Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Shutdown #2

You can walk for a cure. Swim for a cure. Maybe even tap-dance for a cure. But you can't play poker for a cure. Not in our state.

The evening news tonight (on the station where, for purposes of full disclosure, we have a job) revealed the Kansas State Poker Tournament has been canceled - only 10 days before the event. It was a fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation.

Things changed so quickly that the event's website was only updated today to change the location. There was a plan to move it outside of Wichita, because the city attorney ruled the tournament violated state gambling rules. (It should be noted the venue would have been a hotel owned by the city.)  But the alternative site north of town apparently developed cold feet, too.

A "Cards for the Cure" VIP Party can go forward, because there's apparently no poker game. People buy tickets, then join in a silent auction.

After five years of a state tournament, apparently with the blessing of local prosecutors, police determined state gambling laws were violated with Cards for the Cure. We suspect it's probably for the same reason Nikki's Poker Room shut down last week: people had to pay to play. (An update on that is coming later tonight.)

We'll offer our thoughts on this in a future post - bur for now, please offer your comments. The Wichita poker crackdown seems to be real. What do you think of it?






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