Over the last year or two I have consciously made an effort
to “follow” those on Twitter who have something useful to say about the poker
playing community. My list is not exhaustive but I think it is representative
and I believe I am getting a fairly well-rounded view of the issues that impact
poker players. Also, selfishly, I often post links to this blog on Twitter with
new articles in hopes of attracting readers, new and old.
Over the past few weeks the number of posts in my twitter
feed on Daily Fantasy Sports and the recurring theme of sexism in poker have
been astounding. Everyone has had a go at these two issues, and in the typical
manner of commentary on the World Wide Web, the comments run from the sublime
to the ridiculous.
Daily Fantasy Sports
Daily Fantasy Sports in general and FanDuel
and DraftKings
in particular have enjoyed a free ride as far as the government and other
regulators are concerned. It’s not that no one noticed two or three years ago
when these mega sites first started attracting players. It’s that the money
they were generating was inconsequential. Once the money swelled, the risk of being
targeted and investigated increased dramatically.
Up to this point what is going on in Nevada and
Massachusetts makes most sense to me. What is going on in New York reeks of
paternalism and publicity grabbing.
Nevada, as we all know, has a refined respect for gambling.
They tolerate all sorts of wagering although they do not encourage state-wide
or national lotteries for obvious reasons. Their standpoint in a nutshell is if
you want to operate in NV get a license. Period! End of story! Get approved
like every other new iteration of a game of chance (or skill, if you prefer)
and you can do business here as long as we (the state) get our cut.
The MA Attorney General, Maura Tracy Healey, not known as a
friend of gambling, recently took the middle road on DFS. Her take is let’s sit
down and draw up some regulations and then you can take wagers in MA. Her
initial proposal will probably be regarded by the big DFS companies as a
negotiating position. I do not see any way that FanDuel or DraftKings would
agree to limiting their clientele to 21 year olds and older or cutting all
college sports out of the mix.
New York, on the other hand, is way off base in my opinion.
I live in a state that tolerates (encourages might be a better word) horse
racing, both flats and harness racing, lotteries of every stripe, Native
American casinos, racinos, charity Bingo and charity poker games, and now four
fledgling casinos in the offing. Skewering the DFS sites on the grounds that they
violate gambling statutes is a travesty. New York is far beyond upholding a
constitutional provision preventing gambling in the state when there are so
many exceptions that NY is soon to become a gambling mecca. The AG, and the
state he represents, wants a piece of the pie. Why not be honest about it
instead of manufacturing this huge affront. In the end, when all the financial
pieces have been shared equitably, DFS will operate in NY and many other places
too.
Sexism in the Poker Community
I have addressed the issue of poor treatment of women in the
poker community before in this blog. It’s a topic that keeps coming up because
it does not go away. That leads me to believe that this is not so much a poker
issue as a social issue that is far more wide-spread than the poker table.
The current gaggle of presidential candidates, both
Republicans and Democrats, either address the issues of gender inequality and
seek ways to eradicate them or avoid the issues altogether and even try to
clamp down further on what women can and cannot do in an otherwise free society
like ours. Gender inequality is not going away any time soon and, just as
racism persists in the USA even after major legislative efforts to erase it, sexism
will not be regulated away by Congress or by poker room rules. The changes that
need to take place are not changes that happen on paper. They are changes that
happen inside individual human beings. You can rest assured that men at a poker
table who disrespect women are the same men that disrespect their wives,
daughters, girlfriends and mothers. When those attitudes away from the poker
table change then it will be safer for women to play poker without fear of
being abused. Sad but true!!!
The Internet
And finally what about the Internet! We have arrived at a
point where most of us cannot do without it! The era of using our cell phones
for just about everything from paying bills, to scheduling a trip, to sending a
greeting card, and adjusting the heat in our home has arrived and each day more
industries go by the wayside because people have been replaced by data ( i.e.
the travel agency, the people who make phone books, and maybe soon the
newspaper and magazines, and so many more things). I’m not saying this is all
bad. As a matter of fact, much of it is good, very good.
What is of some concern, however, are places on the web
where people get to express an opinion – twitter, facebook, any comment section
in any internet post.
The digital generation is a generation that grew up,
learned even, that opinions are sacrosanct! If it’s my opinion there is nothing
you can say to undermine it. I am entitled to my views. Well, guess what. You’re
not, especially if they are hurtful, stupid, mean, cowardly, obscene, racist,
sexist, ageist, or any other distasteful comment designed to cut deeply and
twist the blade. What happened to “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t
say anything at all?” Why not express an opinion on a topic without besmirching
the character of the person on the other end?
My guess is that any open comment area on the internet takes
about three or four generations of comments before someone says something
stupid or hurtful. The idea of an intelligent airing of opinions going on until
everyone has had a chance to voice their responsible point of view is unheard
of. This is not a legacy that we should be leaving behind. Let’s clean it up,
people. Let’s revive the cult of civility and treat each other with respect.
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