[coffeecrazy1]

[ QUOTE ]
yeah, because the public always turns to "Las Vegas" when it wants to know the truth about gaming, poker and ridiculously hot broads who run casinos.

[/ QUOTE ]

Dom...I hate to say it, but yes...this is correct, to a point. I had a thirty-minute argument(which would have been much longer, if I hadn't realized I was wasting my time) last night about the fact that poker is different from gambling because you can have a winning expectation in one. The person I was arguing with was not an idiot, either...in fact, her father owned a poker room...but she was convinced that "all gamblers lose eventually," no matter what I argued.

Five years ago, this kind of show wouldn't have been a problem...but poker's in the spotlight now...it's moving to the mainstream, and if we have any shot of maintaining legitimacy and staying power(which I think we have), it does not do well to have one of our best players portrayed as a cheat, because it plays into the stereotype.

I hate that people are stupid, Dom...but it's the reality. It doesn't mean we have to excuse it, but it does mean we shouldn't make ourselves such easy targets.