Early this morning, about three dozen poker players took to the steps of the Boston Commons across from the State House to speak out against a proposed bill that would levy severe penalties against people caught playing online poker in Massachusetts.
The rally, sponsored by the Massachusetts chapter of the Poker Players Alliance and Harvard’s Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society (GPSTS), attracted around 35-40 players, according to Andrew Woods, the GPSTS’s executive director and current Harvard Law student.
The group assembled to let Massachusetts lawmakers know they object to provisions of a bill that would penalize online poker players – and people who place any kinds of bets through the Internet – by up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.
Proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts Casino Expansion bill would allow the state to award three casino licenses, but also calls for the state to protect its potential gaming tax revenue by prosecuting its own residents who use the Internet to gamble.
The rally took place an hour before a scheduled public hearing on the Massachusetts Casino Expansion bill for the benefit of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. The hearing started at 10 a.m. and is expected to last well into the evening.
“I would say that that we’re very optimistic. We’ve had assurances from the Governor’s office and from various members of the legislator that this particular provision isn’t a high priority for them,” Woods said today between testimonies. “It seems to be that there’s some confusion as to why it’s there. And I think the general consensus is that the provision itself is ludicrous."
GPSTS founder and Harvard professor Charles Nesson spoke to the crowd of poker players who showed up in Boston on a cold morning following St. Patrick’s Day. He was scheduled to speak at the hearing but hasn’t done so as of 5 p.m. Massachusetts PPA state director Randy Castonguay also spoke at the rally, and was also scheduled to testify.
“Essentially everyone in the state of Massachusetts with any particularly interest in this bill is expected to testify today, so we expect it to go well into the night,” Woods said.
The two men stood on the steps of Boston Common and spoke to around 40 players who ranged in ages from eight-year-old child, who came with her parents, to senior citizens. Some of them wore bright-red “poker is not a crime” t-shirts that the PPA passed out. Chants of “now is the time, poker is not a crime” even broke out.
“We’re just very pleased to be part of the democratic process,” Woods said.
