From the Hill Lobbyists who advocate legalizing online poker are on the prowl for a new Republican to champion their cause in the Senate. Former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) had been a reliable supporter of online poker, but he retired last year after making a last-ditch effort to pass legislation with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Gambling interests are eager to revisit Internet poker legalization — a top priority for Reid’s casino-dominated home state — but lobbyists for the gaming industry doubt the effort will succeed until a Republican ally is found from outside Nevada who can broaden the…

In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, Senator Harry Reid stopped short of officially declaring the effort to revive an online gambling bill dead, but said he couldn’t see any type of legislative effort succeeding. If the gaming market hadn’t already largely determined it, the Senate Majority Leader confirmed it Friday: The era of online poker in Congress is essentially over. “I felt for several months now that I don’t see any movement on this,” Reid said. “I don’t see anything happening.” Reid said that a bill filed in the House of Representatives yesterday by Rep. Peter King, D-N.Y.,…

From Poker Fuse Federal lawmakers show renewed interest in online poker. Interest in online poker at the federal level has been renewed and, according to spokespersons for two members of the US House of Representatives, two separate bills to regulate online poker are expected to be introduced in the coming weeks. FULL STORY

From Poker Listings Louisiana is the latest state to express interest in legalizing online poker. Rep. Mike Huval has asked the state’s house committee to perform a study that will examine the option of legalizing online poker and online gambling Louisiana. ”Louisiana has the potential to benefit economically by legalizing Internet gaming,” said Huval in his proposal statement. Huval argued that online gambling could potentially bring millions in revenue to the state and provide a safer environment for Louisiana residents to gamble. The study that Huval requested would delve into the “feasibility and practicality” of offering online gambling in Louisiana….

Sometimes karma can bite you in the butt. World Series of Poker Executive Director Ty Stewart just experienced that pain. Recently, Stewart made light of early troubles that befell Ultimate Poker, the first legal pay-to-play online gambling website in the U.S., which launched April 30. First, Ultimate was caught using an unlicensed and much maligned service provider to identify new players. Then, a glitch in the website caused two 9 of spades to appear on the flop in a game of hold’em. “I think the market is ready for a first-class product,” Stewart told Case Keefer of the Las Vegas…

Wait, poker is not gambling? That’s what we hear! In recent weeks, public radio stations, including New Hampshire’s NHPR, have been airing a broadcast of the storytelling program The Moth that includes a segment by Concord native Annie Duke, who was known as Annie Lederer when she was a student at Rundlett Junior High School. Duke, whose parents were teachers, her mother at Concord High, her father at St. Paul’s, is one of the world’s best poker players, as is her brother, Howard Lederer. For The Moth, Duke recounts the crisis of confidence she faced at the 2004 world series…