The look of an internet poker player.
May went out with a whimper - instead of a sigh – on the poker front. I basically broke even – winning on BoDog and losing on Sportsbook for the tiniest of profit. The losing came later, so that is why the whimper.
Folks, I knew that when poker playing got mainstream – and especially when it got trendy and HUGE – that the government was going to come in and mess it all up. The government – as it is currently stocked with politicians – cannot sit by and watch the citizenry make money, have fun, build industries and celebrities without getting involved.
It looks too much like freedom of the people. We cannot be having any of that. And for poker unfortunately, the enemies of poker are on both sides of the isle. The religious right hates poker and the socialist Democrats on the left want ‘their rake’ in tax dollars.
I made the statement when some players started discussing “legalizing” poker both on-line and live, and I said then, “Be careful what you wish for. Any time government gets involved things are going to get screwed up.”
A side note on a similar situation, all you Obamacare backers – may you die a slow and painful death waiting for a doctor that never comes because the Death Panel selected you as not worth “the people’s money.”
We got our casinos close by. We have our “charity” poker rooms right next door. We had big casinos “partner up” with on-line poker sites. It was the “legal poker” player’s dream. And then it happened. Freedom crushed.
Casinos and charity poker rooms pay taxes. Religious zealots look the other way on poker when the rake money is going to ‘charity’. Liberals love the taxes – any taxes – so enough motivation right there.
On-line poker rooms and most winning on-line players are not paying taxes and are not doing near enough publicly for charity. So, you get freedom crushed.
This “no taxes paid by players” is the biggest thing. That is why gambling is illegal except in government approved venues in the first place. The dictators are not getting their cut. They are the Don and you are the shop keeper not paying “protection”. You are the worker not wanting to pay your union dues. You are the debtor not paying your ‘juice’ payment to the loan shark. You get your legs broken – or worse.
So when the Poker Players Alliance had their Poker March on Washington last month, they only drew enough people to fit under the shade of a small tree. Poker players do not like the light of day. Any “big” poker player who takes on the dictators in Washington will have a visit from the IRS the next day. Count on it.
If you have wondered why the big blogs, the big players and the big on-line poker owners and managers are chatting nice about the downfall of poker and our freedoms, and bending over happily for government’s visit to Brown Town - this is the reason.
Poker needs to go back under-ground. Poker needs to return to private games. Poker needs to be played on-line, but not talked about or even advertised. Involving the government would mean a rake so high it would be a fool’s bet (like the lottery, casino games or horse-racing) to even bother playing.
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