Dear Dennis,
As we continue to highlight the important aspects of Social Media when it comes to effective grassroots advocacy this February, we turn from one new Internet giant,
Facebook, to another tool in the social sphere that is growing at a rapid pace,
Twitter.
Twitter is very useful to the PPA and our goals. First, it allows us to quickly and easily spread up to the minute information and news to the poker community, which is very active on
Twitter. So make sure you follow
@ppapoker! Second, like
Facebook, a significant number of U.S. Representatives, U.S. Senators, Administration officials and other high-level legislative figures now use
Twitter on a regular basis to interact and hear from the average American, like you and I, that they represent. Here is an excellent
website that lists all of the members of Congress who are active on
Twitter. We encourage you to check it out, interact with them and ask them questions about your right to play poker. You might just get a response, but more than that, we will continue to make sure they know our voices will not be ignored, and we will not go away.
Weekly Update from Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations
I have great news for everyone. This week was excellent for PPA’s efforts on Capitol Hill.
In our ongoing effort to win supporters from both sides of the aisle, PPA attended the
Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C. for the fourth consecutive year. It went very well for us. It's important that we represent the poker community there and elsewhere within the conservative movement to keep this issue bipartisan. PPA attends progressive conferences as well, of course.
2004 WSOP Champion & PPA Board Member
Greg Raymer, a terrific and tireless ambassador for the game, was on hand to sign autographs and to talk about our issue to attendees. Almost everyone who spoke with us was supportive. A very small number of people did want to debate the tired anti-poker talking points from a half-century ago, but we made short work of that.
Greg Raymer signing autographs at CPAC
PPA conducted many interviews with mainstream and poker media while there. I broadcasted my OnTilt Radio show from the CPAC booth live, did a live interview with QuadJacks from the booth, and did a live wrap-up interview with Short Stacked Radio that evening.
Raymer and I were interviewed by Xiaoyan Zhang of Voice of America for broadcast in China. Ms. Zhang was very interested in how Americans are able to organize and stand up for their rights against laws they wish to see changed. I am proud that so many poker enthusiasts are standing up for the beliefs in this area. From the interview:
The February 9th
Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on Internet gaming went very well, too. PPA Board Member & Litigation Support Network Director Patrick “Skallagrim” Fleming testified before the committee, for which he received well-deserved praise on many poker forums for his efforts. Please read the PPA statement on the hearing
here and Fleming’s testimony
here, and please take the time to watch the hearing at
www.theppa.org (the hearing starts at time point 44:25, Fleming’s testimony starts at time point 97:40).
Everyone whom we spoke with on Capitol Hill was very impressed with the grassroots social media advocacy of the poker community. It was apparent throughout the hearing that they were well aware of the growing support for online poker across the nation.
Fleming testifying before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee
Immediately following the hearing
Patrick Fleming, Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI), and me after the hearing
PPA wishes to thank everyone who is active in this fight for taking the time to make themselves heard on Capitol Hill!
Interviews
The Poker Players Alliance
Dedicated to Protecting America's Favorite Card Game
The Poker Players Alliance is a nonprofit membership organization comprised of poker players and enthusiasts from around the United States who have joined together to speak with one voice to promote the game and to protect poker players' rights. Visit us at
theppa.org
