Colorado poker fans have been dealt a losing hand.
The Colorado Supreme Court will not review a lower court’s ruling that poker is considered gambling under state law. The high court issued its rejection March 22 without comment.
The case stems from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s 2008 probe of a $20 buy- in Texas Hold’em tournament at a Greeley bar.
Five organizers of the tournament were arrested and charged with illegal gambling, which occurs when a game includes a wager — such as a buy-in — and a payout, and its outcome is determined predominantly by chance or luck. There are exceptions, such as if everyone involved has a “bona fide” social relationship.
Poker advocates contend that the popular card game shouldn’t be considered gambling because it requires more skill than luck.
In January 2009, a county- court jury acquitted the first defendant to go to trial, Kevin Raley, and charges against the others were subsequently dropped. During the trial, Raley called an expert — University of Denver professor Bob Hannum — to testify that poker is a game of skill.
Raley also presented evidence that players in the tournament had a social relationship. Jurors didn’t state a reason for the not-guilty verdict, so it’s unclear which argument swayed them.
Raley can’t be retried, and charges against his partners won’t be refiled.
But to clarify Colorado’s gambling laws in regard to poker, the state appealed to the district court the ruling that allowed Hannum to testify.
Last August, Weld County District Court Judge James Hartmann ruled that the trial judge erred in allowing Hannum to testify that poker is a game of skill because it is already considered a game of chance under Colorado law.
Raley, with support from the Poker Players Alliance, an advocacy group, then asked the state Supreme Court to review the case.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209, avuong@denverpost.com or
