Poker players were hoping that arguments pointing out the role of ability in poker could win over a Wisconsin judge, perhaps leading to the legalization of the game throughout the state.

Instead, they learned that decades of precedent outweighed the mechanics of poker.

The way it is in question had poker pro Mark Kroon and Steve Verrett, the state director of the Poker Players Alliance, asking an official state court to create a judgment that is declaratory the legality of poker in the case.

In specific, they wanted a ruling on whether the overall game was one of skill or luck, something they hoped would help define the game as legal in cases where a judge came down on the relative part of skill.

At the moment, poker is illegal under Wisconsin law, at least outside of tribal gambling enterprises.

While the statutory law is not regularly enforced against house games, it will prevent larger poker gatherings, such as those that Kroon attempted to arrange at the Players Sports Bar in Madison, which he owns.

Judge Speaks Highly of Poker, But Says Law is Binding

Saw a judge make the ruling that poker players had been waiting for wednesday.

But with about 20 local poker players in attendance, a Dane County judge said that despite his interest in the overall game, the law was what the law states.

‘I’ve surely got to say that poker is this type of topic that is rich so many amounts,’ said Circuit Court Judge Richard Niess. ‘It’s the maximum amount of a right part of the American textile, I do believe, as baseball and apple pie. But having said that, I can’t ignore the law here, and the law unfortunately, to employ a poker analogy, is a stacked deck against the plaintiffs here.’

Judge Niess had no complaints about the arguments made by the plaintiffs, saying that they (and many others) had most likely shown beyond any doubt that poker had been a game of ability in the run that is long.

‘I have no doubt poker involves, into the run that is long skill than chance,’ Niess stated.

Ruling Hinged on 1964 Case

But Judge Niess ultimately relied on the 1964 instance of State v. Morrissy, in which a unlawful conviction was upheld by the state Supreme Court due to poker tournaments that were happening in a tavern. For the reason that case, Niess said, poker is especially considered gambling.

‘That’s binding in this court whether they’ve considered your arguments [about the skill factor in poker]…or maybe not,’ Niess told the plaintiffs. ‘ If doesn’t appear they did, but the instance remains nonetheless binding on me personally.’

Niess advised that to get relief, the plaintiffs may likely have to take their arguments all the way to the state’s Supreme Court (which he compared to drawing to an inside straight), or make an appeal to the state legislature to change Wisconsin law.

Stan Davis, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, disagreed with the judge’s decision, stating that state gaming guidelines had changed considerably since 1964, which Judge Niess had failed to think about.

He pointed to a 2014 ruling by the usa Court of Appeals for the 7^th Circuit, which discovered that poker had not been criminalized in the state.

But having did not sway the judge in this case, poker games will continue to be unlawful in the state, even while countless players continue to take part in tiny home games on a daily basis.

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