PPA Tops Million Member Mark

The Poker Players Alliance, the self-described "grass roots" lobbying group formed to help forward the rights and interests of American poker players, has reached its long-stated goal of 1,000,000 members. The PPA announced the milestone as it announced several other initiatives.

In reaching the 1,000,000-member mark, the PPA's Chairman, former Senator Alfonse D'Amato said, "Reaching one million members puts the PPA on par with such political powerhouses as AARP and the National Association of Realtors, and will allow us to advocate even more effectively on behalf of our members."

The PPA also began a comprehensive voter registration drive this week, titled "If You Play, Have a Say," with the goal of enlisting another 100,000 actively voting poker players. The campaign aims to increase political awareness of and by poker players in the election process. Included as part of this is a special online site offering voter registration for poker players, located at poker2008.org.

In addition, the PPA announced the creation of PokerPAC, a new political action committee designed to further poker players' interests in Washington. Prominent player Annie Duke has already agreed to serve as an honorary member of the committee, which will be chaired by PPA head D'Amato and vice-chaired by former Congressman Toby Moffett.