Fight the Power
A recent event in Denver, Colorado highlights the critical need for every poker player to join the Pokers Player Alliance (www.theppa.org) and ensure your voice is heard in Congress.
Last week the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, along with the Denver Police Department, raided a local bar that was holding a $10 buy in poker game. The game was a long tradition at the bar and in no way could be considered anything more than a fun little diversion for the bar patrons. If a whopping 30 people participated, then a bank busting $300 was on the line.
If the actions of the CBI and DPD weren’t bad enough to start with, their actions after the raid are what really stress the problems poker players are having in this country. The Poker Players Alliance contacted the owners of the bar and offered their services, free of charge, in defending the game in court. The owners declined, because they were threatened by the CBI and DPD if they took such assistance. In a nutshell, the owners of the bar were told that if they fought the charges in court, with the assistance of the Poker Players Alliance, then the charges would be increased to Felony Gambling, and the bar would have to forfeit its liquor license.
Yes, dear readers, you read that correctly. The owners of the bar are being basically blackmailed by the Colorado Bureau of Investigations and the Denver Police Department. If they even hint that they will try to defend themselves in court, they risk felony charges and the business they have worked so hard to build. This is what the State of Colorado considers “Justice”.
I hope, with all my might, that you fully grasp this situation. A $10 poker game is being used to browbeat a local business. There is simply no way that this should be allowed to happen.
Your action, starting with your support of the PPA, is greatly needed. Please visit the site today, and sign up as a member.
If you need more justification, consider these facts.
In the City of Denver, a person can legally carry an ounce of marijuana without fear of arrest: but he can’t play in a $10 poker game.
In the City of Denver, a person can legally get on a motorcycle wearing only cutoff shorts and flip flops, and cruise down the highway at 90 MPH; but he can’t play in a $10 poker game.
In the City of Denver, criminals can and do roam the streets and mug citizens without fear of arrest; but a person can’t play in a $10 poker game.
In the City of Denver, a person needs only a paying customer with a doctor’s prescription and he can legally start growing marijuana in his home; but he can’t play in a $10 poker game.
In Colorado, a resident of Denver can drive 40 minutes to Black Hawk and play in poker tournaments all day long; but he can’t play in a $10 game in a bar in his own city.
And it is not only in Denver. In cities across America the law enforcement personnel devote time and effort raiding and prosecuting over small money games. There is simply no reasonable justification for their action, other than archaic laws written decades ago.
They use excuses such as “taxable income”, but ignore the fact that everyone that paid $10 to get in the game already paid the taxes on that $10.
They use excuses such as “crime threat”, but ignore the fact that the only people at risk in the situation are the ones playing a $10 poker game when armed overzealous law enforcement officials make their hero raids on the facility.
They use excuses such as “immoral behavior”, but ignore the porn shops, strip joints and legal carry and use of drugs that exist throughout the city.
In the end, it should be clear that my opinion is that a person should be allowed to spend his hard earned $10 in any way he personally deems appropriate. If he wants to sit down at a poker table with ten of his friends and play for $110, then that is his choice. There is more than sufficient crime in any major city, Denver included, which should take up the majority of a policeman’s time. Raiding a local bar over a $10 poker game is simply a poor usage of manpower and equipment.
If you agree with me, then I plead with you to support those that are fighting for your rights. Please visit www.theppa.org and become a member. Show our government that you support the rights of Americans to spend their own money in any way they want, without fear of government intimidation. President Obama, himself a known and avid poker player, recently directed federal law enforcement officials to stop harassing medical marijuana facilities. He made it clear that there were far more serious crimes for them to worry about. By becoming a member of the Poker Players Alliance, maybe we can convince the President that poker playing is even less of a concern than marijuana.
Last week the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, along with the Denver Police Department, raided a local bar that was holding a $10 buy in poker game. The game was a long tradition at the bar and in no way could be considered anything more than a fun little diversion for the bar patrons. If a whopping 30 people participated, then a bank busting $300 was on the line.
If the actions of the CBI and DPD weren’t bad enough to start with, their actions after the raid are what really stress the problems poker players are having in this country. The Poker Players Alliance contacted the owners of the bar and offered their services, free of charge, in defending the game in court. The owners declined, because they were threatened by the CBI and DPD if they took such assistance. In a nutshell, the owners of the bar were told that if they fought the charges in court, with the assistance of the Poker Players Alliance, then the charges would be increased to Felony Gambling, and the bar would have to forfeit its liquor license.
Yes, dear readers, you read that correctly. The owners of the bar are being basically blackmailed by the Colorado Bureau of Investigations and the Denver Police Department. If they even hint that they will try to defend themselves in court, they risk felony charges and the business they have worked so hard to build. This is what the State of Colorado considers “Justice”.
I hope, with all my might, that you fully grasp this situation. A $10 poker game is being used to browbeat a local business. There is simply no way that this should be allowed to happen.
Your action, starting with your support of the PPA, is greatly needed. Please visit the site today, and sign up as a member.
If you need more justification, consider these facts.
In the City of Denver, a person can legally carry an ounce of marijuana without fear of arrest: but he can’t play in a $10 poker game.
In the City of Denver, a person can legally get on a motorcycle wearing only cutoff shorts and flip flops, and cruise down the highway at 90 MPH; but he can’t play in a $10 poker game.
In the City of Denver, criminals can and do roam the streets and mug citizens without fear of arrest; but a person can’t play in a $10 poker game.
In the City of Denver, a person needs only a paying customer with a doctor’s prescription and he can legally start growing marijuana in his home; but he can’t play in a $10 poker game.
In Colorado, a resident of Denver can drive 40 minutes to Black Hawk and play in poker tournaments all day long; but he can’t play in a $10 game in a bar in his own city.
And it is not only in Denver. In cities across America the law enforcement personnel devote time and effort raiding and prosecuting over small money games. There is simply no reasonable justification for their action, other than archaic laws written decades ago.
They use excuses such as “taxable income”, but ignore the fact that everyone that paid $10 to get in the game already paid the taxes on that $10.
They use excuses such as “crime threat”, but ignore the fact that the only people at risk in the situation are the ones playing a $10 poker game when armed overzealous law enforcement officials make their hero raids on the facility.
They use excuses such as “immoral behavior”, but ignore the porn shops, strip joints and legal carry and use of drugs that exist throughout the city.
In the end, it should be clear that my opinion is that a person should be allowed to spend his hard earned $10 in any way he personally deems appropriate. If he wants to sit down at a poker table with ten of his friends and play for $110, then that is his choice. There is more than sufficient crime in any major city, Denver included, which should take up the majority of a policeman’s time. Raiding a local bar over a $10 poker game is simply a poor usage of manpower and equipment.
If you agree with me, then I plead with you to support those that are fighting for your rights. Please visit www.theppa.org and become a member. Show our government that you support the rights of Americans to spend their own money in any way they want, without fear of government intimidation. President Obama, himself a known and avid poker player, recently directed federal law enforcement officials to stop harassing medical marijuana facilities. He made it clear that there were far more serious crimes for them to worry about. By becoming a member of the Poker Players Alliance, maybe we can convince the President that poker playing is even less of a concern than marijuana.
Comments
Gary R Reed
Colorado State Director
Poker Players Alliance