Live blogging the Indian Affairs hearing on online poker

[GPWA Dan]

Another day, another hearing in Washington D.C. about online poker. Today's hearing kicks off at 2:15 EST and will be held in the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. The topic? The impact of regulated online poker on Indian tribes.

Here's the witness list:

Panel # 1

Mr. Larry S. Roberts
General Counsel
National Indian Gaming Commission, Washington, DC

Panel # 2

The Honorable Bruce Bozsum
Chairman
The Mohegan Tribe, Uncasville, CT

The Honorable Glen Gobin
Vice Chairman
Tulalip Tribes, Tulalip, WA

Panel # 3

Mr. Ernie Stevens
Chairman
National Indian Gaming Association, Washington, DC

Accompanied by Mr. Mark Van Norman
Senior Advisor
National Indian Gaming Association, Washington, DC

Mr. Alfonse D'Amato
Chairman
Poker Players Alliance, Washington, DC

Accompanied by Mr. John Pappas
Executive Director
Poker Players Alliance, Washington, DC

Ms. Penny Coleman
Principal
Coleman Indian Law, Washington, DC

Mr. Grant W. Eve
CPA, CFE, Manager
Joseph Eve, Great Falls, MT

I'll be live-blogging the event in this thread. If you'd like to watch the hearing yourself, the website below should have a live webcast when the festivities kick off. Vin Narayanan will also be live-Tweeting the event here: @CasinoCityVin. He's already published a few Tweets on what to expect this afternoon.

http://indian.senate.gov/hearings/he...d258d9b32cb5d8

[GPWA Dan]

Hearing kicks off about five minutes late. And it looks like we have our first freeze of the live broadcast.

[GPWA Dan]

Still issues with the live feed. While we wait, here's the testimony of PPA Chairman Sen. Al D'Amato:

http://theppa.org/ppa/2011/11/17/alf...ring-11172011/

[GPWA Dan]

Not a good sign when the most powerful country in the world has bandwidth problems. When/if the live feed comes back, we'll be here.

[GPWA Dan]

The feed is back, and Sen. Al Franken (of SNL fame) is talking.

[GPWA Dan]

Franken asking Mr. Larry S. Roberts, General Counsel National Indian Gaming Commission, if Indian tribes are weary of online gaming.

Roberts says some tribes are in favor, some or not. NIGC won't take a position on whether there's a benefit. They're worried about regulation.

[GPWA Dan]

Roberts says it's hard to layout how an online gaming bill would affect IGRA because there's no bill out there right now.

[GPWA Dan]

Roberts harping on there not being any specific legislation out there right now, so it's tough to define the role the NIGC will play in online gaming regulation.

[GPWA Dan]

Question on whether online poker has benefited online poker Indian tribes.

Roberts sidesteps the question again. He's not saying much of anything, except for "Thank you (insert senator name)." Keeps saying NIGC are regulators.

[GPWA Dan]

Roberts doesn't believe the NIGC will ever take a position on online gaming. He perks up when asked if there's adequate regulation in land-based Indian gaming regulation.

[GPWA Dan]

Roberts is done with his testimony, Mohegan Sun Tribe Chairman Bruce Bozsum is next.

Internet gaming is of "critical importance" to the Mohegan Sun Tribe, he says. Technology of online gaming presents "opportunity and challenge." Hopeful that cooperation in the online gaming debate will continue.

[GPWA Dan]

Bozsum: Any online gaming law should protect tribal rights. All tribes to compete on fair and level playing field. "Indian tribes can compete and be as successful as anyone else."

His recommendations:

No head starts for other states, including Nevada and N.J. Tribes should be included in every step of the regulation process. Tribal governments should be authorized to operate online gaming sites on "level playing field." Allow wagers to be placed on non-tribal lands. Strictly enforce shutdowns of non-regulated sites. Introduce poker in phase 1.

[GPWA Dan]

The Honorable Glen Gobin, Vice Chairman of the Tulalip Tribes in Washington State, is up next.

Gobin sees online gaming is "direct threat." Doesn't support the legalization of the activity.

[GPWA Dan]

Gobin is discussing the history of the Tulalip, and the positive developments that have occurred because of land-based Indian gaming.

Online gaming comes "as a risk" to tribal Indian communities. Says Indian gaming will provide over $260 billion in 10 years, compared to the $41 billion in online gaming.

If legislation does come forward, Gobin wants an open process.

[GPWA Dan]

Bozsum says Indian tribes can both operate and regulate online gambling. Tribes do have the technology and experience to regulate themselves and work with other organizations.

[GPWA Dan]

Gobin says tribes "need a seat at the table" with knowledgeable people partaking.

Bozsum says Mohegan is prepared for either federal or state-by-state legislation. Prefers federal because there's one set of rules to follow. State-by-state "will complicate things." Federal solution would have better liquidity as well.

[GPWA Dan]

Gobin says some tribes are better positioned to take advantage of Internet gaming than other tribes. Bozsum says that there's no limit or no advantage to certain tribes if online gaming is federally legalized.

[GPWA Dan]

Gobin worried about name-recognition for his tribe against Harrah's and other major casino companies. I assume he means Caesars Entertainment, Harrah's new name.

Bozsum says if "you're not at the table for dinner, you'll be dinner." Insisting that Indian tribes need a seat at the online gaming regulation discussion.

[GPWA Dan]

Bozsum doesn't think all commercial businesses are ready to pull the trigger on Internet gaming. Believes it will be fair across the board. Believes if tribes band together, coalition could be bigger than Caesars.

Gobin says when talking about "benefits" of regulation, people are hoping for best-case scenarios. Revenue projections for poker-only are significantly less than all casino games.

[GPWA Dan]

Third panel is up now. NIGA, PPA, Coleman Indian Law representatives to speak.