One democrat who is not a fan of the proposed online gaming legislation being proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-MA) is the Attorney General-Elect in Massachusetts, Steve Grossman. According to Forbes.com, Grossman contacted Reid to express his concern over legalizing online gaming.

The Forbes article claims that in a letter he sent to Reid, Grossman told the Senator from Nevada: “the bill could jeopardize the $900 million worth of state aid the Lottery returns to cities and towns… Grossman says more than 85 percent of Lottery sales are for instant games and Keno, which experts say are most directly competitive with online gaming. Instead, Grossman says he wants the country to undertake a “serious conversation” about online gaming.”

As a long-time poker player and casino-goer I find it a little hard to imagine people giving up their chance at $10 million for the price of $1, which the lottery provides, to play pai gow poker online; or, the instant gratification of picking up milk and purchasing $20 in scratch-tickets; or foregoing a few rounds of Keno at the local bar or restaurant because their Internet connection is waiting for them at home.

Oddly, this is a whole new tact for anyone opposing online gaming legislation and the first I’ve heard of it; it will be interesting to hear from these “experts” the Forbes article cites Grossman as identifying.

Tags: Harry Reid, online gaming legislation, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Steve Grossman

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 at 5:29 pm and is filed under Poker News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.