As members of the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee debated and voted (May 28th) on AB 431, one of several California online-poker bills currently being considered, news surfaced that the hardline “Cali 7″ coalition which has roadblocked the process in recent years has retracted its neutrality on the shell bill. AB 431, only the second online-poker bill ever to advance from California’s requisite “GO Committee” initial hearing process, faces difficult sledding in the face of the renewed opposition.  That opposition came in the form of a return to a “no” position on the bill from the hardline tribal group, which is…

SF Gate – The past year has seen the re-emergence of online poker in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware, and some legal experts say California won’t be far behind. “I don’t have any doubt we’ll have legal online poker in California,” says Whittier Law School Professor I. Nelson Rose, a specialist in gambling law. “Only politics is preventing it.” By politics he primarily means Indian tribes that wield immense influence in Sacramento and are said to believe most legal online gambling could reduce the number of people playing in casinos. He notes the state already allows remote online betting on horse races….