Texas Showdown About Texas HoldEm Poker

Published: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

TEXAS SHOWDOWN ABOUT TEXAS HOLDEM POKER

There could be poker fireworks in the next Texas State legislature


A new lobby group wants to make Texas hold 'em poker legal in Texas.

Mike Lavigne, treasurer of the newly formed Texas Poker PAC, said the growing popularity of games like Texas hold 'em, fueled by televised tournaments, has spawned a cottage industry of underground games that warrants state regulation. By licensing and legalising venues for such games, he added, the state could reap much-needed revenue.

"What we envision is that poker games could be run along the same lines that the state uses for charitable bingo," Lavigne said. "Poker is a multibillion-dollar industry in this country, and it is downright silly that Texans can't benefit from that. Texas charities are losing out on millions of dollars because of our antiquated laws."

Lavigne said his organisation is laying the groundwork to push for legalised poker during next month's special legislative session to rewrite the state's school finance laws. If the task cannot be accomplished during the month-long special session, he said, the group will try again during the 140-day regular session that will begin in January.

There will be opposition; Suzii Paynter, a lobbyist for the Baptist General Convention of Texas, said that gambling forces are again trying to mesmerise lawmakers with the prospect of easy money. "To say that poker games are going to pay for public schools or any of the state's other needs is a stretch," Paynter said. "What it will do is create another gambling industry in our state that will run amok. That goes well beyond a harmless game of entertainment."

Lavigne said that any poker legislation would contain funding for programs that combat gambling addiction and related problems.

Texas law prohibits commercial establishments such as bars and restaurants from hosting card games where players risk money or something else of value for the chance to win a prize, according to the attorney general's office.

Several states allow some sort of legal poker at casinos and other venues, but laws vary widely, Lavigne said. Texas does not allow casino gaming.

The state comptroller's office has no estimates on how much tax money could be raised from legal poker, but Lavigne said industry experts have put the figure at as high as $500 million annually.

Gambling initiatives have historically faced a struggle in the Texas Legislature. Lawmakers in the 1970s and much of the '80s stoutly resisted efforts to create a state lottery or allow pari-mutuel wagering at horse and dog tracks. But faced with looming budget shortfalls, the Legislature gave ground on both fronts and allowed voters to decide whether they would accept state-authorised gambling.

Voters gave the go-ahead for horse race wagering in 1987 and authorised the lottery four years later.

Well-funded lobbying efforts to allow casino-style slot machines were blunted in 2003, even when the state was facing a $9.9 billion budget hole, and again in 2004 and 2005 when lawmakers were trying to craft a plan to end the state's reliance on local school property taxes to pay for public schools.

Lavigne said that given the proliferation of underground card tournaments, unregulated Internet gambling and competition from neighboring states, it no longer makes sense to keep Texas out of the game.