May 2, 2007

Committee Decides to Play Hand at Poker
with Bill to Legalize Card Game Gambling

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor

As the Texas House braces for the debate today on Indian gaming, several state representatives decided to give their colleagues an opportunity to try their hand at poker with a bill they approved Tuesday in a committee meeting on the chamber floor.

The Licensing & Administrative Procedures Committee endorsed House Bill 3186 with five affirmative votes and only one member dissenting in what may be the Legislature's last shot at gambling before the regular session ends at midnight on May 28. The vote on the poker bill was taken as the panel huddled at the desk of its chairman, Democratic State Rep. Kino Flores of Mission, on the floor during a House break on Tuesday.

Sponsored by State Rep. Jose Menendez, a San Antonio Democrat, the legislation would allow both video poker games such as Texas Hold `Em and the more traditional table games at restaurants and bars that are licensed by the state to serve alcoholic beverages and at pari-mutuel racetracks in Texas as well.

Poker would be regulated by a new division within the Texas Lottery Commission - and the state would be entitled to 18 percent of the gross receipts from commercial operations and five percent of the total take at poker tournaments that are held to benefit charity. Additional funds would be raised from an assortment of license and application fees that would be used to foot the bill for regulating the poker business. The remaining revenues would go into a dedicated fund for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs - with half of that divided between cities, counties and non-profit organizations to be used to help people who are homeless.

The Menendez bill would set up a new set of felony offenses within the state's Occupations Code for crimes including fraud, cheating, the use of counterfeit or unsanctioned cards and chips, the unauthorized operation of poker games and the manufacture, sale and distribution of poker equipment that hasn't been sanctioned by the state. Bars and restaurants could have as many as four poker tables - depending on the amount of their capital assets.

Non-commercial gambling on card games is legal in Texas in homes and other private settings. If lawmakers back the bill that cleared the House committee this week, they'll be following the lead of states such as California, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Oregon, South Carolina and Montana, the first state to legalize video poker. Washington allows poker in regulated establishments but has made it illegal to gamble in online poker games.

The Legislative Budget Board estimates that the poker bill would raise $1.3 million for the state during the next biennium - substantially less than state government would stand to make on the legalization of video lottery terminals or full-scale casinos. But with less than four weeks remaining in the regular session and hundreds of bills backed up in the Calendars Committee, the odds against VLT's and casinos during the current session appear to be growing substantially each day.

Gambling supporters initially hoped to make gains this year with legislation that would have dedicated gaming revenues to health care for the uninsured or college tuition relief or both. Advocates for video lottery and casinos thought their chances might improve when state leaders were worried about the potentially high cost of a Medicaid lawsuit against the state. But the bill on the Medicaid suit wasn't as high as some had expected - and without a fiscal crisis - gambling proponents have found it difficult to get traction at the Capitol this year.

Social conservatives have fought expanded gambling at every step in Texas - and it's a safe bet that they'll be vigorously opposed to the poker bill that's now winding its way to the Calendars Committee.