"It's true - I missed it. So you have described why you don't think this will hurt him. I don't agree, but say you're right and there's no backlash against him. I still don't understand why this is a "good bet." What's the upside? Doesn't there have to be a promise of a gain for a bet to be good? Or are we talking about all the American casino money Frist is certainly benefitting from..."
The only people who care intensely are the social conservative base that Frist craves. They will be happy about this, and they vote. On the other hand, nobody on the other side votes. Supposedly, the domestic casinos weren't really happy about this, either, because it's a market they can't capture anyway, and had hope for given the future conglomeration of the online gambling market.
"I will also say that playing poker is much more difficult to get around for gamblers than sports betting which only involves a better and a bookie. Poker involves many many players, and for a site to be successful, they must continue to sign up new players all the time. Underground sites won't be able to do this like sports betting sites..."
Remember, this is only about American banks transferring funds to offshore gambling sites. Nothing stops Americans from opening foreign accounts in legitimate foreign banks (British, for example), transferring funds to gambling sites from the foreign bank, then gambling all they want. It isn't such a big deal.