Shari Geller at Pokernews.com has posted a nice article today about the poker bill moving through the California legislative system.

Geller outlines how the bill, called the California Gambling Control/Intrastate Online Poker Legalization Act, or AB 2026, has been morphing as it moves through the process.

Originally planned as a lever to force a study of the viability of intrastate online poker in California, the bill now commissions the California Bureau of Gambling Control to create a slate of regulations for the establishment of intrastate online poker by July 1, 2009.

Furthermore, this bill has already passed a vote in the Senate Governmental Organization Committee by a 6-1 margin.

So even if the bill never officially becomes a law, this is still a real and viable attempt to legalize poker in California.

With an estimated 2 million poker players within the state, California has more than enough players to support several intrastate online poker rooms.

In case you were wondering why Party Poker is allegedly willing to pay up to a billion dollars in a settlement with the US government to clear up their name, let this story be Exhibit A.

If intrastate online poker gets legalized in California, there not only will be a scramble by every current legal poker room in California to move online, but also a move by every current online site to try to meet the requirements necessary to offer a Cali-only product.

It's highly likely that one such requirement would be to have a legally clean slate in the eyes of the American government.

If Party can settle right now, it might - depending on the regulations - have a huge advantage in the future by being able to immediately target the opening California market with a mature product and a name brand.

That advantage might make a billion dollar settlement a lot more sensible.