Texas Holdem Poker Players Escape The Law

Because police officers in Baltimore, MD quoted the wrong statute during an arrest at a poker room last week, the poker players are being dealt a great overcard; a “get out of jail free” card.The Owl's Nest club was raided on Nov. 2, resulting in the arrest of 95 people and the seizure of more than $25,600 in cash. Thousands of poker chips, decks of cards, liquor and beer were among the other items taken in the raid, which was called the biggest gambling bust in the area since Prohibition.The good news does not extend to the dealers, bartenders, waitresses and the men who organized the event, however. The police charged the lot under a law that says people may not "keep, rent, use or occupy" a building for the purpose of gambling, as were the poker players. The players, however, can’t be prosecuted under this law, but instead should have been charged under another section of the law prohibiting a "bet, wager or gamble."