It seems that New Jersey residents will have to wait just a little longer to see whether their legislators will approve the S490 online casino/poker bill. While originally anticipated to be on the agenda for Thursday’s legislative session, the new target date is believed to be (at the earliest) Monday, Jan. 10th.
On the left coast, California legislators will have a third option to consider in the push to bring online intrastate poker to Golden State residents. Just a day after announcing the addition of Patrick Dorinson as executive director, the Poker Voters of America (PVoA) is set to unveil a poker-only version of State Sen. Rod Wright’s SB45 bill that was re-introduced late last year.
As PVoA president Melanie Brenner told eGamingReview, the crucial distinctions between her group’s bill and that of Sen. Wright will be (a) elimination of limits on the number of operating ‘hubs’, and (b) a sweetening of the income distribution arrangements to benefit stakeholders such as the various California tribes (including the Morongo, who have their own bill they want to see passed). By including this last measure, the PVoA has garnered the support of tribes that were previously on the fence, such as the Pechenga Band of Luiseno Indians and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
