Bangor: Police raid poker tournament

BANGOR, Maine — When Maine State Police raided the 24-Hour Club on Lincoln Street on Sunday afternoon, they found three tables covered with poker chips and about 30 people playing poker.

What they didn’t find was a tournament games license to hold the card game, Lt. David Bowler, commanding officer for the state police special investigation unit, said Tuesday.

"It was clear they were playing a Texas Hold ’em tournament or some poker tournament," he said.

The 24-Hour Club is a nonalcoholic club for those recovering from alcoholism or dealing with problems with alcohol.

State laws require establishments that hold gambling events with more than $1,000 waged in a 24-hour period to get a license before holding the event. A tournament games license fee of $5 a person is charged by the state, with a maximum of 100 players allowed who can gamble a maximum of $100 each.

Adding the license fee onto the entry fee is allowed by state law, Bowler said.

Each of the players at the 24-Hour Club on Sunday paid an ante of $100 to participate and could rebuy into the game if they fell below a certain amount, Bowler said.

In all, more than $6,150 in cash was seized and three people were identified as organizers. Those three have not been arrested but are expected to face possible felony charges, Bowler said.

"We’re getting all our case facts together to give to the [District Attorney’s] Office," he said.

Bowler said he’s not sure who was benefiting from the illegal card game, but added, "I can only assume [24-Hour Club members] are because they are the ones holding the tournament at their club."

The gaming task force raid was led by the lieutenant and included two Maine State Police sergeants, two detectives and two troopers.

"Everyone was very cooperative," Bowler said. "I think this is just a bunch of card players who get together to enjoy the game, but unfortunately it’s not legal" without a license.

"There are a lot more games going on like this that people don’t know about with a lot larger stakes," he added. "There are tournaments out there in the Bangor-Brewer area with $1,000 entries."

Because a head count is needed to get a tournament games license, possible changes are in the works, Bowler said.

"We’re trying to get a flat fee passed to simplify things," he said, adding that other changes in gambling laws also are possible.

"This organization could have gotten a tournament games license, which would have allowed them to hold their tournament" at a cost of $150, Bowler said. "The bottom line is people don’t want to be bothered by it."

News Added: 16 April, 2008

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