Your all grown Men, all I'll say is I've never seen a Book pay out when they've stopped trading. Also no matter what anyone says, when a Bookmaker takes a deposit, its His Money as far as He's concerned and never likes Punters pulling out what He's made His own, at the moment I'd say these Coconut Books are being milked. :drink:
Dante-
You have 52,000 posts to your credit....shows this is a pretty time consuming "hobby" for you. Do you really think that the Senate passing an unenforceable piece of legislation will be enough to stop cold turkey? I myself have a wait and see attitude, but I think things will have to get a whole lot worse (basically the industry falling apart) before I would go 100% local.
You have 52,000 posts to your credit....shows this is a pretty time consuming "hobby" for you. Do you really think that the Senate passing an unenforceable piece of legislation will be enough to stop cold turkey? I myself have a wait and see attitude, but I think things will have to get a whole lot worse (basically the industry falling apart) before I would go 100% local.
I haven't pulled out my bankroll yet, because it won't be threatened until after the Senate passes the bill. The President is already on record supporting it, so he'll sign it immediately, then it's only a matter of learning how soon the law will go into effect.
If it passes the Senate I probably won't wait; I'll hope to beat the "run on the bank" that will undoubtedly occur.
As far as concrete actions taken (for me, taken even before the arrest of Carruthers), I've started the process of educating myself on the effects that the law will have, prepared a letter to send to my Senators, and contacted the only organization (that I know of) that is actually mobilizing an effort to defeat this bill before it becomes law, the Poker Players Alliance.
In order to fight this we need to raise public awareness. I've volunteered to write a letter to the editor of my local newspaper as well as my Senators. And I've volunteered to attend rallys, and participate in any other activities that they (the PPA) organize. There are legitimate arguments that can be made against the bill, and we need to start making them publicly.
How many of the sports bettors here are uncomfortable about fighting this publicly, either because you're fearful of identifying yourself as a gambler or because you feel like you'll be fighting all by yourself? Do you feel helpless in this fight? Join the PPA for $20 (or more if you can afford it) and join the fight. You can even pay via Neteller. By the way, I don't work for the PPA (but I am a member) and I'm not on a membership crusade, I'm just fed up.
If I can vent for a second, I'd also like to comment on a couple of attitudes I've seen displayed at The Rx a lot lately:
"Screw 'em. I'll just play with my local guy," and "There's no chance that this thing passes and even if it does it won't affect me much."
Now, I don't bet sports...I play poker, and you may feel that I have no right to criticize other's opinions. It's not the opinions I criticize, it's the paralyzing effect these statement have on our chances to beat this thing.
The "screw 'em" comment makes us sound like we are nothing more than a bunch of renegade law-breakers, and that perception will kill us in the court of public opinion (which is probably the only battle we have a chance of winning). Can you imagine the effect on our chances of survival if there is an AP reporter monitoring this board and preparing a story about how the "gamblers" are thumbing their noses at the government of the United States?
The "there's no chance" argument is just foolish. There is EVERY chance that it will pass. For a while I was hoping that the bill would get mired in Senate committee like most of them do and simply die on the vine. Until I was informed that the chair of the committee to which this bill would go has already said that he will support a move to skip the committee process altogether so that the bill can go straight to the floor for an up/down vote. Here: http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jun-30-Fri-2006/business/8248138.html
I'll save you some time. This is the statement that scares me:
"If the House passes an Internet gambling ban, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., is expected to push for its approval in the Senate.
To expedite Senate approval, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who is chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, has agreed to allow an Internet gambling ban to advance to the Senate floor without a committee hearing, sources said."
If that happens, and the bill skips committee, we are dead because the rank and file senators have no clue and will happily fall for the "family values" arguments.
Please, let's create a united front. No more "Screw the bastards; they can't hurt me," talk. They have every intention of hurting you. That should be enough.
If it passes the Senate I probably won't wait; I'll hope to beat the "run on the bank" that will undoubtedly occur.
As far as concrete actions taken (for me, taken even before the arrest of Carruthers), I've started the process of educating myself on the effects that the law will have, prepared a letter to send to my Senators, and contacted the only organization (that I know of) that is actually mobilizing an effort to defeat this bill before it becomes law, the Poker Players Alliance.
In order to fight this we need to raise public awareness. I've volunteered to write a letter to the editor of my local newspaper as well as my Senators. And I've volunteered to attend rallys, and participate in any other activities that they (the PPA) organize. There are legitimate arguments that can be made against the bill, and we need to start making them publicly.
How many of the sports bettors here are uncomfortable about fighting this publicly, either because you're fearful of identifying yourself as a gambler or because you feel like you'll be fighting all by yourself? Do you feel helpless in this fight? Join the PPA for $20 (or more if you can afford it) and join the fight. You can even pay via Neteller. By the way, I don't work for the PPA (but I am a member) and I'm not on a membership crusade, I'm just fed up.
If I can vent for a second, I'd also like to comment on a couple of attitudes I've seen displayed at The Rx a lot lately:
"Screw 'em. I'll just play with my local guy," and "There's no chance that this thing passes and even if it does it won't affect me much."
Now, I don't bet sports...I play poker, and you may feel that I have no right to criticize other's opinions. It's not the opinions I criticize, it's the paralyzing effect these statement have on our chances to beat this thing.
The "screw 'em" comment makes us sound like we are nothing more than a bunch of renegade law-breakers, and that perception will kill us in the court of public opinion (which is probably the only battle we have a chance of winning). Can you imagine the effect on our chances of survival if there is an AP reporter monitoring this board and preparing a story about how the "gamblers" are thumbing their noses at the government of the United States?
The "there's no chance" argument is just foolish. There is EVERY chance that it will pass. For a while I was hoping that the bill would get mired in Senate committee like most of them do and simply die on the vine. Until I was informed that the chair of the committee to which this bill would go has already said that he will support a move to skip the committee process altogether so that the bill can go straight to the floor for an up/down vote. Here: http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jun-30-Fri-2006/business/8248138.html
I'll save you some time. This is the statement that scares me:
"If the House passes an Internet gambling ban, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., is expected to push for its approval in the Senate.
To expedite Senate approval, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who is chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, has agreed to allow an Internet gambling ban to advance to the Senate floor without a committee hearing, sources said."
If that happens, and the bill skips committee, we are dead because the rank and file senators have no clue and will happily fall for the "family values" arguments.
Please, let's create a united front. No more "Screw the bastards; they can't hurt me," talk. They have every intention of hurting you. That should be enough.
In all honesty I think Costa Rica should stand up a bit more for an industry providing thousands of jobs. Can anyone imagine the ripple effect of 10000 unemployed? People making easily $1000 (good money in Costa Rica) will have to settle for jobs making half of that, if their lucky to find any! Costa Rica should call WTO!
If it passes the Senate I probably won't wait; I'll hope to beat the "run on the bank" that will undoubtedly occur.
MY ONLINE PAYS FROM A PLACE IN THE USA...I TALK TO THEM AND THEY SAID IT BUSSINESS IS THE SAME....PASS OR NO PASS....
EVERYONE NEEDS TO TAKE A STEP BACK....YOU CANT STOP BETTING ON LINE...THERE WILL BE NEW WAYS COMING
MY ONLINE PAYS FROM A PLACE IN THE USA...I TALK TO THEM AND THEY SAID IT BUSSINESS IS THE SAME....PASS OR NO PASS....
EVERYONE NEEDS TO TAKE A STEP BACK....YOU CANT STOP BETTING ON LINE...THERE WILL BE NEW WAYS COMING
