Poker news from http://www.cleveland.com/
Lorain- Four blocks from Mike Kennedy's pool hall, people can play Texas hold 'em poker. Same goes for bars and restaurants in Avon Lake, Westlake, Sandusky and dozens of other cities across Ohio.
"As long as you're not Mike Kennedy, you can do it," said Kennedy, standing by a pool table covered with court records documenting his 1½-year-old legal battle with the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
Texas hold 'em, as played in bars, is "free poker." The bars don't require a player to pay to join the game or buy anything at the establishment, and prizes usually are nominal.
That's the way Kennedy was running his game, drawing as many as 100 people a night into his downtown business, Kennedy's Broadway Billiards. But on March 13, 2005, he was cited for permitting gambling in a liquor establishment. Rather than pay a fine, Kennedy took the issue to court, arguing that his Texas hold 'em games were not gambling because no money changed hands. He has not been charged criminally.
Kennedy's challenge has opened the way for other bars and restaurants to offer the "free" games without fear of a fine - at least for now.
Aaron Reese, the state agent who cited Kennedy, testified in court that he was instructed not to issue violations to other businesses until Kennedy's case was resolved.
However, Reese said, Kennedy probably will be raided if he resumes the games.
A state court ruled in the case two weeks ago, but Kennedy remains in limbo.
The Court of Appeals threw the case out on a technicality, saying the mechanism that the courts used to transfer the case from Lorain County Common Pleas to Franklin County Common Pleas was incorrect.
If Kennedy wants a ruling on the issue of gambling, he will have to refile.
"Kennedy's the only guy in the state" who can't have Texas hold 'em, said his attorney, Kenneth Myers.
The state attorney general's office argued in court that the Ohio Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that poker is a game of chance and that Texas hold 'em is considered gambling, even if the player does not pay to play.
Scott Pohlman, deputy director of public safety, said the agency will investigate any complaint it receives regarding Texas hold 'em games.
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