#1
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Something for Texans to do...
Got this from my local Poker group. Gonna call the halls here in my area:
This is slightly off-topic in that it's not a posting for a home game, but I'm going to claim an exemption under the "poker-related discussion" guideline. I was briefed today by some of the leadership of Texans For Poker on the pending legislative activity involving poker. There are a handful of gambling bills being discussed in the current legislature. Some are awful, such as HB 103, which would upgrade possession of gambling paraphernalia (i.e., a deck of cards), to a felony. Fortunately it appears this bill will not get out of committee. Other bills more favorable to poker players have varying chances of success, and I'd like to focus on one right now. HB 2715 would amend various sections of the law permitting charitable bingo games to include poker. The full text of the bill can be found at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/ (enter HB 2715 in the search box). Charitable bingo distributed almost $30 million last year. The addition of poker could as much as quadruple that amount. Yet, the bingo halls don't seem to have thrown their full support behind this bill. Here's where we step in. Between now and Friday, I'd like everyone on this board to make at least one phone call to an area bingo hall and have a chat with whoever's running the show. (There are dozens of them around; check the Yellow Pages in print or online.) If they're not aware of this bill, educate them and let them know what a winning proposition it is for them, their charities and their swarms of new customers. Then tell them to call their representative in support of the bill. The committee member serving this part of the state is Tony Goolsby, and his contact information is at http://www.house.state.tx.us/members...2/goolsby.htm. There are just a few short weeks left in this legislative session, so the time to act is right now (be sure you emphasize this when you call). It might not seem like a big deal -- it doesn't exactly legalize poker the way most of us would want -- but this can be a very important step for poker to gain a legal foothold and ultimately achieve that end. |
#2
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Re: Something for Texans to do...
Carrying a deck of cards as a felony? I doubt that. I think gambling paraphanelia is referring to a bookie's books or records of transaction.
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