Alfonse D'Amato Hits the WSOP Circuit

Alfonse D'Amato, the popular one time New York Senator, now serves as chairman and chief lobbyist for the Poker Players Alliance.  Since coming on board, D'Amato has made a tremendous impact and he's far from shy about getting the word out in regard to legalized online poker.

Former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato and Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) brought their fight to repeal the UIGEA and legalize Internet poker to the World Series of Poker Monday.

Casino City reports that D'Amato and Wexler were both greeted by a cheering crowd.

"Why should Americans not be able to play poker online when they can bet on the ponies online?" D'Amato asked the riled up crowd before he kicked off Day 1D play by yelling "Shuffle up and deal'em."

Later that afternoon, the large field of competitors paused to hear Wexler talk about returning online poker to American players.

"A few months ago, the government made a big mistake," Wexler said, referring to the passage of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. "They butted into the lives of Americans told them they couldn't play poker." "Poker is as much our pastime as baseball," Wexler told the audience. "It's a game of skill," Wexler said as the crowd cheered. Then he urged the players to write their representatives and support his proposed legislation allows Americans to gamble on skill games, including poker.

The crowd roared its approval, and Wexler and D'Amato continued their tour of the WSOP floor.

D'Amato and Wexler also made time to sit down with Casino City today to discuss repealing the UIGEA and creating a skill game UIGEA exception for poker.

"I'm fighting for the disenfranchised poker player," D'Amato told Casino City Press.  "They've lost the right to play on the Internet. They should have the right to play on the Internet the same way Americans have the rights to bet on the ponies on the Internet. They've disenfranchised us. They've disenfranchised the poor poker player. That's why I've joined this crusade. They've made us second class citizens. They've made us thieves. That's the implication (of the UIGEA). We're a country of fairness."

Casino City, ironically, had filed a lawsuit against the US Justice Department some years ago in an effort to prevent them from affecting that company's sponsorship deals, much of which are online casino affiliate-related.  Casino City has long played a major role in the online gambling sector.

D'Amato also touched on what Gambling911.com reported earlier about how the World Series of Poker has been severely stymied by the UIGEA and fears that followed its passage.

"Imagine how much greater and more spectacular it would be if you had players playing on the Internet," D'Amato said.  "What a competition that would be. That's the kind of thing that this can eventually be. But the legislation that was surreptitiously attached to the Safe Ports Act, the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act prevents that. It's one of the most hypocritical pieces of legislation ever passed and it was done in a duplicitous way. It says you're engaged in a criminal act if you're playing poker, but it's ok to bet on horses, or lotteries, which is every bit the gambling – if not more than poker."

The UIGEA was authored and attached to the unrelated port security act by Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona.