On April 17, Mat Sklansky, ProfessionalPoker, and I spent most of the day meeting with John Pappas and Rich Muny of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). The idea was to talk about ways in which we could improve our relationship. Specifically, we were thinking there is so much happening on the legal front, what can we do to make things even better so that our members can get good information as fast as possible. It became a very good day of discussion.

The first step, now in progress, is to merge the PPA Forum with the Poker Legislation Forum. The new merged forum will now become known as “The Poker Legislation Forum brought to you by the PPA.” Sounds pretty good.

We also want to make more people aware of what PPA Executive Director, John Pappas, is working on. While everyone knows what PPA Vice President Rich Muny, also known as TheEngineer is doing, and there has been wide spread support for his daily action plans, we felt that some of the events that John Pappas is participating in could use a little more publicity. This merging of forums should allow us to get the word out better.

In addition, John and Rich, as well as other important PPA officials will be participating in the Poker Legislation forum. So, if any of you have suggestions, that’s where they should be posted.

On a personal note, I’ll be giving a paper at The 15th International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking which will be held the last week of May at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and is sponsored by both UNLV and The University of Nevada/Reno. The title of my paper is “A Mathematical Model of “Tilt” – Cause and Cure.”

For those of you who are wondering, this is not my first presentation at this conference, though it has been a while since I presented anything. My first presentation, which was given at The MGM Hotel and Casino in Reno all the way back in 1987, was titled “Non-Self Weighting Strategies and Bankroll Requirements.” This material found its way into my book Gambling Theory and Other Topics which was also first published in 1987.

Editor’s Note
by Bryan Clark

On Tuesday, April 30, Ultimate Poker became the first regulated online poker site in the U.S. to begin running cash games.

You can read about the opening of their site in this 2+2 thread.

New Jersey is the third state to approve online poker, but it’s likely to have a greater impact on the rest of the country than its predecessors.

Nevada and Delaware didn’t exactly open the floodgates for other states to seriously pursue online poker, but that makes sense. Nevada is viewed as a different entity than other states. It’s a gaming state, and for a gaming state to expand its gambling options isn’t going to be trendsetting. As one of the smallest and least populous states, Delaware doesn’t command the spotlight.

This time is different. When New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed the online gambling bill into law last week, political leaders in other states were taking notice.

If there is a state that is going to begin a chain reaction of Internet poker spreading across the country, it’s New Jersey. In a few years, perhaps New Jersey will be better known for giving us online poker than Jersey Shore.

“New Jersey is a very big domino to fall,” said John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance. “Hopefully it will reignite some enthusiasm for other states to move forward. I think people view it as much more significant progress because it’s in a state that’s not just a gaming state. In Nevada, gaming is ubiquitous throughout the state. In New Jersey, it’s just in a small pocket.”

Previously, gambling in New Jersey was focused in Atlantic City. Once online gaming goes live – which is expected this fall – the servers will be hosted by Atlantic City casinos but available for play to people throughout the state.

New Jersey is the 11th-most populous and most densely populated state in the nation. It is also the third-wealthiest U.S. state by 2011 median household income.

“It’s one thing to have a state like Nevada go ahead with Internet gaming,” said New Jersey State Sen. Ray Lesniak, the leading sponsor of the bill. “It’s another thing to have an urban, wealthy Northeastern state like New Jersey take this step. I believe it will have tremendous reverberations throughout the country.”

Another important factor is the backing from Christie, one of the most prominent governors in the country who is considered a leading contender for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2016.

By first vetoing the bill two years ago and then conditionally vetoing the new legislation last month before signing after his proposed changes were made, Christie certainly showed that it was an issue he long considered before deciding it was the right move for his state and its people.

“This was a critical decision, and one that I did not make lightly,” Christie said last week in his statement following the signing. “But with the proper regulatory framework and safeguards that I insisted on including in the bill, I am confident that we are offering a responsible yet exciting option that will make Atlantic City more competitive while bringing financial benefits to New Jersey as a whole.”

Christie’s popularity is running high after his public handling of the aftermath from Hurricane Sandy.

“The high-profile governor that they have there in Gov. Christie being supportive I think adds greater credibility to the issue,” Pappas said.

Pappas believes the two states that could follow in New Jersey’s footsteps to pass legislation by the end of this year are California and Pennsylvania. If Pennsylvania – a border state to New Jersey that has yet to introduce online poker legislation – moves quickly to pass a bill this year, the influence from New Jersey will be unmistakable.

“People view New Jersey as a bellwether state of things to come, and there will be things to come,” Pappas said. “But the dominoes won’t start falling immediately. People have to understand, in New Jersey this has been going on for several years.”

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