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House panel supports poker bill partially to spite Blanco
By MARK BALLARD
Capitol news bureau
Published: Apr 20, 2006
A House committee Wednesday challenged Gov. Kathleen Blanco by unanimously passing legislation she opposes.
“It’s personal now that the governor has tried to force the issue,” said Rep. Warren Triche of his House Bill 1149, which would make clear that “Texas Hold ‘Em” poker tournaments, popular with some bars, are legal gambling.
The committee unanimously approved the measure.
Triche said the governor should wait until legislation reaches her desk and not interfere with the legislative process.
“She’s trying to intimidate us,” Triche said. “She’s overstepping her bounds.”
Blanco said during a Wednesday interview that Triche’s legislation “feels like an expansion of gambling to me.”
The governor said on March 27, the opening day of the legislative session, that she would reject any bills that she deems an expansion of gambling.
“If I’m not clear: Veto,” she said in the speech that day.
Blanco sent her chief lawyer, Terry Ryder, to remind members of the House Criminal Justice Committee of her opposition.
Sponsors of two other gambling measures withdrew their bills after running into Blanco’s opposition. House Bill 411 would have increased the number of video-poker machines at truck stops. House Bill 384 would have boosted the allowable bets.
Alton Ashy, a lobbyist for the video-poker industry, said, “It does me no good to win a moral victory to push this legislation through, of which I think we could, and have the governor veto it.”
Committee Chairman Danny Martiny, R-Kenner, told Ashy, “Whether she’s right in making that determination or not, the fact of the matter is I don’t think you want to put the members of this Legislature through trying to override a veto.”
Triche’s HB1149 is aimed at clarifying whether businesses’ efforts to exploit Texas Hold ‘Em poker is legal or not. Spurred by the popularity of televised poker tournaments, bar owners have hosted poker tournaments in hopes of attracting business on slow nights.
To avoid running afoul of the state’s gambling laws, bar owners don’t take a cut of the wagers. But they do sell more drinks and food due to the increased traffic brought in by the tournament.
State law enforcement has interpreted that profiting as a violation of gambling laws.
“Where is the line going to be drawn? What’s legal? What’s not?” Triche asked.
Triche’s bill would allow the businesses to hold poker tournaments once a week for people at least 21 years old as long as the owner doesn’t get a part of the proceeds and doesn’t charge an entrance fee. The bars and restaurants wouldn’t be able to operate the tournament, furnish supplies such as cards and poker chips, or advertise beyond their regular business signs.
Alcohol and Tobacco Control Commissioner Murphy Painter said the issue has arisen in 30 other states during the past 18 months. But no other state has legitimized the game.
Michelle Millhollon of the Capitol news bureau and The Associated Press contributed to this story
Source: http://www.2theadvocate.com