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And yet, over the past year, the Democratic congressman from Newton has quietly become a cult hero for poker players and the online gambling industry - the pit boss of poker politics - by championing their cause on Capitol Hill. Showing their appreciation, professional card sharks poured thousands of dollars into his campaign during a fund-raiser at the home of a gambling lobbyist. Since January 2007, he has received $48,300 from poker interests, making up about 7 percent of his individual contributions, according to public records.
More than any other lawmaker, Frank is cited by online gamblers as their standard-bearer. In his powerful position as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, he has proposed legislation that would legalize their industry, which has a shadowy image and is constantly under fire by the US Department of Justice.
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Websites aimed at online gamblers have started posting videos of Frank from C-SPAN. Recent donors to his campaign account include a pit boss at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and a professional player named Chris Moneymaker.
In October, 10 of the country's top professional poker players held a fund-raiser in Washington for Frank. They included Annie Duke ("The Duchess Of Poker"), Howard Lederer ("The Professor"), and Andy Bloch ("The Rock").
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Frank's legislation caught the attention of poker players and online gamblers, a group composed mostly of middle-aged, white men with laptops who were loosely organizing with a group called the Poker Players Alliance, which now says it has more than 1 million members.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/07/13/unlikely_ace_for_online_gambling/Crazy - there's a poker lobbying group.
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