http://www.eog.com/news/full-article.aspx?id=37214
Judge Deals Blow to Online Poker Players
May 16, 2008
A King County judge Thursday upheld a state law that bans Internet gambling in a widely watched case filed by a Renton poker player.
Lee Rousso had argued that the 2006 law, which made Internet gambling a felony, violates the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause and is cruel and unusual punishment. After the hearing, he relayed Superior Court Judge Mary Roberts' decision to roughly 70 disappointed poker enthusiasts gathered for a rally outside the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
"That's just the way the game is played," said Rousso, an attorney. "The court of law is probably the biggest casino there is." He promised an appeal.
The crowd included men who live with their parents, women with college-age children, parents with sleeping infants, and poker celebrities who showered the crowd with autographs. Most in the group wore crimson T-shirts proclaiming, "POKER is not a crime."
"We are not criminals. We're not people off in the hinterland. We really are average citizens," said Drew Lesofski, the Washington, D.C.-based director of Poker Players Alliance. His group, which claims a million members nationwide, organized the rally. "This censorship can't be tolerated," he said.
In his lawsuit filed last year, Rousso argued that the law is a "protectionist measure" that discriminates against legal, out-of-state businesses -- namely Internet gambling companies -- by forcing local players to frequent the state's brick-and-mortar casinos and card rooms.
He pointed out that the law arose from a bill sponsored by Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, whose district contains card rooms and casinos that benefit from the law.
Read the full article here.
http://www.eog.com/news/full-article.aspx?id=37214
Judge Deals Blow to Online Poker Players
May 16, 2008
A King County judge Thursday upheld a state law that bans Internet gambling in a widely watched case filed by a Renton poker player.
Lee Rousso had argued that the 2006 law, which made Internet gambling a felony, violates the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause and is cruel and unusual punishment. After the hearing, he relayed Superior Court Judge Mary Roberts' decision to roughly 70 disappointed poker enthusiasts gathered for a rally outside the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
"That's just the way the game is played," said Rousso, an attorney. "The court of law is probably the biggest casino there is." He promised an appeal.
The crowd included men who live with their parents, women with college-age children, parents with sleeping infants, and poker celebrities who showered the crowd with autographs. Most in the group wore crimson T-shirts proclaiming, "POKER is not a crime."
"We are not criminals. We're not people off in the hinterland. We really are average citizens," said Drew Lesofski, the Washington, D.C.-based director of Poker Players Alliance. His group, which claims a million members nationwide, organized the rally. "This censorship can't be tolerated," he said.
In his lawsuit filed last year, Rousso argued that the law is a "protectionist measure" that discriminates against legal, out-of-state businesses -- namely Internet gambling companies -- by forcing local players to frequent the state's brick-and-mortar casinos and card rooms.
He pointed out that the law arose from a bill sponsored by Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, whose district contains card rooms and casinos that benefit from the law.
Read the full article here.
http://www.eog.com/news/full-article.aspx?id=37214