Our view: Step up and ban video poker

The N.C. Senate acted quickly last week in unanimously approving a ban on video poker machines.

This is the fifth time such a measure has cleared the Senate. The previous four bills died in the N.C. House, where House Speaker Jim Black has obstructed efforts to bring the legislation to a floor vote.

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Black, D-Mecklenburg, said Thursday that he would not block a vote on the measure this year, if the bill comes out of committee.

Black was the N.C. General Assembly's top recipient of contributions from the video poker industry during the 2002 and 2004 election cycles. He has come under scrutiny for possible elections law violations by the N.C. State Board of Elections and federal prosecutors, stemming from an investigation that originally looked into campaign donations he received from the video poker industry. A federal grand jury also has sought information from Black about donations he has received from electronic gambling companies.

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A video poker ban is backed by dozens of county sheriffs, who say it is very difficult to regulate the many illegal machines that are operating in the state and paying out cash jackpots in violation of existing laws.

Here's hoping that Black will follow the Senate's lead and put a priority on bringing the video poker ban to a floor vote. The time has long past for any more unwarranted delays or stalling tactics.

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Basement No More: Matusow Wins First PSIT 3 Match

After striking out twice, Mike Matusow hit a home run his third try at the Poker Superstars Invitational 3. He won the tournament that was shown Sunday on FSN and earned 10 points.
He was the first player eliminated in the first two matches he played and was the only player without any points going into this match. Now, he sits right about in the middle of the pack with 10 points, and with two matches to go, has a real chance of making it into the second round.

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Barry Greenstein added 7points to the 10 he brought into the match by finishing second. Each player plays five elimination matches and the top 16 players move on to the second round.
Eli Elezra needs to finish strong to make it into the second round. He added 5 points to the 4 he earned in the first two matches.

Gus Hansen finished fourth in this contest, earning 3 points. He now has 11.
Todd Brunson gave himself 1 point after getting knocked out of the tourney in fifth place. He now has 15 points.

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And Ted Forrest kept himself at the bottom of the leader board with 3 points. He earned 0 by being the first person eliminated in match 10, and only Phil Ivey has fewer points them he (2). Ivey will play his third match in two weeks.

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