Economic Stimulus Package for College Students: Online Poker

College students these days may have a little more money than those of past generations and it's not all about their rich mommies and daddies.  Some have been earning it themselves, even as jobs become more scarce and economic woes mount.

Hunter Fritz isn't making his money working at McDonalds.  The University of Minnesota sophomore plays online poker and wins.

Fritz knew he'd arrived on the poker scene last year when he won a tournament that netted him $160,000 in winnings, he told the University paper, adding that he now plays about three hours per day and considers it his job.

Fritz said he'd rather play online than at a physical table because he enjoys the comfort of his own home, prefers to play up to six tables at once and thinks non-online games progress slowly.

"It allows for a lot of freedom," Fritz (pictured below) said.

"You don't necessarily have to work as many hours, but at the same time you have to deal with a lot of stuff no one else has to deal with."

That paper spoke to other students, including Marketing Major Ryan Tongen, who plays online poker up to 40 hours a week and takes in a cool six-figure income each year. 

Needless-to-say, students like Hunter and Ryan won't have to worry too much about paying off college loans the rest of their young adult lives.

For these young people, online poker represents a stable industry in an otherwise unstable economy with little sign of recovery over the next several years.

PokerPulse.com estimates online poker to generate $2 billion dollars, despite the fact that some politicians and the US Justice Department have condemned the activity.

Others, like chairmanship of the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, and Congressman Ron Paul, want the activity legalized.  Paul is still on the US Presidential ballot, running for Republican.

Paul told Gambling911.com that Congressman Frank had approached him about co-sponsoring a bill to legalize online gambling last year and he had agreed.

“I believe strongly that the internet should not be regulated by the federal government and believes even more strongly that people should be free to engage in the activities they wish, as long as they are willing to take responsibility for their actions.”

Fearing the ultimate collapse of the US economy, both Frank and Paul will push their bill into Committee this spring. 

Online poker may soon become a necessity for those just graduating from High School as financial institutions become less willing to lend to students.

Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Palm Beach Gardens, addressed concerns over a deteriorating economy and its impact on young people.

"Wait ’til next fall. Another looming crisis for college kids being able to borrow money to be able to afford to go to a Syracuse University or George Washington University, where it’s $38,000 a year for tuition. There’s nobody out there anymore willing to lend," he told the The Stuart News.  Mahoney referenced the recent US bailout of stock brokerage Bear Stearns.  "In my lifetime, every time the financial service industry innovates, the economy gets clobbered, and (that’s) what we had here. We had innovation; we have another looming problem which is hedge funds, so that’s another crisis that’s still potentially to hit."

All of which will ultimately hurt the college age individual and their ability to pay for tuition.

In Massachusetts, students are not taking the abuse by local politicians lying down.

Recently, a card-playing Harvard Law professor and his poker-crazy students staged a protest outside the State House rallying against Gov. Deval Patrick’s casino plan.  Patrick attempted to ban online poker as part of a proposal to develop new land-based casino resorts in his state. 

The newly formed Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society targeted the provision in the governor’s bill that Massachusetts residents caught gambling online would face up to two years in jail and a fine of as much as $25,000.

Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson, an avid player who formed the Harvard poker society, testified at a State House hearing on Patrick’s casino bill. The Harvard group contends that as many as 400,000 Massachusetts residents play poker online.

“I don’t think filling our expensive jail cells with poker players is what Massachusetts voters had in mind when they elected Deval Patrick,” Nesson said in a statement.

Nesson and his rather large group of student poker playing protestors certainly helped to stop Patrick's plans from becoming a reality.  Ultimately, the Governor will be prevented from raising a similar proposal for the next nine months.  Until that time, Harvard students and other college poker aficionados will be able to play.

Despite a law that technically makes online poker illegal in the United States, only Washington State holds the actual poker player criminally liable.  The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, a federal law that Barney Frank and Ron Paul are attempting to overturn, makes it illegal to run an online poker room from the States.  Nearly all operate from outside the US. 

As for Fritz and Ryan, both intend to keep playing poker online for the foreseeable future.  But with all forms of gambling, losing does occur.  Discipline, strategy, skill, focus must come into play the same way that a college student works towards getting good grades.

After playing significant amounts of online poker everyday for more than a year, Ryan said dealing with constant highs and lows loses its impact.

"I lost seven grand the other day and I was pretty much fine," he said.

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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher CCostigan@CostiganMedia.com

Originally published March 29, 2008 8:15 am EST