of 2007 (H.R. 2607), proposed by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.),
would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to regulate Internet
gambling.
Also, the IRS will require casinos and poker tournament sponsors
to report winnings and winners starting next year.
"The individual skill of the player determines the outcome,
unlike betting on the horses or betting on the lottery,"
said John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance.
"It's not an individual competing against the house, and
that's an important distinction."
But not everyone considers poker a game of skill.
"It certainly has elements of skill," said Keith Whyte,
executive director of The National Council on Problem Gambling,
"but the predominant element has to be chance. Otherwise,
it wouldn't be gambling."
Whyte also said his organization focuses on the social implications
of gambling and has remained neutral since 1972 on whether gambling
should be legalized or not.
"Poker is the great American game," said poker professional
Howard Lederer, a two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner.
"It will suffer from overblocking. ... Not everyone can get
to a casino and play."
Lederer, nicknamed "The Poker Professor," said chance
is part of poker, including the "all-in" hands made
popular by the proliferation of poker coverage on TV.
"But what you're missing are the 10 hands that led to the
all-in hand," he said, adding that's where skill comes into
play.
"Most people talk about skill and I think they confuse skill
and edge," Lederer said. "All the skills — reading,
psychology, bluffing, calculating the odds — are distilled
into one thing: the betting. In poker, you don't have to play
a hand. You can fold, and that' s a wonderful part of the game."
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