Legislative Poker Battle Heats Up in Louisiana

Thursday, 20 April 2006

In Louisiana, it seems that the politics of poker just got personal. Governor Kathleen Blanco, a fierce opponent of gambling, waded into a state house committee debate aimed at clarifying the laws on playing Texas Hold’em.

In Louisiana, it seems that the politics of poker just got personal. Governor Kathleen Blanco, a fierce opponent of gambling, waded into a state house committee debate aimed at clarifying the laws on playing Texas Hold’em. She said that any statement released saying the game was legal was an expansion of gambling laws. She also added she would veto any changes. This provoked a typically angry response from the Representative Warren Triche, who has put the changes forward. He accused Blanco of “interfering” and “stepping over her bounds”. Triche’s bill is looking specifically at games of Texas Hold ‘Em in bars across the state.
Thanks to the massive hike in TV poker over recent years, bar owners have begun hosting games but not taking a cut of the wagers, hence they are not technically breaking any laws. Blanco says that any such move to help bar owners is an extension of the strict gambling laws. All this amounts to a swathe of press for poker and no doubt plenty of games being played in the coming days. Blanco has managed though to prevent a bill allowing more video poker machines at truck stops and another one allowing higher bets in legal gambling situations.



Tags: Poker News, Legislative, Poker, Battle, Heats, Up, in, Louisiana