Bar Owner in Poker Struggle
Todd Erks, the owner of Todd's Place in Lincoln Country, South Dakota, is petitioning his home state to make it legal to play poker. Erks has mailed petitions to bar owners across the state in an attempt to collect the minimum 17,000 signatures required to get the issue on the ballot in the November 2006 elections. If he succeeds, South Dakota's voters will have the possibility to redefine the legal boundaries of poker in their state. He has until early May to submit the petitions.
Despite the game's illegal status, Todd Erks has been hosting $25 and $50 Texas Hold'em tournaments at his bar 3-4 days a week for about a year He claims between 20 and 60 players play in his poker tournaments, with the house taking an entry fee of $5. He never ran into any problems with lawmaking officials, but still knew something was wrong when it took three months to renew his liquor license this past June.
The license was renewed after Erks promised to remove all decks of cards from his establishment. Now Erks has launched his legalizing campaign to settle the issue once and for all. His petition aims to redefine what constitutes a game of chance as opposed to one of luck by asking voters to legalize games where the competitor's skill is equal to or greater than the role of chance. Todd Erks thinks there is a 50% chance the issue will be passed if it makes it to a referendum in November.
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