Potential Oregon Legislation Would Shut Down Live Poker Rooms

While much of the attention of the poker community is currently on the drive of several states towards legalization and regulation of online poker, there are fights that are being waged in some states that might affect live poker games. A recent bill in the Oregon legislature is an example of this type of attack.

Writer Harry Esteve of the Oregonian tells the story of a young Portland woman, Rachel O’Neal, who has started her own law practice in the city and enjoys the local card rooms for some Texas Hold’em on her rare off hours. In particular, Esteve mentions that O’Neal frequents the Encore Poker Club, where O’Neal admits she “feels safe” playing the game. Under a bill in the Oregon legislature, however, those games may be outlawed in the state.

The draft of the bill, under the nomenclature of LC 3928, would amend the laws in Oregon regarding what it calls “social gaming.” Those laws, put in place in the 1980s, have allowed for nearly a dozen card rooms to open up around Portland and across the state. One legislator, however, doesn’t see this as what the original law intended and is looking to chop it down.

Representative Julie Parrish is backing LC 3928, indicating to Esteve that, “These things (card rooms) have exploded. It’s kind of like hookah lounges.” Under Parrish’s amendment to the current Oregon laws, poker would only be played legally for religious, charitable and fraternal organizations, putting the card rooms out of business. Parrish has the support of House Speaker Tina Kotek of Portland (Parrish is a Republican and Kotek is a Democrat), who has scheduled the proposed amendment for debate soon by the Oregon House Rules Committee.

Kotek sounded off to Esteve about these card rooms, stating, “If you go into them, you would think you were in Las Vegas.” That doesn’t sit well with the owner of the Encore Poker Club, John Ogai, who pointed out to Esteve the differences.

“We’re not a casino,” he says in Esteve’s article. “We are a small business and we feel like we’re bringing a lot of value to the city.” One notable difference between the Oregon poker rooms and a Vegas poker room is that the house doesn’t take a rake from the players. Those players participating in the Encore’s offerings pay a $10 entry fee at the door (any money for tournaments and cash games goes to the players) and food and drink sales make up the rest of the Encore’s revenues.

“If there weren’t places like this, basically all the games would go underground,” O’Neal noted to Esteve. “That’s where you have the sleaze.”

Parrish isn’t swayed by the comments of Ogai and O’Neal, however. The representative states she has heard complaints (none of which are noted by Esteve in the article) about poker rooms not following the laws as they are written. In some cases, Parrish points out that dealers are being tipped and players are being paid “under the table.” She also points out that some poker rooms are running “high stakes games” while saying, “Oregonians have said they really don’t want casinos.” (Writer’s note: This is basically untrue. Oregon has an established Indian casino industry, offering nine different casinos run by tribal organizations.)

The outrage over the proposal from Parrish can be seen in comments on Esteve’s article. Of the 21 persons who have commented on the proposed amendment, every one of them is against Parrish’s acts. “Apparently Kotek hasn’t gone into one herself,” one poster commented about the House Speaker’s Vegas thoughts. Another poster points out that “the state isn’t gaining any revenue from these establishments, thus they want to shut them down.” Finally, another poster noted a theme that seems to be felt by many about the subject, writing, “Parrish is a moron, plain and simple. Please tell me she has better things to worry about.”

Although the proposed amendment in Oregon has yet to reach the committee stage, it does appear that passions are running hot on the subject and bear watching. Ogai notes to Esteve that there isn’t an organization to lobby the legislature on the subject, but he’s ready to do what it takes to keep the doors of the Encore open. “Obviously, it’s my business on the line,” he says to Esteve.