A poker player's plea
Before Bill Frist's sneaky amendment effectively banning online poker in the United States, I was a bit of an online poker player myself. I do realize that a few sites still take US players, but my site was not among them.
Anyways, I am one of the many players out there who hope that Barney Frank's proposed bill makes it all the way through into law. I would expect that most of my fellow online players - from those playing for pennies to those playing for thousands - would agree that we want online poker fully legalized and regulated. I'm perfectly willing to pay taxes on any winnings I make, and I think that most others feel the same way.
I think it was really deceptive and sneaky, attaching the "banning" amendment to a completely unrelated bill, and I'd like for the issue to be resolved on an open and honest vote instead of a sneaky attaching of an amendment to another unrelated bill. Poker is a game of skill, and over the long term the best players really do win.
Some oppose legalizing poker on moralistic grounds, arguing that poker is addictive and that it can ruin people by bankrupting them. I'd note that problem gamblers will often find another outlet for their gambling obsession, and along the lines of dealing with problem gambling I'd propose that 1-2% of the online casino's profits be shunted into a fund for problem gambling.