NewsNM:Swickard - W.C. Fields Movie, My Little Chickadee has this exchange: Zeth spreads his money on the table, he excitedly asks, "Is this a game of chance?" "Not the way I play it, no," comes the reply.
Commentary by Diane Dimond - The Great American pastime isn’t just one thing, it is lots of things. There is the game of baseball. There’s eating apple pie. And, there is poker. It’s the card game played by millions of Americans in nearly every community in every state of the union. The first two activities are perfectly legal, but poker? Well, that depends on where you play the game – at a card table or via the internet – and the state in which you live. I have such fond memories of playing poker I can’t imagine why some states still have laws labeling it as illegal gambling. When I was a kid growing up in Albuquerque my cash-strapped parents often had friends over for a rousing poker game. They threw modest New Year’s Eve parties where two-bit limit poker games were the centerpiece. After I moved out on my own, playing poker was a fun and inexpensive way to make new friends and interact with colleagues outside work. 
Well now, for the very first time, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York has ruled on the legality of poker and come down squarely on the side of card players. Hooray for Judge Jack Weinstein who ruled that poker is a game of skill not a game of chance. Therefore, he proclaimed in a lengthy opinion, it cannot be considered illegal gambling. I hope the word spreads far and wide. Judge Weinstein wrote. “Expert poker players draw on an array of talents, including facility with numbers, knowledge of human psychology, and power of observation and deception.” And, as if equating continued poker playing to on-the-job training Weinstein pointed out, “Players can use these skills to win, even if chance has not dealt them the better hand. The most skillful professionals earn the same celestial salaries as professional ballplayers.” Weinstein’s decision stemmed from the case of Lawrence DiCristina, 33, who hosted regular “Texas Hold ‘Em” poker games in a space in Staten Island, New York. He was convicted of operating an illegal gambling house because he took 5% off the top to cover his expenses. (Rent, staff salaries, etc.) Judge Weinstein overturned DiCristina’s conviction saying that the defendant’s activity was simply not covered by the federal anti-gambling law. He added that the nation’s gambling statutes were aimed at organized crime rings, not a Mom and Pop operation like DiCristina’s. Think of it like another game of skill – chess – where the winner gets to take home an upfront bet. The chess player doesn’t win because they got lucky. They win because they have the experience and expertise to beat their opponent. It’s all about the skill. Read full column
Well now, for the very first time, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York has ruled on the legality of poker and come down squarely on the side of card players. Hooray for Judge Jack Weinstein who ruled that poker is a game of skill not a game of chance. Therefore, he proclaimed in a lengthy opinion, it cannot be considered illegal gambling. I hope the word spreads far and wide. Judge Weinstein wrote. “Expert poker players draw on an array of talents, including facility with numbers, knowledge of human psychology, and power of observation and deception.” And, as if equating continued poker playing to on-the-job training Weinstein pointed out, “Players can use these skills to win, even if chance has not dealt them the better hand. The most skillful professionals earn the same celestial salaries as professional ballplayers.” Weinstein’s decision stemmed from the case of Lawrence DiCristina, 33, who hosted regular “Texas Hold ‘Em” poker games in a space in Staten Island, New York. He was convicted of operating an illegal gambling house because he took 5% off the top to cover his expenses. (Rent, staff salaries, etc.) Judge Weinstein overturned DiCristina’s conviction saying that the defendant’s activity was simply not covered by the federal anti-gambling law. He added that the nation’s gambling statutes were aimed at organized crime rings, not a Mom and Pop operation like DiCristina’s. Think of it like another game of skill – chess – where the winner gets to take home an upfront bet. The chess player doesn’t win because they got lucky. They win because they have the experience and expertise to beat their opponent. It’s all about the skill. Read full column
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