SOURCE: PRNewswire

(Washington, D.C.) — The world's top professional poker players, poker enthusiasts and industry leaders will converge on Capitol Hill next week for two days of meetings on Oct. 23 and 24 to discuss the future of Internet gaming.

The Poker Players Alliance, which has more than 800,000 members nationwide, is hosting the Washington "fly-in" to raise awareness and support for several legislative proposals that seek to license, regulate and control Internet poker and clarify poker as a game of skill.

Nearly 100 PPA members, including some of the game's top names, will meet congressional members of the House Judiciary and Financial Services Committees which have primary jurisdiction over the current Internet gaming bills.

Top poker pros include: Chris Moneymaker, Annie Duke, Howard Lederer, Barry Greenstein, Andy Bloch, Vanessa Rousso, Chad Brown and Victor Ramdin. *

Events Open to Media

Tuesday, Oct. 23, 5:30pm to 7:30pm -- The PPA will host a reception in Rayburn House Office Building room 2226 where Members of Congress, staff, media and others are invited to mix and mingle with the poker pros and PPA members from across the country.

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 10:00am -- A public forum on internet poker entitled, "Poker: Public Policy, Politics, Skill and the Future of an American Tradition," will take place in room 2200 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Panelists include: Howard Lederer; Prof. Charles Nesson, Harvard Law; Andrew Woods, Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society; Radley Balko, Sr. Editor, Reason Magazine; and, Kenneth Adams, Dickstein Shapiro LLP.

* Call to schedule interviews with the poker pros.