Local Man Working to Legalize Poker in WyomingHopes to Convince Lawmakers to Allow Cardrooms in State |
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Robert Shepard wants to own his own cardroom. He wants it to be a place where players go and safely play poker, have fun, and socialize. He also wants a place of his own so he doesn't have to travel to other states and play legally.
Unfortunately, Shepard lives in Wyoming, one of the few states in this country that doesn't even have a state lottery. But things are changing in Wyoming, as they are in all parts of the country.
Wyoming will soon have its first Indian casino, which is now being built by the Northern Arapaho tribe north of Shepard's home in Wheatland.
And with poker acceptance at an all-time high thanks to the World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour, and the popularity and ease of Internet poker, Shepard thinks it might be the right time to ask his state politicos to allow people to open cardrooms for profit in Wyoming.
He knows he's in for a fight.
"My idea is since poker has achieved acceptance, I'm seeking to get the state legislators to allow legal cardrooms in Wyoming," Shepard said. "But the state legislator traditionally has been real negative on organized and sanctioned gaming. And there's a strong, moral contingent in the state of Wyoming."
Shepard, who pilots DC-9s for a freight operator, has spent the last few months educating himself about the legal issues surrounding poker in the United States.
He has spent many hours on the phone and emailing such people as Card Player Magazine's Bob Ciaffone and Roy Cooke, as well as Todd Erks, who's passing a petition around South Dakota to try to get lawmakers to legalize tournament poker.
Shepard watched closely as a bill in Alaska that would allow cardrooms there squeaked through the house, but doesn't have enough support in the state's Senate, and he's trying to figure out why that's the case so the bill he's trying to have his legislators introduce has a better fate.
"There's an obvious move afoot nationwide to allow the players a venue to which to compete. And I'm hoping to be toward the front of that in Wyoming," Shepard said.
He's also drawing upon what he feels are the best parts of California's poker code to help him convince the lawmakers that poker isn't a game of chance.
He has made many phone calls to a handful of Wyoming's elected officials and acknowledges he has a lot of work to do convincing those in charge that poker is indeed a game of skill.
"And I hope that if the legislature will allow games of chance, they would allow card games of skill," Shepard said, referring to the Indian casino that will soon open. "I think politicians are guarded in an area that can be as controversial as casino gaming. I think there's a little more support than they're willing to admit."
Shepard's "cautiously optimistic" his efforts will gain speed and cause his lawmakers to at least talk about this issue publicly. His phone calls have done at least one thing for the lawmakers, Shepard said.
"I think they're listening."
If you want to give Shepard a hand, he can be reached at [email protected].
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