Online
Poker Finds a Fit with Black Caucus
February
22, 2010
The online gambling
industry has had some strange bedfellows over the years. However, their
latest one surprise many, in that the Black Caucus is supportive of
online gambling – which many thought that they would not be. The Black
Caucus has long been thought of as the “conscience of the Congress” and
so many thought that they might go the way of being against online
gambling.
They have a very good relationship with the poker industry though, and
this is part of the reason why they are so behind the online gambling
bill. The Black Caucus also has major supporters from the big online
poker rooms, and some of the biggest names in poker who just happen to
be African American – Phil Ivey, David Williams, Paul Darden, the list
goes on and on.
The Black Caucus has said that they hold the position that online
gambling should be legal. Not only that, but they said that they and
their community would support the online gambling industry as it is a
multi billion dollar industry. Representative Barbara Lee is the
chairwoman of the caucus as well as a Democrat of California. To put it
bluntly, Lee told the New York Times that "Black people gamble. Black
people smoke. Black people drink," and that they were not making any
apologies for any of the groups that they sponsor.
Ivey and Darden also give lots of money to Black causes, which only
fuels the caucus’ desire to see online gambling and poker playing
legalized. Darden says that he has seen the slums and he knows what
successful poker playing can do for a person – he is proof of that. He
says that he wants to bring online gambling and poker playing to the
African American community so that they can have the same opportunities
that he has had.
