TEXAS HOLDEM ONLINE POKER

When asked for an opinion, Scott Mulford, spokesman for the office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, cited the Illinois gambling statute that flatly states, "A person commits gambling when he: Plays a game of chance or skill for money or other thing of value, unless excepted (by law)."

First offense is a misdemeanor punishable by fines and imprisonment up to a year. A second conviction can bring up to three years in prison.

Up to now, however, local police say they haven't had any complaints of poker tournaments.

And two Central Illinois prosecutors said the issue isn't so black and white. McLean County State's Attorney William Yoder and Livingston County State's Attorney Thomas Brown said each situation must be judged individually.

To them, a key question is: Who's making the money -- a private organizer or a charity? Some games are donating a portion of the money to good causes. The goal of some bars apparently is only to attract crowds. They run the events, collect the money, pay out prizes and keep no money for themselves.

Yoder sees where Texas holdem poker could fit a legal clause that exempts "offers of prizes, award or compensation to the actual contestants in any bona fide contest for the determination of skill, speed, strength or endurance."

Poker involves skill, he said, unlike roulette or other games where winning hinges completely on chance. Players pay a set entry fee to most Texas holdem contests, so the amount someone can lose is known at the outset, he added.

In that sense, Yoder said, Texas holdem poker could be in the same category as darts or pool tournaments, which bars host routinely.

"Whenever you get cards for money involved, people start thinking gambling," he said. "But we haven't had one complaint, not one. If we get one, we'll have to look at it."

Bar owners who make a profit from them might have bigger problems, Yoder said: "The Internal Revenue Service might want to talk to them."

"I haven't seen anything yet, not a single thing," Brown said. "Any complaints would have to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis depending on the circumstances. There's a wide range from one held in a home to a bar that does just that."

Businesses with liquor licenses might also run afoul of local ordinances prohibiting gambling, said Bloomington Deputy Corporation Counsel Hannah Eisner and Normal Corporation Counsel Steve Mahrt.

Bloomington's liquor law prohibits gambling, which could raise an issue of definitions.

"I think our liquor commission needs to make a determination," Eisner said.

Mahrt thinks his city's liquor law deals it straight.

"Our ordinance is pretty clear -- you can't play card games for money or things of value," he said.

So far, the discussion is academic because police say they're not getting any complaints about poker tournaments.

"Not a nickel's worth," Illinois State University Police Chief Ronald Swan said.

Privately, some law enforcement officials speculate average citizens have grown tolerant of gambling and look the other way because of the proliferation of televised gambling and online gambling and because the state of Illinois itself is so heavily involved in legal lotteries and casinos.

Publicly, police say they'll enforce the laws if they happen upon poker games. But they aren't devoting time or manpower to finding them, and it's unlikely they'll stumble upon many on their own.

"Who'd invite me to a poker game?" Bloomington police information officer Tom Sanders asked.