'Guilty' Poker Players 'Ecstatic' With VerdictJudge Ruled that Poker is a Game of Skill |
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Municipal Judge J. Lawrence Duffy ruled today in South Carolina that five men were guilty of playing in a ‘house of gaming,’ but that poker was indeed a game of skill. The defendants will appeal their guilty verdict.
“We knew all along that it would be a very tough battle to get a ‘not guilty’ verdict in this lower court,” said Bob Chimento, one of the five defendants. “But this is definitely a win for us. We’re ecstatic that we have gotten another judge to say that Texas hold’em, or poker, is a game of skill.”
The five men were arrested after their home poker game was raided by local police in April 2006. In their trial last Friday, World Poker Tour announcer Mike Sexton testified as an expert witness that poker was in fact a game of skill. The judge announced during the case that he believed poker is a game of a skill, and he reiterated that belief in his opinion today.
In his ruling, Duffy expressed difficulty in knowing how to interpret an 1802 law that he said had not been adequately defined.
“He had reason to [find them not guilty], but he just didn’t want to be the one to pull the trigger,” said Jeff Phillips, the lead attorney for the defendants. “He wanted an appellate court to make that decision.”
Phillips and the Poker Players Alliance will file an appeal in the next few days.
“The judge’s rationale for finding them guilty was a little puzzling, because he acknowledged that the legislature did not define ‘house of gaming’ and that there was no definition for that,” said Phillips. “If the legislature did not define it and the court does not know what it means, how then could you expect my clients to know [what it meant]?”
The PPA expressed “cautious optimism” with the ruling.
“We are humbled by Judge Duffy’s thoughtful decision and applaud the effort put forth by the legal team defending these poker players,” said John Pappas, the executive director of the PPA. “It’s becoming quite clear the legal community agrees that this great American pastime is a game of predominant skill, not luck, and should not be considered gambling under the law.”
The defense argued in this case and will likely argue in the appeal that any game that involves more skill than luck should not be considered gambling. While Duffy did make it clear that he believed poker to be a game of skill, he found the defendants guilty based on a two-century old South Carolina law — which read literally would ban most board games, like Monopoly.
“It is illegal in our state to play a game of cards or dice, which is just ludicrous,” said Chimento. “That’s why we’re fighting this law.”
Chimento and Phillips said it would likely be at least a couple of months before their appeal is heard.
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