Unlikely ace for online gambling:Barney Frank

The Boston Globe reports:

Barney Frank does not play poker or blackjack. The games bore him, and he thinks he would be terrible at them even if he tried. He's never played a slot machine, doesn't go to casinos, and has never tried to gamble online.

"I wouldn't place a bet with your money," he said.

And yet, over the past year, the Democratic congressman from Newton has quietly become a cult hero for poker players and the online gambling industry - the pit boss of poker politics - by championing their cause on Capitol Hill. Showing their appreciation, professional card sharks poured thousands of dollars into his campaign during a fund-raiser at the home of a gambling lobbyist. Since January 2007, he has received $48,300 from poker interests, making up about 7 percent of his individual contributions, according to public records.

More than any other lawmaker, Frank is cited by online gamblers as their standard-bearer. In his powerful position as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, he has proposed legislation that would legalize their industry, which has a shadowy image and is constantly under fire by the US Department of Justice.

"God bless Barney Frank," someone posted on the online poker forum Two Plus Two.

"A deity might be a good word to use," said Dan Cypra, media relations director for PokerSourceOnline.com.

Websites aimed at online gamblers have started posting videos of Frank from C-SPAN. Recent donors to his campaign account include a pit boss at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and a professional player named Chris Moneymaker.

Sometimes Democrats can be for free markets.