Ex-mayor Gentes now lobbying for online poker

Two years after leaving office, former Round Lake mayor Bill Gentes is back in politics — but now he’s working as a volunteer activist and lobbyist.

A poker enthusiast, Gentes recently was named Illinois’ state director of the Poker Players Alliance, an organization of amateur and professional card players.

He and other group representatives will be in Washington, D.C., next week to speak with lawmakers about potential legislative protection for the online poker industry.

Online poker was crippled in the United States on April 15 when the Department of Justice seized some of the most popular sites and filed fraud and conspiracy charges against their operators.

As a result of the move, Americans no longer can play online poker for cash. Players from other countries can still visit the sites and play for real money, however.

Gentes and other poker players call the day “Black Friday.”

Gentes and other group members hope Congress will adopt legislation that will allow the industry to relaunch in the United States and give it legitimacy here.

“I’m a strong believe in poker and poker players’ rights,” said Gentes, 51. “And I believe it’s very important for people to stand up and say, ‘Hey, we’re not doing anything wrong here.’”

Gentes served as mayor from 2001 to 2009. In 2008, he unsuccessfully ran for the state Senate as a Democrat, losing in the general election to Republican Dan Duffy.

He’s been out of the public eye since leaving political office. But poker brought him back to the political game.

Gentes said he’s been playing cards since he was a kid. He turned to online poker about a decade ago and until Black Friday played more on his computer than in live poker rooms.

Gentes joined the Poker Players Alliance about three or four years ago and became the state director this spring. The group has 46,000 members statewide, he said.

Gentes and his allies maintain poker should be exempt from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which prohibits gambling businesses from accepting money from people making online bets, Gentes said.

A proposal supported by the group would establish banking and gambling rules for online poker sites, as well as other finance-related restrictions.

Gentes plans to meet with members of Illinois’ congressional delegation on Tuesday, May 24, to talk about the issue.

The trick will be persuading lawmakers that poker is a game of skill and not a random game of chance, which is a key distinction in the 2006 law, Gentes said.

“We’re not roulette. We’re not craps,” Gentes said.

Being director of the alliance is a volunteer job, but promoting the group and the legalization of the game is important to Gentes.

“I’ve been that way all my life,” he said. “I find something I believe in and I want to make it better.”

Gentes’ participation earned praise from the group’s executive director, John Pappas.

“Certainly his career in public life adds even greater credibility to our efforts,” Pappas said in an email. “Without question, his support will give Illinois lawmakers an additional level of comfort to support regulated Internet poker.”