2010 World Series of Poker final table
US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has been shopping a draft of a bill to repeal The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIEGA). The UIEGA fiasco was rammed through the Senate in September, 2006, and prohibits banks and other financial institutions from transferring payments to and from illegal(?) gambling sites that operate Internet poker rooms.
Nevada casino companies will be some of the big beneficiaries of the Reid bill and they are throwing their considerable weight into the bill’s passage and subsequent repeal of UIEGA. Caesars Entertainment Corporation, formerly Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., is said to have mounted an internal campaign that encouraged their thousands of employees to vote for Harry Reid’s re-election. The Caesars Entertainment owned World Series of Poker® brand would greatly benefit from the bill’s passage.
Senator Reid’s bill will only apply to Internet poker and it will not make other forms of Internet wagering, namely sports betting, legal. The bill will give states that choose to have legal Internet poker the right to regulate and tax the activity. States can also opt out of Internet poker and the tax money. Legal Internet poker will produce billions in tax revenues that will be shared by states and the federal government while providing players a high degree of security through time-proven intense scrutiny of the legal Internet poker rooms. Online poker players will enjoy a level of protection from cheats and scams plus a guarantee of honest games, something that has been missing from current offshore Internet poker rooms. Give ’em Hell Harry!