Op/ed: Online poker section a casino bill mystery

From the Boston Herald.

By Charles Nesson

Gov. Deval Patrick's casino bill, being given a hearing today on Beacon Hill, would make it illegal for state residents to play poker online - with penalties ranging from hefty fines to jail time of up to two years.

A disgraceful federal law - passed without democratic process as a rider to a port security bill - already criminalizes payment transaction companies for processing online bets. But even that misguided law stops short of criminalizing online poker players.

Since November 2007, when Patrick first offered up his casino bill, I have been trying to determine who or what the force is behind this criminalization provision.

I spoke with the governor's spokesperson on the casino bill. He surprised me by being completely unaware of the criminalization provision. Obviously this was not something high on the governor's agenda.

Word in the poker community was that lawyers for Sands Casinos in Las Vegas had contributed to the crafting of the casino bill. And indeed I had seen Sheldon Adelson, the powerful chairman of the Sands, present and in the flesh at the Legislature's Dec. 19, 2007, hearing on the bill.

So I wrote him a letter and asked him directly: "do you support the criminalization provision? Did you help write it?"

On Mar. 6 he replied, disavowing any involvement in or support of the provision. To my delight he offered to help encourage its separation from the bill. So it seems not to be the casino interests who stand behind the criminalization provision.

With Mr. Adelson's letter, I have gained an ally. But I have not solved the puzzle.

In the meantime, Kyle Sullivan, the governor's press secretary, accused me in print of being ill informed about the bill.

So I wrote him and said, "As one who is well informed, would you please clarify who wrote the bill and how the criminalization provision got in there?"

There has been no reply as yet.

I keep sending letters to Daniel O'Connell in the Office of Economic Development, to John Hall the president of Suffolk Downs, the state's largest race track, to George Carney, who owns the dog track in Raynham. I will keep writing letters and pressing the issue until I get an answer.

Who wrote the bill's strange provision to criminalize online games? The governor's people say it wasn't him (even though it's nominally his bill). The Las Vegas casino interests say it's not them. So who put it in there? Who stands behind it now? Perhaps both questions will be put to the governor today, at the Legislature's public hearing. Inquiring minds want to know.