PA Says Poker is Skill

March 11, 2009

There has been talk about Pennsylvania ruling poker a game of skill, and many say that as the first important legal decision of the year it is no wonder that poker is having such a great year. This of course was soon followed by other rulings that also agreed saying that poker was indeed skill based instead of chance.

But how did the case start? Why were they in a position of ruling on poker in the first place? Those that said that they should not have been discussing poker at all say that the case should not have been before the court because there were no laws broken, however, there are those that say that even though poker was ruled legal it does not mean that they were not still breaking the law.

Walter “Buzz” Watkins and Diane A. Dent were charged with running an illegal gambling establishment. They were facing 20 charges of violating the state’s anti-gambling statues, and that they had unlawfully solicited and allowed “persons to collect and assemble for the purpose of unlawful gambling.” The judge ruled that the charges were all to be dismissed and that they were not guilty.

The defendants were running a poker game, several in fact, in a rented garage. They rented a garage and set up poker tables but there was no rake or drop. However, they were expected to tip their dealers. Buzz says that he doesn’t really know what the fuss was, especially considering the fact that he has cops that come play in the poker games. He says that it was a waste of money.

Opponents however, say that he should have been charged for running a business illegally for he did not have a license to run the poker games. They say that the judge should have gotten him in trouble for that, and to let them walk was only sending a message to other people to set up their own poker operations.