Small turnout for rally against Massachusetts gambling bill
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Just a few dozen poker players turned out for a rally at Boston Commons to protest a proposed Massachusetts bill that would make gambling and playing online poker in the state illegal.
The rally, held near the State House in Boston, was held by the Poker Players Alliance and Harvard’s Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society.
The bill in question, proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick, would also allow three licenses for casinos in the state, in addition to the internet ban.
According to cardplayer.com:
The rally took place an hour before a scheduled public hearing on the Massachusetts Casino Expansion bill for the benefit of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. The hearing started at 10 a.m. and is expected to last well into the evening.
“I would say that that we’re very optimistic. We’ve had assurances from the Governor’s office and from various members of the legislator that this particular provision isn’t a high priority for them,” said Andrew Woods, the GPSTS’s executive director and current Harvard Law student. “It seems to be that there’s some confusion as to why it’s there. And I think the general consensus is that the provision itself is ludicrous.”
GPSTS founder and Harvard professor Charles Nesson had an op-ed published in the Boston Herald, saying the origin of the language concerning the online ban is not publicly known. Read it here.
