Last Ditch Attempt For California Online Poker

Thursday August 9,2012 : DON'T COUNT CALIFORNIA ONLINE POKER OUT JUST YET (Update)
 
Tribal and card room alliance in last-minute attempt to keep legalization alive
 
The rather pessimistic view expressed by politicians earlier this week that online poker legalization in California is unlikely to be achieved in the current session  has been followed by news that one tribal and card room alliance is making a last-minute attempt to reach a workable compromise.
 
Subject to specific changes, the California Online Poker Association (COPA) came out in support of Sen. Rod Wright's SB1463 Wednesday, suggesting that if racing interests are removed as potential operators there may still be room for agreement this year.
 
With only four weeks left in the current session, such a deal would indeed be cutting it fine, but the Wright bill (which has yet to make it through committee stage) is no stranger to amendments.
 
Previous changes made to the bill in order to appease opposing interests have included making its provisions exclusively focused on internet poker, and dropping a provision that would have required tribal operators to waive their traditional sovereign status.
 
With so many demands and counter demands so far defeating all attempts to reach a compromise among the diverse interested parties  it seems unlikely that a solution will be achieved this year in California.
 
At stake, according to the California Online Poker Association, is the potential for creating 1,300 jobs and $1.4 billion over the next decade in fresh revenue for the cash-strapped state.