Home / Poker News February 2013 / The Poker Grapevine – Annie Duke’s Fox Business Interview
The Poker Grapevine – Annie Duke’s Fox Business Interview
Posted by: James Carter. - Tue, 2013-02-05 06:51
Annie Duke, Howard Lederer’s sister, has been on quite a hiatus from poker for the last couple of years. As a matter of fact, her last live poker antics happened way back in 2010. Much like her brother Howard, she has her own set of reasons to stay away from the green felt, but that is not what we're here to discuss in this piece. A few days ago, she was invited for an interview on Fox News, to debate the necessity of online gambling and
online poker legalization.
Together with another guest, she once again made her usual point: gambling and poker are not harmful to society and government mingling in the issue only makes matters much worse for consumers, who don’t just remain without any sort of legal coverage and protection when they illegally engage in the said activities, they get essentially ripped off by the government in the case of state-controlled lotteries.
According to Duke, less than 1% of people exposed to gambling developed an addiction as a result, a small number compared to alcohol and tobacco, where addiction problems were developed by 7-9% of those exposed.
On the Young Turks, Duke once again reiterated her “skill vs luck” position in regards to poker. She affirmed that she had never made any money off gambling, because all her bets were carefully hedged ones, with the mathematical probability tied to their outcomes clear at all times.
Duke also addressed casinos’ efforts to create an addiction-fuelling environment , saying that gambling was a business, a legitimate economic activity, and those involved in the industry didn’t make a secret out of the fact that the odds are indeed stacked against the players. Thus, any adult who chooses to play the game knowing the mathematics behind it, does so of his own accord, without being mislead in any shape or form.
