Tribe sues new poker room

[Aack Thbbbt]

From the Tuscon Citizen
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/local/94244.php

This will be interesting:

Tribe sues new poker room, seeks halt to 'illegal gambling'
Pascua Yaqui say midtown club unauthorized competition
TEYA VITU

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe filed suit Tuesday against Club Royale, a new poker room at 2665 N. Campbell Ave., seeking the club's closure and alleging that it engages in illegal gambling.
The suit also names Harold S. Lee, founder of the Tombstone-based International Card and Game Players Association, with which Club Royale and a couple of non-tribal poker rooms in the Phoenix area are affiliated.

"Basically, we want to shut them down based on the fact that it's illegal gambling in the state of Arizona," said Luis Ochoa, an attorney at Quarles & Brady representing the tribe.
He said the suit was assigned to Pima County Superior Court Judge Leslie Miller. Ochoa hopes to have a court hearing within 48 hours but it could take as long as 10 days. The tribe seeks a temporary restraining order against Club Royale owners Donna and Johnny Ray Rogers as well as against Lee and the Arizona Card Room in Phoenix.
"We're hoping this is the start of other tribes saying, 'We ought to do something,' " Ochoa said. "You're going to see the Pascua Yaqui take the first stab to try to stop this."

Lee believes his association and Club Royale are legally protected as social gambling described in Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3302.
"I'm pissed," Lee said. "Poker is a 300-year-old profession. It's an avocation. It's not gambling. Eight people play and there's a prize pool."
The card rooms associated with Lee do not take a "rake" from the gambling pots like casinos do when they remove chips from a pot for casino profit.
Instead, Club Royale has a "button charge," where the player with the dealer button - a disk that moves to another player after each hand - pays a $1 to $3 button charge, which goes to Club Royale.
Lee's theory is the button charge is not part part of the poker game itself because it is paid before cards are dealt.

Donna and Johnny Ray Rogers, who also own two Majestik Tattoo parlors at 314 N. Fourth Ave. and 4756 E. Speedway, opened Club Royale on July 25. Donna Rogers declined to comment at this time.
The Arizona Department of Gaming investigated Lee's poker room in Bisbee in October 2006 and June 2007. That agency forwarded the case to the Arizona attorney general for prosecution, citing promoting gambling and benefiting from gambling, ARS 13-3303 and 13-3304, both Class 5 felonies. The gaming department declined to comment on the Yaqui lawsuit. The Attorney General's Office did not respond to calls from the Tucson Citizen.

Ochoa said the Pascua Yaqui decided to file suit because of inaction from the Attorney General's Office.
"The state gave the tribes the exclusive right to open this kind of operation," Ochoa said. "A lot is at stake. So far, the state is saying, 'I don't know.' The state attorney general has completely ignored the responsibility to do anything about it."

[that_pope]

And of course they will have the backing of the politicians, since they have deep pockets...

[DGK1186]

I really hope this goes to court and Judge Lee wins because it will set precedent. I think that's one of the main reasons the state has never been that interested in prosecuting him for the last few years.  They've said themselves that they're not convinced they'd be able to get a conviction, and if they lose....well the casinos better get ready to lose a hell of a lot of business.  Poker rooms will pop up on every corner. 

Should be very interesting.

[Aack Thbbbt]

IF Lee wins, i would assume that the Casinos will be given the opportunity to compete on the same level. 
I would speculate that either the compact would be renegotiated to remove betting limitations, OR( less likely) that the rooms on the outside might be allowed to operate, but only if they follow the same bet as set for for the casinos, in effect making the rules of the compact, rules for statewide gaming.

[Aack Thbbbt]

An update:
The original hearing was to take place on September 29th 2008. 
According to the clerk of court at Superior court of Pima county( Tuscon)  the hearing has been continued to December 15.
It really is going to be interesting to see how this all pans out and how if affects these rooms.
Been hearing a lot of speculation that since these places pay no revenue to the state among other things, they are on there last leg. 

[Aack Thbbbt]

As i understand now ,the date of the hearing has been moved to the 22nd of December.

you can see some older details by going here.. http://www.agave.cosc.pima.gov/PublicDocs/
and entering the case number c20085734