Houston Officials Nix Charity Poker Tournament

There is the letter of the law and then there is the spirit of the law. Apparently, officials in Houston, Texas only care about the former, as they shut down a charity poker tournament that was supposed to be held this weekend.

Organizers had planned the event to be held at Reliant Park and had already sold $100,000 in tickets, all to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The goal was actually to raise as much as $500,000 for the charity. Unfortunately, any sort of gambling is illegal in Texas unless a) the event is held at a private venue, b) all participants have an equal chance to win, and c) no person or group receives part of the proceeds.

According to attorney Terry Yates, who has dealt with gambling cases in the past, the charity tournament violates the first exception above.

"The statute doesn't say closed to the public," he said. "It says a private game. Could you hold a private game in a public facility? I doubt it very much."
Needless to say, the tournament’s organizers were very upset over the unexpected turn of events.

"What happened here just cannot happen again," said Leslie Scofield of Susan G. Komen Foundation. "We've lost a lot of money for the charity."