Will Poker Event Be Forced to Fold?
By JOHN McCABEArticle Links
» W.Va. code Chapter 61, Article 10, which defines table gamblingWHEELING - A planned poker tournament Saturday at Snowshoe Mountain Resort in Pocahontas County, W.Va., is "not permissible" under state law, West Virginia Lottery Commission general counsel John Melton said.
In fact, Wheeling Mayor Andy McKenzie, speaking in his capacity as a state senator from Ohio County, called the tournament "completely illegal."
The question now is how law enforcement officials in Pocahontas County will react to the event.
The West Virginia Poker Tour 2008, sponsored by West Virginia Radio Corp., is scheduled Saturday at Snowshoe. It will feature 96 participants from around the state who qualified through various radio contests playing for a chance to go to Las Vegas and participate in next year's World Series of Poker event.
The grand prize from Saturday's event is airfare to Las Vegas, plus payment of the winner's $10,000 entry fee in the 2009 World Series of Poker event. Second- through sixth-place finishers in Saturday's event also will receive non-monetary prizes ranging in value from $1,000 to $200.
Melton on Thursday told The Intelligencer that such tournaments are illegal in West Virginia, as the only facilities permitted to have gambling in any form are the state's four racetracks and businesses that have state-sanctioned limited video gambling machines.
Poker and other table games currently are permissible only at Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack in Wheeling and at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort in Chester - and those two tracks paid a $2.5 million licensing fee for that privilege. Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center in Cross Lanes, W.Va., also is working toward opening its table gambling facility.
"When the Legislature passed the table games law in 2007, they decided what tables games are and who can possess them," Melton said. "Before that law was passed, this was a gray area for us where charities could have events such as casino nights, but it seems in our reading of the law now that any type of gambling that takes place outside the approved facilities is not permissible.
"It's our official position that tournaments such as this are not legal," he said.
McKenzie introduced the table gambling bill that lawmakers passed last year. He agrees with Melton's interpretation of the table gambling law.
He said poker tournaments such as the one planned for Snowshoe are "completely illegal, even before we had the table games legislation."
"My opinion as a legislator is that this type of activity was illegal prior to table games, and then we tightened up the law with the new table games bill," McKenzie said. "I think the state should get directly involved in this matter, because they are breaking state law."
Melton cited West Virginia Code Chapter 61, Article 10, which covers "Crimes Against Public Policy" when describing the lottery commission's official stance. Sections one through nine of that article deal specifically with gambling.
According to section one, "Any person who shall keep or exhibit a gaming table or any slot machine ... whether the game, table, bank, machine or device be played with cards, dice or otherwise ... shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be confined in jail not less than two nor more than 12 months and be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000."
Section two states that "If any person knowingly permits a gaming table, bank or device, such as is mentioned in the preceding section, to be kept or exhibited on any premises in his occupation, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be confined in jail not more than one year, and be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000."
Section three deals with those who serve as guards for illegal gambling, while section four defines and describes the penalties for "Playing or betting at gaming tables and devices." Section five involves betting on games of chance.
Sections six through eight deal with gambling at hotels, while section nine deals with those who cheat at gambling.
Melton said while the lottery commission can rule that such poker tournaments are illegal, it has no enforcement power. He said law enforcement officials in Pocahontas County would have to pursue the matter.
When contacted Thursday, Pocahontas County Prosecutor Walt Weiford said he was not aware of the poker tournament at Snowshoe but added, "I will take a look into it."
Pocahontas County Sheriff Robert Alkire also said he was unaware of the event.
Christian Miller, market manager for Morgantown-based West Virginia Radio Corp., called the poker tournament "a typical radio contest." He questioned what would make the tournament illegal, "as there's no cash being disbursed," and said there's also no entry fee for participants in the event.
He also said last year's West Virginia Poker Tour event sponsored by West Virginia Radio Corp. and held at Stonewall Jackson Resort received the blessing of the state lottery commission.
"We don't look at this as a tournament, we look at this as a radio promotion," Miller said.
Snowshoe spokeswoman Laura Parquette said she could not comment on the event.
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steelercrazy
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07-19-08 7:07 AM
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SKWheeling, I've never worked for radio. Just because you agree with someone's position doesn't mean you are connected with that person or group, terrible logic on your part. I've read the same state code that McKenzie and Melton commented on, and they are flat out wrong. The entrants did not put out any money to enter the tournament, they WON ENTRIES into the tournament. As I've stated before, if this is illegal, than any business that sends out free entries for a prize drawing is also illegal since it would be considered a numbers game, and that was never, ever the intention of 61-10, 1-10 of the state code.
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SKWheeling
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07-18-08 10:28 PM
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steelercrazy -- Do you work for WV Radio? Look at it this way: WV Radio is making money off this event or they wouldn't be doing it. Why, then, is the state allowed to crack down on casino nights to raise money for the VFDs or charities yet these type of promotions are permissible? I agree that events such as this are permissible -- given that they're held at Wheeling Island or Mountaineer. Snowshoe should not be allowed to benefit from room rentals, food, etc. during an illegal enterprise. The prosecutor in Pocahontas County already came out today and said he found nothing wrong with the event. I wonder how many phone calls were made from Snowshoe officials reminding him of his upcoming re-election?
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steelercrazy
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07-18-08 9:36 PM
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atoddh, events like this won't be held at WV casinos because there is no cut for the tracks because IT IS A CONTEST. No monies are changing hands. But it's OK, you are in good company with your misunderstanding of state code.
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atoddh
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07-18-08 8:30 PM
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Events such as this should - per the law - be held only at Wheeling Downs or Mountaineer which are the only current legal venues for table games in WV. Both have attractive accomodations.
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UNCOMMONSENSE
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07-18-08 5:39 PM
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I guess it's only ok to PROFIT from sin in West Virginia if Government approved!
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steelercrazy
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07-18-08 11:31 AM
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MrPeabody, that is my interpretation as well. As long as 100% of the monies are paid back to the participants, the event is legal. The event at Snowshoe is even more tame. The participants are not paying an entry fee, and all of the prizes are being provided by the sponsers. How anyone can read the state code and determine that the poker tournament at Snowshoe is illegal is beyond my comprehension.
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MrPeabody
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07-18-08 10:18 AM
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There is obviously different interpretations of the law. There was a local poker tournament bust back in 2005 at Dallas Pike. Sheriff Burgoyne is quoted in this publication saying "As long as someone's not raking the top, it's legal." I have a scan of the article at ****wheelingpokerclub****/pokerbust.pdf. My apologies for the quality of the scan. I have heard many others in the field of law state that if there is no rake then the game is legal. I had a feeling that legalizing table games would give legislators/prosecutors reason to prosecute those that host poker tournaments, churches, radio events... are home games next?
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steelercrazy
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07-18-08 9:07 AM
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No monies were put up by the 96 contestants in this tournament. They freely won spots at this poker event, and all prizes are being provided by the sponsers of the event. This is a contest, not gambling. Mayor McKenzie and Lottery Commissioner Melton are way, way off base on this one. If this is illegal, then any promotion that allows people to win a free entry into a final drawing for a prize is also illegal, according to the final sentence in 61-10-10, "The buying, selling or transferring of tickets or chances in any lottery shall be and the same is hereby prohibited." I don't believe that the intent of this section of state law was meant to illegalize contests of chance where no entry fee (i.e. wager) was involved, no matter how the free contest ultimately awards the prize, whether through random drawing or playing a game of skill, like poker.
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spongebob
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07-18-08 5:06 AM
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Iam a John McCain Christian and think they should convict anyone caught breaking the law.
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