Friday, May 27, 2005
Hold 'em Poker - Area Pol Jumps On Poker Craze; Sabini Wants Game Legal In Bars
May 27, 2005
by Neille Ilel,
Western Queens Editor
"Usually we play $20 a game, winner take all." Wolfrath, like countless other New York 20-somethings, has adopted the card game, poker, as a ritual bonding event. The poker craze has swept the city, attracting men, women, hipsters and computer nerds alike.
State Senator John Sabini of Jackson Heights wants to get New York State in on the action too. He introduced a bill that would legalize poker and poker tournaments in the state's bars and restaurants.
"Poker games like Texas Hold 'Em have become a mainstream national craze," he said, "more about the game itself than gambling."
In the Texas Hold 'Em version of poker, players are dealt three "flop" cards that are open on the table and two "hole" cards that only they see. Since players don't exchange cards with the dealer, the game centers around making strategic bets.
Ever since the lipstick camera allowed viewers to see players' "hole" cards on televised poker tournaments on the Travel Channel and ESPN, the game's popularity has exploded, with Texas Hold 'Em particularly grabbing viewers' and players' imaginations.
When Wolfrath saw a game on the Travel Channel on an airplane in 2003, he was amazed that watching poker on television could be so interesting. "You get to see the strategies," he said. "That's when we started playing games more regularly."
Sabini would like to see the state's businesses profit from the trend by being able to legally hold tournaments and poker nights. Under his plan, betting on the games with money would still be illegal, but establishments would give chips to each table and could award cash prizes to the top one or two players in a tournament.
"Let the bars and businesses gain from this," he said. "I know certain places are doing it anyway and you keep hearing (interest) from bar and restaurant owners."
Interest in poker is clearly evidenced by the "Texas Hold 'Em FAQ" link on the homepage of the Racing and Wagering Board's web site. "We've been getting a lot of questions from the charitable organizations that we regulate," said the board's spokeswoman Stacy Clifford.
The board only regulates approved games of chance-poker is not one of them-run for charity. As it stands, groups like the local church can't offer poker of any kind alongside its roulette or crap tables at fund-raising fairs.
When it comes to bars, restaurants and other for-profit entities, no games of chance are allowed. The New York State Constitution prohibits gambling, besides exceptions like horse racing and the lottery. Even a friendly card game at someone's house is ostensibly illegal, but police are unlikely to take an interest in stopping those games as long as "the house" isn't taking a cut.
Sabini's legislation would allow businesses regulated by the state liquor board to apply for a "social poker" license from the local government. In the case of Queens, businesses would apply to the City Council.
President of the New York Nightlife Association David Rabin is in favor of the move. "It's a realistic recognition of the explosion of poker," he said, "and there's no reason not to bring it out of back rooms."
Not everyone is convinced that poker is a harmless social phenomenon. Bellerose State Senator Frank Padavan takes issue with promoting gambling, in any form. "If the answer to everything is that it's become a 'national craze,' as Senator Sabini states in his legislative memorandum, then I suppose we should also support other 'national crazes.' In the 1960s it was heroin, the 1970s cocaine. What kind of common sense is that?"
Padavan pointed out that gambling can be as addictive as any drug, adding that "millions of New Yorkers are compulsive gamblers," who have to contend with state-sponsored gambling from all sides: Quick Draw, slots, horses, Off-Track Betting and video lottery terminals at race tracks. "You name it-it's everywhere," he said. "Every study out there is showing that gambling addictions are rising at an alarming rate."
Robert Bookman, counsel for the nightlife association, sees the explosion of legal gambling as an argument in the other direction. "That boat left the dock a long time ago," he said in response to the ethical questions of promoting a vice. "(Poker) is a hugely popular thing. It's going on everywhere, so you might as well legalize and regulate it."
Sabini's legislation defines "social poker" as a game where there's no money being wagered, admission is not more than $50 and games can't last more than 24 hours.
But is poker any fun when the stakes aren't cold hard cash? Weekly poker player 28-year-old Ethan Fisher of Brooklyn says sure. "It's to the point now where people just do it competitively." A no-betting game would still be fun. "The stakes are just different. You'd be winning or losing pride."
Wolfrath agreed. The stakes at his games are relatively low, and since he plays with the same group, it's a matter of playing well and getting bragging rights over your compatriots, not taking their money.
Both men would be happy to move their games to a bar once in awhile. "It would definitely be more fun in a social setting," Wolfrath said. He'd like to play against new opponents without having to go to an Atlantic City casino and risk losing his shirt to a professional card player. Unless, of course, the card sharks decide to come to the neighborhood bar.
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