Poker Players Urge GOP to Return to Core Conservative Values

GOP Platform Must Protect Individual Rights and Personal Responsibility

Washington, D.C. (August 13, 2008)

– Over 160 poker players from across the nation have posted comments urging the Republican Party to protect individuals’ freedom to play poker online. Members of the Poker Players Alliance, the leading poker grassroots advocacy group of over one million members, believe any language in the Republican Platform restricting anindividual’s right to play poker online violates these principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility – long held tenets of the Republican Party.The Republican Platform Committee’s website (www.gopplatform2008.com

) continues to beopen for public comment on what should and should not be included in the 2008 GOP Platform.Poker players nationwide have posted their comments, unanimously urging the Republican Partyto protect their rights to play poker online. There have been no calls by the public for includinglanguage banning the game.“My point is simple. Is the Republican Party no longer the party of personal freedom andindividual responsibility? Why has this party, that used to protect my rights, now become the party that wants to create a Nanny-state? Stay away from issues of personal liberty, except toremove old laws that restrict these liberties,” posted professional poker player and 2004 WorldSeries of Poker champion Greg Raymer.Other comments include:

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“As a lifelong republican I believe in personal responsibility. Choosing to gamble on theinternet should be a personal choice not a decision the government makes for us. In 2004the party platform took the position that government should ban internet gambling. Ienjoy playing poker on the internet and if the party platform were to advocate banninginternet gambling this election season I would seriously consider voting for Obama.” – Gerald, Jacksonville, FL

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“I am a long time supporter of conservative views. I support the right of mature adultcitizens to continue my freedoms to exercise free choice in how I spend my time andrecreational moneys [sic]. I support the right to participate in and play poker. I object tothe reduction in my personal freedoms so someone can push his/her morale agenda. Mycountry asked me to participate in the struggle to protect our freedoms so I became a partof the military service and fought in Viet Nam and was honorably discharged. Why arethe few pushing so hard to reduce the freedoms of so many adults who want to play poker.” – Marion, Greenville, MS

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“I have been a Reagan Republican since 1980 because I believed in the platform of theRepublican Party. However, the party of Ronald Reagan is no longer the party that I