FEELING THE HEAT IN TEXAS

20 April 2007

Torrid week for poker entrepreneurs using online and traditional games to make money

News reports suggest that the heat may be on in the Lone Star State, with reports of three seperate raids on poker organisers this week.

In the first report, from KXAN News in Austin Texas, Travis County deputies raided an Internet cafe in Pflugerville yesterday (Thursday) confiscating a number of computers, detaining operator Zorica Vilotic, and taking the names of players on the premises.

Commenting on the appropriately named Operation Royal Flush, a sheriff's spokesman said the computers were running gambling software, and customers were paid via magnetic-strip cards. He said that police plan other operations to shut down similar venues in the sheriff's jurisdiction.

This was not a case of online gambling in the usually understood sense, as the Internet was not accessed. Although the games were played on computers, customers physically paid their deposits on arrival at the premises and collected any winnings in cash when they departed.

Describing what police found on the premises, Sheriff Greg Hamilton said, "This was pretty elaborate. It was computers, normally. The people have the big eight-liner machines, but they had computers in here." He went on to explain that the computers used software offering bingo, keno, scorching seven, blackjack and video poker, but did not allow online gambling over the Internet.

It appeared that the raid was the culmination of a sting operation, with undercover officers using the facility on multiple occasions prior to moving in on the evidence they had assembled.

Further afield, more conventional busts took place, targeting individuals who profited by taking a rake from poker games they had organised at two veterans posts raided for illegal gambling in Dallas last weekend.

Poker games at the AmVets Post No. 106, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1837 were raided on consecutive nights.

The first raid came last Friday evening at the AmVets post where three operators will face charges and six players were issued citations. The VFW bust took place Saturday evening, resulting in 11 cases against operators and 47 citations.

In both cases, approximately 10 percent of the pot was pocketed by the house, making the games illegal, police reported. Lt. Christina Smith of the Dallas police said poker operations become illegal when the house takes a cut from the pot.

"The money paid in should be the same amount paid out, and games should take place in a private setting" Smith told KHOU Dallas morning news.

In Texas, keeping an illegal gambling place is a Class A misdemeanor punishable with up to a year in jail and a $4 000 fine.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa

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