Washington, DC (August 12, 2009) –The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide and more than 13,000 in Colorado, today expressed its support for efforts to appeal a ruling in state intermediate court that poker is predominately a game of chance as part of Colorado v. Kevin Raley.

Golden, Colorado (CNN) -- Sometimes the best way to roll with the punches is to roll the dice. That's Jerry Goldsmith's attitude. The Colorado man lost his engineering job of 29 years -- and the six-figure salary that went with it -- and is now applying for a casino job dealing craps, blackjack, roulette and poker. "I was angry. I think everyone gets angry," says Goldsmith, 60, recalling his New Year's Day firing.

Washington, DC (January 26, 2009) -The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide and more than 13,000 in Colorado, today commended the ruling in Colorado v. Kevin Raley, in which a jury found the organizer of a poker league not guilty of illegal gambling. The lawyers for the defense presented expert testimony by Professor Robert Hannum, Professor of Statistics at the University of Denver, that poker is a game of skill.

The hot streak is over for Colorado's casinos. The gambling establishments, blaming a slumping economy and a smoking ban, have posted their worst year since the state introduced them in 1991 to resurrect the ailing economies of three former mining towns. The casinos' total revenue dropped 12 percent to USD 716 million in 2008, the Colorado Division of Gaming reported Wednesday.

Central City, Colorado - Central City has become the third and final Colorado town to expand gambling. Residents voted 212-16 in favor of increasing the amount of bets and allowing 24-hour gambling at casinos, with nine provisional votes to be counted Wednesday. The measure also allows casinos in Central City to add craps and roulette and raise the stakes from USD 5 to USD 100.

Colorado voters passed a resolution allowing for the possibility of expanded gambling last week. The three state gambling towns will have the opportunity to add craps and roulette to their game selection, raise maximum bets from USD 5 to USD 100, and expand hours of operation. Voters approved the measure designed to increase state tax revenue. Over three-quarters of additional state income from the casinos is earmarked for state colleges.

Odds are good that voters will see an initiative to expand existing casinos on the November ballot as supporters of higher-stakes gambling wait this week for the secretary of state to verify their petitions, according to Denver Post. "Petitioners turned in about 130,000 signatures Friday, many more than the 76,000 valid names they need,” said campaign spokeswoman Katy Atkinson.

Proponents of a ballot measure that would help pave the way for higher casino bet limits turned in almost twice as many signatures as needed to qualify for the November ballot. The petitions with roughly 130,000 signatures were filed with the Colorado secretary of state's office, which needs to certify whether the measure has received enough valid signatures to be put to the state's voters this fall. It needs about 76,000 to qualify.

Black Hawk, Colorado -- The haze has yet to clear on whether a 3-month-old smoking ban is responsible for declining fortunes at the casinos in Colorado's three gaming towns. Since the state extended an indoor smoking ban to its 40 casinos on Jan. 1, the gambling industry has reported a drop in business here and in the other gaming towns of Central City and Cripple Creek. But casino-goers and operators alike point to a variety of additional reasons for the downturn.

Denver -- It's official. Colorado casinos will be going smoke-free on Jan. 1. Gov. Bill Ritter signed that bill into law, among 14 other measures, Friday afternoon. House Bill 1269 expands the statewide ban to include casinos, which had been exempt. The bill covers the 44 casinos in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek starting Jan. 1.

Commercial casino jobs increased 3.2 percent nationally in 2006, but employment at Colorado's casinos dropped 2.5 percent, according to a study to be released today by the American Gaming Association. Colorado's 46 casinos had 7,829 workers in 2006, down from 8,029 in 2005. Nationally, there were 366,197 casino jobs in 2006, up from 354,924 the previous year. Lois Rice, executive director of the Colorado Gaming Association, couldn't pinpoint the reason for the drop in the state - where commercial casinos are legal in Black Hawk, Cripple Creek and Central City.

A local labor union has launched a campaign to organize workers at casinos in Black Hawk, the hub of Colorado's limited-stakes gaming industry. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, which represents grocery store employees and workers in a variety of industries, said it began its effort in January after some workers expressed interest in union representation.