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After calling out fellow Nevada Senator Republican Dean Heller for failing to muster up enough party votes to pass a proposed Internet poker measure, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has mended his relationship with Heller.
The two will now work closely to try and pass legislation that would make online poker legal in the United States with their home state acting as the primary licensing hub. Reid wants the measure passed during the critical Lame Duck session that begins next week and lasts approximately eight weeks.
"Dean Heller and I have been friends for 25 years," Reid said. "I have affection for Dean Heller. I like him a lot. We will be able to work together."
Heller enjoyed a razor thin win over Democrat Shelley Berkley, herself a proponent for legalizing online gambling.
Heller also appeared willing to work with Reid following his win, saying he and Reid "were wearing different uniforms" during the 2012 campaign and now were back on the same Nevada team.
"He had a job to do, and I had a job to do," Heller said. "That doesn't make it any less difficult for us to work together. Now that we put this campaign behind us, I'm sure Senator Reid and myself will have an opportunity to sit down and talk. And we'll solve the problems Nevada faces, and we'll do it together."
Already Nevada has legalized Internet poker but cannot offer real money play outside its borders until such time when federal legislation is passed.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
