This pair, bettors would fold

By Jeff Haney (contact)

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Putting his own G-rated spin on a classic George Carlin riff, longtime Las Vegas sports gambler Kelso Sturgeon likes to say he makes sure to avoid the polls each Election Day.

Instead, he goes to a local casino to play video poker.

That way, Sturgeon figures, at least his activity on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November stands a chance of generating some kind of a positive outcome.

Poker industry insider Jay Lakin took a similar tack when I asked him which of the presumed presidential candidates would be better for gamblers in general and poker players in particular.

None of the above, Lakin said in so many words.

“Both (Sen. John) McCain and (Sen. Barack) Obama are poker players, but neither one has expressed anything one way or the other regarding the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act,” said Lakin, co-owner and vice president of Poker Source Online, a major informational site for poker players.

“It’s pretty low on their radar. For poker players, I really don’t think there’s much difference between the candidates.”

In his position with Poker Source Online, Lakin follows the various pieces of legislation and lawsuits designed to challenge or overturn the Internet gambling enforcement act as they make their way through an often convoluted political and legal system.

He then passes on news of the latest developments to his membership of 100,000-plus, including a sizable contingent from Las Vegas, according to Lakin.

Since the 2006 passage of the law, which severely restricts financial transactions linked to Internet gambling, several major online poker sites have pulled out of the U.S. market altogether — a situation Lakin hopes to see reversed.

“We’re in favor of anything that gets poker back into the U.S. legally so that Americans can play poker on their laptops and they can fund their accounts and they can do what they were able to do” before the law took effect, Lakin said.

“There’s only a handful of online poker rooms that still allow U.S. players. The funding either in or out is very difficult for many players.”

Perhaps the most promising bill from Lakin’s perspective, introduced by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, which sought to legalize online gambling, stalled in committee due in part to what Lakin characterized as underhanded politics by its opposition.

With the presidential election taking center stage, issues involving the Internet gambling law have taken a back seat, Lakin said.

“Nothing is going to happen in ’08 because ’08 is pretty much done,” Lakin said. “We won’t see anything happen until January ’09 at the earliest. So basically we’re going to have to wait and see what the new Congress is going to look like.”

Dig a little deeper, though, and it becomes clear that Lakin is far less cynical than Sturgeon and Carlin.

Lakin is bullish on a bill introduced this month by Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, with the catchy title of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Clarification and Implementation Act of 2008. It’s also known as HR6663.

It would seek to clarify the ambiguous law and ultimately outlaw sports betting while legalizing poker and other forms of gambling online.

“One of the big issues with the UIGEA is that it needs clarification,” Lakin said. “It excludes horse racing, fantasy sports and online lotteries. Sessions is saying that all online gambling is legal except for sports betting. People that make sports bets, take sports bets or facilitate sports bets would be criminals under his bill.”

And though Lakin isn’t recommending either McCain or Obama, he says the evidence indicates Democrats are more open to legalizing online gambling than Republicans.

He cited the June vote on the Frank-Paul bill, a 32-32 deadlock (ties lose in committee), which took place after Alabama Rep. Spencer Bachus, a Republican, gave a bizarre speech in which he linked online gambling with child pornography and teen suicides.

Of the 32 lawmakers voting against it, 28 were Republican.

“It’s pretty much split down party lines,” he said. “Republicans don’t want gambling legalized, Democrats do, and Republicans will do or say whatever they need to do to make sure it stays illegal.”