Court: Poker Room Not Allowed In IdahoAppeals Court Upholds Ruling That Tribe Can't Offer Texas Hold'em |
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Poker players in Idaho suffered an unfortunate defeat this week.
In September of last year, a court ruled that the Coeur d’Alene tribe in the state couldn’t run a poker room at its gambling facility, which already has offerings such as slots and bingo. This week, the tribe lost an appeal on the issue.
According to The Spokesman-Review, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld the ruling that the poker room is not allowed because Idaho law prohibits Texas hold’em card games.
However, poker does already exist in Idaho. A version of poker is run through the state lottery. A section of the Idaho lottery’s website reads: “Do you like high-stakes poker or the fast action of blackjack? What about good ol’ fashioned high card wins or just getting more fish than your buddy? Well if you do, then you’ll love ‘yours-beats-theirs’ or poker-style scratch games.”
The Idaho lottery saw $208.9 million in total sales in 2014.
There are also charity poker events in the state that are considered lawful.
The state’s stance on poker is even more muddled when you consider that several years ago police told about 20 elderly residents of the Twin Falls Senior Center to stop playing their regular $20 poker game or face prosecution. Public backlash resulted in a new law to give prosecutors discretion in gambling cases that involve very little money being wagered, but it didn’t actually reform the state’s position on real-money poker games.
The Coeur d’Alene tribe was looking to convince the courts that poker is a game of skill and should be exempt from the state’s law against a card room. The argument didn’t work.
Idaho sued the tribe back in May of last year, shortly after the six-table poker room opened. The state said that poker is illegal within its borders and that federal laws pertaining to tribal casinos wouldn’t provide a carve out in this situation.
According to the report, the tribe is considering appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In Spokane, Washington, which is located about 34 miles from the tribe’s casino, there are four card rooms. The tribe wants to be able to compete for those players.
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