 | austin poker club not going down without a fight |
The owner of the APC sent out a message to the membership summarizing what happened last Thursday. It sounds likely that the case is going to go to court, and that they are going to fight in what could become a landmark case.
While I continue to be skeptical that the APC will emerge victorious from a court case, I strongly support their efforts to get poker into the forum of public debate. The message raised the possibility of lobbying the legislature to change the laws regarding poker, and also stated that the APC is not planning to try to settle out of court; they want a clear legal decision.
This is great news because there is very little Texas case history on "grey area" operations like the APC. The closest case to what the APC will be defending that I know of is Gaudio v. Texas 1994, in which some guys had rented an apartment to play poker in 3 nights a week. These guys were found guilty of keeping a gambling place, largely on the basis that they were taking a cut from every pot to pay for things like rent, food, etc.
Although that case is more black-and-white than the APC's, it will still be problematic for the APC. The law states that one of the three prerequisites for a game to be legal is that "no person received any economic benefit other than personal winnings". The case has two problematic statements:
Based on the plain language of the statute no person can receive an economic benefit. If we apply the plain language of the statute, the jury's finding is not against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. In this case the waitress and dealer received tips from the players. The receipt of money as tips is an economic benefit.I think the APC is not going to be able to demonstrate that no person receive economic benefit; after all, they operated it as a business, complete with paid dealers and waitresses.If we interpret the statute as the practice commentary suggests, i.e., that no person gambling there received an economic benefit, the evidence still supports the jury's finding. The dealer received money as a tip for each hand he dealt. He played poker with the others from time to time. The dealer's tips were [*7] an economic benefit to a person gambling there . Therefore, someone who gambled at the apartment received an economic benefit other than personal winnings.
Striking the economic benefit clause of the law would certainly make the APC 100% legal, but it would also open the door for legal poker clubs (not casinos -- games like blackjack are prohibited as they are house-favored games) all over the state -- something that I doubt the courts intend to do.
Here and here are the laws that the APC owners have been charged with. Here is a more detailed Austin American-Statesman article on the bust.
Great blog. It's nice to be here! Universal is feature of Lazy Mistery: http://www.indymedia.org/ , Mistery can Roll Chair to Anticipate Tournament you should be very Astonishing , right Girl will Give Slot without any questions Greedy is feature of Collective Plane
Posted by: Jordan Adams on December 5, 2005 06:02 AMetrust ez firewall , envoi de mms gratuitement
Posted by: M. Pacho on December 6, 2005 09:14 AMgratuit hard , reality show portugal camera..
Posted by: alberto on December 8, 2005 05:19 AMbague or homme ,mere avec jeune homme..
Posted by: jose on December 12, 2005 04:53 AMgalerie jeune mec gratuit , plus jeune maman monde
Posted by: tebes on December 16, 2005 02:39 PMacrobatwarez p2p fr , mise a jour norton 2003 , p2p fr
Posted by: C.Wally on December 21, 2005 05:30 AMjava and sun and environnement and telecharger , telecharger real
Posted by: ana on December 22, 2005 07:07 AMautoradio lecteur cd mp3 , autoradio mp3 dvd port usb , annonces musicien pays loire , baladeur mp3 samsung , lecteur mp3
Posted by: mirtha on December 22, 2005 08:03 AMbaladeur and cd and mp3 , storex mobikey mp3 sf20 256mo tuner
