Poker in the News

A group known as the "Joker Club" is suing the Durham, North Carolina, District Attorney Jim Hardin Jr. in Durham County Superior Court to have poker declared a game of skill rather than a game of chance.

Changing the definition of poker to a game of skill would make it legal to bet on poker, as state law only makes it illegal to bet on games of chance.

Anyone who has ever asked "Why does California have so many card rooms?" knows that the state of California has defined poker as a game of skill for (approximately) the past 100 years.

A quote from District Attorney Jim Hardin:
"It's a game of chance because until you get to the end of the deck, you don't know what's coming up next."

Obviously, when Jim Hardin plays poker, it's a game of chance. I'm not making fun of him (well, not very much)-- most people do play poker as if it was a game of chance.

Jerry Reiter, a statistics professor at Duke University has this to say:
"If you have a player who is very skilled and can calculate the odds of winning given a certain hand and that player is playing someone who doesn't know how to calculate those odds, the player who has those capabilities will win a large percentage of the time."

When Jerry Reiter plays poker, it's a game of skill.

Would it be illegal in North Carolina to bet that the statistics professor is a better judge of what defines a "game of chance" than the attorney?

WRAL.com - News - Group Wants To Put Poker Parlor In Durham

Bets are off unless suit ruling alters law

Every casino should have a poker room! Even though poker rooms don't make as much money per square foot as slot machines, they attract people that might not otherwise go to a casino.

It wasn't long ago that casinos were closing down their poker rooms, in favor of more slot machines. Now it seems like every casino has plans for opening one.

Caesars Palace (Las Vegas)-- re-opening their poker room by about May or April 2005
MGM Grand (Las Vegas)-- re-opening the poker room by the end of March 2005
The Bellagio and Bally's are both considering expanding their poker rooms to meet customer demand.
Las Vegas SUN: TV-fueled poker revival attracts Strip casinos

La Crosse, Wisconsin: This is a better article that most of the recent "poker-scare" news stories.

Nick Nicklaus, the director of residence life at UW-L, met with his residence hall directors to investigate whether something needed to be done about the popularity of poker on campus. "Nothing he was told in that meeting alarmed him".

In fact, after a student, Jared Dion, drowned in the Mississippi River last April after a night of binge drinking, the university has encouraged students to play poker (Pepsi donated prizes like a Nintendo GameCube, DVDs, and free Pepsi for a year) at the Student Union on Friday nights, rather than partying.

Poker may actually save lives. That's right. You won't hear Keith "Save the Children" Whyte of the National Council on Problem Gambling agreeing anytime soon, but he has his head so far up his ass that I'm surprised that we hear anything from him at all.
La Crosse Tribune - News

This is yet another article commenting on the popularity of Texas Hold'em. The focus is on the rising popularity among teenagers, and subsequent bans of card-playing at high-schools around the country.

There is an interesting quote which is just ridiculous though:
"It's fun. It's exciting. It's glamorized on TV and in the media in a way that other addictions are not," said Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling. "There's the impression that through skill, you can beat the odds. But randomness is always going to have a bigger factor in determining the outcome than your skill. And unfortunately, that's not the message these kids get."

Keith Whyte needs to learn a little more about poker. His statement is of course true when applied to other "gambling" games-- such as craps or roulette or anything else that you play against the house. But poker isn't about "beating the odds". Poker is about playing the odds, and short-term randomness is always going to eventually average out to expected probabilities.

I'm becoming a little afraid that poker's popularity has been too sudden, and these news stories talking about the popularity of poker with high school students, people quitting their jobs to play poker full-time, etc., is laying the foundation for a public backlash.
Poker grabs hold of teens - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - November 29, 2004

Online poker is profitable for good poker players. So profitable that many are giving up good paying jobs to concentrate on playing poker full-time.

Most interesting statistic in the article: In January 2003, $11.1 million was wagered on major poker sites. In September 2004, that number had jumped to $136.1 million.

One of the advantages of online poker which is mentioned in the article is the ability to play multiple tables-- online games going faster than live casino games and players being able to see more than 200 hands an hour (though they don't give a frame of reference, I can-- live games see about 30-40 hands/hr.).

Greg Raymer, the 2004 World Series of Poker winner, estimates that there are thousands of people playing online poker for a living.
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Players try hand at online-poker job

Anyone play at the Oaks Card Club in Emerville, CA? It's actually my favorite poker room in the Bay Area. Usually a good mix of players, with even the highest-limit games being fairly easy to beat.

Anyway-- today, a federal fugitive (suspected of eight bank robberies in Northern California) was playing poker there. U.S. Marshals arrested him without incident.
KTVU.com - News - Suspected Bank Robber Arrested Playing Poker

The men's magazine "Maxim" (of which I usually only peruse for the pictures) has announced that it has signed a six-figure deal with Victor Chandler Poker for cross-promotion.

