Poker Players Alliance Congratulates 2009 WSOP Champ Joe Cada

Washington, DC (November 10, 2009) – The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, today congratulated 21-year old Joe Cada on winning the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event. Cada, a vocal supporter of the PPA and protecting poker players’ rights, is the youngest Main Event champion.

“On behalf of PPA members, I congratulate Joe on his historic WSOP win and thank him for being such a strong advocate for the game, especially online poker,” said former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of the PPA.

Cada has been a card player since a young age, starting with games like euchre and pinochle with his family, including his father who was laid off this summer from his auto industry job in Michigan. Poker became a passion of Cada’s after he graduated high school, where he honed his skill online and in games with his close friends. While his parents were initially hesitant about Cada’s poker playing, as he improved and became a skilled player they supported him – and were proudly by his side during the WSOP.

A PPA member, Cada wore PPA patches throughout the WSOP.

“Poker is not gambling. There is decision-making, there’s logic, there’s math, and I think that taking away online poker takes away peoples’ rights. I am very supportive of the Poker Players Alliance,” said Cada.