Restaurant takes poker off menu

GREENSBORO -- State alcohol agents broke up a poker tournament Wednesday night at a restaurant in southwest Greensboro, hoping to send a message that playing poker for prizes is illegal even when players have no money at stake.

No arrests were made, but the state Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement confiscated poker tables, cards, chips, gaming records and other material from Ham's at 3017 High Point Road. The gaming equipment belonged to the poker tournament's promoter, 5th Street Entertainment of Charlotte.

Players competed with gaming chips that they received free, so they were not betting in the traditional sense. But the restaurant chain paid 5th Street to host the card games that led to a championship competition and the grand prize -- a trip to Las Vegas, said Rodney Johnson, ALE supervisor for the Greensboro district.

"Our information indicated it had a value of about $10,000," Johnson said of the Vegas trip. "Nothing comes out of the players' pockets (to play), but it's still a violation of the statute."

Johnson said that Ham's apparently was staging such "Texas hold 'em" poker nights at restaurants in Greensboro and elsewhere. Each night's winners won gift certificates up to $25, then advanced to the next level of play, leading ultimately to a championship, he said.

Efforts to reach 5th Street Entertainment for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.

Ham's spokesman Greg Stephens said the tournament is being played in many other restaurants in addition to Ham's throughout North Carolina "and has been a great source of fun and excitement for guests at no cost."

"Ham's restaurants were assured by the promotions company that an opinion had been issued by the ALE that this form of entertainment is in no way a violation of any gaming or ALE regulations," Stephens said in a statement.

But Johnson said that North Carolina's gambling law bans any game of chance played for something of value, regardless of whether players have anything at stake.

Exceptions are made for such nonprofit ventures as church or civic club raffles.

Johnson said that in the past year, the popularity of poker has skyrocketed with the televising of poker matches on ESPN and other cable TV channels.

Numerous bars, restaurants and clubs statewide have tried to bend North Carolina's gambling laws to tap into the fad, Johnson said.

Late last year, ALE agents raided a secretive poker club in a northwest Greensboro office suite, which advertised its high-stakes games on the Internet. Agents cited 15 people for gambling violations in that incident.

The penalty for breaking the gambling law is relatively light, usually a fine of several hundred dollars at most.

Bars and restaurants that serve alcohol also could face disciplinary action by state alcohol officials.

In his statement. Stephens noted that Ham's was not cited or fined as a result of Wednesday's events, "and is cooperating with the ALE by suspending all Texas Hold 'em games until this matter is resolved."

Johnson said his agency's inquiry into Wednesday's tournament is continuing and charges of some kind remain possible.

Johnson said the questionable profit motive in the Ham's tournament was twofold: The restaurant chain paid the Charlotte promoter a substantial fee for hosting the games. In turn, the tournament brought Ham's more customers, whose food and drink purchases boosted restaurant profits, he said.

Johnson said he hopes that ALE's intervention Wednesday will get the word out that no matter how its profit motive is disguised, gambling for anything of value is against state law.

By Taft Wireback Staff Writer
News & Record

News Added: 04 March, 2005

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