In what should come as no surprise to anyone who followed the recent debate, the proposed legislation by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) that would have legalized the online gaming industry in the United States (including poker) is no longer on the agenda.

John Pappas, the head of the PPA, told PokerNewsDaily that the grassroots organization is not giving up hope for legislation in 2011, despite a Republican leaning Congress: “The online poker bill that was floating around needs some improvement, so the PPA wants to go back to Senator Reid and talk about how we can improve on his current draft. There’s going to be a renewed focus in the Senate and we’ll be taking some of the legislation in a different direction so that’s it not focused on the Financial Service Committee, where we have a known opponent.”

Of course Pappas is speaking of Alabama Congressman Spencer Bacchus who sees online poker as an anathema, akin to crack cocaine (his words not mine). Bacchus will be taking over the chairmanship of the House Financial Services Committee from online poker’s greatest champion in Congress, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA).

The story was first broken by ESPN on Wednesday night, where Pappas told Andrew Feldman: “Sadly, some politicians remain with their heads firmly in the sand. The leadership of the Poker Players Alliance got the debate this far and we are determined to see this through.”

Tags: barney frank, Harry Reid, John Pappas, legalized the online gaming industry, online gaming industry in the United States, online poker in the US

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