MGM CEO: “Time has Come for Legalized Online Poker”

MGM CEO Jim Murren on Wednesday delivered the key note address at this year’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.  As part of his address, Murren urged Congress to legalize Internet poker, predicting it would help, not hurt, the US economy.

“We feel the time for talking is over and that the time for action is right now,” Murren told attendees.

Speaking in an interview following his G2E keynote address, Murren said he believed there was “a better than 50/50 chance” that Congress will pass a federal law on Internet poker before the end of 2012, though some have expressed an even more optimistic view, suggesting online poker legislation could be attached to a jobs bill by year’s end.

Murren also revealed his company would be establishing a social media outlet as a means of competing with the likes of Facebook’s Zynga, which many believe will offer “real cash” play should Web poker become legalized in the US.

- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher