Poker Chip Lounge

Well, I play in a poker club in Ohio that offers games and tournaments for cash. You have to pay 25 dollars for membership fee and $ 25 each time you want to sit down and play the tables. Now, during the game there are no fees or charges session, dealers are not paid, and the only way they make money is if you give them a chip "dollar tip." The club membership is that if you fill out a membership form and you are free to play darts, billiards, poker, tennis or lounge and watch television on the big screen. It has been running almost 2 years now. I registered 3 days ago and I'm generally curious of how these clubs are legal and if something happens that I get in trouble for one or the other while playing a kind of raid events, or simply being a member club. The club is generally in a good area in the middle of a shopping center, with 2 security guards with guns, safety is generally good, but I worry about cops busting down on the stage. Thank you for your responses.

I do not know the answer to it. The law varies from state to state.

I think the sad thing is that there's no question about it. In a free country should not be afraid that the government will send armed police to raid a place like this and steal money from participants.

The game laws in America are extremely contradictory and must be updated. In my case, if the state has a lottery, then all reasonable forms of gambling should be legal. How can you pretend it's okay to sell lottery tickets across the state, but a game of cards is somehow evil and wrong?

I think that if States were to make a choice, we would be surprised how many would choose to keep the forms of lottery and permit other forms of gambling. They do not want to lose revenue.

The Ohio Revised Code says that no one can make money as a result of a poker game (except that they could win playing this game).

Here is the text (ORC 2915.02)


Ās 2915.02 Thurs

(C) This section does not prohibit conduct in connection with gambling expressly permitted by law.

(D) This section does not apply to any of the following:

(1) The games of chance, if all the following conditions:

(A) The games of chance are not craps for money or roulette for money.

(B) The games of chance are conducted by a charity is, and has received from the Internal Revenue Service determination letter that is currently in force, stating that the organization is exempt from federal tax income under subsection 501 (a) and described in subsection 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code..?


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No person shall receive any commission, wage, salary, reward, tip, gift, gratuity or other compensation, directly or indirectly from the operation or to assist in the operation of a game chance.
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(Emphasis added)

If the club was attacked while you were there, generally, assuming you did not do stupid things (drugs, hookers, etc.), you would not be arrested or cited. You, however, lose all the money you had on the table, and all the chips you carry in your pocket. It happened to me twice in private (raked) games.

Both times I was required to provide ID, but was released immediately. I found about $ 600 each time for the chips I had on the table.

In the first case, one of the other players was smoking weed when the police came, and it was (illegally) carrying a firearm. They have both been arrested and charged accordingly. The host of the game has not been arrested but has been cited and had to go to court and pay a fine rather salty.

HTH.