This Can’t Be a Good Idea

“Hey, I’ve got a bonafide winner of an idea here!”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Ok, stay with me on this…charge people $120 for a two-day seminar on poker!”

“Sounds good, but it’s been done before.”

“Yes, but not for kids.”

“Brilliant!”

That’s right. The Nevada North's Kids Poker Tour plans to hold a two-day event during June in Vancouver in which it will teach kids about poker. The first day and a half will be instruction, the final half day will be a tournament. Let me say that again. It’s for KIDS. And they are being charged $120 a piece.

[Insert head shaking here]

Of course, like any defenders of gambling, organizers are promoting the tour as a way for kids to learn math and communications skills, good sportsmanship, analytical thinking, and how to perform under adversity. Frankly, I think it’s just a way to turn kids onto the game so they’ll plunk money down at a casino as soon as they hit legal age. Sort of like using Joe Camel to promote cigarettes – attract the kids now and they’ll grow up to be revenue generators.

British Columbia’s Solicitor General John Les agrees:
"I'd like the whole tour to pass us by. I think this is inappropriate. I think this is targeting a vulnerable population," he said. "They want to come in here and get kids involved in poker. I think their objective is clear, they just want to raise customers for tomorrow."
Don’t get me wrong, I love poker. But I believe poker and gambling, in general, is an activity for responsible adults who understand its pitfalls and how to be responsible with money. Sure, Larry Klatt, spokesman for the Kids Poker Tour said that the kids will be taught about responsible gambling, but I don’t buy it.

"This is more like an educational workshop focusing on skills development," said Klatt.

Any more B.S. you’d like to spin?

Plus, on top of how absolutely ludicrous of an idea this is, it is not going to help the cause of gambling, particularly online poker, as word of this spreads in the United States. With the recent push, however weak or strong it might be, to make online poker illegal in the US, making legislators think that kids are now being targeted would not help poker’s cause. At all.

Rather than trying to make a few bucks in the short-term, the organizers of this “tour” need to sit down and think about the long-term ramifications of their efforts. If what they are doing turns people against poker, they won’t have a tour to sustain. Plus, let’s just try being responsible here. Let’s use a little common sense.

Originally published May 11, 2006