It sounds like Maxim readers will get a chance to play in weekly multi-player online poker tournaments hosted at Victor Chandler from January 2005 to June 2005.
Media Week - Maxim signs poker deal

Cops raided a club in Brockton, Massachusetts, known as the "New England Salesmen Association" and arrested the head of the club and his friend with gaming-related charges and unlawful sale of alcohol. Both men are in their 60s.

The games were held every night for the past three years, before a member who had lost a lot of cash tipped off the police. Over $30,000 in cash was seized, and the police have notified the IRS to freeze their accounts.
BostonHerald.com - Local/ Regional News: Cops raid golden-agers' gambling den

Police in Huntersville, North Carolina, arrested two men and are looking for a third for operating an illegal poker room. Two brothers were reportedly running the poker games. One of the brothers was arrested, the other brother is being sought, and the landlord was also arrested for supposedly knowing about the illegal gambling.

Poker is legal in the Carolinas, but operating a game in which "the house" makes money is illegal.

Police began investigating the brothers more than a year ago because of anonymous complaints from players involved in the games and from neighbors.
Charlotte Observer | 11/24/2004 | Police charge 2 brothers in high-stakes poker games

Kevin Nealon has signed on to host a six-episode poker tournament series on GSN, the Game-Show Network, premiering on December 7th, 2004.

The No Limit Texas Hold'em event, "Poker Royale: The WPPA Championship", will be filmed at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

This actually might have some good poker, unlike Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown". Players include Carlos Mortensen, Kathy Liebert, and Paul Wolfe. Now I just have to find out whether I get the "Game Show Network".

Blurb about the WPPA:
"World Poker Players Association (WPPA) is the only player's organization representing poker players worldwide. Founded in March 2004, the WPPA represents all levels of players from beginners to professionals and as of this month boasts 300 members worldwide. For further information on the WPPA or to join, log onto wppa.info."

Comedian Kevin Nealon Set to Host POKER ROYALE: THE WPPA CHAMPIONSHIP on GSN

The first round of a 13-week poker tournament will be hosted at Joe's Grille No. 4 in Mooreville, IN, on Tuesday night. The tournament is sponsored by Poker Prodigy LLC. The 10 people who accumulate the most "points" over the 13-week time period will square off in a main event, with the winner earning a trip for two to Las Vegas, including air fare and a $1000 buy-in to a World Series of Poker event. Entry to the Mooresville tournament is free.
Mooresville/Decatur Times - Poker tournament coming to Mooresville

After shutting down a poker tournament on Wednesday, police in Laramie decided against shutting down a similar tournament in a nearby bar on Thursday. The police has replied that they now intend to wait until they get a legal ruling on whether Wyoming state law prohibits bars from hosting poker tournaments.

The exploding popularity of poker in recent years has led to many establishments hosting poker nights on a regular basis.
Laramie police: Ante up

Laramie police: Fold 'em

Phi Kappa Sigma's charity poker event was cancelled by University of Pennsylvania officials after deciding that it may violate state gambling laws. The University decided that any event that awarded prizes worth more than the entry fee would be considered gambling and thus violate state law.

It is unclear how widespread the enforcement of the policy will be, as it may affect many other charity events, including raffles.
dailypennsylvanian.com - U. calls off frat poker event due to Pa. law

Article focuses on the growth of internet gambling. Online gambling revenue was more than $4 billion in 2003. More than 5 million Americans have online accounts with Internet gambling sites. Surprising statistic-- 68 percent of online gamblers are women!
KRT Wire 11/18/2004 Everything clicking for Internet gambling

Article briefly details that gambling problems tend to start young (in college). The successful student gamblers that are interviewed primarily play poker. Short mention of online poker-- specifically PokerStars and Absolute Poker sites.
Arizona Daily Wildcat - Students give in to gambling temptation

The ASUW's Experimental College has recently begun offering classes for people interesting in learning more about poker. Larry Zeldner, a retired stockbroker and professional poker player, teaches the two classes offered by the college-- one "beginner class" and one dedicated solely to No-Limit Texas Holdem tournament strategy.
The UW Daily Online

Six hundred and seventy-four people entered the $10K buy-in No-Limit Holdem event at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. The event is being filmed as part of the World Poker Tour.
WFSB High stakes poker at Foxwoods

Yevgeny Kafelnikov, a 30 year-old Russian tennis player, has announced his retirement and plans on pursuing a professional poker career. Kafelnikov won 2 Grand Slam titles, the 1996 French Open and the 1999 Australian Open, and was ranked #1 in 1999.
http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3165412