Groups chafe under gaming cap

AUGUSTA -- A state law cost Le Club Calumet nearly $1,000 in revenue last Sunday.

A Texas Hold 'em poker tournament scheduled for that day was canceled after the club's officers learned that a law restricts per-player bets to $1 a hand. Each chip that players would have received was equal to $1.50. In most games, participants wage bets three or four times.

"You just can't do it for $1 a hand. They need to change the law," Harry Roy, the club's president, said Thursday.

About 180 people were signed up for the Sunday afternoon event. Each player would have paid $30 for the right to play, and would have received $25 in chips. The remaining $5 would have benefited the club, said Roy, a member since 1976.

He said Le Club Calumet officers found out about the $1-per-hand cap after they had received a one-day license through the state Department of Public Safety's gaming licensing division. Club representatives met with department staff members to discuss the law, Roy said.

"It's the first time they've questioned us about this," he said.

The 50-year-old club held two previous Texas Hold 'em poker tournaments and was unaware of the $1-per-hand limit then, Roy said. About 190 people played the games each time, with up to eight players at each table, he said.

With the $5 fee to play in those two tournaments, the club reaped nearly $2,000. Roy said the money helps meet expenses, such as heating and electrical bills.

The club's president said no more Texas Hold 'em games will be scheduled unless the law is changed. Roy said he understands a legislator proposes to amend the law this session.

Lt. Patrick Fleming, a state police trooper and director of the Maine Department of Public Safety's special investigations unit, said his office -- which issues licenses for gaming activities-- has been getting many calls over the past several months about Texas Hold 'em tourneys.

"We tell them the bet limit is $1. If they can figure out a way to do it, they can have the tournament," he said.

Investigators from the department visited a Texas Hold 'em tournament last Sunday in a Lewiston Eagles Club to explain the law after they noticed newspaper advertisements promoting the event. About 120 players showed up, but many left shortly afterward.

Fleming said before the mid-1990s, the law restricted poker hand bets to 50 cents per player. He said Texas Hold 'em tournaments are gaining in popularity throughout Maine.

"My inspectors are fielding calls all the time saying, 'What about if we do it this way or that way?' " Fleming said, adding that the bottom line is that no more than $1 per hand can be waged by each player.

Roy said other private, nonprofit clubs in Maine are also feeling the effects of the state law. Le Club Calumet also hosts beano and casino tournaments to raise funds.

Dan McGillvray -- 621-5642

dmcgillvray@centralmaine.com

By DAN McGILLVRAYStaff Writer
Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.