Colorado poker leagues now legal

At Big Daddy’s Sports Bar in Pueblo, Colorado, Texas Hold’em is the game of the night every Tuesday, but the only money that is on the table is what players are using to buy drinks.

Poker player Jason Collins says, “It takes the pressure off when you don't have to keep putting money in. You can concentrate on the game."
The poker league at Big Daddy’s is run by Steve Oakes who admits to researching quite a bit about running a legitimate poker tournament and league poker play.
"New players ask me a lot of questions," says Oakes, "No one pays to play. There's no drink minimum. People can sit here all night and drink water if they want to."
The Gaming Commission of Colorado as well as the Colorado Attorney General caution players on illegal gambling activity.
Those who investigate these cases say the laws have some very fine lines, but three things must be in place for a poker game or other event to be considered "gambling."
Those three are called: consideration, chance, and reward. If those three elements are part of the game, it would be considered gambling, and must be regulated.
For example, if people pay into a poker tournament at an establishment, but are awarded prizes based on a random drawing and not based on how they did in the tournament, then the poker tournament is legal.
For more examples, and for questions about gambling answered by the Colorado Attorney General, visit the AG’s website.

News Added: 11 March, 2009

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