Should Poker Be A Crime?

As you can read in this blog entry over on Riding the F Train , a number of NYC Poker clubs have been raided by the police. This includes one of the clubs I've posted about before -- including a note that I wasn't going to worry about the lgality. (Bad read on my part.) Everyone in the NYC poker scene is avoiding all games. As far as I know, the club that I visit that is not in Manhattan was left alone, at least it hasn't been reported as one of the raided clubs.

This silliness has gotten me thinking: maybe it's time for a real lobbying effort to legalize poker. I think it's ludicrous that the poker players who sit on Wall Street, and buy and sell stock are permitted to do what they do, but the ones who sat in the Upper West Side Club doing much the same thing get busted.

I wonder: is it really hopeless to try to get poker purely legalized, and out of the "maybe it's not too illegal for players even if it's illegal for those who charge time"? Will cash games in your own home always be illegal? Will the east-coast states ever at least adopt the "not-for-profit home games are permitted" that we already have in Colorado and other western states?

But, I suppose my biggest question would be: would a lobbying effort be successful? Could a grassroots group convince the NY City Council (or, for that matter, any city council or state assembly in the country) to legalize poker? Will open poker games remain the prerogative only of California, Nevada, and one city in New Jersey?

I spent the last five years of my life doing non-profit work, trying to get community members and businesspeople focused on a lofty goal that many people don't think anyone can achieve. I've assisted (in a 501(c)(3)-compliant way) with lobbying efforts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Maybe I actually have the resume and the skill set to make a go at a lobbying effort to legalize poker? I fear, though, that maybe it's a blind alley. Thoughts?

New York Busts Hit the News

There is finally a News Day story up about the poker busts. [Update: There are now also stories in The New York Times, The New York Post, an AP Story, and another News Day story. One story played at 11:00 PM on a local news station that now has the AP story up. They have a picture of blackjack and said last night that these clubs had blackjack games, which they didn't.] It is really funny: for weeks, I've been trying to get the address of Play Station, which is not an easy club to get into (compared to the New York Players' Club (which I have been calling the Upper West Side Club until now). So, now I have Play Station's address, but it won't do me much good.

I find the cop's comment interesting: "It's not illegal to play poker, only to profit from it". Do they mean, to profit from the running of the game, or to profit period? Does that mean if you are a losing player, and have records to prove it, you aren't committing a crime but those of us who win are criminals? [Update: Later articles have said it isn't illegal to play regardless, although the situation is still unclear. All the stories are reporting that no players were arrested; they just had their names checked for outstanding warrants.]

Frankly, the most exasperating thing about this is it is not clear in the least where one crosses the criminal line. I have googled my brains out trying to find what the law actually is, and it just is unclear whether or not I am committing a crime by just playing, or if both the proprietor and I are committing a crime together.