Gambling Legislation Hypocrisy

The other night I went to the liquor store about a half hour before the big jackpot and it was lottery mania. 10 people in line for one register, and I was the only one of them not buying a ticket.

It all went smoothly until the women 1 person in front of me tried to walk out of the store without typing in her pin number after buying cigarettes and $10 worth of tickets. Rookie Clerk. After she was chased down and returned to complete the purchase, the next guy requested twenty-five $1 tickets. Wasted.

People addicted to scratchers are the worst of all, the most clueless and addicted of all gamblers. I have had over $40 worth of tickets bought for me as gifts over my lifetime and I think the return was probably $4 more worth of tickets. Why people play these things and think they can win, I'll never know.

I refuse to throw my money away playing scratchers or the lottery but I do love to gamble, and like many other young Americans but my game of choice is poker.

First and foremost, I chose to play poker because I decide that I have a decent enough chance of playing and walking away with more than I came with, plus having a good time too.

Compared with scratchers and the state lottery, poker is completely different. Strategy and skill are rewarded in poker, where chance is the only factor in the outcome of the other two gambles.

When you play scratchers or the state lotto, your chance of winning are the same as everyone else. As it relates to Poker, it would be impossible to argue that over the long run every person that plays has the same chance of winning or losing. Experience, knowledge, and a correct strategy are weighted much more heavily in Poker, and the game is more complex.

In other words, it is very easy to see that poker is not a game of chance. Unfortunately, our politicians don't accept this and have banned financial transactions with gambling web sites that provide "games of chance" for real money.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was slipped into a port security measure at the last minute of the legislative session by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. No real debate ever took place on the gambling part of the bill, as it was slipped in right before the final vote of the port security measure after debate had commenced.

Given the security ramifications of the bill, it was considered a "gimmie" to pass given the end of the congressional session and Frist took advantage and overexerted his influence as an appeal to the hardcore right-wing crowd right before election time.

It is a threat to freedom and democracy when one overzealous politicians can restrict the freedom of all Americans with no direct vote, and little to no debate. The bill also has economic ramifications including higher fees at the bank and has done little so far to stop people from gambling on the Internet. The flawed piece of legislation needs to be

Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com

Scott Carlson writes for www.faileddemocracy.com

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