Library Teaches Kids to Play Poker

Bubblegum Poker is the name of the game, and it is being played by pre-teens and tweens. It isn't being played under cover of darkness or in a basement playroom under the unsuspecting noses of parents, but rather in full view and with parental consent at the Bellingham Public Library.The game was open to fifth graders up through twelfth graders, and boys and girls in equal proportion showed up to play. Ranging from 11 to 15 years of age, the kids played Texas Hold 'em Poker, using sticks of gum as chips. Some parents were okay with the idea of the game, but others were put off at the idea of the library using tax dollars to teach the kids a gambling game.