Home / Poker News December 2010 / Could Reid’s online poker law still pass?
Could Reid’s online poker law still pass?
Posted by: Mark Baldwing - Wed, 2010-12-15 11:41
During the last few days, news about Sen. Harry Reid's proposed online poker bill have been abundant but often contradictory. One thing all news sources seem to agree upon though is that having failed to attach the bill to the President's controversial tax-cut bill, Reid has pretty much missed the opportunity to push the law through in the lame-duck session of Congress.
Reid however seems to have plenty of big “thank yous” to dispense, and he has by no means given up on the deal just yet.
In a small press briefing the other day, he stated that the lame-duck session would last till January 4 and therefore he planned to work through Christmas on a whole bunch of “stuff”, most of which probably well and truly exceeds legal online poker in importance. Is
online poker still part of his agenda at all? According to experts the more “stuff” Reid gets involved in during the home stretch of the lame-duck session, the higher the chances of the law’s passing one way or another.
One thing is certain, Reid’s online poker bill needs a vehicle to pass. Without a law like the tax bill (which is now pretty much out of the picture) or the omnibus spending measure (which is apparently the last viable solution seen by experts), squeezing the law through is borderline impossible.
In the meantime, the poker community which is mostly rather skeptic about Reid's proposals, is in turmoil. Rumors surface every other day, and
poker forums and blogs are abuzz with information (real or make-believe stuff) created by the excitement over the possibility of legal online poker in the United States.
According to an apparently “credible” source, a new draft of the proposed bill has surfaced, this time containing a whole bunch of concessions to various interests. Whether or not this is true remains to be seen. If the omnibus drives by and the bills not on it, chances are we won't see legal online poker anytime soon.
