A North Carolina judge ruled earlier this week that poker is not a game of skill, as its supporters claimed, but rather, it is a game of chance, and thus illegal. The court's decision related to a lawsuit filed by a fledgling Durham poker club against former District Attorney Jim Hardin Jr., who claimed that poker wagering violates the law. The Joker Club planned to open their own poker establishment, and even began leasing a building in November. The club would have been operated for profit, with the club retaining a percentage of the wagers.

Although Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson said that gambling laws, which date back to the 19th century, are ambiguous and possibly outdated, he said that he still had issue his decision according to the existing legislation. According to North Carolina law, betting is illegal in games having a predominant element of chance. The Joker Club and its lawyers attempted to prove that poker was more a skill than a game of chance. Judge Hudson, however, failed to see matters their way and decided that poker is too heavily influenced by chance to be considered a skill game.

Source:  Poker777 Staff

Wednesday, 25 May 2005