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If you can't fight them, join them, and that's exactly what one poker playing attorney in Washington State is in the midst of doing. Lee Rousso is running for Governor of Washington State as a Democrat in his bid to oust Commander....errr...Governor Christine Gregoire. His platform: Make online gambling legal....or at least, get rid of a recently past law that makes playing online poker a Class C felony. In 2006, Washington State Governor Gregoire managed to pass a law that made online gambling illegal in the state. It's the only such state to do so. And the punishment is equivalent to that of a child molester or repeat drunk driving offender. Enter Lee Rousso. He came forward to challenge the law (apparently because nobody else would). Rousso filed a law suit claiming that the ban on online gambling failed to comply with the Wire Act passed by the federal government in which the actual gamblers have never been criminally liable. Had Gregoire been the Governor of a state such as Utah, which does not permit any form or gambling, not even a state lottery, she might have been forgiven. Washington, however, allows gambling in Indian-run casinos and other venues.
According to Rousso,
“I’m just upset
beyond words that a
law like that in a
country like this
could become a law.
It’s just flat out
wrong.” That includes the major Seattle newspapers, which lashed out at Gregoire's administration at the time this new measure was passed into law. Gov. Chris Gregoire actually bet openly against the governors of North Carolina and Pennsylvania in the Seahawks '06 Super Bowl run, and make no mistake about it - Rousso is bound to make this little bit of hypocrisy part of his campaign against Gregoire come the summer. "This is a candidacy born out of what must surely be a world record case of buyer’s remorse," says Rousso. "I voted for Christine Gregoire in 2004 and did so without hesitation. Now, I feel so disappointed and betrayed by her leadership that I wouldn’t support her re-election with a loaded gun to my head. "Under SB 6613, the state can kick down your door in the middle of the night and haul you off to prison for five years for committing the “crime” of playing poker on the internet. And while you are rotting away in prison, the state can steal your house and throw your family out on the street. Really, who knew the Taliban had so much influence, and so far from home?" Rousso is not considered the main candidate going up against Mr. Gregoire. That honor goes to Dino Rossi, who Gregoire just narrowly beat in 2004 after two recounts.
"Just three years
ago, when I came to
office, Washington
was struggling with
a $2.2 billion
shortfall that
threatened to halt
any progress on
needs from education
to health care," she
said.
Rossi provided a
different
perspective in a
video address
released Monday in
anticipation of
Gregoire's
assessment. Whether Rousso and Rossi can form an alliance remains to be seen (certainly would make a nice name for a law firm). Rousso certainly feels the same way about Gregoire's job performance during her tenure as Washington Governor.
"During the three
years of the
Gregoire
administration,
government spending
has been increasing
by 7% per year,
inflation has
averaged about 2.4%
and population
growth around 1.7%
per year," Rousso
state. "In
other words, at
these rates
government spending
will double in ten
years, prices will
double in thirty
years, and
population will
double in about 40
years. ---- Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher CCostigan@CostiganMedia.com
Originally published
January 28, 2008
11:50 pm EST
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Pro
Online Poker Player
Running for
Washington State
Governor
Governor
Gregoire this past
week painted a rosy
picture of
Washington State
since she came into
office.