Sen. John Cowdery, a Republican Senator from Anchorage, Alaska, is a leading proponent for implementing a system similar to those used in California and in Washington State to allow legal, licensed poker rooms in Alaska.

The Senator says that most nights, as many as fifteen illegal poker games are played in Anchorage alone. Cowdery says that if Alaska legalizes card rooms, the state will have better control of gambling, and will be able to tax businesses that benefit from the poker games. Other state senators have reserved comment until the bill is finalized.

The Washington and California laws allow card room operators to charge only a flat per-game fee. They do not allow the house to charge percentages of winnings or to have a house dealer playing. The laws also restrict losses by allowing players to purchase only a limited number of chips each day. In addition, each game room would have to host charity tournaments once each quarter to support education in the state.

The proposed bill would allow one poker room per 30,000 residents of an area, meaning that the three largest cities, Juneau, Anchorage, and Fairbanks could open a total of 11 rooms. Estimates state that if 13 rooms were opened, they could generate $2.5 million, not counting additional purchases at the pubs.

Owners of pubs and lounges welcome the idea, hoping that regular poker games will bring in more business, in addition to the revenues generated by the games themselves.

The benefits to the state are significant. Each license would cost $25,000, and there would be a $10,000 per-table tax each year. Poker fans around the United States hope that the bill will pass and start a trend throughout the country.

Source:  Poker777 Staff

Friday, 22 April 2005