Almaden group revives poker tournament fundraiser

Almaden, California - It seems Lady Luck is smiling once more on the Almaden Business Association as it attempts to resurrect a poker tournament fundraiser it was forced to cancel last year only a few days before the event was to take place.

The association is cashing in on a recent change to California state law that enables nonprofits to temporarily circumvent anti-gambling regulations.

The law, which went into effect Jan. 1, will allow the association to hold its casino-style poker tournament as long as 90 percent of the money collected after recouping expenses is donated to charity. The group plans to hold a poker event to raise funds for the Almaden branch library.

Realtor Rich Crowley, president of the Almaden Business Association, said the association made an unfortunate mistake last year, checking only with local authorities to determine the legality of holding a poker tournament as a fundraiser.

"We were under the impression that it would not be a problem because it was for charity," Crowley said. "We were then told by the state attorney general's office that we had been misinformed."

Crowley said the attention the situation received after the attorney general had them shut down the event mobilized opponents to urge changing the law to allow for nonprofit use of gambling to raise money in certain situations.

There are still strict regulations in place that control the type of gambling that is allowed, how much profit can be retained by the organizer and who may be licensed to hold such an event.
Nonprofits must have been established for at least three years to qualify under the new law; no one under 21 is permitted to attend, and events are limited in duration to five hours, among other rules.

Meeting the strict guidelines has been challenging, Crowley said, but he is happy to be able to hold the event.

Despite the change in plans last year, the association was able to exceed its fundraising goals, collecting around $17,000 for the children's section of the Almaden Branch Library.

Mary McLane, executive director of the San Jose Public Library Foundation, said the money raised by the Almaden Business Association last year helped augment many aspects of the children's library portion of the project.

"(The Almaden Business Association) is very supportive of us," McLane said. "We greatly appreciate what they have done and continue to do for us. The money they raise helps us make our children's libraries more fully alive."

This year's poker tournament will once again benefit the children's libraries. In conjunction with Hicklebees in Willow Glen, the association is helping to plan the Doris Dillon Children's Library Visiting Author Series, which will be held next spring.

The series will feature several authors of popular children's books who will visit San Jose libraries to read their stories aloud for local children.

Crowley said he and the other members of the association hope to continue to support San Jose children's library programming.

"We feel that we can do a lot of good by raising money for this sort of thing," Crowley said.

courtesy Lydia Sarraille

News Added: 14 September, 2007

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