Had a sobering experience yesterday when my daughter called and told me that I had not posted to the blog since May…….. “no…. that cannot be true”….. but it was. My problem is that I write them in my brain and neglect the actual writing and posting….. Also with Twitter and Facebook, it is so immediate not to mention simple to repost or make a quick comment. Apparently that does not count.
Now….in the poker world not a lot has changed… we still don’t have gaming in Texas and we have no Internet poker in the US of A. Not much to say there. Now the Texas Legislature is getting ready to convene for their every other year session and again the chatter is out there that we have a better chance than ever to get some kind of legislation passed that would make poker and possibly other gaming legal.
It seems that some of the pro gaming groups have joined forces to see if they can get some traction. Some of my readers get frustrated with my pessimism on the subject and I want to be wrong but we still face the same stumbling blocks. The glimmer of hope in my view is not that the groups have joined together but that some of the gaming interests that have contributed to the opposition in the past could very well change their positions and it would be to their advantage to have gaming come to Texas. The Chickasaw Indians of Oklahoma now own a Dallas area horse race track and Sidney Adelson from the Sands group in Las Vegas made large contributions to Rick Perry during and at the end of Perry’s failed Presidential bid… rumors have swirled that some of the Las Vegas crowd has bought key property in some of the heaviest populated areas of Texas…….. time will tell and we will only have to wait a few months to see if we Texans are allowed to decide this issue ourselves…
The Internet poker situation is still moving at a snail’s pace…. a few states passing laws but until the whole country is involved, don’t see it being viable to any large degree. My hopes are that when more states pass these laws, the Federal Government will decide the time is right to pass and regulate.
In the meantime, I go to Winstar in Oklahoma a time or two a week. I do like the card room there and the staff….. is a hassle but at the same time better than nothing. I also get to Las Vegas a couple of times a year which feeds my habit which is great.
One really positive thing this past year has been my production and enjoyment of my art life. While I work in my studio every day… have gone a few years without the drive and desire I did have for many years. I got work done but just did not feel the passion….. was working through some personal events and it seemed to sap my creative energy…. in 2012 the fog lifted and somehow resolved some balance issues…. this is all stuff in my head but can kill the creative self if not taken care of….. I am excited about what I am doing and happier than I have been for a while.
Hope this carries over and will hopefully will have some good news to report on Texas gaming in the come weeks and months….
Happy New Year to all of you and hope our news gets better and better.