If there is a conspiracy theory here (and there certainly may be one), this all could backfire big-time on the land-based casinos, and our inept government. As mentioned by others, Poker’s resurgent popularity was initially fueled by the internet online gaming craze, and has been further promoted by guys (and gals) like us, the media, etc. If this law is as far reaching as it appears it may very well be, this “craze” could easily die. Figure if legalization is happening, it will take several years for that to materialize, and the waning of interest of poker may never be recouped.
Look at how everyone and their neighbor was buying stocks during the .COM boom. This may not be a direct analogy, but to the average Joe (or Mary), it looked like the stock market would never come down again. The media played it up huge – discount brokerages were flourishing – advertising in every media outlet imaginable. Everyone wanted to “be a trader” and make some money. And then the bust happened (I’m equating this to the Internet Gaming bill)……no longer was it fashionable to be a trader – discount brokerages struggled, media advertising came to a screeching halt.
I know, the analogy is not direct here, but the point I’m trying to make is that online gaming (Poker, specifically) could suffer a fatal blow here, and although some people will continue to gamble online, the industry may suffer from a real interest demise.
In come the land casinos in a couple of years, and guess what, the market for their services is no longer what it was today. No one gives a rats ass about Poker any more.
Lose, lose…..nobody wins, except for some politicians who may get re-elected in November, due to their strong interest in “family values”……
I really don’t think this entire plan was well thought out, but then again what do you expect from Public servants, who couldn’t manage themselves out of a paper bag, if their lives depended on it.