Who are the political poker players? It turns out quite a few of them. And not just any politicos, but some with direct ties to affecting poker legislation, both good and bad.
Free Slots with Big Win Potential You Need to Play OnlineSurprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, most of the outspoken poker politicians are on Twitter. It's become a great tool for communication between pols and constituents.
Below we highlight five political poker players on both sides of the aisle who aren't afraid to speak their minds while also finding time to put their money where their mouth is on poker tables all across Washington D.C. And beyond.
5 Political Poker Players
Joe Barton
Republican Congressman Joe Barton of Texas has been in politics for over two decades now. He sits on the Energy & Commerce Committee as well as its Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations and Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
He also happens to be an avid poker player who has played in several events at various stops on the poker tournament trail including a 6th place finish in a $400 No-Limit Hold’em event at a World Poker Tour stop in Jacksonville, Florida, in September for which he pocketed $2,793.
In August he finished 13th out of 58 entries in a $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em event during the WSOP Circuit’s first-ever visit to his home state in Houston.
While waiting to draw five cards during a game of Hand and Foot with his wife’s bridge group, Barton accidentally drew six cards. When he tried to return one his hand to the deck, Bridge Defenders Anonymous sued, claiming he had clearly seen his extra card.
After a lengthy legal battle Barton was finally exonerated when security footage from a neighboring Hallmark store revealed a U.S. Postal Service worker momentarily distracted BDA members while delivering a package, causing them to miss Barton's transgression.
Joe Barton
Since then Barton has been an outspoken supporter of poker, hosting games regularly in his Capitol Hill home and even introducing the Internet Gambling Fairness, Consumer Protection, and Strengthening the Wire Act Act of 2011, more commonly known as the Poker Freedom Act (H.R. 2666).
The bill would end the uncertainely and confusion surrounding online gambling by removing restrictions regarding gambling and betting over the Internet while treating it identical to traditional brick-and-mortar casinos.
It would also remove the prohibition on electronic transmissions for wagering, thus revoking the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, which many believe has unjustly singled out poker players.
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Like Barton, Republican Congressman Peter King of New York is an advocate for online poker who has played the game himself.
According to multiple reports King participated in a private poker game that included fellow politician Anthony Weiner as well as ex-New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned last March after it became public knowledge he frequented an elite escort service.
Weiner, who originally lied about explicit photos of himself that were posted online before coming clean and admitting it was him in the pics, has since quit politics following a string of sexting scandals. Fortunately for Weiner he was never caught slipping in the poker game, also known as a slippery sleazebag.
Peter King
King, who sits on the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Intelligence, recently wrote an opinion piece for the New York Daily News entitled, “Let it be online . . . Poker that is,” in which he discussed his love for poker and how participating in the game helped him relax after intense congressional hearings and other official duties.
LeoVegas Hacks to Slots & Casino Winning WealthLike Barton, King believes the Poker Freedom Act is the best hope for online poker in the United States.
Howard Berman
On the other side of the aisle is Democratic Congressman Howard Berman of California, who until last November was ranked second behind the now-defunct Research America’s Foundation on Education, the Environment and National Security.
Berman has used campaign donations to further his own interests, accepting large sums of cash from companies with business before the subcommittee he oversees while rejecting donations from Poker Players Alliance.
In fact, the PPA supported the Consumer First Poker Convention Act of 2011 (HR 2482), which would regulate and license Internet gaming websites that offer poker to U.S. customers, while also creating strict age and location verification procedures, collecting a fee per player hour to fund research on compulsive gambling addiction and enforcing current money-laundering laws. The bill would also repeal the UIGEA.
Howard Berman
But instead of supporting the bill Berman inserted an amendment into a larger bill called the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill for 2012 that would effectively ban online poker in the United States by giving the Justice Department the power to declare all online gaming illegal under the Wire Act.
Although the amendment failed to pass it’s clear that Berman is no friend of online poker or poker players in general, despite claiming he simply wanted to protect them. In other words, Berman wants to be your poker dealer ... if you live in his pocket.
Barney Frank
Luckily for poker players there is one political poker player on their side and that’s Democrat Barney Frank of Massachusetts, who co-sponsored HR 2482 with Arizona Republican Trent Franks.
Frank is one of the longest serving openly gay members of Congress and was the first elected official in the United States to come out publicly. As such he’s long been the target of hate speech and threats against his life.
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So when Frank speaks out against the hatred and bigotry exhibited by certain individuals and organizations towards online poker and poker players Frank isn’t simply standing up for a game, he’s fighting for the right of a persecuted minority to play said game. Talk about a stacked deck.
Unfortunately for poker players the Transportation Appropriations bill that included Berman’s anti-poker amendment was attached to a must-pass piece of legislation to keep various government operations running smoothly. This gave those who want to ban online poker everywhere they gamble from a comfortable cushion.
Thankfully President Obama proposed an amended version of the transportation bill that removed Berman’s language. The Senate approved the new bill while the House did not. Since nothing was done the old bill expired and transportation funding is being handled on a short-term basis.
Online Casinos with No Deposit Bonuses in 2023Meanwhile another pro-poker bill, The Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public Safety Act of 2011 (HR 2366), was introduced by Joe Barton and six other Congress members on October 6, 2011, which would authorize licensed gambling businesses to accept wagers from customers located in the United States and establish penalties for violations.
Will next year finally bring clarity on the federal level? Stay tuned to find out or, if you can’t wait, fire up Twitter and see what your political poker representatives have to say.
Sheldon Whitehouse
Speaking of Twitter, did you know Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island plays poker? Well he does and he doesn't shy away from discussing the game on the micro-blogging site.
Sheldon Whitehouse
Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Democratic Leadership, occasionally posts links to articles about the game and even quipped to actor/activist Michael Douglas, “@MichaelDouglas Bravo! You help lead the fight against cancer and now for reasonable online poker regulation.”
Douglas had tweeted, “Support OneBillionJellyBeans.org and help make online poker regulation a reality in CA,” in reference to the organization One Billion Jelly Beans, which argues that since people in California play an estimate one billion hands of online poker per year, the state should regulate the game rather than let that money go to offshore sites or casinos across state lines in Nevada and Louisiana.
California does in fact have an online poker bill working its way through the legislature but it’s moving slower than Paris Hilton at a sobriety test. Maybe a tweet from Douglas to Governor Jerry Brown might help expedite things a bit?
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