Update on Internet Gambling Bill as of 5:20 Eastern

[skeptic]

The bill came up for a vote this morning with only 20 people in the House chamber. This was not enough for a quorum, they need half of the 435. The bill requires a 2/3's vote of all present. Early this morning the justice department put out a letter saying they "strongly" oppose the bill. More importantly, a copy of Lou's article (less profanity) from Covers.com was handed out to all 435 House Representatives this morning. I would have paid $10,000 to see the look on Kyl's face when he caught wind of it.

The vote has been called for at 7 PM Eastern tonight. Everyone say a little prayer, it's going to be close.

[Greedo]

did they really hand out a copy of Lou's column to everyone. if so I up your anti skeptic to 20G's. That's great. Let's bring it home tonight. And good job by the Justice Dept too.

Lou we may be about to nominate you for BW sainthood if this thing gets squashed.

[skeptic]

Yes, they really did!!!

:-))))))))))))))))))))))

[Hartley]

You can listen to it live at www.cspan.org.

[gooden]

Oh yeah! Just finished...

That's great news. You all should check out Kyl's homepage. On it you will find no direct reference to his stance on internet gambling; you'd definitely expect a more prominent feature by the key protagonist, wouldn't you? I hope all of you take to time to patronize his sight and "contact" him with your thoughts. There is a link that will allow you to do this electronically. I voiced my opinions to him, and even cut and pasted Lou's write-up, just to rub it in. He truly is your typical, gawd-awful politician.

[Chillin-the-Most]

gooden,
what do you mean just finished? Did something happen already?

[Hamhog]

146 no's so far. Looks like it HR 3125 does not pass.

[Bette Midler]

Perhaps the reason the Bill was brought up for a vote so early this morning was that congressional staff caught wind of the Covers.com article and wanted to get it pushed through before the Kyl "damage" was done. Looks like the fine Senator from Arizona gets to steep in his own brew for awhile. Great job to Lou and to all that helped bring this matter to light!

Passage of this Bill will have an impact far beyond the online gaming community. It would have put other e-commerce entities on notice that the U.S. is no longer a free country to do business in. If the gov't can't control it, then it tries to ban it. These are the battleground issues that will define freedom in the coming years. The free world may actually come to be redefined by those who understand the meaning of free trade in the global marketplace and extend that practice to free trade in the digital world.

[AussieVamp2]

Yeah, I reckon you can give the Lou man a gold star.

Maybe a free 100 dollar 3-team parlay too

[gooden]

"C the M", I meant that I, uhhh, got a little excited by the result. Guess my humor was a bit too obscure.

Now what I really would like to know is how, if in any way, would this affect Mr. Cohen's situation? Can this give him any leverage whatsoever in his case? If JC's there (by the way, recently posted with your book, World Sports Exchange, and I'd vouch for it anyday) I'd love to hear his opinions.

[AussieVamp2]

Skeptic, thanks for the update btw.

[Bette Midler]

Gooden,

I don't think today's vote will have any bearing or impact on JC's case. I believe he was prosecuted for violations of the Wire Act, an existing set of antiquated laws dating back to the early 1960s. Fortunately, I believe his appeal is strong enough to stand on its own merits. I wish him well.

[Lou_Covers_Com]

skeptic,

Did they really pass that story around the Congress?

If so, I'd love to get a hold of a copy for a scrapbook. In fact, I'd have to create a scrapbook just for this occasion, seeing as I've never had a reason for a scrapbook before.

[skeptic]

Lou,

Yes they did. I'll try to get you a copy.