USA Poker...WTH??

I have been reading that the bill we have been dreading is about to be signed...What does this mean? And why are so many sites not accepting new USA players???

I dont understand why they need to do all this. and I think its unfair to do this. Its not like its really hurting anyone (well maybe a few) but for the people that cant get out to go play and could only play online, its bad for them. Like my grandmother she lovers her poker on line.

OH by the way my grams is 88 years old and unless I take here gambling she cant go.

god forbid we let people play poker

but cant stop, the trash that steals online, that about as stupid as worrying about gay marriage ( not that there' anything wrong with that )
and and some of the stupid shit that politicians seem to think are more important than jobs, healthcare, military.

maybe in the USA are many thieves, and the romanians were limited and much .. not let them play in certain tournaments.

Our economy is crumbling, and on the verge of falling in to a recession and yet banning online poker remains on the top of some politician's lists.

Makes me sick to my stomach.

especially when simply allowing online poker and taxing it would be a HUGE step in combating the recession.

tons of money available if the govt would tax and let us play, too bad we have horrible priorities in washington!

Hey all just went to the PPA and sent their draft of a letter to my congressman and senator, rep. I suggest that everyone do the same. Just go to the PokerPlayersAlliance and join they will do it for you!!!!!!!!

I am so tired of this crap.

You are not going to believe this but its true.

I attempted to download Pokerhost yesterday (i had played there about 1 year ago) and my account was blocked.

Apparently because I live in Memphis, Tennessee (ADJACENT to KY- not really) my account was blocked until I conclusively prove my residence .

Apparently some KY players have folks in TN sign up for them so they can play

Is this unreal or what? I don't even live in one of the blocked states and I am blocked.

How much longer are we going to put up with this?

I want to play a $3.30 tourney when I got home tonight after a hard day of work (OK with maybe some cardschat postings in the middle ) and shuffling my kids back and forth to soccer, basketball, acting and of course dinner (BTW how can kids be so ungrateful for food - i used to thank my Mom profusely for every meal she gave me but that is probably why I am 50 lbs overweight ), are you (US Govt) going to tell me that it is not acceptable for me to play? WTF?

uh , it would appear they did!

im pretty sure it has to do with the young players who go broke..like the 18 19 20 year olds...

So what exactly is going on??? What does this mean for cashouts on sites??

Nothing has changed. The bill dosen't go into effect until Dec 09. Contact the PPA (pokerplayersalliance.org) and get your senators and congressmen's contact info. If enough people complain maybe the new administration will help us.

The bill was not recently signed, it was passed in 2006. As part of what they do before they leave office, the Bush administration has decided to enforce this more strictly now.

This is false. It goes into effect January 19th of '09. The banks then have until December 1st of '09 until they can be punished for it. But most likely banks start implementing these sanctions far before December.

See this thread for more info: The New UIGEA Regulations and what You can do to Fight Them

Is there any sign of hope? I miss playing sites like party poker, I miss neteller and epassporte and I miss getting my money out of sites easy...

Read the thread, it gives a list of actions you can take individually. If you're interested in donating I would hold off, as it looks like there could be a huge fundraiser for this (with several hundred grand raised if things go well). If you really want to donate now the PPA is taking donations. If you just want to help by sending letters/emails see the thread I linked to above, it has info on that.

I am on it!!!!!!

I feel the same way...

-Unemployment highest it has been in 10 years
-Forclosure is crazy, people are losing homes left and right
-Retail locations are closing stores all over the place, EX Macys, footlocker, Circuit City, Home Depot
-Stock Market is going down every single day
-Gas prices are getting better but recently there was shortages and was 4 dollars/ gallon

They dont care about those things, they are looking to pass a bill on online gambeling . Why would they even waste their time with that?

Great info for everyone as always, Zach! I do hope they all chip in and help the PPA too.

Seems like everything is crumbling down around in the US, people working 30 years losing almost all of their savings in the market. People losing jobs and not being able to live, unemployment is nothing in the US. Property taxes out of control, making even good districts hiring less educated, less experienced teachers who are cheaper. People losing their homes, its crazy. The lottery is fine, horse racing is fine. You wouldnt even have to tax the players with poker, which would get more interest. The Sites have already OFFERED to pay hundreds of millions a year just to be regulated. Unregulated is bad, just like alcohol back in the day.