My Reply to the Governer

[liladypokerpro]

In case you didn't see the previous post, I have added a copy of his reply to my first letter to him at the bottom of this page. Here is my reply to his response:

November 28, 2008

Dear Gov. Beshear:

First let me say that I hope you and your family had a wonderful and blessing-filled Thanksgiving. I'd like to reply to your response to my message regarding internet gambling.

According to your response, the main concern is with regard mainly to our state's youth. I could take this reason as fair and just if there were no way for parents to regulate and monitor their children's internet activities. However, there are multiple free softwares advertised and readily available which allow parents to block certain websites from their computer. Therefore, I don't understand how the entirety of the community must suffer for the sake of some parents who are not taking their responsible role in their children's lives to monitor their activities online, and take the necessary precautions to prevent them from accessing potentially harmful websites. Parents should take sole responsibility for their children's internet activity. It is not the responsibility of the entire state to see to it that their child is behaving.

Secondly, you mention local gambling venues as a concern. While normally I would agree with this, there is a huge difference between the revenue that is spent at the horse track and on lottery versus the revenue that is spent online. People who play internet poker for cash tend to play because they cannot afford to spend more than a few dollars. Internet poker sites offer minute deposit options. Therefore, I do not see how it is possible that a few dollars spent by a small portion of the state's residents can compete with hundreds of thousands of dollars that are spent daily by the vast majority of the state's residents on Kentucky lottery and the Churchill Downs racetrack.

People play online for cash because it is cheap. Banning online poker is not going to change the fact that people are unable to afford expensive risks. The economy is in a dire state...the recession is in full swing. The only thing that is going to bring people back to lottery and horse racing is for the economy to improve drastically.

I am glad to be able to speak openly with you about this issue. I have a great deal of information that could be helpful with this issue, if you see fit to hear it. I understand you have a great concern for the state and can appreciate that fact. But I really think that you give the internet poker community too much credit as far as the money that comes from our state. It's pennies compared to the income made by the race track and the lottery, because most people that play online poker play what is called "freerolls" - these are free games with no money needed. These games are widely available on all poker networks, therefore most people see no sense in depositing real money when they can play for nothing.

Most of the people I know (myself included) play for free. Mainly because there is no risk involved, and the state is not losing a dime from it. It's simple pleasure of playing a game that I grew up playing with my family. Since my family lives out of state, I cannot play anymore unless I play online. By banning online poker altogether, it will also affect those of us who play for leisure and fun. The last time I checked, there was nothing illegal about playing a free game. I spend a great deal on the lottery, so I feel like the least you could do is let me continue playing my free game in peace.

Thanks for listening,

Erica


Below is a copy of his response to my first letter, which prompted me to write the above reply back:


November 25, 2008


Thank you for contacting me regarding Internet gambling. By acting to stop illegal, unlicensed, and unregulated gambling sites from taking advantage of Kentuckians, my administration is enforcing current law, not creating new legislation. It is important to defend the citizens of Kentucky, particularly our youth, from deception and predatory practices. As unregulated Internet gambling is illegal in Kentucky, I believe it is our responsibility to move forward with this action. These illegal sites also threaten Kentucky's legal forms of gaming - in horse racing, through the lottery, and at churches through bingo and charitable gaming. I am interested in protecting these legal and highly regulated forms of gaming, which are so important to our state.


Your views are important to me, and I am grateful for your willingness to be involved in Kentucky's future. Please feel free to contact me whenever an issue is important to you.


Sincerely,


Steven L. Beshear

[dew12109]

Nice sensible reply. I hope you get a letter back that he actually took time to write and address your the points in your letter.

[RAW_FORCE]

Great reply. Keeping a cool head and a sensible tone like you did is definitely important if you want him to pay you even a bit of attention.

btw...When exactly will it become impossible for me to play from KY? I go to college in Philadelphia but Covington has always been my home and if I can't play during breaks and such I will not be a happy camper. I was worried I wouldn't be able to play during this Thanksgiving break but no troubles so far.

[liladypokerpro]

Raw Force - Thanks. I'm not sure when or if it will ever be completely impossible, as it was supposed to happen by Nov. 17th.....however, the court of appeals has agreed to place the domain seizure on hold while they investigate further the evidence presented by the PPA that was dismissed by the original judge that saw the case. A problem that you may run into that I'm already experiencing is a few sites are locking out US players altogether now out of fear of the pending seizure. However, Merge network is not locking out existing player accounts, and so far as I can tell neither is Full Tilt, Stars, Absolute or Ultimate Bet. If you wanted to make a new account, it could be difficult if your address is registered from Kentucky...

[RAW_FORCE]

Well seemingly right on cue I just received an email from ultimate bet letting me know I will no longer be able to play on their site. And so it has begun

[liladypokerpro]

Originally Posted by RAW_FORCE Well seemingly right on cue I just received an email from ultimate bet letting me know I will no longer be able to play on their site. And so it has begun

I'm sorry to hear that RF...I guess I'd better check my email then...

[HeyKidMove]

I agree with your response to his letter. But, in my opinion, a lot of online poker players probably don't partake in much gambling, other than poker if you call it gambling. I know, for me at least, poker is an expected return, while I know I will just lose money playing lotto tickets, or slot machines. Now, I don't know if you have any casinos in your area, but a lot of online poker players might not play in casinos either because the stakes are so much higher as you mentioned. All in all, I think you made some very good points in the letter, now lets just hope it makes an impact, and this doesn't spread throughout other states. Good luck with everything.

[liladypokerpro]

Thanks kid...there is a casino near us but it's about a 45 minute drive and it's in Indiana LOL So either way the governor isn't getting the money.

And nope...didn't make a lick of difference...I got the same email as RF...and since UB and AP are basically one and the same now, I'm sure AP will be soon to follow. Ya know, it's pathetic what's happening...really pathetic.