There have been a number of opinions about the recent legislation that was passed by Congress on online gambling issues. How this effects you and me is very confusing, to say the least. What it has done, though, is make the Poker Players Alliance the front-runner in getting poker players finally to unite.

Michael Bolcerek is the president of the PPA and, based on his credentials, it is my personal opinion that we have finally found the person capable of leading poker players toward our common goal of being able to play this great game. He has been President, COO, and CFO of a number of corporations including Oracle, NeXT Computer INC., Nokia Display Products, Mongo Music, and Liquid Audio. He is a graduate of Brown University with a BA in Economics. I recently saw Mike on national television, where he revealed excellent communication skills, appeared extremely intelligent, and revealed extensive knowledge of the facts about poker-related issues. He has the leadership qualities I admire and the experience necessary to fight for our rights to play poker regardless of where we play the game.

The Board of Directors includes Linda Johnson, who is the Chairwoman of the Board, Greg Dinken, and Jan Fisher. Recent members include Chris Ferguson, Greg Raymer, Howard Lederer, Allyn Jaffrey Shulman, and myself. Daniel Negreanu has also recommended that everyone join the PPA on his blog. The number of members is growing very quickly, and the cost to become a full lifetime member is only $20.00. You can contribute more if you like and there are higher levels of membership available as well. I am excited to see that poker players have finally found a common cause worth fighting for and have set aside their personal differences and aspirations within the poker world... I hope that you too will join the PPA.

This is the shortest column I have ever written for Poker Player, but it is the most important one. I hope you will at least go to the site and review the material. There is no obligation to join, but it is my hope that everyone does (including non-U.S. citizens).

For an interpretation of the law I recommend you view I. Nelson Rose's recent articles.