Fairfax alert for illegal poker games

CHANTILLY, Va. - If you want to play high-stakes poker, take your game to Las Vegas. That was the warning Wednesday from Fairfax County Police, who are cracking down on what they say is a significant increase in illegal high-stakes poker games.

Since August, county police have busted two major illegal poker games in Centreville and Reston. The raids resulted in 37 arrests _ felony charges for the five game operators and misdemeanors for the 32 participants, who faced fines of up to $500. Police seized $26,000 at the games.

Capt. David Vice, who heads the county's Organized Crime and Narcotics squad, said some of the people who run the illegal games make more than $150,000 a year by collecting a share of every pot.

The games cause numerous other problems, he said. People who ran the Centreville game, for instance, kept guns in the house because of the large amounts of money changing hands. The guns were stolen, and one was found in a field where children play, Vice said.

Illegal poker games have swelled as the game has become more popular on television and elsewhere, Vice said.

"We get numerous calls from the community, often from family members of people who have gambled away their savings accounts ... even their paychecks," Vice said.

Playing poker, even at high stakes, is not illegal in Virginia. A poker game becomes illegal when you have a professional operator who makes money on the game, typically by collecting a "rake" of up to 10 percent of all money wagered.

Vice also said it is illegal in Virginia to gamble on poker Web sites that have become popular recently, because such sites also collect a rake. But he said his department has not made enforcement of online poker gambling a priority.

Gambling laws vary from state to state, but most make an exception similar to Virginia, allowing games that are not professionally operated, said Ian Pulsipher, a policy analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Also, in some states poker has been defined as a game of skill, which is legal, as opposed to an illegal game of chance. Virginia makes no such distinction.

In Fairfax, Vice said his squad has used informants and undercover officers to infiltrate the games.

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press Writer

News Added: 26 March, 2005

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