U.S. movie producer Philip Ittleson is following the ethos of his
poker documentary "No Limit" this week by publicizing his
Let The People Play.org website to help educate and unite the millions
of poker players in the United States who are against legislation
that would ban online gambling, including poker.
"The whole internet gaming ban is a joke,"
Ittleson says. "Poker players aren't terrorists - let's
get our priorities straight. The biggest crime is that we aren't regulating
and taxing it."
In order to combat the legislation, Ittleson set up the Let The People
Play organization with the goal of raising a volunteer "army"
to educate the estimated 70 million poker players in American about
legislative moves in Congress and get them to sign up to defend the
game and poker players' rights.
The website site urges players to band together to help defeat H.R.
4411, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act and the
legislators who are supporting it. "We need to send a clear
message to Washington: 'get your priorities straight, stop wasting
time and tax dollars on frivolous legislation. American poker players
are 70 million strong and we are outraged - we are not criminals,'"
says the site.
Poker players can do their bit by just spreading the word at local
card rooms and casinos or becoming a more active participant by helping
the email campaign to Senators or wearing the appropriate T-shirts
and slogans designed to spread the word that online gambling is not
and should not be a criminal activity.
"It is utterly ridiculous that online poker is under assault,"
said Lucie Jourdan, a Los Angeles singer who was recruited as LetThePeoplePlay.org's
spokesperson. "Why not address important issues like the
current chaos in the Middle East, global warming, Gulf Coast revitalization
… When put into perspective it sickens me that Washington is
wasting valuable time and our hard earned tax dollars on this frivolous
bill."