Posted by: carpero on December 22, 2005 09:14 AMwhy cant we live together tim thomas parole chanson
Posted by: marcko on December 23, 2005 12:40 PM Posted by: debt consolidation on December 24, 2005 05:25 PMcarte credit mastercard , carte d amour et d amitie
Posted by: Maty on December 26, 2005 10:17 AMcarte credit mastercard , carte d amour et d amitie
Posted by: auxil on December 26, 2005 03:03 PMMsn 7.0 telecharger gratuitement
Posted by: Tiger on December 26, 2005 08:36 PMet astuce de pokemon vert feuille , code astuce sims 2
Posted by: franco on December 27, 2005 06:53 AMcrack antivirus nod32 , e trust antivirus , patch fr antivirus avg 70 , avg antivirus gratuit v.7.3
Posted by: nancy on December 27, 2005 07:46 AMEmule telecharger film gratuit
Posted by: Agus on December 27, 2005 03:55 PMtelecharger jeu video gratuit , vente jeu video occasion sur pc
Posted by: jessy on December 28, 2005 02:39 PMpar correspondance , boutique de vetement africain , achat
Posted by: alexio on December 28, 2005 03:37 PMjeu role gratuit
Posted by: Sarnicov on December 30, 2005 08:33 AMgay anal position , video penetration anal
Posted by: zorro on December 30, 2005 12:41 PMYour wishes will come alive
Posted by: Frijolito on December 30, 2005 09:34 PMFree video , enjoy your self
Posted by: Nestor on December 30, 2005 10:53 PMmontage and video , video x
Posted by: lester on December 31, 2005 11:10 AMvideo comique foot ball , salon de la video hot , convertisseur video
Posted by: laporte on December 31, 2005 12:23 PMantivirus logiciel , kaspersky antivirus personal v 5.0
Posted by: ranitta on January 4, 2006 06:38 AMfichier icone windows , impossible supprimer icone volume
Posted by: yerby on January 4, 2006 08:13 AMTelechargement theme windows
Posted by: Elena on January 4, 2006 02:28 PMTelecharger msn messenger 7.0 last version
Posted by: Xerta on January 4, 2006 04:03 PMjeune lope soumise , jeune teens cochon
Posted by: pendert on January 6, 2006 08:24 AMTotal free phtot sex
Posted by: Odiseo on January 6, 2006 08:08 PMSex know nothing about colors
Posted by: Jilardo on January 6, 2006 10:06 PMHorney video clips
Posted by: Wiliam on January 10, 2006 03:38 PMjeu de role francais , jeu de billard a telecharge
Posted by: dowerman on January 11, 2006 05:01 AMjeu plein air d adolescent , jeu tetris
Posted by: leoneza on January 11, 2006 07:06 AMPhoto files
Posted by: Filip on January 11, 2006 02:03 PMAll for your PC, Iconos PNG, Wallpapers and more !!!
Posted by: Aramis on January 13, 2006 09:24 PMWe have just what you need so that enjoyments in your moments of leisure
Posted by: Ecate on January 14, 2006 12:31 AMFans of the Ass Parade
Posted by: Parcanto on January 16, 2006 03:45 PMMountains of big round juicy ass
Posted by: Dimitrius on January 16, 2006 06:53 PMskyblog trucs et astuce msn , truc et astuce les sims 2
Posted by: advices on January 18, 2006 07:13 AMtelecharger musique sur lecteur mp3 , telecharger clip video
Posted by: caracocus on January 18, 2006 08:22 AMConversion audio cd in mp3
Posted by: Deco on January 18, 2006 03:36 PMAccess to the best place of discharges
Posted by: Phantom on January 18, 2006 06:50 PMTo the loyal fans of the Ass Parade
Posted by: Wrafth on January 21, 2006 02:21 PMWell...well...well...look at what we have here...
Posted by: Leviatan on January 21, 2006 03:30 PMThis a great site de musique classique mariage , partition musique bandas
Posted by: antonio on January 24, 2006 10:10 AMPour Hommes internaut ici!, great blog my friend kisses and good luck!!
Posted by: anna on January 27, 2006 06:50 AMIts so great when i feel the satisfaction,,its so cool!!
Posted by: alesandro on January 27, 2006 08:51 AM..so be sure to join us today for the best shit on the internet!!
Posted by: peterblack on January 27, 2006 10:27 AMExclusive videos without censoring
Posted by: Targa on January 27, 2006 01:04 PMThe biggest collection of classified photography
Posted by: Quintin on January 27, 2006 02:53 PM