A yearlong effort to legalize poker in Wisconsin was shot down in about four minutes Wednesday in a Dane County courtroom.
In a brief oral ruling, Circuit Judge Richard Niess said the “decks were stacked” against the plaintiffs, who had argued that poker is mostly a game of skill and shouldn’t be considered illegal.
Poker is “as much a part of the American fabric as baseball and apple pie,” Niess told a crowd of about 20 area players in the audience. “But having said that, I can’t ignore the law.”
Niess cited a Wisconsin Supreme Court case from 1964, State v. Morrissy, that upheld the conviction of a tavern owner busted for hosting poker tournaments, noting that poker was specifically called “gambling” in that case.
“My hands are tied,” Niess said.
The ruling in favor of the state Department of Justice was “disheartening,” said one of the plaintiffs, Steve Verrett, president of the Wisconsin Poker Players Alliance.
While the state constitution bans most forms of gambling outside of tribal-run casinos, the ban relies on a separate statute that defines a “bet” as a wager between two parties that’s “dependent upon chance even though accompanied by some skill.”
The plaintiffs had hoped that testimony from an expert in risk analysis and gaming would convince a judge that, over the long run, skill beats luck in poker and should thus be legal.
Niess actually conceded that point. But he said the 1964 case trumped their argument.
Stan Davis, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said Niess’ ruling failed to acknowledge how state gaming laws have changed since 1964. He specifically noted a decision in April by a federal appeals court that cleared the way for the Ho-Chunk Nation to allow poker in its Madison casino. That court “explicitly agreed with our interpretation that Wisconsin has not criminalized poker,” Davis said.
Local players raised $10,000 last year to hire Davis and seek a “declaratory judgment” on poker’s legality. Verrett said they’d need to regroup before considering an appeal, possibly to the state Supreme Court.
For now, he expects area poker players won’t change their ways. Games and tournaments can be found almost every night in and around Dane County. Enforcement is lax, but players still worry that they might get into trouble.
“The sad part is that someone could get arrested over this because of a 50-year-old case,” he said.
