Poker News Daily: Talk about the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and why poker players should care about the organization.
Muny: This is a real opportunity for poker players to come together to speak with one voice, to push back against some of the federal legislation against us, and to get the legislation that we want to have in order to get the game we love clearly legal. Our opponents are well-organized and what we saw prior to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was that anytime there was a vote on a bill against us, it would do very well in Congress and have very little opposition.
Now what we see is that we’re on offense. We have legislation in favor of online gambling and online poker. By us being on offense, it’s been our best defense. The more of us who get together with the PPA and stand up for our rights, the more lobbyists we’ll have in Washington, D.C. and the more numbers we’ll have, the more letters we’ll have, the more phone calls we’ll have, and the more success we’ll have.
PND: You’re the PPA State Director for Kentucky. How did you become involved with the PPA originally and why do you continue to be involved on behalf of poker players?
Muny: I started playing a few years ago and was very upset when the UIGEA was passed. I thought that poker players were accused of causing societal ills and that was an unfair rap. I thought that the opponents of gambling, and they lumped poker into that group, would pretty much exaggerate anything to keep it illegal. I was very upset by this.
I was also upset by the loss of my personal freedom because I also enjoy playing online poker and I think it’s my right. We started fighting back and developing online groups where those of us who wanted to fight back coordinated our efforts. Eventually, we had some pretty good successes and the PPA asked me to join their Board of Directors. I was honored to do so.
I continue to be associated because it’s the only game in town. It’s the only way we’re going to get our rights back. Who else is doing it? I think we’ve been very successful. We put a bill through the House Financial Services Committee just a few months ago. Everything that we have in there now is keeping us on offense. I’m very proud to be involved with the organization.
PND: What will it take for online poker to become legalized and regulated in the United States?
Muny: It’ll take all of our fellow poker players calling Congress, writing Congress, and demanding our liberties. Tell them you demand your rights and you don’t appreciate them taking your rights from you. Our opponents are doing the same thing and you need to stand up for your rights just like they do. If we all do that, if we all stand strong and we all stand with our organization, we have lobbyists in D.C. who will tell Congress that Americans want their right to play. Then, players’ letters and phone calls will back up that message.
It’s not just a letter writing campaign. We have lobbyists and they work symbiotically. They push the message, which wasn’t getting through before the UIGEA was passed, but has been getting through pretty loud and clear for the last couple of years. If we all do this, if we all stand strong and stand up for our rights, we’ll get this clearly legalized down the road because it’ll become apparent that they can’t stop it and they might as well get some revenue from it.
PND: Talk about the importance of former three-term Senator and current PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato.
Muny: Senator D’Amato has done a great job for us. I’ve had the honor of meeting him a couple of times. He’s a very affable man and very capable. He brings the face of experience to our organization and has a long-term skill set within Congress. A big plus of that is that a lot of our opposition has been from the Republican Party. The reasons for that are, first of all, the social conservative wing of the party tends to oppose us. It’s just so easy for the GOP to appease that one wing by giving them us. We’ve been the bone that’s been thrown to Focus on the Family for a long time.
We are pushing back by saying that a lot of us are Republicans too. You can’t win without us either. A lot of us are Democrats as well, but it’s turned into a big block of swing voters. What D’Amato brings to us is that he can go to Congress and lobby why a lot of Republicans could support this position. There is a reason for the GOP to support us and not just have a knee-jerk reaction to oppose us. It costs them something if they oppose us.
PND: Is membership to the PPA free? How can interested poker players sign up?
Muny: The PPA does have a free membership. I encourage everyone to sign up, but if you want to step up your game, I encourage people to get the full membership, which is only $20 per year. That gets you a membership, but more importantly, it helps finance the lobbying efforts that are going on, which is really where it happens. It’s really important, if you can, to get the full membership. If you’re not ready to do that yet, then get the free membership. The way to sign up is to go to JoinPPA.com.
