According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, when asked what the holdup was for the introduction of a bill to legalize and regulate online poker in the United States, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (pictured) responded, “Republicans.” According to the same news source, Reid is looking for the support of at least 12 Republicans, but so far hasn’t gotten any takers. He was quoted as saying, “At this point, we’ve got none.”

The phrase “we’ve got none” is certainly not encouraging for online poker players in the United States, who are now 19 months removed from Black Friday. Reid is allegedly trying to work with fellow Nevada lawmaker Dean Heller, who is also a member of the Senate and recently won a hotly contested race against fellow online gambling proponent Shelley Berkley. Heller gave the Review-Journal his reaction to Reid’s Republican-centrist comments: “That’s his answer to everything – blame Republicans.”

Heller added, “I am beating the bushes. It’s going to be tough.” The Nevada Senator reportedly met with Arkansas colleague John Boozman on Tuesday to pitch the internet poker bill. Meanwhile, the Review-Journal was less-than-optimistic about its chances, printing, “Heller is not sure he can deliver as many Republican votes as Reid says are needed – increasing the odds against Congress legalizing online gaming this session.”

Congress is currently mired in the so-called fiscal cliffand online poker could be added as a rider. Evaluating online poker’s chances to be tacked onto a bill addressing the country’s budget woes, Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas (pictured) told PocketFives, “There’s a concern from people like us who want to be part of a larger package that Congress may not get to a larger package between now and the end of the year. That’s somewhat out of our control, but we’re in a position to try to move a bill between now and the end of the year.”

The bill has received a hefty amount of criticism from a wide variety of groups, including lottery officials, who are converging on Washington, D.C. next week to voice their displeasure. According to a separate Las Vegas Review-Journal article, lottery personnel from Kentucky, Idaho, Washington, Missouri, New Hampshire, Georgia, and Iowa will head to the U.S. Capitol.

The leader of the lottery contingent, David Gale, told the Review-Journal what message his entourage is trying to convey: “The purpose of the trip is to just get our message out that gaming is a right that belongs to each individual state and it’s up to each state to determine not just the games they offer, but the manner in which they are offered to their players… We feel it is very important that our message is heard about this being a right for the states to determine, and not Reid or Kyl or anybody else.”

Reid’s bill, which has yet to be formally introduced and is also fronted by Jon Kyl (pictured), bans other forms of gaming besides poker. Republicans including Heller, Ron Paul, and Joe Barton have championed recent i-gaming endeavors on Capitol Hill. Kyl was one of the masterminds behind the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which was tacked onto to an unrelated port security measure in the waning moments of that year’s Congressional session.

The UIGEA was not discussed on the floor of the Senate and passed through the House by a comfortable 3:1 margin.

A recent analysis of the Reid and Kyl draft billhas surfaced from former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, who held his post under President George W. Bush. The bill’s targeting of overseas poker sites that continued to take bets from U.S. players after 2006 could land it in hot water, according to Clement. “He said it would deprive the providers of ‘significant property interest’ and could be considered an unconstitutional ‘bill of attainder’ because it effectively singles out a group for punishment without adequate protections for their rights,” the Review-Journal surmised.

Pappas reacted to Reid’s comments by telling PocketFives, “Finger-pointing at this point in the process is never a good sign, but I would not put the toe tag on a bill just yet. Lawmakers who want to get this done need to find the best path, and soon. After this year, the push for internet gaming is going to tilt heavily towards the states and Congress may have missed out on its chance to play a role in this inevitable market.”

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