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Mr. Bachus: Mr. Balko, in your testimony, you
sort of—you talked about one of the brands you
singled out for praise was FullTilt Poker?
Mr.
Balko: Well, that was one of the—it's one
of the more reputable poker...
Mr.
Bachus: One of the more reputable firms. Have
you looked at their website?
Mr.
Balko: Yes, I have.
Mr.
Bachus: Did you read—you now, they have the
biographies of some of the players, and you've seen
those haven't you?
Mr.
Balko: I'm familiar with several of the biographies
of the top poker players, yes.
Mr.
Bachus: Are you familiar with Ross Boatman's biography
on their website?
Mr.
Balko: No, I'm not.
Mr.
Bachus: Let me tell you about him. [Reading from
bio.] Ross was 10 years old when he played poker for
the first time. His brother Barney, who is a little
older than Ross, was playing with some friends, and
after much pleading, they let him sit in.
His
gambling career really didn't get started until a
couple of years later, though, when he was 12 years
old. Ross was too young and didn't have the money
to play with those guys—I guess they're talking
about his 14-year-old brother—but they let him
sit and watch, and he learned plenty.
[Bachus,
now looking at me.] I guess the verification system
didn't work.
Mr.
Balko [flummoxed]: I believe that all took place
well before the age of Internet gambling, Congressman.
Mr.
Bachus: Okay. Was it? I wonder why it's still
on the site today.
This
really is astonishingly dumb. Either Bachus is posturing
and intentionally misleading people who don't know
the difference between a guy who played poker with
his brother 30 years ago and a website that lets kids
gamble online (which in itself is dishonest) or he
himself doesn't know the difference. Which is even
scarier.
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