February 24, 2006
The manager at Bennigan's restaurant on Old Gate Lane in Milford, where people like to play texas holdem poker games Thursday nights, declined to comment on the letter Saturday. "I contacted corporate headquarters and was told we could not say anything to the press," he said. While Miller also would not acknowledge whether the game is still played at the Milford Bennigan's, a woman who answered the telephone at the restaurant last Thursday - the day the games usually were played there - said there was no texas holdem game that night because police had told the restaurant to stop them.
It was a different story in Stratford, however. Police there have been waiting for an answer about texas holdem poker from the state's attorney's office on whether the games are legal. "We posed the same questions to the state's attorney in Bridgeport that Milford police did," said Stratford Police Capt. Andrew Knapp. A variety of "gambling accessories" were on the list of things to be searched for in the apartment. Money, texas holdem playing cards, poker chips, ledgers, player lists, poker table, computers, monitors and data storage devices were some of the things that police classified as accessories to gambling activity.
No arrests have been made for the texas holdem gambling and the investigation is still pending, said Lt. Bruce Bradberry of the Blacksburg Police. Still, for us to shape this great game as a TV commodity, and all be able to profit from it, we have to find a way to prevent this stuff in the future. Oddly enough, I am going to contradict myself at the end here, and say ultimately, when stuff like this happens, it is the players fault. If the players could organize themselves, and have a strong, united players association - this type of stuff would never happen. The people I feel for the most here are the average Joes, who put up ten thousand dollars (more than once for some) and played in texas holdem circuit events to try to qualify for this tournament of champions, and didn't make it. We build this "sport" on the dreams of 'Joe Average' playing next to Chan, Hellmuth, or Doyle - provided 'Joe Average' qualified for the event.
The police made a phone call to a number uncovered during the investigation asking about specifics of the texas holdem poker games. According to the affidavit for the search warrant, "The investigation revealed information on a betting structure, buy-in minimums and maximums. It was also discovered that the house reserved the right to a minimal rake of 10 percent of each poker hand with a $5 maximum." Detective Q.R. Self filed the affidavit in which he said, "I called the number and made contact with a subject who identified himself as Edwin. The subject I spoke with confirmed what the texas holdem investigation had found and advised that the game was actually currently running almost every night. He confirmed a $40 minimum buy-in and $1/$2 blinds with no limit."
Though the Indian tribes are threatening to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars from the state if the online texas holdem poker games continue outside their casinos, State Rep. Brian O'Connor, D-Clinton, who is proposing the games be legalized in restaurants and bars statewide, said he thinks texas holdem tournaments would boost business at the establishments, which have complained of declining revenues. O'Connor's proposed bill, titled "An act allowing restaurants and bars to hold poker and other card tournaments," calls for the state's general statutes to be amended to allow the practice, "... as long as no profit is made off such tournament by participants or the restaurant or bar."
