Alphonse D'Amato Becomes Chairman of the PPA - The Poker Players Alliance Seeks to Repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act

Former New York Senator Alphonse D'Amato recently became the chairman of the Poker Players Alliance. The PPA has over 100,000 people in its organization. The Alliance represents millions and millions of dollars of gambling revenues. But the PPA is grossly under-represented in the Washington Beltway. Senator Al hopes to change that.

For those who don't know Senator Al, let me give a quick rundown.

Alphonse D'Amato was the senator reprenting the State of New York from 1981 to 1999. A Republican serving a state known for its liberalism, D'amato has long been known as an independent thinker.

Though a conservative, D'Amato was known to split with his party on such issues as gay rights and labor practices. He brought a sense of humor to his post, once filibustering a bill (which would have taken 750 jobs from New York) by reading name from the Washington D.C. phone book.

Now retired, D'Amato continues his maverick ways.

He criticizes the recent Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act as hypocritical. While the U.S. federal government supports race tracks and state lotteries, it tries to ban online gambling. While it allows land-based casinos, internet casinos are considered somehow more immoral. D'Amato attributes this double-standard to the power of the lobbies behind each form of betting.

For instance, the horse track lobby is organized and powerful. Alphonse Damato wants to turn the online gambling lobby into a force to be reckoned with.

After 18 years in the Senate, D'Amato knows his way around the corridors of power in Washington, especially among the Republican senators who championed the IUGEA. This makes him a perfect candidate to chair the Poker Players Alliance.

Good luck, Senator Al. I may not have always agreed with your politics, but you are a champion of the cause now.

Alphonse D'Amato Becomes Chairman of the PPA - The Poker Players Alliance Seeks to Repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act