Many of us including myself have come to the realization that we will be taking pay cuts in the coming months that are greater than that of an average Americans yearly salary.  The blow that was dealt to the poker affiliate community in my opinion is much greater than that of the general poker playing population.  Although a small amount of players are professionals, most online poker players are leisure players and play poker because it is a game loved by millions in America, not because they are gambling addicts like Bill Frist would like you to believe.  I agree it sucks for everyone involved in this industry, and probably even more so for the operators and all their hard working employees.  There is no question that many UK investors or individuals with company stock had their portfolios decimated by one corrupt senator with a mission to pass a prohibition of online gambling.

I suppose when I look at the big picture, I always knew this was a possibility.  Nonetheless, it has passed in our senate and it will not help the situation to even think about all the money my family is going to lose in the coming months.  Instead I am already thinking about what my next game plan is and how I am going to replace this income.  Will it be in poker affiliate marketing?.....hell I don't know, I sure hope so.  But the fact of the matter is that nobody knows exactly what is going to happen.

I want to share a personal life experience with my readers that somewhat puts things into perspective.  While I was finishing up college I worked as a paramedic.  Unfortunately in this job you see people in the most dire times of their lives.  I saw kids dying in senseless accidents, I saw young fathers being stricken with life ending heart attacks, there were even times when we would arrive on scene first and have to break the bad news to family members that their loved one was gone.  The amount of tragedy I saw literally changed my life forever and has allowed me to have the positive attitude I have today.

As many of you know I have tons of quotes, one of the quotes I probably say at least a few times a month is "If this is the worse thing that happens to me today, I am doing pretty damn good".  Although I'm sure it annoys my wife when I say this, it is so true.  Yes, all this legislation about our industry sucks, and yes there are some of us that are left wondering, what next? 

But when all the dust clears, you still have your health, your family, and most important, your entrepreneurial attitude.  None of us would have the successes we have today if it weren't for the fact that we take risks and are entrepreneurs. For all we know, in the next year another bill could pass regulating online gambling or at the very least amending the existing bill to include poker along side horse racing and lottery.

The point here though is that sometimes life throws curve balls.  This is one of them, and probably the biggest curve many of us have been thrown in quite a while.  But it is not the end of the world, nor is it the end of our successes in business.  I know webmasters making hundreds of thousands of dollars each month that have barely ever heard of online poker.  Personally I am going to keep working with PokerNews.com and exploring new opportunities for my company outside the U.S. market.  I do feel at some point online poker will be regulated and accepted by the U.S., however I also realize the concerns of many of you who are selling your sites and looking to move on.  Remember one thing though, if you can be successful in the poker affiliate market, you can be successful in any affiliate market.  Don't give up on being an internet entrepreneur because of one bump in the road.

Years from now I hope we can look back at this entire situation and just shake our heads.  It is my hope that the U.S. government will realize the corruption that took place in getting this bill passed and take steps to correct it.  I'm sure this is probably a pipe dream, but I don't see an online gambling prohibition lasting for eternity in the United States of America.  Having a corrupt senator compare online gambling companies or affiliates to drug dealers is an insult and shows how ignorant some of our leaders truly are.  Just like prohibition of alcohol didn't work in this country, it will also not work for gambling.  In the meantime, keep your heads held high and be proud of what you have been able to do in this industry.

Jeremy