• Fargo legislator continues Internet poker push

October 24, 2005 - BISMARCK - A lawmaker who advocated making North Dakota the first state to license Internet poker companies has been in demand as a speaker on the issue, making trips to Las Vegas, Montreal and the Caribbean island of Antigua this year. Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, and four other North Dakota legislators went to Antigua for four days earlier this month on what they described as an unofficial trade mission. Their trip was paid for by the Antiguan government, they said. Antigua licenses Internet poker companies, and Antiguan government statements on the trip focused on North Dakota's potential role in Internet gambling, including the possible use of the state-owned Bank of North Dakota to handle wagers. In September, Kasper was a featured speaker at the Casino Affiliate Convention in Las Vegas, which focused on Internet marketing for the gambling industry. In June, he attended the annual Global Interactive Gaming Summit & Expo in Montreal, a conference organized by the River City Group of St. Charles, Mo. River City's chief executive officer, Sue Schneider, helped lobby for Kasper's Internet poker measure during the 2005 Legislature. Kasper believes state licensing of poker Web sites is a potentially lucrative source of money for the state treasury, and industry officials who favored his bill said they were eager for U.S. regulation. "I am not putting away the idea of getting into Internet gaming licenses in North Dakota," Kasper said. "The revenue we missed is too great to pass up." Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands have approved bills allowing for state licensing and regulation of Internet poker sites, but have been wary of following through because of U.S. Justice Department statements that Internet gambling is illegal in the United States. Fargo Reps. Ron Iverson, Blair Thoreson and Bette Grande and Bismarck Rep. Mark Dosch, all of whom are Republicans, went on the trip with Kasper. Iverson, Thoreson and Dosch were co-sponsors of Kasper's Internet poker measure, which was approved in the state House before it was defeated, 44-3, in the North Dakota Senate last March. Antigua, a tiny island nation west of the Dominican Republic, has about 69,000 people. North Dakota lawmakers who go on trips sponsored by other individuals, companies or organizations are not required to disclose them.

> Read the full story here Source: GrandForks.com

PLAY & ENJOY NOW the most favored online casino by American players! Las Vegas USA Casino offers everything you wish from a Las-Vegas-style online casino - a generous 150% bonus up to $3,000 at welcome, more than 120+ thrilling and fun games with fast and various blackjack tables, huge progressive jackpots and much more - discover today one of THE BEST ONLINE GAMING DESTINATION ACTUALLY!