Rich Muny, a longtime representative of the Poker Players Alliance, has been promoted to the position of Vice President of Player Relations. Known to the game’s forum communities as “TheEngineer”, Muny has been a member of the PPA’s board of directors since 2007. He is the first person to serve in this newly created position, which has been expressly designed to address player concerns.
In the past, the PPA has been criticized for a perceived lack of effectiveness, especially in the wake of Black Friday. Communication has often been an issue for the organization. It will be up to Muny, a well respected member on the gaming scene, to help them turn the corner.
“The strength of the PPA greatly depends on the voice of its membership,” said Executive Director John Pappas, “and Rich has proven to be an outstanding representative of poker players, not only in his home state of Kentucky, but from across the country. As an avid poker player himself, Rich is truly ingrained in the issues and understands the frustration players feel around the current legislative challenges to online poker in the U.S. I can’t imagine anyone more suited to directly communicate with our membership.”
Muny had a great deal to say about his change in position, much of which was relayed through PokerNews.com.
“A lot of people think this is a lot easier than it is,” he said. “We’ve always been underdogs, so the true measure of success has been are we getting legislation introduced in Congress, are we getting letters to congressmen and are we changing people’s minds on Capitol Hill? I think the answer is yes to all of those questions. I think an important outreach function is to communicate what we’re fighting, how we’re fighting and why we’re fighting.
“I didn’t come from the PPA to ask players to support the PPA. I came from the player base to ask players to oppose those who stop us from playing. I came from the player community, joined the PPA in that role and continued to move up. It’s an honor now to be in a senior role in this organization and to relay the player concerns that are always at the forefront of our mission.”
Muny will be present at the World Series of Poker this weekend, taking up residence in a booth within the Rio. For the most part, he will continue to fight the good fight from his home state of Kentucky.