Last night in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin addressed members of the party in the Xcel Energy Center. Across town, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and American Gaming Association (AGA) held a fundraiser to benefit the Paralyzed Veterans of America. At the end of the night, the city of Minneapolis was buzzing about Palin’s acclaimed speech as well as the play of Adam Radman, who won the charity poker tournament. Radman serves as the Programs and Communications Manager for the Americans for Tax Reform.
Over 100 players were in attendance for the joint PPA and AGA tournament, which gave all of its proceeds to the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA). In fact, the two organizations raised over $70,000 for the PVA at last night’s event. In a similar poker tournament held in Denver last week during the Democratic National Convention, over $60,000 was raised for the PVA.
Radman defeated a star-studded field that included three of the top poker players in the world:
Greg Raymer – The winner of the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event, Greg “Fossil-Man” Raymer was in attendance on Wednesday night. To win his Main Event title, he defeated Bodog pro David Williams heads-up. Josh Arieh, Dan Harrington, and Mattias Andersson also made the final table of that event. Raymer has been instrumental in providing goodwill for poker and serves as one of the many public faces of the PPA.
Victor Ramdin – Ramdin, a PokerStars pro, also played in the Denver tournament that was sponsored by the PPA and AGA. He finished 64th out of over 6,800 entrants in the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Ramdin took down the World Poker Challenge during the fourth season of the World Poker Tour for $1.3 million.
Chris “Fox” Wallace – One of the premier online poker players and instructors, Wallace is one of the ambassadors of PokerXFactor, a popular training site. He is a poker software expert and resides in Minneapolis.
The Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) was founded in 1985 by Grover Norquist. According to its website, the organization advocates “a system in which taxes are simpler, fairer, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today. The government’s power to control one’s life derives from its power to tax. We believe that power should be minimized.” The ATR is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and continues to be led by Norquist.
Norquist told Poker News Daily, “One of the issues that the ATR believes in is opposing regulations for online poker players. Adam actually works on that project. We work with members of Congress to encourage them keep their hands off the internet.” He added, “I’m not sure that we would ever endorse a regulatory regime online, but we would oppose a ban.”
The ATR has been instrumental in encouraging lawmakers to take the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, which dedicates them to resisting efforts to increase the federal income tax. The ATR claims that U.S. President George W. Bush, 193 members of the House of Representatives, and 41 members of the Senate have taken the Pledge.
Now that Congress has returned from its August recess, the Poker Players Alliance will turn its attention towards drumming up support for the several pro-online poker bills in Congress. They include Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (HR 2046) and Robert Wexler’s Skill Game Protection Act (HR 2610). Both bills were introduced over one year ago and are still awaiting their time on the House floor.
WAY TO GO ADAM!!!!!