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VPP Poker Room News
| Emergency Summit Called Re: Kentucky Seizure - Monday, October 06, 2008 at 08:32
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A number of concerned parties have combined their efforts by calling for an emergency summit in Frankfurt, Kentucky to discuss the state's attempted seizure of 141 online poker and gambling sites, including Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, and the largest online poker room in the world, PokerStars.
Among the groups involved are the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and the Bluegrass Institute, as well as a host of other state and national groups. The PPA is one-million strong and determined to prove that online poker, and poker in general, is a game of predominant skill, not luck; therefore should be a legal pastime for US citizens. The Bluegrass Institute is a group of non-partisan speakers and writers who examine local and state public policy in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The emergency summit is being held today, Monday, October 6th, 2008, with the following topics to be discussed:
- Does the Commonwealth of Kentucky have appropriate jurisdiction to seize the domain names in question?
- Should Kentucky succeed in seizing the domains, what will the national and international ramifications be?
- What threat does such action pose to the future of Internet freedoms and technologies?
- Does a "domain name" fit the definition of a “gambling device”, according to Kentucky statutes?
It all started on September 18th, 2008, when Kentucky Governor, Steve Bashear, was successful in getting the courts to agree that these 141 online gambling sites were “leeches on our community”, serving no real beneficial purpose to the state. The presiding judge ruled that the online gambling domains were in connection with illegal online gambling and that the plaintiff - the Commonwealth of Kentucky - should in fact seize control of the domains.
Last week, the judge was convinced by multiple defense teams that the ruling should be frozen until a rebuttal could be presented. The postponement has been granted, and extended a second time, while the defense is allowed time to prepare briefs.
For up-to-date info on the emergency summit and the PPA’s efforts to halt Kentucky’s seizure of the 141 online gambling sites - FullTiltPoker.com, PokerStars.com and many more - visit the PPA’s web site at: www.pokerplayersalliance.org
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