Connecticut Cracks Down on Poker in Bars

Connecticut's Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal, has told bars and restaurants in that state that hosting Texas Hold 'Em Poker games violates state law, according to an article in the New Britain Herald.

"Why does the state hate my business so much?," wondered one restaurant owner. According to the article, owners say they didn't collect any money -- the $20 to $60 antes were entirely redistributed as prize money.

"The games keep you away from somewhere like casinos, where you could lose control and a lot more money," said one patron.

I'm not a fan of legalized gambling, and I don't claim to know anything about Connecticut state law, but on a philosophical level it seems to me that paying $20 or $60 to play in a Hold 'Em tournament is more akin to paying that same amount to enter a Chess tournament, for example, than it is to plunking it into slot machines -- particularly considering the way slots suck cash out of the pockets of people whose minds appear to totally shut down.

(See "The Tug of the Newfangled Slot Machines" from the May 9 issue of the New York Times Magazine for insight into the lengths slot machine designers and manufacturers go to in order to make their products as addictive as possible. At least as of this posting, the entire article was available here and here.)

All that said, playing Poker for money -- like any form of gambling -- can become an addiction. If you need help, Gamblers Anonymous is one source.