Bar
Poker Games Shut Down
November 22, 2004
Authorities have asked local bars to voluntarily shut down poker games by the end of the month. Cheyenne Police Chief Bob Fecht said the poker games count as gambling and are illegal. Both the city attorney and the attorney general agree with this decision, he said.
Bar poker games also are being shut down in Laramie and Casper, Fecht said. Bar poker games are a statewide problem, said Tom Montoya, chief of enforcement for the Wyoming Liquor Division.
He said there isn't a statewide consensus about what constitutes gambling under the criminal code. Montoya said state law allows social gambling, but it becomes a problem when poker games are taken out of the home and into a bar. He said when bars start to turn a profit, even if it's indirectly, it becomes professional gambling.
He said bars likely profit indirectly in drink sales when they bring in the poker crowd, but the question hasn't been formally answered.
''Hopefully, through the attorney general's office and the Legislature, we'll get clarification,'' he said.
Games were shut down at Snake River Pub and Grill on Friday night, said Troy Meeks, the establishment's general manager.
He said several bars have hosted games for months, and Snake River followed these same guidelines.
''It's a way to get people in on a Tuesday night,'' Meeks said. He added this gray area in the law has created confusion and he'd like to see the matter sorted out legislatively.
''I want to play by the rules,'' he said. Games also were shut down at Two Bar Bowling, said owner Myron Langhoff. He said poker games had been going on at his establishment for six months without any problems.
Before starting the games, he called the Cheyenne Police Department to see if there would be a problem.
''We were told as long as we didn't make any direct profit there's nothing wrong with the game itself,'' he said. ''We can't charge people to play. We can't take a cut. We can't provide dealers; they have to provide their own.''
Langhoff said even added a few rules of his own such as all players have to be 21 years old and the most anyone can lose is $25. ''We thought we were operating within the requirements of the state law,'' Langhoff said.
He said the games were run three nights a week, attracting up to 30 people for a game. While shutting down poker nights will cost the business money, Langhoff said it won't be a major loss. He said instead of buying drinks from the bar while they play poker, fans will likely buy from package liquor stores before playing a game at home.
