North Carolina Poker Legal Wranglings

From George Smart's RTP Poker website (http://www.georgesmart.com/poker):

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Last Update: Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Poker Litigation Timeline

June 2005: 5th Street Entertainment LLC through their attorney Bill Bunting sue NC Attorney General Roy Cooper, Guilford County District Attorney Stuart Albright, NC Alcohol Law Enforcement Director Mike Robertson, Mecklenburg County ABC Enforcement Chief William Cox and the state of North Carolina for loss of business because these officials illegally told restaurants and bars hosting no-fee poker games that they could lose their state liquor licenses. The company has asked a judge to declare this type of poker tournament legal and seeks full reimbursement for legal fees. Pretrial motions start at 10am August 29 in Charlotte.

May 2005: Judge Orlando Hudson in Durham rules against The Joker Club LLC, affirming that poker violates North Carolina's gambling laws and therefore Joker Club's proposed casino-style poker room would be as well.

April 2005: Charges are dropped against all parties in the Ham's case. Prosecutors decide not to pursue charges as organizers consulted the NC ABC Commission before the event and a staff attorney said that poker under their circumstances was not illegal.

March 2005: Shortly after the Andrews case, NC ALE raids Ham's in Greensboro and cites Zack Luttrell and Jeremy Kowalski, owners of 5th Street Entertainment. Their company organized a no-entry-fee tournament that night for Ham's. ALE agents charges that Ham's no-fee poker night is gambling and therefore illegal.

March 2005: Joshua August Andrews through his attorney Davis North pleads guilty to misdemeanor charges of gambling and violations regarding the possession of alcohol on unauthorized premises. Undercover NC ALE agents in Greensboro busted his $1,000 a person hold'em games in February, one of many that organizer Andrews ran out of a business suite in Greensboro's Lawndale Business Park. Andrews, who moved to play poker full time in Las Vegas, received a suspended sentence and the rest of the players forfeited their money ($25,000) which will go to the state.

November 2004: The Joker Club LLC, owned by Howard Fierman of Cary, sues Durham District Attorney Jim Hardin, challenging his stance on the legality of a poker club where players would bet against one another. Fierman, through his attorney Marcus Hill, argues that poker is a game of skill and wants a judge to exempt the game from the state's anti-gambling law so the business can open a poker room. Hardin had told the company in a September 24 letter that the club would be illegal. The lawsuit, filed November 15, asks the judge to rule that poker is not a game of chance.

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