Poker: Law Frowns On Poker Tourneys

Published on Thursday, November 25, 2004 8:34:00 PM

Poker tournaments at bars across the state appear to violate state law, according to Wyoming Attorney General Pat Crank, because places that host the contests indirectly profit from them when participants buy food and drinks.

But in Casper, the only regular tournament that Natrona County District Attorney Mike Blonigen is aware of runs under different rules than the events in Cheyenne, and thus it does not appear that the Texas Hold 'em event at Sidelines Sports Bar violates the law.

Blonigen also called on state lawmakers to clarify Wyoming's anti-gambling laws, because there are too many ways for different people to interpret what the laws do and do not prohibit.

Crackdowns on public poker tournaments started last week in Laramie when police shut down an event Wednesday night but reversed course the next day and allowed a local bar to host a poker tournament on Thursday.

Last weekend, Cheyenne police asked bars to voluntarily shut down their poker tournaments by the end of the month, after police consulted with state, county and local attorneys to determine that the games are banned under state law.

State law prohibits "gambling," but there are several exceptions to what constitutes gambling.

For example, the definition of "gambling" does not include "any game, wager or transaction which is incidental to a bona fide social relationship, is participated in by natural persons only, and in which no person is participating, directly or indirectly, in professional gambling."

Professional gambling, which is banned in all instances, includes making a profit from aiding or inducing someone to gamble, or participating in gambling when the odds are stacked in one's favor.

Crank said Monday his office has not been asked for a formal opinion on the matter but has had talks with city and county officials in Cheyenne.

The games in Cheyenne are illegal, Crank said, if the bar hosting them gets some "pecuniary gain," or financial benefit, from hosting a game of chance such as a poker tournament.

"Why do bars have Texas Hold 'em nights? I think to increase their attendance and ultimately to increase their profit, so they are benefitting from holding a gambling activity on the premises," he said.

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