On May 17th of this year, I wrote in response to an article in Poker News Daily about the legal battles surrounding charity poker. There are many points of contention, but those against the charity room are bankrolled by the casinos in Michigan that don't want the competition.
On the other side are the owners, the players, and the charities.
The owners, who are running small businesses, would be squeezed by the new rules. If rooms close, the players have fewer places to play live poker. At one time, I lived more than 100 miles from the nearest casino that ran poker tournaments. Now it's about 63 miles. I live 8 miles from the local poker room.
The charities would be losers, because if charity rooms start closing, the the money stops flowing to the sponsoring charities.
The issue is currently in the state courts.
That's a quick summary of a complicated issue, so here's a link to the the article:
http://www.pokernewsdaily.com/new-charitable-gaming-rules-take-effect-in-michigan-for-now-25760/
And this is my response to the article:
I am a poker player, it is my job, and I want to know what right state or federal governments have to restrict my ability to make a living. There are already a sizable number of US players who have fled to other countries so that they can more easily play online. There is a Poker Refugee Center (yes, that’s the real name) in Canada.
What is the problem with poker? It’s not illegal. I’m not gambling against “the house.” I play tournaments against other players, I play an entry fee to play, and the players who finish highest win the money, with first place usually getting about 25% of the prize pool.
When I play chess tournaments, I pay an entry fee, I compete against other players, and the players who finish with the most points (one point for a win and half a point for a draw) win the money.
Please explain why poker is regulated so heavily and chess is not.
Poker is a legitimate profession. Professional Poker Player is a US Department of Labor job classification. To become a better player, I watch how my opponents play. I keep up with the latest poker theory through books and online forums. I make decisions based on probabiliy, statistics, and game theory.
So, what happened when I took a risk, become self-employed and tried to make a living playing poker? First, the US imposed banking regulations which made it very difficult to stay in the US market. It is so bad that even though my bank agreed that there is no legal problem, “we just don’t want to mess with it.” My bank, where my wife and I already have three accounts, will not let me open an account for my poker business, whether or not it is designated as a business account.
The current choices for online play are very poor, and the games don’t run often enough for many players to make a decent living. The proposed state regulations of charity poker will do the same thing. This is an attempt to regulate a legitimate business, which many players depend on for their living, out of the market.
Let me address just one of the ridiculous regulations.
Charity rooms will have to cut back from being open from 7 days to 4. Why? What other business is regulated that way? If your business had the usual fixed monthly costs (rent or property taxes, for example) and you were told that you could only open three days a week, how would you react? You might have to consider closing your doors. That is what the charities, the small business owners that run the charity poker rooms, and the players are all facing.
Don’t do this to me! Poker is my job. There isn’t much left for me online, and the charity room 10 miles from my house soon might not be a viable option.
I am in a family rotation to help take care or a 92-year-old relative. I can’t drive 100 miles to the nearest casino and stay for the weekend any time I feel like it. Even if I could, it would be much more expensive than my local poker room, where I can play any day of the week, I can bring my own food and drink, and the only costs I have are the tournament entry fee plus a few dollars for gas.
The proposed regulations need to be relaxed, as the state senate has already voted to do. I urge every member of the house to vote that way as well. Republicans are supposed to be pro-business. Now is the time to prove it.
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