Home Poker Games going Too Far?

The Casino City Times had a story recently that caught our eye. The question here stems around a website called HomePokerGames.com. The idea of the site is to allow for your home poker games to get some variety by opening the typical invite list to encompass some strangers. The argument being that this can vary the poker crowd enough to keep the games interesting.

Like a gambling version of Internet dating, the site - www.homepokergames.com - lists buy-ins and limits for games as well as any house rules, such as no smoking, drinking or swearing.
But the amount of money at stake - buy-ins and organized tournaments that in some cases start at $20 and go up to $100 or more - is alarming some lawmakers and players.

At a recent gathering in Las Vegas, legislators from casino states beyond Nevada discussed how the Web site may be advertising games that are illegal or, at the least, generating tax-free winnings.

"I had no idea this was going on in my state," said Steven Geller, a Democratic state senator from Florida. "You've got all of the problems of casino gambling and none of the benefits. There's no job creation and there's no programs for problem gambling."

Geller also said players are risking their safety.

"You've got serious, hard-core gambling by serious, hard-core gamblers," he said. "You don't have to watch 'The Sopranos' to realize you've got a big security issue."

Now, while we can understand wanting to mix it up (our own poker games got stale after a bit), we think that inviting total strangers is just asking for trouble, either by unruly players, or in some case, by your local law enforcement. In our opininon, keep home games for fun, and only among friends. If you want to make real money, head to a casino, the watresses are better anyway.

July 5, 2007

Home Poker Games going Too Far?