Should poker games, home or online, for money, be legal or illegal?

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Yes, there are far more pressing matters, and I know this sounds a little crazy on the face of it, but read the story below. I was going to make this thread about gambling in general, because I believe strongly that consenting adults in a supposedly free nation should be able to do with their money and time as they see fit. But I'll keep the question to poker games - home and/or online, for money. Read the snip below, read the whole story at the link, and tell me what you think.

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Each week for nearly 30 years, Bob Chimento and his college buddies have gathered around tables in a Mount Pleasant home to play the popular version of poker known as Texas Hold 'em, bringing $20 and spending an evening with pizza, sodas and beer.

As the cards flew during a night in April 2006, a half-dozen police officers burst into the home, seizing several thousand dollars in cash and a small amount of marijuana. They ticketed Chimento and about 20 other players for breaking the conservative state's 200-year-old prohibition on games of chance.

Most of the poker players pleaded guilty and paid a $250 fine but Chimento and four others are challenging what they say is an antiquated law — poker, after all, is seen almost nightly on TV and is played around thousands of kitchen tables around the country. Even President Barack Obama is one of the estimated 55 million Americans who are fond of the game.

Next month, a Charleston-area municipal judge will have to decide a primary question: Is poker a game of chance or one that involves skill and therefore legal under the law?

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jP8ZcblrLUCUQERTcw80p86TaZqAD960MPSG0

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. Other.

Depends on which hand is dealt*.


















*Much, much deeper than I intended. It explains every point of view.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

2. Both should be legal

[NYC_SKP]

3. Yes.

:P

[BlueJazz]

4. Home Games= Yes Online Games= Only if they are heavily regulated. There have been...

..several cases of Online Gambling being "Rigged"
(One of the people at the table knows what cards are dealt)
Screw that crap!

[Booster]

5. I agree. Home games should be ignored, but there's just

too many ways you can be screwed online. I play games online (not games I've put money into) and I've often thought if I did hit something, i.e. a royal flush, I know damn well my computer would "suffer" a little hiccup and the screen would go dead before I could even capture a picture of it.

[crimsonblue]

6. make it illegal in ALL cases

people shouldn't be having fun with their friends. They should be at home, making babies and watching out for terrorists.

[ZombieHorde]

7. Home games, no; on-line games, yes.

Just kidding, all legal.

[AsahinaKimi]

8. BUT ONLY IF BOB EUBANKS DOES IT...

then, make it illegal!!!

:yoiks:


JUST JOKING!!!!!:rofl:

[Baltoman991]

9. I look at

it this way. Online horse racing is legal so online poker should be as well. And as someone said earlier, so long as it's regulated there should be no problem with it.