High School Math Teacher Testifies To Playing Online Poker In State Where Doing So Is A Felony'State Law Was Just An Absolute Joke,' Teacher Tells Lawmakers |
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A law on the books in Washington State says that simply playing online poker for real money is a felony punishable by being locked up in a cage. However, a high school math teacher, in testimony to push for regulation of the game, told state lawmakers last week that he plays.
The online poker hearing in Olympia was unique in the sense that there is no online poker bill on the table in the state, nor is there an active measure to repeal the law that criminalized the game.
But that didn’t stop some from urging the state to get out of the Dark Ages with respect to poker, a game that has been proven to be skill-based.
Washington has about 225 poker tables between about 40 brick-and-mortar poker rooms.
No one has ever been charged criminally for playing online poker, but the threat is there.
“I realized that the state law was just an absolute joke,” High school math teacher David Shick told the Washington State Senate committee, according to a report from Geekwire.com.
“Nobody was being arrested. And so here I am admitting that I’m a Class C felon. If that means I’m going to be arrested, I guess I could be the first one.”
Shick testified that he once made a supplemental income from online poker, an opportunity that was largely taken away from him thanks to the draconian law.
An online poker bill was introduced as recently as last year, but it never moved anywhere in the legislature. It’s unclear if a bill is forthcoming this year.
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