If there is a state in the US that is not in a hurry to capitalize on revenues from poker and other gambling activities, it is Nebraska. And nobody can link that to US poker laws or any other federal legislation. Other states have gone on to legalize poker, online gambling and other betting activities with existing US laws as they are.
Nebraska is one state where you are not likely to find a casino and the closest you can find to casino activities are lottery options and also keno.
Sometimes the question of whether to legalize gambling or not does not lie with the state’s top leadership as is evident with the goings on in Nebraska. In 2004, the governor of Nebraska tried to lobby for the legalization of casinos within the state, but his endeavour was countered by grassroots campaign against it. That meant that Nebraska’s state laws were not going to include any poker law or any other law that would see casinos and online gambling sites hosted within the state.
With the group opposing poker and other gambling activities being heavily supported by financial heavyweight, billionaire Warren Buffet, it is unlikely that Nebraska will change any time soon to emulate the likes of New Jersey and other US states that have relaxed their state laws to accommodate state poker law and other legislation touching on gambling in general.
Warren, who is the Wall Street stock market mogul, has $58 billion worth of assets to his name and he does not hesitate to dig into his resources when it comes to the fight against state poker law and related laws in Nebraska. In his opinion, gambling is an additional tax, only this time it is levied against the ignorant. His opposition to gambling activities and associated laws is not a recent thing. He has seen the fight through for decades now; the reason casinos are not a common phenomenon even within the big cities of Nebraska.
The funny thing is that Warren Buffett himself plays poker for leisure and does not hide that fact. And poker enthusiasts would prefer that he recognized that not all betting games are the same – poker, slot machines, and those other casino games. However, Warren has blanket condemnation against legalizing gambling as a whole.
During a time when a casino expansion bill had been drafted, the group opposed to legalization of poker and other gambling activities could not even give room to charity related poker tournaments. The leaders misinformed their supporters that if such a poker law were to pass, it would be opening grounds for establishment of what they referred to as ‘poker palaces’. And the picture they painted was one where such ‘poker palaces’ would mushroom across all of Nebraska.
Those who are for the gambling law are of the opinion that those who oppose the enactment of the poker law and related state laws do not base their arguments on any facts. But no matter how strong the push for legalization of poker and gambling in general gets, Warren Buffett and his counterparts are not ready to give way. It is even unimaginable if they would even fathom anyone trying to pass any state online poker law.
So is anyone in Nebraska hopeful of playing online poker any time soon?
Of course, all is not lost for poker enthusiasts. With a little effort and readiness to be adventurous, poker lovers in Nebraska may soon be able to enjoy the game across their immediate borders. The states of Iowa and Kansas; plus Colorado too, are said to be on the verge of legalizing online poker.