The Policy Conference will take place in D.C. on October 22nd through 24th, and members of the PPA are encouraged to join poker pros like Andy Bloch, Chad Brown, Barry Greenstein, Howard Lederer, Chris Moneymaker, Vanessa Rousso and Victor Ramdin. Senator Alfonse D'Amato and other PPA representatives will lead the attendees in the conference topics.
A reception to welcome PPA members will kick off the weekend's activities at the Omni Shoreham Hotel at 6:30pm on October 22. The next morning, over breakfast beginning at 8:30am, PPA members will begin a tutorial on how to lobby Congress. After sufficient preparation, members of the PPA will be sent to scheduled meetings with their respective members of Congress to convey their message regarding the legalization and regulation of online poker, and to show their support for poker as a game of skill. A reception at Capitol Hill, on the evening of October 23, caps the day's events.
Finally, on the morning of October 24th at the U.S. Capitol Complex, the PPA will hold a policy forum with speakers including Charlie Nesson, Professor at Harvard Law; Sallie James, Policy Analyst at Cato Institute; Keith Whyte, Executive Director for the National Council on Problem Gambling; and other invited experts on law and public policy.
The announcement from the PPA summed up the purpose of the Policy Conference weekend as follows: "You will have a chance to meet with Members of Congress who will vote on this important issue, and mingle with many of the best poker players and pros from across the United States. In addition to a great conference, we will schedule a meeting with your member of Congress and work with you to make sure they get the message that poker is a game of skill and that reasonable regulation is the best policy approach to Internet gaming. Members of Congress need to hear from their constituents. Without you, the poker prohibitionists will continue to make the rules. With you, we can protect games of skill from unfair government interference."
The Omni Shoreham Hotel has reserved a block of rooms for PPA members, and discounted rates are available through October 5th. Visit www.pokerplayersalliance.org for more information, to register for the event, and to let the PPA know that you will be joining them in D.C. By registering through the PPA, organizers will be able to contact your Congressperson in advance of the weekend and arrange the individual meetings with them. E-mail wash-fly-in@pokerplayersalliance.org to inform them of your attendance and ask any questions.