It seems as though a storm of approval is brewing here stateside.

With the economy in a recession, state governments are seeking alternative means of revenue. For a hobby that was thrown out the back door by its shirt, it seems as though the front door has been opened to welcome back poker into the loving arms of officials wide-eyed to the financial benefits.

Maryland is looking to expand their gaming regulations to include poker at their slot casinos, a competitive move in order to regain money residents are spending on surrounding state economies that support table games. Massachusetts officials are meeting to determine if poker can legally be deemed a game of skill, removing the stigma of the luck factor that the state implicates is just cause for categorizing it as a lottery. In related news, alcohol has been legalized, Hawaii has become the 50th state, women can now vote, and we’ve landed on the moon.

In the past six months, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia have all come to see poker approved in their casinos. While the rewards from the intentions for Massachusetts and Maryland are still potentially years from reaping, the fact that legislation is being discussed and debated is a sight for sore eyes for the unjustified black sheep of the United States. The implications from decisions such as these prove that it’s impossible to deny poker’s staying power in our lives and mainstream. It’s inevitable that we will one day see poker regulated in all 50 states across the great divide. When the gains go towards bettering the state and its educational system, the real crime is saying no.