Poker Voters of America Back down

Posted 1/7/11 : Row over poker bill sponsor ends in an apology
 
The new executive director of the Poker Voters of America, former Morongo tribe spokesman Patrick Dorinson, had to back off from critical comments about Brit journalism and the publication eGaming Review shortly after making them earlier this week.
 
The furore started with an eGaming interview with PVA president Melanie Brenner that suggested that Assemblyman Jerry Hill would be sponsoring a PVA-initiated online poker legalization bill in the Californian legislature.
 
Almost immediately, the Capitol Weekly newspaper in California published a contradictory piece in which Dorinson had some pretty harsh words about the eGaming Review article, and PVA political consultant Lloyd Levine accused the piece of being "completely inaccurate".
 
It transpired that Assemblyman Hill had not agreed to sponsor the bill, but had been given a proposed draft by Levine and had merely instructed his staff to refer it to the Assembly's legal experts for review.
 
Just over a day later, Dorinson was apologising on behalf of the PVA, explaining that: "When we dug a little deeper we found out our team had misunderstood the situation. PVOA is sorry for any confusion this might have caused.”
 
Dorinson went on to confirm that Lloyd Levine had provided a draft copy of the PVA proposal to Assemblyman Hill, acting on the PVA's behalf.
 
"It was on our end that there was confusion and we are sorry for any implication that eGaming Review was inaccurate in their reporting," he said.  “eGaming Review is the premier news source for the industry and their credibility and integrity are unquestioned. They accurately reported what we told them and what we thought to be accurate." 
 
Levine said: “Assembly Member Hill received the language from the Poker Voters of America, and Mr Hill’s office submitted the language to legislative council to be drafted in bill form. However, Mr Hill never committed to carrying any legalization."