Senator Alfonse D’Amato Takes Leadership Position with the Poker Players Alliance
Dear PPA Member:
You probably have heard that the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has enlisted a key ally to support our cause. Yesterday, we announced that former U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato is joining the PPA as Chairman of the Board and to help lead our efforts in Washington D.C. The PPA has been your voice for the past 18 months, now we have elevated our organization and will have even more influence with policy makers.
Senator D’Amato will be a tremendous advocate on your behalf. First of all, he is a passionate and skilled poker player who loves to win in both poker and politics. He has a distinguished 18 year record serving in the United States Senate and worked in a bipartisan fashion to achieve results for the people of New York. Now he is taking his enthusiasm, tenacity and political savvy directly to Congress to produce results for the Poker Players Alliance. We are proud that he has joined our team and we are excited about our prospects to get something done for poker in the near term.
I also want to take this moment to personally thank Linda Johnson, the First Lady of Poker, who was the inspiration behind the Poker Players Alliance and served as the PPA’s first Chairwoman. Without her guidance the PPA would not be the great organization it is today.
I encourage you to go to the New York Times Web site (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/05/technology/05poker.html) for more news about Senator D’Amato joining the Poker Players Alliance and to visit our site at http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org.
Sincerely,
Michael Bolcerek, President
Poker Players Alliance
Senator Alfonse D’Amato Takes Leadership Position with the Poker Players Alliance
Poker Aficionado and former U.S. Senator to Lead Efforts to Protect One of America’s Pastimes
Washington D.C.(March 5, 2007) – The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), a grassroots organization of more than 160,000 poker enthusiasts, announced today that former United States Senator Alfonse D’Amato has joined the PPA to serve as Chairman of the Board and help lead efforts in Washington D.C. to protect the game of poker.
“I have had a passion for poker since my childhood, and for politics almost as long. This new position will allow me to fuse these passions and help establish sensible policy that allows Americans to enjoy the great game of poker in the venue of their choosing,” said Alfonse D’Amato, the new Chairman of the Poker Players Alliance.
“We are thrilled to have Senator D’Amato take up our cause to promote and protect the game played by millions of Americans. His enthusiasm, tenacity and political astuteness will bolster the influence of the PPA and help earn poker a much deserved exemption from the recent online gaming law,” said Michael Bolcerek, president of the PPA. “For the past 18 months Linda Johnson, the First Lady of Poker, skillfully lead our organization as Chairwoman, today the First Senator of Poker will lead the charge.”
It is estimated that more than 23 million Americans enjoyed playing poker on the Internet in 2006. Yet, the recent government crackdown on Internet gaming has swept poker into its net of prohibition and have made it increasingly difficult for poker players to enjoy this great form of entertainment on the Internet. The Poker Players Alliance will be working with Congress to provide a skill game exemption for poker and pave the way for eventual regulation and taxation of the industry in the United States.
“Prohibitions don’t work, they only create unintended consequences. The American people know this and we are going to make sure Congress knows it too,” said Senator D’Amato. “We need common sense regulation of Internet poker. Prohibition will only drive the industry underground and strip away any protections for children and services for problem gamblers.”
The Poker Players Alliance was formed in 2005 to protect the right of poker players to enjoy the great American tradition of poker in the venue of their choice, and Linda Johnson was critical in the organization’s development. “I would like to personally thank Linda Johnson for her service to the PPA as its first Chairwoman, and in her continued service as a board member as we take the organization to its next level,” stated Bolcerek.
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The Poker Players Alliance www.pokerplayersalliance.org is a non-profit organization advocating on behalf of American poker players.
Editor’s Note: There’s also an interview with Alphonse at CardPlayer that’s worth a read.